BT's Most Powerful Women give advice to their younger selves

Falguni Nayar, Founder, Nykaa

Every woman has to invest in herself and make herself capable for senior roles. The more you  plough into yourself, the more you will reap the benefits. There is no short cut to that. Our destiny should be in our bags.

Myleeta Aga, SVP and GM (South East Asia and South Asia), BBC Studios
 
You have to work hard as a woman. Please take the liberties to get your job done, but make sure that whatever freedom you get doesn't negatively impact someone else in your team. We have to trust each other to look out for the best interests of our team and not just ourselves.

Abanti Sankaranayan, Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer, Diageo India

You need to see yourself as a professional first and a woman later. It may be daunting, but your climb to success depends on how you deal with situations.

Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director, Parle Agro

There is a great amount of opportunity to grow, just capitalise on it with passion and hard-work. Your work should speak for you to be heard.

Apurva Purohit, President, Jagran Group

You have persevered and achieved success. Please don't give just because you believe that it is the peak of your achievement. You need to keep reinventing yourself, you have to persevere. Don't assume that just because you are the only woman in a board, you have achieved success. You still have places to go.

Ameera Shah, Promoter & MD, Metropolis Healthcare

Tell yourself, how can I find a way to get what I want'? You have to keep pushing your boundaries. It is human nature to get comfortable and stay in status quo. The one thing we detest more than anything else is uncertainty. But that is exactly the place where you find yourself. The more you push your boundaries, the more you discover who you are and what you are capable of. Only when we conquer all our insecurities and fears, and start believing that 'we can', will we be able to leap over every obstacle thrown our way, and leave behind a legacy, for others to follow.

Rekha Menon, Chairman and Senior MD, Accenture India

Ask for help and support more actively, especially in professional life. I've made some pretty-bad decisions that nearly got me fired. I could have managed these better had I sought counsel at the right time. Have the courage to weed out non-performers when it's time. It's hard to make tough choices when it comes to people, but not taking those decisions at the right time is detrimental to the interests of everyone concerned. Start giving back as soon as you can. My work with non-profits has been extremely rewarding, but it started when I was half way through my career. I lost several years of making a difference by not starting earlier.