“Be your own driver”. The best message I was ever told.
By Pinar Yucealp
“Now that you will turn 18 next month, you should obtain your driving license.”
Learning to drive was the last thing on my mind. I was totally uninterested. I answered my father with, “I don’t care for driving”. Now, my father was a man of passion, a man of purpose, a man of sound achievement. He strongly believed in continuous growth, unwavering determination and always supported, encouraged even, the empowering of women. “A woman should be her own driver,” he answered. “You will never need to depend on anybody to drive you anywhere.” Thus, started my journey.
It was only later, much later that I realized exactly what his words had meant. I began to understand with clarity the weight of his message and how this strong message resonated with me my entire adult life. In fact, I would go so far as to say, it was his message that shaped me and molded me into my very being. Gender bias in society reflects how we’re expected to act upon our gender. Girls and women are generally expected to be accommodating and nurturing. Men are generally expected to be strong and bold. My father, on the contrary, inspired me to be a woman who is strong, self-sufficient, continuously growing, ever learning and always in pursuit of a better self.
With this vision firmly etched in my sub-conscious, I grew up to discover my purpose from within. Personal development, interpersonal relationships and leadership have always been my priorities. To drive my own life as a woman, I never stopped searching. I started my career as an academician, later I moved on to consultancy and then to corporate life. To keep myself up-to-date and to better myself, I always searched for feedback, welcomed new experiences, tried to act with courage and willing to transcend my comfort zone. This, I found to be the simple recipe on how to be the driver of one’s life. Continuous learning and unrelenting updating of oneself, over and over again.
IBM is a company that promotes a growth mindset and encourages gender diversity. In this year’s womens’ day, I am also proudly celebrating my third year at IBM. In such a diverse and inclusive culture with a growth mindset, I know that I am in the right place. I am in the place I had been raised for.
Looking back at these 3 years, I am in a position to claim with sincere gratification that I have friends from all over the world. Being included in worldwide projects, having presented on various topics, participated in 300+ hours of learning, and co-created outstanding outcomes with my colleagues across the globe and our Country Senior Leadership Team team have all been instrumental to this development. Still learning, still growing.
Having a very special place in my heart, we have achieved a lot with my team as well — my dearest HR Turkey team. We completed an enormous number of projects, we received the IBM HR Global Innovator Award, achieved new challenges, expanded our roles and we grew together to become one big family. We work hard and also hang out a lot as we reminisce and add on to our memories of fun together. We support each other, to grow together. They learn, I learn, we learn. One big family.
I am passionate about a technology-driven, human-centered future and strongly believe in merging the capabilities of human and technology. How could this ever be possible without transforming oneself and improving one’s skills for the future? It is essential to continually learn and grow, while technology is growing as well — irrespective of age, gender, tenure or seniority.
So I find my purpose in this Global and diverse company, in IBM, not only to grow as a Turkish woman but also to give back to my Country and society. There is still so much to learn, so much to relish, and certainly so much to look forward to… Happy 3rd anniversary to me.
