Rattaya Kulpradith

• That I’m a passionate team player as I always enjoy what I do in a team work environment. That I’m an innovative thinker as I ensure I put my creativity to good use. My solutions need to make a positive difference to our clients.

• Your choices define your life. All should have the freedom to choose how to lead their lives.

• Leaders tend to possess the ability, strength, charisma and understanding to build, inspire and motivate a team of people. They recognise that without the team, there’s no leader. Each individual in the team is different in their own right, so require different ways to work with them.
  
  Good leaders are open to others’ ideas, points of view and differences. Leaders should project and communicate their visions clearly for execution. That aside, one can count on good leaders to be around to provide direction, guidance, support and encouragement to their staff while the visions are being realised.

• I give my staff the freedom to think creatively and encourage them to come up with new initiatives. This way, the organisation stands to benefit from individuals and diverse contribution. My aim is for everyone to enjoy what they do. I avoid micro managing and putting unnecessary pressure on them. I recognise all successes, whether big or small. On the other hand, when my team goes through tough times, I am there to encourage and to guide them through the situation.

• I believe in having passion in what I do. It’s the only way to enjoy work and excel at it. I value service quality, especially in our line of business where clients rely on our data integrity, credibility and the reliability of our research.
  
  I also bank on being innovative. We have to be proactively creative at all times to stay on top of consumer behavioural change in order to design and provide effective solutions for clients.

• We hold monthly general meetings where we formally communicate our vision and values. The key messages are then recapitulated and elaborated at our marketing communications meeting. We use different, proactive approaches to reach out including posting key news and messages on screensavers. With support from my IT and marketing teams, we try to have the team aligned as far as vision and values are concerned.

• It’s important to recognise one’s competence before stepping into a bigger role. If you take too big a leap, the chance of failure is high. Evaluate your readiness before taking a new step. Once ready, go for opportunities that challenge you in many aspects. Love the organisation that you become a part of. Set your vision in line with the company and take it from there. In life, if you don’t take a step, you are basically not getting anywhere.

• All are important, whether they are internal or external requirements. I normally plan ahead to accommodate all parties. That being said, I have a ground rule that we do not spend too much time in meetings. To keep us on track, we establish the desired goals at the start of every meeting and work towards that end.

How do you keep yourself physically and mentally fit?

• I like activities that completely distract me from work. I travel for a change of scenery. I exercise twice a week to stay physically fit. I alternate among cardio, weight training and Pilates for variety as I tend to get bored with just one activity.

How do you deal with disappointment?

• Mistakes and disappointments are part of life. We should learn valuable lessons from them. Give yourself a break, accept the truth and think with a clear head on how to deal with disappointment, not how to escape from it. Don’t forget that you have your team at work and your family at home as your support system.

If you could take six months off work, what would you likely be doing?

• I’d like to travel around the world for new inspirations as well as to widen my perspectives.