Lead Yourself, Lead Your Mind, Lead Your Heart.

Leadership is not a story with a defined starting point; it's a continuous unfolding. It resides in the seemingly insignificant folds of everyday experiences, and the beauty we find in the ordinary moments.

You don’t start at the beginning, nor in the middle; you begin with the instant today. Every experience, every moment, and every interaction, shapes who you are as a leader. 

Over the years, leading up to this moment, I have learned that beauty is not always found in the stories of the most heroic or extraordinary journeys; it does not need to be shown through greatness, but also through ordinary experiences. It is about the quiet decisions we take to stand up for what's right, to keep moving forward, to have the courage to ask difficult questions, and to have the empathy that sees the potential in others.

The good news is that leaders don’t have to ‘go it alone’ — strong leadership thrives on collaboration, and enlisting others on your journey amplifies its benefits for everyone involved. Great leaders build alliances, leverage the collective wisdom of their teams, and create an ecosystem where everyone thrives. 

Reflecting on my own leadership journey, I've come to understand that we are constantly leading multiple selves, each demanding its own unique leadership style.

This realization has led me to identify three key parameters for navigating my leadership journey: leading self, leading mind, and leading heart.

Leading Self

True leadership, for me, takes place at home, and embodies the heart of my personal identity. Being a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend shapes who I am, and staying true to these roles strengthens my focus on my overarching purpose: to serve, care for, and help others.

More than a parent, my father was an architect of my inner strength and leadership compass. His values became the bedrock of my own. Even amidst his demanding role, he nurtured my dreams, and his unwavering support was the foundation on which I built my own strength, a legacy I continue to carry with me...

My leadership journey was also cradled in the warmth of my mother's embrace. She was a wellspring of empathy and understanding and taught me the art of ritualizing behavior and forging new habits that become the bedrock of a strong, disciplined self. 

This, I realized, is the essence of leadership:

creating a framework where consistent practice leads to intrinsic change.

The values instilled by my parents - hard work, responsibility, and discipline - became my guiding principles in school and academia. When I became elected class representative, then school president, I became the bridge between students, the school administration, and the community. The weight of responsibility was exhilarating, a constant reminder that leadership demanded both action and empathy. Receiving the award for best student union president was, for me, validation of the leadership potential nurtured within the four walls of my home.

The echoes of those early lessons still resonate within me today. From my father's unwavering support, my mother's grounding rituals, the confidence born of academic achievement, and the responsibility forged in student bodies - they are the anchor that steadies me today. They empower me to lead with a strong self, fueled by the lessons learned along the way.

Leading Mind

Until now, the leadership journey has been a steady unearthing of my own potential, gradually sculpting my identity. But crossing the threshold into true leadership is a leap, a daring dive from the known into the churning unknown. This threshold is unique for each individual. For some, it's the first public speech, yet for me, it meant giving up the comfort of working in academia, and taking up a new role in public service. 

Crossing the leadership threshold isn't just a step, it's a sacrifice. We shed a familiar skin, leaving behind a part of who we were to embrace the unknown. It signals the next stage of the inward journey: leading with the sharpened edge of our intellect. We dive deep, radically expanding our knowledge and skills. 

When the opportunity to lead the Egyptian Banking Institute, the Central Bank's training arm, arose, I took the daring leap. The institute, with its immense potential, needed to become a powerhouse of knowledge and expertise for the banking sector. This vision, however, demanded more than just management; it demanded leadership. The Governor's ambitious reform plan entrusted me with preparing the administrative team, upskilling them, and fostering a culture of awareness and development. 

We revamped training programs, turning them into internationally accredited opportunities for ambitious bankers. The annual budget surged fifteen-fold, reflecting the institute's newfound value.

From a thousand trainees, fifty thousand aspiring leaders now walk its halls.

In 2011, I became the first elected dean for the Faculty of Economics and Political Science and then assistant to the President of Cairo University for Scientific Research and Foreign Relations.This taught me invaluable lessons about leadership. Being the first elected dean meant understanding the importance of building consensus and fostering collaboration among faculty. It also highlighted the need to be a strong advocate for the needs of my colleagues and students.

Years serving in Egypt taught me this: good governance is not a checklist, it is a living culture.

Transparency, accountability, ethics – these values have to permeate every fiber of an organization, from the boardroom to the frontline. 

The next huge leap was into the vast landscape of national leadership, stepping into the role of Minister of Planning and Economic Development, an honor and a deep, personal commitment, and an opportunity to serve my nation at a critical juncture. At the time, Egypt was embarking on an ambitious journey of development, outlined in bold national plans like "Egypt's Vision 2030.”

My mission was clear: to reform the state's administrative and planning apparatus to spearhead efficient governance. My key contribution was establishing a framework for inclusive participation from all stakeholders. The symphony of diverse perspectives fueled collaborative problem-solving, leading to improved administrative procedures and a knowledge transfer that nurtured the next generation of leaders within the government.

We also focused on improving and automating government services, ensuring efficiency and citizen satisfaction. To foster a culture of excellence and innovation, we launched the "Egypt Award for Government Excellence" in 2018, recognizing outstanding contributions to public service.

Leading with the mind, I’ve learned, doesn't mean intellectual prowess alone, but harnessing the lessons gleaned from every experience, every misstep, and every triumph. Leading with the mind ultimately means recognizing the ripple effect of our actions. When we equip someone with knowledge and skills, we don't just elevate one individual; we empower them to become a force for positive change in their communities, fields, and ultimately, the nation itself.

Leading Heart

Though I've traveled far and wide, there is a certain place to which I strongly belong to – the haven of my children's embrace. To them, I am not just needed, I am loved. My love for them is not just acknowledged, it is treasured.  My very essence is appreciated with a warmth that transcends any external or professional reward.

Leading with heart is essentially about understanding that true leadership stems not from external success, but from our humanity, our compassion, and our ability to connect with others on a deeper level. 

Families, friends, and the human connections we forge are the very foundation upon which authentic leadership thrives.

The culmination of a leader’s journey reveals a surprising softness at its edges. It isn’t a loud expression of triumph, but a quiet hum of gratitude for the human experience. We begin to accept the absurdity of life and work, and learn to enjoy the little pleasures, joys and observations of daily life.

On this International Women’s Day, I say… whether we are leading with our authentic self, our sharp mind, or our gentle heart, in the end, we find solace in the very real, chaotic, and profoundly human journey we undertake.