The year was 2016, a fascinating moment to be working in marketing. Social media was evolving rapidly. Ephemeral content was the buzz, brands were experimenting with live video, and customer experience was beginning to shift onto social platforms as audiences increasingly expected brands to respond in real time.

To keep pace with this shift, we had just hired a small team of young women to support our growing social media efforts. As the Digital Marketing Manager at the time, I suddenly found myself leading this new team. Fresh out of university, they were bright, curious and eager to understand how the corporate world truly works.

I found myself helping them in every way I could, sharing everything I had learned through experience. Beyond marketing frameworks and social media strategy, these were the nuances of the industry that no handbook ever teaches you. They were lessons you only learn by being there, observing how decisions are made and how ideas slowly take shape.

Then one day, a senior colleague pulled me aside.

He had been watching the way I worked with the team and wanted to offer what he believed was helpful advice.

“If you teach them everything,” he said, “you’ll give away all your power.”

I remember standing there, genuinely stunned.

The idea that knowledge should be guarded, that helping others grow somehow diminishes your own position, felt completely counterintuitive to me. Early in my career, I often wished there had been someone I could turn to for guidance. Many of the leaders around me were capable and accomplished, but distant and not always approachable. Without that support, I had to find my own way. I learned by stepping forward, taking initiative and creating value wherever I could, often in places no one had asked me to. Those experiences taught me something important very early on. The absence of mentorship can make a journey far more difficult than it needs to be.

So I continued exactly as I had been.

Years later, I am still in touch with every one of those women. Our careers have taken us in different directions and countries, as careers inevitably do, but the trust and respect we built during that time has endured far beyond any organisational chart. The relationships you build by helping others grow often outlast the roles themselves.

Life itself has reinforced that perspective. Like many women, my journey has included moments that force deep reflection. Just when I felt I had life figured out, I experienced a profound personal loss. The years that followed became a period of rebuilding, both professionally and personally. Experiences like this leave a lasting imprint. They deepen your empathy and change how you see the world and the people around you.

During that period of reflection, I felt drawn to conversations about resilience and reinvention. It eventually led me to start a podcast centred on conversations with people who had rebuilt their lives after adversity. Many of those stories belonged to women whose resilience and courage left a deep impression on me.

Women are rarely defined by just one role. We build careers, support families and pursue our ambitions, often while carrying the invisible responsibilities that keep life moving forward, from planning and organising to caregiving and emotional labour that rarely appear on any job description.

Yet despite juggling so many roles, some of the most diligent professionals I have encountered in my career have been women.

If I could share one piece of advice with the next generation of women entering this industry, it would be this. Focus first on building credibility. Learn your craft deeply, stay curious and trust your perspective.

Just as importantly, support others generously. Share what you know and offer guidance when someone needs it.

I often think back to that conversation early in my career, and if I could respond to that colleague today, I would simply say this.

Sharing knowledge does not weaken influence. It strengthens it.
Saniya Zafar is a marketing and communications professional with over 17 years of experience across hospitality, technology and telecommunications. She currently leads brand, communications and PR at Virgin Mobile UAE. Her career has included roles with global brands such as Hilton, Jumeirah and Serena Hotels, where she developed integrated marketing and storytelling initiatives across diverse markets.