How Benita Sharma of ITC Hotels conquered her internal demons to script a fairytale

We all love our fairytales. Stories of people put through trying times, emerging both victorious yet humble at the end. Most successful careers and enterprises are often built out of dreams but can a successful career in a traditionally male-dominant industry be built out of necessity? Is it possible to join a profession for sheer financial need and then make a dream career out of it?

Meet Benita Sharma, Area Manager of the golden quadrilateral of ITC hotels. Today, she is one of the most successful women in the service industry. The hotel industry like many others is fairly male dominated and there are very few women general managers in luxury hotels in India. Women tend to dominate housekeeping and some women make it to prominent positions (none too prominent) in sales but everyone in the industry agrees that it tends to be male dominated.

YourStory caught up with Benita and here is her story and we hope it inspires many of you as much as it did us.

Humble Beginnings

I joined ITC hotels as an intern and started my career a few weeks short of my 18^th birthday at ITC Mughal at Agra. My dream was to become a doctor. I even cleared the AFMC entrance exam. However, my family conditions were such that I needed a job right away. I started working for a salary of Rs. 500 a month. Even though the money was hardly enough, to me the first few paychecks served to build confidence, a vision and a new dream. Since then I have never looked back.

Initial hurdles and challenges

From an intern I became a receptionist at the hotel. About two and a half years into my career with ITC, I was selected for the management training program. In my class, I was the youngest and the only person who was not from a catering college background. The program was an interactive one and many classes were taken by students for each other. In the first class I took, I was required to take a lecture on wine and spirits for the rest of the class. I was a novice on the subject. Ironically I had an alcoholic father. As a result, I stuttered and stammered through the lecture. I developed a fear of public speaking, not a desirable trait in my line of work.

I also barely made enough money to cover my expenses. For months, my dinner comprised of cheese slices that we received from the Air Force canteen as my brother was in the Air Force. Luckily, lunch and breakfast were provided in the college. I could never hang out with my friends or afford any social life.

However, these years instilled in me a desire to excel, the never-say-never attitude to achieve and afford anything and everything that was denied to me. Today, I can speak to a gathering of 1000 people without the slightest stammer.

Career growth and mentors along the way

I started as an intern and then moved to various managerial positions in the company in areas of sales, reservations and marketing. I helped set up the central reservation system in the company. I firmly believe that to be good at multiple aspects of a job you need to have a basic drive, a basic knowledge and then there is nothing that hard work and a willingness to learn cannot help you achieve. I came in with no knowledge of sales but learnt that if you are passionate about what you are selling it comes easily to you. Having said that I also believe I have been extremely lucky in my journey at ITC.

I have had many mentors along the way. A mentor does not have to be older, more experienced, or wiser. To me a mentor does something better than I do and then I do whatever I can to learn from them. I feel everyone benefits from having a mentor. They have a better understanding and an outsider’s perspective of your strengths and weaknesses.

Women in the service industry

Contrary to popular bias I don’t think that women in the service industry tend to be slotted into housekeeping or front desk jobs. In fact, I believe that women can succeed very easily in this industry since as women we are natural hosts. However, the industry is tough and the hours are long. Hence, I owe my success to a very solid support system. I have a wonderfully supportive family and my mother has helped me raise my children. It is easy for women to feel guilty without this support and therefore not be able to put in as much and see growth in their careers. It is stereotypes imposed by society that serve as obstacles to women.

ITC is a great company and is very good to its women employees and is definitely an equal opportunity company. You work hard and you will see rewards.

Strengths, weaknesses and obstacles along the way

My biggest strength which also turns into my greatest weakness is that I firmly believe that there is nothing that cannot be done. While in most cases the attitude works, sometimes it is important to know when to give up. I am also very competitive and I keep learning from people around me. I strive hard to work on my deficiencies and get better than those around me. I would like to think that I have a sportsman’s spirit. Never give up, constantly strive to excel and embrace failure as a part of the path to success.

The biggest obstacle that I have faced is striking a work-life balance. As a person I have always wanted to excel in everything from being great at my work to being a great mother, a great daughter, a great wife. The balance is hard to strike. You always end up questioning yourself and the key is to understand that life has its ups and downs and to do the best you can to deal with it.

Leadership style

In my opinion a leader is a person who leads people around him/her to succeed. In my leadership style I try to bring out the best in the people who work with me.

Advice to other women

There is no such thing as a glass ceiling for women in any profession and definitely not in the service industry. Never ever give up and never believe that there is something that can’t be attained. Believe in your own strength and capacity.