Exclusive Q&A of Trusted Magazine with Zohra LABDAOUI, Chief Sourcing Officer @ BDSI (Groupe BNP Paribas)
How could you describe your career path in a few words ?
After graduation, I was absolutely convinced on the career path that I would like to take by working in Procurement function, however I didn’t know that at that time I will take the decision to accept my first job in the banking sector, I still remember those times as it was yesterday because I made it with the naive candour of a fresh graduated student who is discovering a new world in one of the prestigious banks in the country.
Two main factors were crucial for me upon my arrival :
The first one was the fact that The CPO « Chief procurement Officer » at that time considered the position for a junior that will be under her wings and will learn by practicing everyday close to IT experts and engineers
The second was the year of my entry in the professional world, it was 2013 the year were the boom around Mobile and e-banking + Cybersecurity projects in the banking field was taken as number One Banks challenge to achieve the first ranking.
Then it was a beginning of my endless love with IT projects…
Supporting my smart colleagues and peers in their daily needs and their dreams to make from their challenging projects were too much insightful for me.
Meeting huge companies as vendors and discovering their development opportunities granted me also the chance to work for a distinguished American company leader in IT programs.
All these wonderful career discoveries made me convinced that I could not leave my two main pillars who made from me the person that I’m today, I could even say that IT in the banking sector is being part of my DNA. Hence, I’m more than happy to continue working in the banking sector and for Group BNP Paribas that shares my values with a clear vision of sustainable growth.
What was your most challenging experience in 2022 and has it changed your mindset
I do consider that each moment in our life is full of challenging experiences, how can be our routine without ups and downs, Sun and thunders, Joy and Sadness and so and so.
One of the most challenging experience in 2022 is recognising and accepting the fact that we can face circumstancial moments in our working environment that are not always going with our plans.
This current era is about accepting the change, and being part of it, going against the transformation is a kind of a losing battle.
The pandemic period and the whole situations that we went trough these past years showed us that we cannot overcome struggles without a strong willingness to adapt to change.
And came to my mind this quote from Rumi that summarize my 2022 insightful path to change.
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
In the perspective of a new coming year and based on your experience, what’s the key success factor for a female leader/manager ?
First of all, I believe that authenticity is a key factor for a female leader/manager to succeed.
Beyond all the organizational boundaries that are created by archaic systems, do not be afraid to show who you are ; to stay real in relationships with others.
Besides and based on my modest experience, it’s not always about your great achievements and how many rewards that you will get, it’s also about attitude, inner desire and your ability to take the right opportunities at the right time.
I will not go in a flat and soporofic discussion around gender equality at work or male dominated structure because I do consider that those debates are becoming « Has been ».
Nowadays, plenty of examples have shown that female managers are on their right places and achieved success with different methods and philosophies.
My piece of advise will definitly be the power of gratitude, regardless of what can happens, we need to find ways to appreciate what we’ve already achieved in both personal and professional life, and experiencing that super power which is gratitude in our life is a great sense of fulfillment on itself.
I don’t believe that satisfaction can be reached in successful moments without finding ways to be fulfilled, it can probably be by getting surrounded by beautiful souls, positive energies, new challenges…etc
I would like to close this amazing interview by sharing a piece of words from of Eckhart Tolle books that I’ve read and that says : « Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance » so let’s make it our creed for this new coming year.
Happy new year for everyone and may this year be full of joy, health, peace and new beginnings.
