Being in tune with ourselves is the greatest challenge of today, but also the responsibility of all those who lead a team, and that is why, before we call ourselves leaders, it is very important to stop and ask ourselves what path we want to take, what inspires us and what motivates us.
Being a leader means being in harmony. Being a leader means being responsible to yourself and your team, being a leader means investing in yourself and your team. Being a leader means constantly learning, being grateful for everything you have achieved, but at every moment we need to have a vision and goal in front of our eyes and in our hearts. All of this is much easier to write and say than to live and apply. In a time when the world changes in the blink of an eye, it is important to make a choice every day, and harmony is not an inheritance, it is truly an everyday choice.
I am proud to be part of MTEL, the leader in telecommunications services in Montenegro. I grew up with MTEL, and at every moment I felt that I was part of a big story, a story that is changing the future of Montenegro. I am proud to work in a company where there are many women in management positions, so that MTEL breaks stereotypes and nurtures its employees.
Before MTEL, I was part of the daily newspaper "Dan" for almost a decade, where I worked as a journalist for several columns. I have been developing my career at MTEL for a full eight years, and I have been a member of the MTEL digital factory team since its establishment in 2017. I was a PR manager for six years, and for two years I have been the head of the creative and inspiring team of the Digital Factory. MTEL is the first telecommunications operator to invest in opening a HUB, which has grown into a serious education center, a center for the development of technological entrepreneurship, and a free coworking space. We started first, and being the first in something, especially in a small market, is a great honor, but also a challenge and responsibility. It was not easy to immediately introduce the concept of the Digital Factory, which was completely new and intangible at the time.
We were the first to launch the Startup Academy program, a free educational program intended for startup creators who are in the initial stage of development. For seven years, through seven academies, we have been dedicated to each team, paving the way for the entire entrepreneurial scene in Montenegro, which after the Digital Factory has never been the same. We are the first operator to bring together children from all primary schools through a large robotics competition "m: Robotics without borders", we organized several Hackathons, training in 3D printing and modeling and introduced the concept of jobs of the future.
Running a Digital Factory means balancing two worlds on a daily basis – the world of technology that changes faster than we can explain it, and the world of people who want stability, understanding, and clear processes. My role is to reconcile these two perspectives so that we don’t turn innovation into pressure, but a space for development. A Digital Factory is much more than a coworking space or a digital center. It is an energetic space where ideas are born, where young people come with a spark in their eyes, and partners with high expectations. My biggest task is to nurture that spark, while setting clear structures and standards that allow an idea to become a result. My path has not been linear, and that is precisely where my strength lies, as well as the strength of MTEL Digital Factory.
The coronavirus pandemic caught us all by surprise, and we had the opportunity to show how ready we are to respond to challenges in extraordinary circumstances, when it seemed like the whole world had stopped. We kept moving. We directed all the resources we had towards contributing to society. Our 3D printers were working at full speed, even though we could not maintain the workshops due to quarantine, we printed protective visors for medical staff.
We organized online training for entrepreneurs, participated in the opening of a free psychological helpline, recorded educational shows for children and students, and participated in the construction of the “Learn at Home” platform. There we passed the test both as leaders and as people. And here we come to the most important thing, being a leader means, first and foremost, being a human being. A leader knows that one day she is a student, and the next day she is a teacher – and she must take both roles equally seriously because they carry with them great responsibility.
Leaders know this, because they know that they don't just lead processes, they lead people. Technology is important, people are key. I used to think that a leader had to be perfect. Today, I think that a leader has to be honest with herself and others. I deeply believe that the strength of a leader is not measured by how much she endures, but by how consciously she chooses where to invest her energy.
MTEL Digital Factory has been and will be the heart of the digital community of Montenegro. In eight years, we have organized over 600 lectures on entrepreneurship and technologies, while maintaining a balance by holding workshops on mental ecology. Since its opening, over 100 workshops, info sessions and trainings have been held, which prepare the citizens of Montenegro in a quality and timely manner for all the challenges brought by the time of the technological revolution. All lectures and workshops organized by the Digital Factory were completely free and open to all people who want more and believe in themselves that they can do more. We helped them on that journey because the most that someone can do for a society is to educate them. That is exactly what we do in our Factory.
We will continue to follow the path of innovation, education as we are doing now. We will pave the way for startups and continue to network and gather the community in the premises of the MTEL Digital Factory, because we all know that it is easier to follow the beaten path. We are all moving forward together. Just as I said, our importance in society is recognized by numerous institutions, as well as the Government of Montenegro, and we have just signed Memorandums with the Ministry of Public Administration and together with them we are maintaining the Digital Academy, then with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, and all together we have one goal, to educate citizens without division about the jobs of the future, with a special emphasis on cyber security, because we want to provide everyone in the online world with security at all times.
All of this makes us leaders. We started first, without a guarantee that we would succeed, we took risks, but at every moment we had a clear vision and a noble goal. That is why the MTEL company with its Digital Factory is where it is. We will continue to walk this path, but nothing will stop us from starting a new, completely unknown path. We know that we can do it because all the employees in our company are truly true leaders, great professionals and even better people.
(MTEL Digital Factory)
