For our first Women in Leadership spotlight, we sat down with our newly appointed VP of Global Partner Alliances, Gandhali Bhole. Here at Datacubed Health, we are fortunate to have half of our employee base comprised of women. And to highlight these extraordinary individuals, we are launching a new series called Women in Leadership. Each quarter we will feature one of our woman leaders to hear their thoughts on being a woman leader today.
What are the challenges women leaders face?
Our challenges fall into two sectors – external and internal. External factors we can’t control, such as the struggle for equal pay, work/life balance, being a mom, and simultaneously managing a career and family. On the internal side, I feel women don’t reflect upon themselves. Or have 100% trust in themselves when making critical decisions in the workplace. I know I am guilty of this, and I’m sure other women feel the same. We, as women, have to learn to trust ourselves and our capabilities more. To be more fearless. And be more open to new ideas or suggestions regarding our career paths. They may open doors and opportunities that we may never have imagined were possible.
What factors influence a woman’s ability to lead?
My top two would be knowing what you want and learning from your peers. I say knowing what you want in the sense of steering your career path. Women should set goals for ourselves; even if they seem unattainable at first. You’d be surprised at how you can achieve them by putting the idea(s) onto paper. Learning from your peers helps you gain much knowledge that, in turn, sets you and others you manage up for success.
Is there a woman leader you admire?
I’d have to say Katrina Lake, the founder and former CEO of Stitch Fix ꟷ she is a perfect example of someone who is persuasive, bright, hardworking, and most importantly, fearless. She is someone who believes in AI technology and has used it to build her empire in the e-commerce space.
What advice would you give the next generation of female leaders?
“Trust.” Trust in your journey so far, and trust that you are here because you are truly good at what you do. I suggest taking a pause in your day to reflect upon the conversations you may have had and the decisions you have made. Think about each of them and write down your next steps. I’m not talking about the next steps in the sense of, “okay, I’ll need to do x,y, and z tomorrow to complete this task,” I’m talking about how you’re going to use these conversations to elevate your mindset as a leader moving forward. Lastly, and most importantly, trust that you will manage all the challenges you come across. Even if you don’t come out with flying colors, there will always be another opportunity, and you’ll be able to handle that opportunity better since you had a chance to learn from prior experiences.
We thank Gandhali for her contributions to our company, and we’re so lucky to have her as one of our woman leaders at Datacubed Health. Be on the lookout for another Women in Leadership article next quarter.