We asked Shivani Bhatia for some advice as a woman in her field. #SSOWomen is an initiative to bring women together with potential mentors and to encourage a network of support and information sharing between professional women. To be featured on out blog and social media, please reach out to carson.bunting@iqpc.com for campaign details. 

Five years ago, is this career/role what you envisioned?  

"Yes- more or less. About five years ago I was enthusiastic about my experience leading a new "tower" within shared services. I had led Procure to Pay before and I ventured into Order to Cash at that point. So leading shared services overall seemed like a good role and I was excited to pursue it."

What do you think is the biggest challenge that women currently face in the workplace?

"There are many, and I think it is personal and different for every woman. I still find subtle hints of being undermined and occasionally it leads to doubting oneself. So I would say overcoming the impostor syndrome is something many of us are facing currently."

How do you view/handle failure in the workplace?

"I embrace it- and hedge before taking big risks so failure is defined and understood. We fail because we try and take risks which is essential in our roles, but I am careful to frame out "what-if's" to the extent possible so expectations are clear." 

How do you go about encouraging innovative ideas in your workplace?

"I have great staff and some folks are naturally innovative and outspoken about it. Others are innovative but it takes more effort to find out about it. I encourage and praise innovative ideas, do my best to give recognition for those individuals. We set goals and objectives and encourage them to include something different." 

What is the most important career advice you’ve gotten in the last 10 years?

Have you had any female mentors in your career and if so, what wisdom did she impart? And feel free to give that person a shout out!