Spirit W | Women are more patient, empathetic and above all great enablers: Lintas Media's Ritika Batra

Today in Spirit W we get you Ritika Batra, Associate Vice President, Lintas Media Group. A very balanced person with a passion for work and life, she says that qualities like determination and courage keeps her going and that her curious nature helps her explore.

Talking about how she started her career in media, Batra says, "I have spent initial years of my career as a media sales person and from thereon moved on to work as a Media Buyer. Work has always been very exciting, I got to work with some of the biggest organizations like Zee Telefilms, UTV and Lintas; it is through them that I got to handle some of the most successful brands/clients in the country."

She further adds that she considers it a fortune to have interacted and worked with some of the brightest minds in the industry. "My inspiration comes from all of them, their passion and drive makes me want to achieve greater things in life. One such strong inspirer is Ms Indira Nooyi. Her strong belief in socially responsible business practices apart from her entrepreneurial excellence is something I really admire," Batra adds intensely.

When asked about some of the work that has made her really proud, she explains, "When you know that you have given your best in each and every piece of work that came your way, then you will feel proud no matter what the outcome is. Cracking some of the biggest deals for Zee TV, launching UTV's Hungama TV with decent number of clients on board from day 1of its launch, day to day management of ITC account, activating on ground initiatives for 3M can surely be categorized as some of the work that I have been part of and have been extremely proud of."

So when we ask her our slightly tongue-in-cheek question if women have an edge over men in the media space?

She quickly adds, "In my workspace, there are only people doing the job. I have never bothered about gender so much. It's your ability to work, to build relations that differentiate you from others and nobody has an advantage there. Having said that, every woman is inherently a multi-tasker, day in and out she keeps juggling home, career, family, friends- all of which makes her more patient, empathetic and above all an enabler. She knows how to win or lose gracefully."

Batra feels that the media industry at large under values its services and in a fight to get more businesses it ends up dropping the basic fee which in turn restricts in investing in right talent and nurturing them. "Today we might not realize this but in the long run, it is going to hit us all in some way. It's high time that we (the Media fraternity) come together and work towards putting together a more viable and workable structure," she adds.

So would you like to suggest changes in the way you are perceived by your associates at work?

Batra adds with a smile, "My peers or senior associates know me very well, there is nothing hidden from them. I am very happy the way I am perceived. In all honesty, this is me and would want to be like this only." | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]