Letting Learning Lead

Ekta Modi- COO, Parul Shevashram Hospital
turned curiosity into a super- power, levering it to keep learning, keep growing and keep triumphing.

All humans come coded with an in-built purpose and goal in life. Not all of us, however, are fortunate enough to spot it. Ekta Modi belongs to that rare tribe of leaders who has successfully pursued her true purpose of life, and stoked her latent talents and abilities to maximize her potential. Instead of being a passive onlooker of the story destiny had scripted for her, Ekta chose to co-author it.

 

MAKING OPPORTUNITIES COUNT

Ekta’s journey began as a part-time dietician to the Chief Operating Officer of a multispecialty Hospital. A strong believer in work ethics, teamwork and quality, Ekta was determined to make her role – most of which played out ‘Behind-The-Scenes’ – count. While she didn’t wield a scalpel, she influenced outcomes in her own way by ensuring that the entire eco-system ran like a well-oiled machine. This straddled garnering expertise over functions as diverse as healthcare delivery management, budgeting, operations and compliance. Demanding an intimate understanding of the dual worlds of business and healthcare, the role also involved staying up to date on the latest developments in medicine, catching up on financial trends and having a hand in recruitment and optimizing talent.

 

GROWTH THROUGH LEARNING

There are some who wait for ideas to happen. And then, there are those like Ekta who go ahead and make them happen. In Ekta’s case, the trigger for self advancement and growth was a stubborn desire to broaden her horizons through self-development. According to her, “Knowledge has no barriers, it is an infinite pool of opportunities to learn and things to share. I have always been a curious soul, enthusiastic about learning anything and everything. We are highly influenced by what we consume. I listened, watched and read content that made me better person and boosted my self-confidence.”

Although her core education lies in the healthcare industry, Ekta didn’t restrict her learning to a solitary sector, choosing instead to keep her mind open to all that life has to offer, and steadily achieving degrees in diverse fields. Not surprisingly, Ekta’s persona today shines with multiple compelling facets and is laced with several active interests – such as healthcare, Human resources, Branding, Patient communication and well beyond.

While for others learning is a concept, she tends to make it her way of life. She adds,“After so many years of education, I am still involved in learning new things every day. This is the one ‘change’ that has remained ‘constant’ throughout my life.”


 

SURVIVING AS THE FITTEST

The passion to overcome hurdles and keep learning isn’t only about imbibing knowledge, though that is an important aspect of the exercise. It is, more importantly, an approach to life, and an attitude to living, that keeps delivering pleasant new surprises everyday. A learning-first mindset also keeps one curious and open to new possibilities, and ensures that one stays resilient in the face of uncertainties and onslaughts like the current pandemic that the world is going through. In times like this, only a mind that is receptive to new ideas and innovative solutions will be, in the eternal words of Darwin, ‘fittest enough to survive’. That’s not all. Says Ekta, “The process of learning also brings you a state of tranquillity where you start observing the meticulous things that happen around you. When you notice those things, you start deriving priceless pearls of wisdom from even from the minutest of actions. Moments like these can truly jolt the human mind awake and fire up one’s untapped capabilities. Every little communication, incident and instance starts making much more sense.

 

THE JOURNEY WITHIN

The journey to self realization and inner balance – and mastery over the art of juggling professional and personal life successfully - was a great learning experience. A naturally curious mind, a steely faith in her own abilities and a thirst for discovering new things kept fuelling Ekta’s evolutionary curve. Every inch of the path she carved for herself was achieved through hard work involving introspection, self- analysis and the will to overcome odds. “It takes several years of blood, sweat, and tears to attain the version of yourself that you wish to be”, says Ekta. Her journey eventually transformed this woman-with-a-mind-of-her-own into a passionate person with a go-getter spirit and exceptionally high levels of self-esteem who makes things possible through sheer dint of aspiration.

 

A TRUE LEADER CREATES MORE LEADERS

Ekta felt the butterflies of jitteriness when she was appointed as the COO of Parul Shevashram Hospital. But she soon realized that it was her hard work and willing spirit which had brought her his far, and she owed it to herself to continue the good work. More importantly, she had to do it for her team. A true leader who believes in empowering her teams to become leaders themselves, Ekta involved her teams at every step of the work process. She says, “I felt a sense of responsibility for all those who shared my goals and was part of my journey. I didn’t just want to work together – I wanted the relationship to be truly enriching and rewarding. Being able to maintain my personal priorities while taking care of the team’s aspirations isn’t the easiest of tasks, but was hugely satisfying. Luckily, I was blessed with a supportive life partner and son”.

 

SUCCESS MANTRA

Does she have a formula for success? Ekta ponders before sharing, “Self- confidence is a superpower - once you start believing in yourself, magic starts happening. My greatest motivation is myself and thus I created my own silver-lining. The way we choose to think and be, directly impacts on the final outcome of everything we do, and everything that happens to us. Trust me, your efforts count and make a huge difference in your life. Starting out as a self-conscious person who was sensitive to society’s opinions, I soon decided to stop letting the criticism of
others decide my destiny. Instead, I kept watering the grass to make it greener, and designed my own highway.

AND HOW WOULD SHE LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED?

“I want my life to be an example of the true magic of learning. And I would like to be remembered as someone who always let optimism win over pessimism – no matter how big the adversity”, Ekta shares with a warm sparkle in her eye and a determined smile on her lips.