Choice of life partner is the single most important choice in your life: Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma

Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma's surprised everyone with her speech to the graduating batch of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

Sharma, who is also an alumnus of the institute, gave her advice on choosing the right life partner to the outgoing batch of IIM-A.

In her address, Sharma spoke about three choices that shaped her career, which included looking beyond the surface in choosing the right partner.

Here's the text of Sharma's speech at her alma mater.

"You are poised to enter the real world tomorrow, the choices you make there will decide who you become. Today I want to talk to you about those choices. The choice of the life partner is the single most important choice you will make in your life," Sharma said at her alma mater.

Much of the joy you derive on the journey of life, does hark back to who you choose to share your journey with. A lot of what I am today are a function of the partner I was lucky to have alongside my journey. Sanjay and I are both alumni of IIM A. We are very different people but on the most important thing, we are not different at all. We have very similar core values. If I were to point the one thing that has made our partnership successful, it's just that - the alignment on core values.

And indulge me for a minute if I sound like a mom here, but when you are out there, looking for a partner, look beyond their looks, their success, their style. The durability and strength of your relationship is not going to come from your partner's personality, it is going to come from their character.

So remember to look well beneath the surface. My discussion so far seems to have been about life partners but as professionals, you will find that they are frequently faced with very similar choices that of organisations or teams and the principles that make for lasting relationships with your work team, or with your organisation aren't terribly different from those that make lasting personal relationships.

The money, the fancy title, the foosball table in the break room, they are all very exciting. But in most cases, that's not what makes for a fulfilling career. You want to join an organisation that has values that match yours, that has people who you can be yourself with, that gives you the space to be who you have the potential to be as a professional.

These are not things that any form can tell you in their pre-placement talk. It's something that you can only find out the hard way by doing your own research, by looking beneath the surface. So choose wisely!"