Exclusive Trusted Magazine Q&A with Claude Khalil, Technical Services and Product Development Manager @ ALGORITHM SAL
How could you describe your career path in few words ?
An accomplished pharmacist specialized in the pharmaceutical industrial field, it is a career path paved with sound knowledge of Pharmaceutical sciences, product development, regulations, and related quality management systems. A teacher as well for Integrated Biopharmaceutics actively engaged in local healthcare forums.
As expert in pharma industry I was successfully involved in developing more than 40 generics for the Lebanese market ensuring delivery of quality medicines at affordable prices, for a better quality of life and supporting the local economy.
I turned to be a Project manager just by accident then I found my passion in project management mainly for healthcare industry, I endorsed my experience by a PMP certification well maintained opened to continuous learning and growth and especially by giving back to community in Teaching and Training Project management frameworks in well-known universities.
What was your most challenging experience and it has changed your mindset ?
There are lot of experiences I have gone through which were challenging and they were tested to their limit but for me it would be the phases I had to go through to widen my horizons. Transforming from a pharmacist to a certified Project manager with a deep knowledge in tools and techniques to drive and lead a change.
The challenging part was not to give up during failure and to keep on learning, I got my MBA while I was still a working mother with young kids, then I got my PMP certification, then I got engaged with PMI as a volunteer.
That feeling is priceless when you are rewarded for your constant efforts and never giving up attitude.
Volunteering with PMI and being a Region mentor for the MENA remains the most challenging experience I had and I successfully achieved.
When you get surprised by unusual or uncertain context, what do you think ?
Uncertainty is all around us, never more so than today. Whether it is a global pandemic, the disrupted global economy, or the national financial crisis we are facing in Lebanon.
And it is known as Human beings it is embedded in our DNA to crave security.
For this reason, I always look at the facts and accept the challenge mapping my risks and seeking new opportunities. I never allow circumstances, difficulties, problems to drain my energy.
Life is filled with uncertainty and worries. While many things remain outside my control, my mindset remains the key to coping with difficult circumstances and confidently facing the unknown
Based on your experience, what’s the key success factor for a female leader / manager ?
For so long, women have achieved their success by their ability to adapt to the male-dominated culture mainly in the middle east.
To that end, more and more women in leadership positions are pushing the boundaries of gender equality by utilizing their strengths and leadership qualities – in skill, sound knowledge, experience and mainly in their emotion intelligence.
It is known that the most effective leaders are the ones who can influence others, manage conflict well, and engage and develop their teams.
The key is the self-confidence in its own resources and abilities, such as emotions, passion and compassion that should be considered as valuable assets, not things to be ignored or hidden being a woman.
Women scored higher than men in all categories of emotional intelligence
In general, they can lean into their skills and develop them as a way to achieve career success. Emotional intelligence is “fortunately, like wines, it can develop with age and maturity.”
And it is an important indicator of women’s success in the business world.
It rests on current women leaders to embrace their role-model status and address those challenges head-on with action and execution.