"An Ode to women of Substance" - Mani Abrol
Voylla.com has started a special 7-part series celebrating women hood. In this we will feature one influential woman every day. Here these 'women of substance' will share their achievements, their challenges and also a word of advice for all budding women entrepreneurs and leaders
[caption id="attachment_1427" align="alignnone" width="902"]
Important Tips from Women of Substance[/caption]
Mani Abrol- the Senior Director Engineering at Yahoo! India who has 18 years of experience working on cutting-edge technologies across many innovative companies.
[caption id="attachment_1441" align="alignnone" width="940"]
Mani Abrol
Sr Director, Yahoo[/caption] Q1: Every women dreams to be successful and famous. You are someone who has managed to create a niche for yourself, so please share how was your journey so far? The Challenges & the Achievements? Success and fame are of varying degrees and everyone has different aspirations. I believe that I have been able to reach milestones in my career which were not really planned. I am where I am today because I latched on to opportunities that came my way and the choices I made. Best times in my career were while I was working at Verity with extremely smart people and learnt a lot from them. Then when I joined Lexity and spent 2 years building the India team until we got acquired last year. Both were great learning experiences and I am lucky I got the opportunity. [caption id="attachment_1442" align="alignnone" width="960"]
Yahoo!_Bangalore_office[/caption]
It was during the time I was at Verity that I had both my kids and that was hard. Both my husband and manager were very supportive and I was able to manage that phase.
The time at Lexity was also challenging in different ways and I got a lot of support from my family, the fact that they were supportive kept me going. Knowing that you are role model for your kids is at times worth all the effort!
Q2: Its said that we should keep on striving for more because if we stop we stagnate, so what is the next milestone you are aiming for?
I really dont have a specific milestone in mind. I hope I can keep myself challenged in my current role and keep making a difference. The day I feel I am not learning anymore, I will start to think about a change.
Q3: I think most of the women have faced this challenge of maintaining a perfect balance between work-life & personal-life. So, we will like to know how you strike a balance between the two?
There is really no balance. There are times when work has to take precedence over family and vice versa. Having a career means that you have to constantly juggle. Though I tend prioritize time with my kids in the evenings and important events over work. In those situations I have had to learn how to delegate effectively. The trick to delegation is to realize that another person will not accomplish a task exactly the same way as I would but "differently" and accept it as long as the desired outcome is the same.
Q4: There are so many budding women entrepreneurs and leaders you are trying to make it big, any word of advice for them?
You will always be your biggest critic, please dont be harsh on yourself! Make sure your path takes you to fulfillment and it makes you happy.
Important Tips from Women of Substance[/caption]
Mani Abrol- the Senior Director Engineering at Yahoo! India who has 18 years of experience working on cutting-edge technologies across many innovative companies.
[caption id="attachment_1441" align="alignnone" width="940"] Mani AbrolSr Director, Yahoo[/caption] Q1: Every women dreams to be successful and famous. You are someone who has managed to create a niche for yourself, so please share how was your journey so far? The Challenges & the Achievements? Success and fame are of varying degrees and everyone has different aspirations. I believe that I have been able to reach milestones in my career which were not really planned. I am where I am today because I latched on to opportunities that came my way and the choices I made. Best times in my career were while I was working at Verity with extremely smart people and learnt a lot from them. Then when I joined Lexity and spent 2 years building the India team until we got acquired last year. Both were great learning experiences and I am lucky I got the opportunity. [caption id="attachment_1442" align="alignnone" width="960"]
Yahoo!_Bangalore_office[/caption]
It was during the time I was at Verity that I had both my kids and that was hard. Both my husband and manager were very supportive and I was able to manage that phase.
The time at Lexity was also challenging in different ways and I got a lot of support from my family, the fact that they were supportive kept me going. Knowing that you are role model for your kids is at times worth all the effort!
Q2: Its said that we should keep on striving for more because if we stop we stagnate, so what is the next milestone you are aiming for?
I really dont have a specific milestone in mind. I hope I can keep myself challenged in my current role and keep making a difference. The day I feel I am not learning anymore, I will start to think about a change.
Q3: I think most of the women have faced this challenge of maintaining a perfect balance between work-life & personal-life. So, we will like to know how you strike a balance between the two?
There is really no balance. There are times when work has to take precedence over family and vice versa. Having a career means that you have to constantly juggle. Though I tend prioritize time with my kids in the evenings and important events over work. In those situations I have had to learn how to delegate effectively. The trick to delegation is to realize that another person will not accomplish a task exactly the same way as I would but "differently" and accept it as long as the desired outcome is the same.
Q4: There are so many budding women entrepreneurs and leaders you are trying to make it big, any word of advice for them?
You will always be your biggest critic, please dont be harsh on yourself! Make sure your path takes you to fulfillment and it makes you happy.
