Silvana Taleb

What does your role entail?

As the Principal Manager for Sydney Metro Operations, I look after Northwest Operations, which has just gone into operation. The project has been in delivery for about seven to eight years. My role is about managing the business – the Corporate Governance, Risk Management, Strategic Objectives, Financial Management; all the fun things.

What was the motivation around studying your MBA?

I commenced my MBA after I left my role with Sydney Airport, because I felt like I needed to challenge myself. I also wanted to solidify a lot of the experience that I had already gained, and I felt that the MBA that the Australian Institute of Business offered had everything that I was looking for. The flexibility around choosing what subjects you wanted, the online portal and the ease of being able to study, was just something that I couldn’t give out.

What were your main challenges throughout the MBA journey and how did you overcome them?

I guess the major challenge for me was pushing myself out of my own comfort zones, around having been working for the last 15 years. Being able to apply yourself with the level of discipline that studying an MBA requires, was the most challenging thing for me.

Did you have a favourite subject?

My favourite subject was Change Management. I feel like Change Management has become a skill that is required in every type of role across all different industries. It’s definitely allowed me to have in my kit the tools that I need to be able to progress and shine, be able to deal with circumstances, be able to deal with people when they’re going through change. I definitely recommend that it probably become compulsory.

Where do you want to be in five years?

Prior to completing my MBA, or even before I started, I really did feel like there was some glass ceilings that I was almost hitting. But now that I have completed the MBA I do feel that the world is my oyster and that I will be able to achieve, succeed, and I am very confident in applying for roles. I feel like this MBA is really going to take me places.

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