admin Making a mark in the world of business is an arduous task only a few leaders can master. While this path of success is difficult for all, it is particularly challenging for women entrepreneurs and leaders. Apart from the industrial roadblocks, they are also tasked with tackling the myriad socio-cultural biases that characterise the social arena.
While over time, the number of women incumbents in key leadership roles have risen, there still remains a palpable fear about their need to balance work and home. Crafting an indelible legacy of excellence in such trying circumstances is thus an exceptionally challenging task for women entrepreneurs.
However, inspirational women leaders like Mrs. Sunila Ahuja are helping redefine the socially constructed confines of women’s leadership quite efficaciously. As the Director of one of the most renowned national constancy firms, Sunila has helped flame the fire of inspiration in a lot of aspiring women entrepreneurs.
Self-belief is the first step on the path to achieving one’s true potential – Sunila Ahuja
Sunila Ahuja and Anup Gupta co-founded Terabay in 2015 as an enterprise that would help augment the business operations of other ventures. The founding vision behind remained a lasting zeal to create an enterprise that goes beyond simply providing consultancy services. Terabay was established to help its clients harness change for fruitful outcomes. Over the 7 years of its operation, Terabay has partnered with an extensive list of clients to complete projects and attain its founding goals.
The well-rounded consultancy process of Terabay has helped numerous organisations re-engineer and streamline their operations. The company has worked on several process consulting projects across industrial verticals including Telecom, IT, Manufacturing, Service, Personal Care, Consulting etc. From streamlining pre-sales and sale operations to managing delivery services and supply chains, Terabay Consultancy handles it all. The intervention-based and consultancy projects of the enterprise have help infuse renewed efficiency into their clients’ business operations.
A Fierce Leader
As the Director and Practice Head at Terabay Consultancy, Sunila leads the venture from the forefront. Apart from a B. Tech Degree in Electronics and an MBA in HR Sunila has over 17 years of experience in the Sales, Service, and Manufacturing sectors. At Terabay, This IIM-C Alumni is responsible for managing Process Consulting and L&D Vertical. Her unmatched expertise in the field of CRM, Six Sigma Methodology, SLA management, Process Re-Engineering, ERP implementation, and Project Management help guide the operations of Terabay Consultancy. As a Six Sigma Black Belt and ITIL Trained professional, Lead Auditor for different standards and certifications, Change Leader, Sunila specialises in a variety of different verticals including Lean implementation, 5S, Kaizen, Change Management, ERP implementation, End-To-End Workflow Automation, ITIL Framework Implementation, BPMS, Process Excellence, Balance Score Card, Process Monitoring and Audit. Fuelled by the desire to help her clients
Over the course of her illustrious career, Sunila has earned several accolades including a National Six Sigma Award from the late President of India, Mr. APJ Abdul Kalam. She has spearheaded several key positions before laying the foundations for Terabay like serving as the Service Operations and Quality Head at Airtel. She was also the Director and Co-Founder of Cynergy Consultants prior to establishing Terabay.
As a woman trying to achieve success in the corporate world, you need to have a support system in place – Sunila Ahuja
As an advocate for the ongoing process of learning, Sunila believes that our task of gaining knowledge never ends. It is a processual undertaking that continues for as long as we live. She also believes that constant learning can help update knowledge of a field, thus, ensuring that leaders are prepared to take on changes and challenges, as and when they arrive. To this end, in 2019-20, she completed a course for women leaders on Strategic Management from IIM (Calcutta).
Overcoming Roadblocks as a Woman Entrepreneur
The overwhelming gender stereotypes in society circumscribe the roles of women to a significant extent, confining them solely to the domestic front. Breaking away from such shackles is not easy or plausible for all women. Choosing to enter the field of business and picking the corporate life is in itself a defiance of this existing social discourse.
