Sujata Agarwal

A strong set of values, an unswerving spiritual core and the courage to tread the road less travelled make Christine Fernanades Jamal a chip off the unusual block

The latest corporate mantra doing the rounds is all about having a spiritual quotient (SQ) but for Christine Fernandes Jamal, currently vice president (business excellence) of the Taj Group of Hotels, it has been an integral part of her life. Integrity and honesty are values that Ms Jamal imbibed as a child, and not just through the divine route. Her father, a distinguished fighter pilot in the Air Force, lay great emphasis on integrity. She imbibed an empathy for people in need from her mother.

SQ focuses on personal growth — it is about seeking answers to know and understand oneself. A youth camp that Ms Jamal attended as a 17-year-old changed the way she saw the world and her place in it. The camp had a question as its theme: Why do people wear masks?

"I used to think I had to be somebody else, but then realised that I didn’t need to pretend that I’m anybody other than myself." It was a defining moment for a person who has, ever since, been true to herself.

Another significant period was when she took a year's sabbatical from work in 1989. Ms Jamal had then completed her assignment as resident manager at the St James Court (a Taj property). "I wanted to find out more about myself and where I ought to be going." It was a time for reflection. She did several unique and interesting things such as renovate a friend’s apartment and plan a youth centre for a church community in London. She also spent time in the US with a group of friends whose full-time work is to serve community on different dimensions. Moreover, she read a lot of books on philosophy and people who inspired her.

The voyage of discovery helped Ms Jamal make the decision to return to India and contribute her skills in her own country. She took up her next assignment as general manager of the Taj Residency in Bangalore.

Ms Jamal's association with the Taj has been a long and rewarding one. She joined the Taj Mahal, Mumbai, at the age of 20 "because it was a Tata company and had strong values which matched mine". So sure was she of her choice that she did not even discuss it with her parents. Today, 29 years down the line, Ms Jamal has no cause to regret her decision.

Determination and the commitment to succeed have been the pillars on which Ms Jamal has built her achievements. It’s self-driven, she admits. She values the opportunities given to her that have helped her to grow within the organisation. Ms Jamal was attracted to her latest responsibility because of the challenges involved. Coming as she does from a very close-knit family, it was not an easy decision as it meant having to work out of Mumbai, away from her Bangalore-based family, which comprises a husband, two sons, a daughter and a sister.

Jamal’s practical and matter-of-fact nature has helped her balance her professional and family life. "It’s a dual responsibility since women are essentially homemakers. It doesn't matter what a man may say; the woman is the mother and the one running the home. So she is doing that additional role much more than a man," believes Ms Jamal.

Ms Jamal acknowledges that working for a caring organisation and, more importantly, having an understanding family (who have always supported her decisions) have been a big help. "Otherwise it would be unmanageable." Yes, she has initially had to work harder and smarter than the men to establish herself, but changing times have allowed women who perform to do well in the business world.

"I don’t think that I have to prove myself because I am a woman," insists Ms Jamal, "I just want to do well." It has never occurred to her that people may not accept her as their boss because she is a woman. "You are the boss because you have earned the right to be there."

To say that Ms Jamal is passionate about business excellence would be an understatement (her colleagues joke that she follows a process even when buying vegetables).

She takes inspiration on this count from a quote by JRD Tata: "If you don’t aim for perfection, you will not achieve excellence." Her biggest high was when the Taj Residency, Bangalore, got the highest points in the first year that the Taj Group took part in the JRD QV awards, which rewards business excellence in Tata companies.

Her passion for perfection spills over on the home front and on weekends she can’t help but check if everything in is order, "my children wait in trepidation for me to spot anything out of place," she smiles.

Weekends at home are a time for Ms Jamal to unwind with her family and her two Labradors. Her husband plays many musical instruments and Ms Jamal usually accompanies him in song. "When I am singing my whole being lifts up," she says. Dancing is another passion, but one for which she has, unfortunately, little time. "I feel a tremendous sense of release when I dance."

Ms Jamal has some long-cherished dreams that she hopes to realise some day. One is to learn to play an instrument. Her long-term goal is to set up an organisation that trains uneducated women and equips them to find jobs.

Ms Jamal believes there is a guiding force that has kept her on course and helped her weather the storms of life. "I believe the hand of God is always on my head, guiding me and taking care of me," affirms Ms Jamal. She continues her walk onward and upwards.

Also read in Tata Voices

	Patrick McGoldrick, with his fondness for people and cultures and a penchant for languages and cuisines makes a rather unusual technology maven
	Bachendri Pal, head of the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation, the first Indian woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on the new heights she is scaling
	Jaspreet Bindra, a general manager with Tata Teleservices, on the quizzing game

Uploaded on November 4, 2004