We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Naila Mehrabova. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Naila below.

Naila, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

When I was a child, I accidentally stumbled across a documentary on Winston Churchill which discussed the importance of oil in the Second World War. I don’t remember all of the details, but I remember being so inspired by his passion that I instantly knew my future would be in the oil industry.

For (what I now know to be) a child with multifaceted intelligence, someone who excelled in every area of education, this desire to work for the oil industry motivated me throughout the remainder of my upbringing. Without knowing exactly which part of the industry to venture into – I was passionate about PR, film, economics and politics at the time – I decided to simply work hard and chase opportunities as they came.

At the age of 21, I became the External Relations Advisor to ConocoPhillips and began harnessing experience in communicating with industry peers, world leaders and governments alike. Later, at the age of 26, I was promoted to Azerbaijan Country Manager of ConocoPhillips and worked to propel them into the post-Soviet market. Despite my early successes, I continued to chase opportunities and to combine as many of my interests as possible. This search took me to becoming the General Director of CrossCaspian Oil and Gas Logistics, responsible for the entire Trans-Caspian and Caucasus petroleum transportation corridor. The same search later took me to Stanford University as the first woman from the Former Soviet Union to be accepted into the Executive MBA programme and, after, to Oxford University. But, all the while, my vision to combine my passions with my hard work remained the same.

Only now, after having studied the frameworks of success, do I realise that I was inadvertently creating S-curves all of those years. From understanding my strengths, my capabilities, I was preparing myself for the opportunities that arose before I even knew of their existence. Eventually, these S-curves wove into a rich plait of life that was headed towards my overarching aim.

In her famous novel, The Bell Jar, a young Sylvia Plath pondered her future by comparing it to a fig tree where every fruit held an abundant possibility. Yet, Plath imagines herself in front of this tree, ‘starving to death’ due to not being able to ‘make up [her] mind which of the figs [she] would choose’ – for to pick one fig would be to discard all the others. Watching that Churchill documentary inspired me with a vision and motivated me to pick a fruit from the tree, plant the seed and nurture it. At the time, I thought I was just pursuing my passion, but now I know that I was growing a prolific orchard that I can now benefit from in a hundred different ways.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am an Executive Director, Entrepreneur, Solutionist and Executive Board Advisor specialising in corporate growth strategy, transformation and international business development. With decades of experience in edible commodities, oil and gas, and financial solutions, I work across private and public sectors with governments, business owners, CEOs, and market leaders to craft bespoke strategies that facilitate “spins” and increase profit margins. I am often remarked to be a leading figure with influence spanning industries, complex regulatory environments and professional disciplines.

A creative strategist and leader at the helm of industrial expansion, I am proud to provide unparalleled solutions to world leaders. I specialise in reframing problems and placing them in new dimensions to achieve success. One of my latest passions is in food security and the use of water regenerative technologies to increase production yields – something I believe to be integral to the future of humankind. Globally, over 70% of available water is used for growing crops, so I’m passionate about how technology can be utilised to optimise water usage. Through the use of refined industrial waters, I hope to find solutions to agricultural instability in the years to come.

Regularly featured in prime-time radio and television discussing leadership and corporate success, including an appearance in Pfeffer’s series for Stanford University, Leadership in Focus, I am a sought-after speaker for international conferences on edible commodities, female empowerment, leadership, innovation and change management. I am a guest lecturer at a prestigious central London school and the Institute for Development at ADA University and, more recently, the author of The Heir’s Handbook, a bespoke strategy guide for the modern heir that is in the process of being published.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

One of my biggest motivations in life is to help talented individuals realise their potential. Regardless of their backgrounds, their gender, their race, if talent is there, it can be harnessed. It pains me so much when talent is wasted simply because the person doesn’t understand the rules of the game, or doesn’t fully comprehend the environment around them.

As someone who is considered to have been a young, female leader, and someone who has studied the makings of success, I feel I am in a privileged position to give insights to others on how to utilise their talent to the fullest. After all, ‘to whom much is given, much will be required’.

A key resource that helped me ascend to this privileged position is Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer’s book ‘7 Rules of Power’. When I met Professor Pfeffer during my studies at Stanford University, I was inspired by his matter of fact, human approach to something so incredibly complex. His research, combined with my appearance in his Leadership in Focus series, shaped me into who I am today.

His insights into the importance of first impressions, building a powerful brand and speaking with power are ones that I have witnessed propel people to success time and time again. It is indeed true, whether fortunate or unfortunate, that ‘image beats reality’. And yet, the most groundbreaking concept of all is his second rule of power: break the rules, and create new ones, like: get out of your own way, network relentlessly and understand that – once you have acquired power – what you did to get it will be forgiven, forgotten, or both.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

From the offset of my career, I unknowingly did three things that built my reputation and propelled me into positions of leadership: first, I became an expert in my field and created a mental map of strategies; second, I showed warmth and love to everyone who worked with me; and third, I always believed the impossible was possible.

Only years later, when I was studying strategy, did I realise the importance of simultaneously showing expertise, warmth and enthusiasm. In a research paper by Professor Margarita Mayo, she says that ‘men are seen as confident if they are seen as competent, but women are seen as confident only if they come across as both competent and warm’. At first this bias may seem disheartening: that women are judged in two dimensions when men are judged solely on their competence. But that is not the case at all. In fact, by being judged against two factors, women have twice as many opportunities for success.

With a vision, I was able to become assertive without sacrificing my natural warmth and character, something which helped me gain mentors and allies throughout my career. Even now, I am welcomed into so many new groups and organisations, simply because of my reputation for being simultaneously skilled, warm and motivated.

So, my advice to someone seeking to build their reputation would be to: start with an overarching aim – your lifelong vision; create S-curves within the vision to maintain momentum; prioritise becoming an expert in your field; not hide aspects of your character that you think will be unpalatable to others; and lastly, believe in the impossible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nailamehrabova.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nailamehrabova/?hl=en-gb
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naila-mehrabova-1130b08/

Image Credits
Naila Mehrabova – Marina Westley-Richards NM Photo 1 – Rita Askar NM Photo 4 – Rita Askar NM Photo 5 – Aleks Lobus NM Photo 6 – Rita Askar NM Photo 7 – Marina Westley-Richards NM Photo 8 – Rita Askar