Rupal Patel is the founder and CEO of Entreprenora, through which she advises executives, MDs, and other high-level corporate leaders in developing their interpersonal, communication, leadership, and strategic execution skills.
But before all of this, she was an Intelligence Analyst at the CIA. Described as ‘a power woman’ by Harper’s Bazaar, we don’t meet someone like her every day in the South Asian community. Speaking of how the CIA came along, Patel, the Ivy League daughter of doctor parents who immigrated to the USA, told Asian Voice, “It happened when I was studying for my MA. I was initially planning on working for the State Department because when I was an undergraduate studying political science, I had spent a summer working at the US Embassy in Muscat, Oman. And I loved the experience. When I was studying for my MA, the CIA was recruiting, and they effectively asked me if I wanted to apply. I never really thought about it because, to be honest, I didn't know anything about what people did at the CIA. I just assumed it was all spies and James Bond-like characters. But I was intrigued, of course, anyone would be, and so I submitted my resume.
“I did a couple of interviews with one of the men who ended up being my boss after I started and then just went through the background investigation process. And as I learnt more and more about what I would be doing as an analyst at the CIA, I just thought it would be the perfect career for me because it would enable me to learn and get very smart on whatever topics or issues I would be covering.
“My paternal grandfather was an English teacher in Gujarat, and he, for his entire career, fought very hard for girls to be able to be educated in small rural villages. And even as he got older, he built libraries and sponsored students. So, teaching and education were huge elements in my family's values. Though in my role at the CIA there was not a teaching element per se, it was the idea of becoming an expert on something and then using that knowledge and that expertise to help other people like policymakers, the president, ambassadors and four-star generals, and all of the US and foreign government officials that really resonated with me.”
Last year, her book From CIA to CEO: Unconventional Life Lessons for Thinking Bigger, Leading Better and Being Bolder, was published and quickly became a best-seller around the world. When asked whether she found the war zone or the corporate boardrooms more interesting, she said, “The fundamentals of performance, strategy and execution, are more or less universal. And what appeals to me about both what I did at the CIA and now the work that I do with companies and organisations is just trying to make a positive impact using my skills, my expertise, and by making people better at their jobs and at executing their core goals and their core mission”.
She also has another book lined up for the next year on “life skills, values and self-improvement from a very unique angle and helping people look at their own skills, own success and their own careers in a way that they've never looked at before.”
What is her unique take on life? “My philosophy is that people can never question competence. So, if you are good at what you do, if you become an expert, if you know your subject matter inside and out, then whether you're 20 or 50, or a woman or a person of colour, none of those things matter because you have done the work and you are the expert. Poking holes in your judgement, anticipating weaknesses and questions and finding ways to explain them, being transparent about blind spots and accommodating open and uncomfortable questions and information are not only great career skills, but also life skills.”
She had a few words for other ambitious, intelligent, hardworking women as well, especially the younger ones. “You get to decide when you stop. The world still hasn't progressed as far as it could have and should have at this point as far as gender equality is concerned. So, don't let other people stop you from pursuing your goals, your ambitions, your dreams. But to do that, to be unstoppable in the face of what are often huge challenges and huge pressures from family, society, culture, religion, and different areas of life, make sure that the people you have around you are the right people so they're pushing you forward and are giving you moral and practical support. Ensure that they're not trying to sabotage you, they're not telling you that you're crazy for having a big dream or a big goal and that they're not going to be jealous of your success when you finally become successful. I think, fundamentally, anything is possible, but you have to make sure that you're not being held back by the people you have in your life because it can make or break a huge amount of what happens in your life, for women in particular.”
