Yangchen Yonzon joined Meltwater at the entry level as a consultant in early 2014 at and since then has had a fast tracked career progression. She was promoted to Manager in a span of 5 months. She shares her story with us today.
Tell us about yourself...
I was fortunate to have a comfortable childhood, in Gangtok (Sikkim). While growing up Government Jobs or a career in Medical/Engineering were the preferred career paths. While my parents had similar aspirations for me, I was given the liberty of making independent decisions and choosing a career path. From a very early age, I wanted to be in a field where I could experience fast growth and get to travel. My parents were very supportive of my decision to transit to the capital city. I pursued my B.A. (H) in Sociology from Miranda House and got through Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) for my MBA.
What is a typical day at work like for you at Meltwater India?
Like in any of the 57 Meltwater offices across the globe there is a very high energy in the office. At Meltwater, we strongly believe in people development and on any given day you will find me working very closely with every team member individually to ensure they are enjoying the present, ensuring they are motivated enough to give in everything to succeed on a personal level and always focus on the bigger picture. All this ties down to drive business for Meltwater by acquiring new clients. While I am dedicated to growing the Indian business, I work closely with my Area Director based in Dubai & colleagues in the Middle East and Africa region to ensure the region flourishes and is a major contributor to the overall revenue of the Meltwater Group.
How did you climb the corporate ladder at Meltwater from consultant to Manager in such a short span? What key pointers can other professionals learn from this?
Meltwater has a flat structure where people’s efforts are recognized and rewarded. I always imagined myself driving business for Meltwater in India and since the day I joined, all my actions were focused towards achieving this goal. Understanding the company’s aim, culture and vision motivated me to give my best on a day-to-day basis. It has been an exciting journey from a consultant in May 2014 to manager in three months to be chosen to become a Managing Director in 10 months. I stand by the company’s values, which are Moro (fun), Enere (Number one) and Respekt (respect) and believe that this three-culture pillar can be applied to any situation. Loving and enjoying what you do, pushing your boundaries each day to become number one and having respect for your colleagues across the board can take you a long way. This is the advice I would like to pass on to all professionals.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Presently, the goal is to drive business and increase the market share for Meltwater in India. During this process, I wish to develop new leadership opportunities for my team as they are a very important part of this journey. Meltwater provides tremendous growth opportunities such as moving to new cities, taking up more challenging roles or even setting up a new division within the company, moving forward this is what I would like to explore. But at the end of the day, I want to be someone who has built a strong and stable organization for the company in India.
When it comes to working women in Corporate India - what do you think can be done to encourage more involvement?
In the recent past India has witnessed many success stories of women and this is due to organizations, which are creating an ecosystem where equal opportunities are given irrespective of your gender. Meltwater provides a good training ground for leadership. Our Area Director for IMA- Zubair Timol, has been the biggest support when it comes to recognizing talent and developing women leaders in the IMA region. While organisations can create a level playing field and encourage women leadership, on the other hand, we (women) should believe in ourselves and feel confident of our capabilities. My mantra is to ‘Be demanding and proactive!’ Always keep an open mind
From being brought up in Gangtok and then moving to Delhi - can you share some experiences with us?
Gangtok is a small town with a limited exposure (at least it used to be when I was growing up), which has added to my eagerness and curiosity to explore. For e.g. My city had no squash courts and upon moving to Delhi, I was intrigued to see the courts and try my hand at the game and that is how I discovered my passion for the game. It was overwhelming yet inspiring to move to Delhi for my college and it certainly accelerated my pace of learning. I was exposed to the city’s diversity in terms of people, culture and mindsets. My college gave me an opportunity to interact with people from across the county having different values, skills and experiences. This has helped me in my role as a business leader where I manage and communicate with a team of diverse personalities and backgrounds.
Any thoughts for our community members and readers?
Firstly I would like to acknowledge this commendable initiative by the SHEROES team that is committed towards enhancing the awareness and career opportunities for women professionals. It is indeed a much-needed platform to motivate and encourage more and more women to get out there and achieve bigger things in life. I would recommend all women to learn, get inspired and act.