Tina Ambani’s Leadership Inspiration: Steering Her Cause by Her Passion

“We all dream alone, are triggers our own and the abilities to craft our destinies, ultimately rests with us. Leadership by its very nature is an individual impulse”, said Tina Ambani chairperson of Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani once. Tina seems to have reflected these facets of leadership quintessentially in her approach all along. She started off her journey in Bollywood depending solely on her instincts and turned out to be one of the most phenomenal actresses of her times. So much so, that she became a household name with her back-to-back hits owing to seamless finesse in acting, always up her sleeve. Of course, she had a Godfather like Dev Anand, but once she got out of the nesting period, she winged out high and sky became the limit for her success. Much same was the course for her when it came to handling the project of Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital.

What came as a surprise to her, transcended into something that became an indispensable part of her life and she continues to lead the way impeccably today even if she does not belong to the sphere of medicine. A life which is driven by watertight schedules from Friday night openings to Monday morning admin briefings, from reading movie to scripts to medical journals, from a life driven by perception and performance to one steered by passion and purpose, she feels her journey has been blessed and one-of-a-kind.

She says that there’s too much that she has learnt along the journey and it is the past that prepares one for the future. Having worked in an industry where success is fleeting, she says that her days as an actor taught her composure, crisis management, and self-belief that stand central to driving operations at work and dealing with the ordeals that life throws in.  She feels that one of her biggest takeaways in life is that people are one’s greatest assets and your interactions with them are one’s finest classroom. She adds that the time that she had spent right from co-stars to camerapersons, junior artistes to light boys helped her build the groundwork. And then, bringing the characters with contrasting realities to life polished her acumen. Today, these honed skills have aided her in coordinating and connecting with numerous people right from heads of state to homemakers, writers, artists, doctors, and her own team.  And consequently she gets rewarded with intellectual growth, mutual respect, collaboration and delegation, all of which hold integral to the success of any organisation.  

Being of the opinion that no journey takes place in vacuum, she feels highly empowered by her parents, husband, and children who have been giving her all the support and love that is integral to a journey like this one. That being said, she feels that none of the relationships in life can define one.  She sums it up saying, “Leadership by its very nature is an individual impulse”. 

She feels that is important that women especially understand this. In her opinion, every woman has limitless potential and the ability to create, nurture, transform and lead, with her emotional intelligence, adaptability and intangible strengths. Irrespective of her background, circumstance or her story, Tina feels that women hold this latent power in her grasp. She feels that it is unfortunate that years of marginalisation have made Indian women forget their own innate value. The Global Gender Gap Report of World Economic Forum published in 2018 ranks a grim 108 out of 145 countries. Till date our country is adjudged amongst the most dangerous for women. And a study by New York-based Centre for Talent Innovation lauds Indian women as superwomen despite facing “the greatest barriers to both personal and career growth”.

 Tina feels that it is no wonder why we fall appallingly short when it is the question of women empowerment. She feels that it is time for comprehensive and rigorous change that tends to the problem of women at every stage of life. And this she believes could only happen if we include eradicating female foeticide; endorsing reproductive, neonatal and paediatric healthcare; ensuring education, hygiene and safety; removing gender bias at work and home; and enabling financial empowerment and independent living in the silver years. She adds that while we press our cases for institutional change, we must also, draw our strengths from our own reservoirs and take ownership of our lives. Only then, she believes, can we engage with the world outside with resolve, and fulfil our aspirations —from Bollywood to the boardroom, science and sports to social service, staking our claim in our communities, neighbourhoods and the global community as true leaders.