Achieve What You Believe You Can
Meet Siham, a digital strategist at Jazz in Pakistan. From her interview, we’ve gathered four great insights on how to believe in yourself and realize your dreams. We also get lots of good info about the exciting things happening at Jazz today.
If you’ve ever thought something was impossible, read further. Maybe Siham can change your mind. And maybe you can accomplish the impossible.
When you ask Siham why she joined Jazz (formerly Mobilink), she says:
“The culture is changing a lot with this incredible digital transformation. Silos have been broken down, the whole place is energetic, and people are collaborating in exciting ways. The company is growing on ideas of unification, empowerment, and equality — and it’s all moving towards something amazing.”
Wow! That’s an incredible reason to get up and go to work every day. During our interview with Siham, we hear more nuggets of wisdom like this. After you’re finished reading, you’ll be ready to strap on your boots and go achieve what you believe you can. Ready, set, go…
1. Getting from point A to B is easier when there’s a road
From Facebook and Whatsapp to Snapchat and Twitter, social media is playing an increasingly vital role in Pakistani society. By the end of 2016, total social media users in Pakistan crossed the 44 million mark.
As Siham notes, “Everyone and anyone is present on social media now. It’s a way for all people — not just the youth or upper class — to communicate more effectively and engage with others. It’s a bridge that allows many people to reach out to one another and do things they couldn’t before.”
Social media has brought more connection to the world, including Pakistan. Like Siham says, the more connected we are, the more understanding and productive we can be. This is why she places high value on connectivity in her work as a digital strategist at Jazz.
“Within a few years, we want all of Jazz to be 100-percent connected,” explains Siham. “We are already using Facebook Workplace to improve internal communication and feedback and optimize business processes.”
On top of that, Siham has been instrumental in the launch of Jazz People. The goal of this unified internal system is to automate certain departmental processes, eliminate unnecessary manual tasks, and simplify any jobs or requests that are too complicated — all of which can help optimize efficiency.
“We did workshops with employees and department heads to find out pain points and inefficiencies,” describes Siham. “Through that research, we’ve first identified and solved issues that would have the highest impact. So far, the amount of time and resources we’re saving with Jazz People is already allowing us to focus a lot more on business strategies.”
The lesson to be taken from Siham’s work at Jazz is that connectivity is key to maximizing efficiency. So, get yourself in constant communication with the technology and people important to your work. This way, you can reduce waste and put your mind on the bigger prize: realizing your dreams.
2. Learning is a never-ending quest that could literally lead you to space
Think about how long it takes to get to the end of the universe. It’s unfathomable (but supposedly it’s 225 trillion years). If you want to learn as much about space as possible, you have to commit yourself to continual learning. Because there’s always more to be explored.
In fact, due to the rapid technological change occurring now, lifelong learning is necessary for any profession. After all, you don’t want a robot to take your job (they’re already here).
For Siham, her education and career highlight how she’s always ready to learn more. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in the United States, she worked in numerous roles in Karachi, Pakistan, including a marketing position and an HR role. Such jobs gave her the chance to add to what she learned from her formal education.
Then, to build upon all that, Siham went to the United Kingdom to get a master’s degree in marketing. This helped her land a position as a digital strategist for an agency back in Karachi, where she helped develop data-driven digital marketing campaigns for numerous famous brands.
That position was the bridge to Siham’s job offer at the Jazz office in Islamabad. At Jazz, though, her duties on the digital team are a little different.
“I went from the agency to the brand side,” states Siham. “Being on the agency side allowed me to understand how it all works. But now I’m more in control at Jazz. I can create and strategize and get to see how my ideas take the company through this digital revolution.”
At Jazz, Siham’s previous studies and roles are helping her succeed. Her openness to learning new things and adapting to a changing environment is crucial as well. So, take a note from her experiences and keep on learning. It will help you accomplish even more.
3. Just dive in (even if there are snakes)
From dentists and flying to snakes and success, there are lots of things people fear. If you’re going to succeed, you need to overcome those fears — and simply go for it.
Of course, if you’re afraid of snakes, we’re not telling to play with a python (that may be dangerous if you’re not a trained professional). We’re telling you to not let your fears control you.
Siham’s advice to her childhood self echoes this idea. “Don’t be shy and go do what you want to do,” she says she would tell herself. “Over the years, I’ve been able to overcome this. But it would have been great to have done this early on as a young kid.”
Now, that’s some powerful stuff! Siham has similar advice for candidates at Jazz.
“Pakistan is very competitive at school, especially with exams, and in the workplace. This external pressure can bring people down,” believes Siham. “Wherever you’re at in your life, just be yourself and work as hard as you can at what you want. If you do this, you can achieve anything.”
Siham cites her husband as an example of why you shouldn’t allow fears, missteps, or outside factors keep you from your realizing your potential. That’s because his accomplishments today show it’s the person that matters most.
“My husband has always liked to have fun and wasn’t the best student,” jokes Siham. “But when he found a job he liked, he became really driven and is now enjoying much career success. It really is who you are, what you believe, and what you think you can achieve that decides your path.”
As Siham describes, it’s about overcoming fears and not allowing external pressure to weigh on you. You also have to find what you want and go for it. This is how you make great things happen.
4. Live, laugh, love, and do yoga
If you’re to achieve everything you set out to do, you can’t be at work all the time. You’ll fry your body and mind. Thankfully, taking time off work actually increases productivity (according to lots of research).
The key is finding something that invigorates you. It could be traveling to another country or taking a poetry class. For Siham, that activity is yoga.
“For me, yoga is my relaxation time. I turn off all outside noise and just get in the zone,” describes Siham. “I actually follow Rachel Brathen on Instagram, a famous yoga teacher. She always has great yoga tutorials and inspirational advice that keeps me motivated and feeling good.”
Clearly, yoga helps Siham keep perspective in her life. Without it, doing such a great job at Jazz may be more difficult.
On top of yoga, Siham makes time to enjoy music and food. She specifically likes Pakistani and Western pop. Have a listen here:
When it comes to food, nothing beats nihari for Siham. Just look at the picture below. You’re probably already hungry.
Simply put, you have to find something meaningful to do outside of work because you can get overwhelmed by the daily grind. This way, you can stay balanced and fresh. When you get back to work, you’ll be more than ready to create something magical.
The recipe to realize your dreams
Now, you know Siham and all the great work she’s doing at Jazz. You also understand what it takes to make those dreams in your head a reality. Stay connected, continually learn, overcome obstacles, and give yourself “me” time.
After it’s all said and done, you could be soaking up the sun, smiling back at all the wonderful things you accomplished. That sounds nice, doesn’t it? So, take Siham’s advice and just go for it.
