Using Discipline, Practice And Patience To Become The Master Of Your Trade
We speak to Inderpal Bahra, Captify’s UK Head of Activation to hear about her exciting career journey to date, chairing the DE&I Taskforce and the best career advice she’s ever received.
You’ve had a really exciting career at Captify so far, tell us more…
It’s been a crazy four years. I started at Captify in 2018 as a Trader and after just a year, I was promoted to Senior Trader. A couple of months later a position for Campaign Strategy Manager was advertised—I took a leap and applied with the encouragement of my team… interviewed internally and got the role!
Last year, I was promoted to Trading Lead and 9 months later, I had the chance to prove myself as Head of Activation on an interim basis. After three months in the position, I started the position full-time and have been doing it ever since!
How has Captify helped you shape your career?
Captify has been invested in my progression after seeing my drive to excel both personally and for the business. Captify’s leadership training alongside NewDigitalAge’s ‘Practice Makes UnPerfect’ course have helped me to understand myself better as a leader.
Each one of my managers has taught me something different—from encouraging self-reflection on how I like to work, to what I need to improve on, their guidance has helped shape me as a professional. Captify’s leaders have given me the tools I need to succeed and have empowered me to make my own decisions, which I am so grateful for.
Having the freedom to work in a way that’s best for me has enabled me to push boundaries and advance my career quickly. I’ve been encouraged to put myself forward for positions that would have otherwise taken years to reach.
What do you love most about your role?
The most rewarding part of my current role is managing people. It sounds super cheesy but I just love helping others! Seeing my team do well really motivates me, especially when I can see them growing in their respective positions.
I’ve also been given the opportunity to join the Future’s Board and the DE&I Taskforce, two of many initiatives at Captify. Joining these groups has enabled me to discuss my opinions with the c-suite and leadership, and have my voice heard. It’s been so interesting to be a part of strategic conversations that I was never involved in before.
As Chair of Captify’s DE&I Taskforce, can you tell us more about some of the initiatives you’re working on?
We have lots of internal work streams this year—from recruitment, partnerships, communications to measurement. For us however, the core focus is to create a safe space for everyone at Captify. As a group with different experiences and ideas, we love to hold discussions, work together and learn from each other. We want everyone at Captify to feel represented, heard, embraced regardless of their different backgrounds, and be respected simply for being who they are.
What learnings have you made along the way?
Firstly, Fail fast to succeed faster—which is one of Captify’s values. Failing is something you need to embrace in order to do well. If you don’t take risks and learn along the way, you’re never going to push yourself to be the best you can be.
Secondly, it takes three things to grow:
- Discipline—means organisation, showing that you’re ready to put in the work to progress.
- Practice—you have to practice your trade to become the master of your trade—nothing comes overnight.
- Patience—being patient with yourself, your journey and your growth is important—you can’t rush each step.
Lastly, be mindful with everything you do, especially as a leader—I wrote an article on Mindful leadership and also spoke about it on a podcast.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever given or received?
‘Don’t underestimate yourself’— you’re capable of doing more than you think. I was someone who didn’t believe in myself and felt like I had to constantly prove myself to be seen or heard. Stop selling yourself short.
Looking back, one of the most powerful things I’ve done is reflecting on all of the things I’ve achieved, along with the positive feedback I’ve received. Whenever I felt like a task was too hard or that I wasn’t good enough, reflection is what inspired me to keep pushing!
