Sonia Manchanda is a member of:
After few years:
We pioneer the Telecom Expenditure Management industry in India. Our business plan was to initially grow slowly and do a thorough job as we spread awareness of this industry and promote an entire ecosystem. My personal target is to scale up before I am 30 so I just have a few years to race against.
Scaling up the ladder:
I started at the ground level putting together the nuts and bolts. But the job environment being a new company required not only seeing the big picture but also backing it with some data to explain a new concept to the customer.I quickly rose to top management to take the responsibility
Challenges faced:
To be honest, my roots are still a conservative Indian business family not yet comfortable with their own in corporate limelight. And I also enjoy the protective environment. Nevertheless, for my sake they are supportive of whatever I do.
Turning point:
During campus recruitment Airsoft was the only start-up company, and being a topper (not only academically but also culturally) I was confident that I could cherry pick any company. Campus rules were that if selected by one company students foreclose the option of other interviews.
Professionalism:
Again I feel fortunate that I have a good head for numbers and an eye for detail. This enables me to work smart and maintain a good work-personal life balance and the stress free mindset works very well for me.
Doing differently:
I would invest to have higher quality of people around me.
Extra Certification:
I am flirting with the idea of doing the 1-yr executive MBA from any of the world's leading universities. Other than the learning I think the networking could be an important factor to scale up internationally.
Qualities of Leadership:
For me it comes at 2 levels.First the ability to dream & develop a concept. And then the ability to execute the concept to ground reality. My strong attributes are the ability to conceptualize as well to execute and resolve everything in between.
Effective words:
I would share my experience. The world is softer towards women but you should be completely gender neutral. I also think as a woman I have an advantage that when I achieve a milestone there is greater admiration.
Achieving Success:
Firstly the confidence in oneself. I have always seen men as equals and won their respect by professional competence
Opinion on women leaders:
I saw from close quarters my mother's role in the success of our family and our family business. And so I realized perseverance and tenacity are key traits of success. In all honesty I think every women has leadership skills as an inborn instincts its just that she should be able to use it.