Advice to Future Women Leaders from a Classical Pianist Turned Consultant

If we had asked a younger Natasa to predict her future career, a banker, financial technologist and consultant would “never, ever have come to mind.”

“I would have said musician, hands down.”

Natasa is a trained classical pianist who has explored other genres such as jazz, rock and pop and instruments, including the saxophone and electric guitar. As a teenager, she was inspired to start experimenting with songwriting, musical arrangements and productions.

“In fact, my first experiences within the digital space were through hard-disk recording for audio and music production in the late ‘90s while getting my MSc in Music Information Technology.”

After studying, Natasa invested in building and running a professional recording studio. However, while she had a deep love for music and entrepreneurial passion, she didn’t have a business plan, and within less than a year, she made the decision to keep music as a hobby. Soon after, she stumbled into banking by accident.

Fast forward to over two decades later, and Natasa’s a well-respected global banking and fintech innovation leader who has some advice for future women leaders.

“The most simple but powerful piece of advice I’ve ever been given came from my mum during a time when I was stuck in my comfort zone and miserable because of it. She could see all my untapped potential and kept telling me, ‘Always do what you’re afraid to do.’ And she was right. My biggest breakthrough came when I finally made the decision to relocate alone to the U.K. and pursue greater opportunities. I’ve never looked back.”

This is Natasa’s wish for the future generation of women leaders: that they embrace their challenges and push themselves to reach their full potential from an empowered perspective. She hopes they find confidence, seek mentors, seize opportunities and build resilience.

Because the world needs more women in leadership roles.

“When women become leaders, they provide a different set of skills and perspectives. Not only do we bring structural and cultural differences to the table, which drive effective solutions, but studies have revealed that women leaders are generally more people-focused and empathetic. We drive positive impact through community and relationship building.”

Publicis Sapient’s Product Management Team

Natasa is a senior director on our Product Management team, where diversity of thought, experience and background strengthen our ability to constantly evolve and drive the delivery of outcomes.

“However, the craft is still very male-skewed. I believe many women possess traits that can make them rock star product leaders: strong emotional intelligence, humility, a balanced ego and extraordinary stamina. The goal of any product team should be to build great products, and creating more intentional inclusivity can help shape this outcome.”

Learn more about our Product & Agile Program Management team.