Success

Dimple Patidar takes the reigns as Director of WITS’ Short Courses

     


Dimple Patidar has been appointed as the new Short Courses Director at WITS Enterprise. It is the crescendo of a 13 year journey which began in 2006 when Patidar joined WITS Enterprise as a facilitator. She has worked her way through the ranks from administrator to coordinator and eventually Business Development Manager.

Patidar says: “I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity serving as Director for Training Support (Short Courses) for Wits Commercial Enterprise. Joining Wits Enterprise was the best decision I ever made and it’s been the privilege of a lifetime to work there for 13 years.


“I have had incredible leaders and mentors guide and support me, and look forward to guiding and supporting my team going forward. Depictions of women’s success in the corporate world are misleading. Increasingly, women are bumping into ‘glass ceilings’, but I feel happy and proud to be part of a company where we see meaningful female representation, starting from entry level management right up to the board of directors.”

Patidar says she would be lying if she said that her journey has been all sunshine and roses.


“I have cried. I have celebrated. There have been times I questioned why I chose this path but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. One of the most important lessons I have learned is that you should never stop learning, growing, working, and soaking up everything around you. Don’t waste time, never give up and make every day extraordinary. If people doubt you, prove them wrong.” During her 13 year (and counting) journey, Patidar has learned a number of major lessons but she lists the top three which she believes everyone can apply to their own lives.


Lesson No. 1: Learn to say “YES” - If you want new results you have to try new things.

“Don’t be afraid to experience the unknown. Fear can hinder growth and failure can drive success. Even though I have fallen more than once, I’ve learned and I’ve grown each and every time. I have learned to stretch myself and take on new projects I never thought possible. I remember the first time I was asked to take on a client that had an international presence. I was excited but scared to death at the same time. There were voices in the back of my head saying, ‘who are you to think you can take on a big client like this. You are just a small person in a small city’.

I slowly learned to silence the haters and naysayers, reminding myself that the further I pushed myself, the further back they would be in my rear view mirror.

“You have to build a team around you that is smarter than you and better than you at the things you’re not good with. Lead with them and say ‘Yes’ to their ideas. One way to get out of your comfort zone is to change up your process if it is not working. If you get too comfortable, you are not growing.”


Lesson No. 2: Understand the power of relationships - Relationships can be more powerful than marketing.

“You can’t form a network without a relationship. Meet as many people as you can. Spend quality time learning from every soul you encounter and make sure to stay in contact with as many people as you can. Every person who crosses your path can lead you to a road of opportunity. There is nothing more satisfying than sharing success.

“I’ve had the privilege of meeting some pretty amazing people and tried to soak up every bit of knowledge I could. Some of my best memories and mentors have come from attending conferences and events. Each year I have attended events where I have made friendships with some of the most amazing people. A lot of my new business friendships have started from a random ‘seize the moment’ conversation and new clients have all come from word-of-mouth referrals.

“So take the long way home and seize every moment to talk to someone new. Listen to them and ask yourself how you can help them. Life is all about giving. In return, life gives you so much more back than what you deposited.”


Lesson No. 3: The dream is free, the hustle is sold separately." – Unknown - “Don’t let the fear of losing trump the excitement of victory.”- Gary V.

“You’re the visionary, so you must spend your time hustling. Hustle to me meant I had to give up a lot of personal time, time with friends having fun, vacations, and meetings just to have meetings.

“A good mantra for life is ‘Learn, unlearn and relearn’. This means we need to be innovative, we need to transform ourselves to become more agile and open to challenges, we need to fail wisely and network extensively.”

Patidar concludes: “I am looking forward to diving into my new role. I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Wits Enterprise Training Support Unit (Short Courses), the magical place that it is. The world doesn’t need any of us to think smaller. The world needs us all to dream bigger, to be bolder, and figure out what makes us come alive.”



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