I never thought that I can get where I am. I just knew that I want to learn so much and I want to become very successful. I want to grab the opportunities. And it worked out.

But, I am, I can point at something about that I am very proud is, throughout the last few years many moments came that you think this is it. I am failing, I can't make it and you want to give up. And like everybody else I have had those moments as well.

But then I cry about it, when those moments come, like everyone, you get panicked, you cry, you're upset. But I always got myself out of it. Maybe because I made it very clear to myself that life is a function of decisions and not conditions.

I didn't tell anybody that I'm applying for Shell, I was, I just came home, I said this is it, I want to apply. And then I went to Shell.com, I looked for the position and I just submit my CV and then a few days after I got a call. That I didn't tell anybody about it, but when I was invited for the first interview I had to tell my Accenture partner I am leaving.

This position, that I am now in, is my second role at Shell. I start as a risk advisor, information risk advisor, and now I moved to a new role. Very interesting role, very challenging, very diverse, but what I do, the title says, 'Information Management Delivery Lead'. Information Management is becoming serious, and serious everyday.

We are responsible to make sure all the information in our joint operated, like NAM, for instance, they have all the right information at the right time. So, that's what I do. We have a team of people, in Netherlands, in UK, India, Malaysia, that we all manage this all together. Very diverse team as well. I should say that we have an age difference, cultural difference, location difference, some work in different time zones completely.

So, with all those things together, make it an interesting environment to work. When I was working for the industry, and I start working in the client side, I noticed that people have a very deep relationship. They know each other for decades, you know, like thirty years, forty years, especially at Shell, people work for a very long time.

I like that deep connection. What is the right moment to push? What is the right moment to actually let things go? That tipping point is very crucial, if you want to have everybody on board. If I make a mistake and push someone far too early, or too much, that has a negative impact. So there is always, for everything, there is a period that I am not confident. But because I hate that period, I spent quite significant time to educate myself about that topic.

The moment that I have that click, or the moment that I recognise I actually know know more than anybody around the table, that's the moment that I start, you know I move to the leading position. I start managing a project, I start challenging people in the team. Or try to use that content to say okay, I think this is what we are doing wrong, this is what we are doing right. But that time for me is necessary to take the time, go back and build some right information, some right knowledge for myself to kick off.

Still some students I'm in touch and they complain that, yeah the school is tough, some of the professors are very difficult. What did you do about it? It's not all those conditions, it's not all those people and situations that are causing all these difficulties. You have to look at yourself. There is some source, something in you that also, adds into this difficult position. If it's not your thing just do something about it. They find me tough. They find me, maybe some of those conversations that I have are, I'm very direct, and I tell them that yeah this is your Dutch part. Maybe sometimes even compare to Dutch, they say you're even more direct than Dutch people.

You put it in our face like this. Then, but if I can make it. I was not from the Royal family or something. Every tiny of bit of it we had to work. And also many people, like many other students they had to work hard to build their lives. So don't moan about it. I usually share those conversations. I usually have those kind of conversations with them. It's their choice if they want to continue. Life is too short.

I say that everyday above the grave is a blessing, use it, do something about it. The day will come. And you have lost the time. I know that things come with experience, and maybe with age. What I see myself is I would like to pass on the torch basically, whatever I learn I would like to be the right person at the right time for other people. I would like to develop our young graduate, or young people that come to the work environment, or even university. That's where actually I always keep my relationship.

I would like to keep my relationship with university, because that's the whole, that's where the whole journey start for me. My whole personality to be Raha today is start from that period. So then, where I see myself in the long term is to develop people, to develop the right skill, develop the right mentality. For the people who are ambitious, who want to make a difference. That's where I really see myself.

I am Raha Badinrad, I am Delivery Team Lead, Shell.