Sunila believes that every Indian woman faces these roadblocks from the society in general and the industry in particular. Opting to become an entrepreneur is not an easy decision for women. Apart from hard work and expertise, they also need the willpower and courage to counter such social cultural biases that often translate into material roadblocks on the path of success. As Sunila asserts, supportive families are rare to find. Not all women entrepreneurs are blessed with good support systems.
Building a Support System
While struggles will always remain a part and parcel of the business world, learning to overcome these challenges is the key to success. Sunila posits that if women want to manage both the domestic and corporate fronts, they first need to build a comprehensive support system at home. Apart from an iron- clad will and rock-solid determination, a supportive family is what propels women on their journey through the corporate world. She also adds that this support system needs to transcend the work-family divide to keep one covered at all times. A good network at work can help alleviate the burden on leaders.
Sunila feels blessed to be one of those women who have the privilege of a good support system. She talks about the important role played by her family in supporting her career. Sunila mentions her husband and his role in helping her grow as an individual and a leader. It is because of her support system that she can tackle overcast workdays to continue marching on the path of success.
Bursting the Perfect Work-Life Balance Myth
Much like most women entrepreneurs, Sunila is weary of being asked about the ‘perfect work-life balance formula’. She believes that there is a need to debunk this idea of a well-rounded equilibrium, or even the sheer need to achieve it. This mechanical separation between work and living is actually a source of great anxiety and stress among women entrepreneurs. The proclaimed need to strike the perfect balance becomes an overbearing issue for them. Additionally, the more one tries to achieve this mythical state of equilibrium the further away from contentment they drift.
Instead, Sunila asserts that we should forego this desire to calculatedly balance the two and enjoy each for what it is. Life is short and one must enjoy every moment of it without guilt or pressure. For Sunila, a reciprocal relationship of aid and assistance both in the work and home fronts has helped solve a lot of his ‘need’ for balance. Now, she has stopped thinking about this mechanical divide and plans on enjoying the varied moments of her personal and professional life with equal zeal.
Growing as a Leader
Even great leaders aren’t immune from self-doubt. What makes a leader great is not the absence of doubt, but the perseverance to tackle it head-on and emerge victoriously. In Sunila’s case, she always wanted to excel in her career and achieve great feats of success. However, fear of failing was circumscribing her growth until she realised that she was the only one standing in the way of her success. Once she started treating herself like a role model. This allowed her to hold herself in high esteem and continue pursuing her dreams and aspirations.
The crux of the matter remains that you can only truly trust yourself and no one else. While building trust-worthy relationships are pivotal, your self-dependence remains intact throughout life. Thus, according to Sunila, ‘You are your best bet’ because working to grow yourself and hone your own skills, expertise and mental capacities will only prove fruitful in the long-run.
Understanding the Perspective of the Client
Sunila believes that all business solutions should be based on the needs of the client. According to her business philosophy, no venture can thrive without holistically understanding the world and perspective of its clients. Thus, she believes in fostering an open and transparent channel of communication with clients. This helps the team at Terabay get valuable insights into the needs and circumstances of the client to design befitting approaches to their issues.
Securing a Global Sphere of Influence
Under Sunila’s expert guidance, Terabay has conquered several feats of success. Within just 7 years of its inception, the firm now serves several key industrial sectors in India and abroad. Terabay has made its presence felt along the following industry verticals:
- Global Telecom operators in Africa and Middle East
- Service Providers in India
- Manufacturing Companies
- Automobile and Agri Machinery Manufacturers
- Micro Finance Companies
- Advertising and Branding Agencies
- Global Technology Companies
- Consulting Companies
- Global OTTs
Continuing on the Path of Success
Sunila’s entrepreneurial journey has not reached its crescendo yet. She believes that success is a dynamic process and not simply a stationary destination. This philosophy motivates her to outperform her own records. As the Director of Terabay Consultancy, she plans on leading the venture to new feats of growth and success in the upcoming days, while simultaneously continuing to provide top-notch services to their clients. Over her years in the industry, she has realised that change is the only constant and thus, she remains prepared to face changes and challenges that come her way when navigating this roadmap.
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