Meet Elizabeth M Thomas—Senior Manager, Corporate Communications at nurture.farm

Say hello to?Elizabeth M Thomas, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications at?nurture.farm. A corporate storyteller, she words the company's various achievements and shares its story through print and digital media with the outside world.?

How did you become interested in your line of work?

When I got my first job at 23, I was pretty enthusiastic about moving to a bigger city and going full throttle on my newfound freedom. But despite all the perks, I found the work to be uninteresting. Though it was technical and challenging, it was a desk job requiring minimal creativity or interaction with people. Across my work bay sat people from the Marketing and Communications teams, and their work resonated with me more than my own. I have always loved to write and have been creative, but never thought I could pursue it as a serious career until I met them.??

But an eight-day stint in a hospital ICU and a close to death call pushed me to consider getting into something I looked forward to doing every day. I swore if I made it alive out of the hospital, I would apply for roles that matched my interests and would rather die enjoying what I love to do!?

Dramatic as it may sound, it gave me the necessary push to apply for and get through an internal job vacancy in the company's corporate communications department. Since then, I have never looked back.?

How would you describe your role within the company?

Being in PR & Comms, my role is of a corporate storyteller. nurture.farm is making agriculture sustainable and resilient for the farmers of India—a cause both noble and the need of the hour. I word its various achievements and share its story through print and digital media with the outside world.?

What is a lesson or experience unique to your profession???

Be genuinely interested in the brand; make it your own. You cannot engage others in a story you do not believe in, so research, ask the right questions and even though numbers matter, never leave people or their story out of the equation. Also, there is nothing like over-networking in PR; less is definitely less.

What energises you about your work?

People and their stories. Great companies are made of great people, and throughout my career as a Comms Professional, I have got to work with and speak to people from all rungs of the corporate ladder. While telling a corporate story, I am giving words to people's vision, persistence, and passion for building something they deeply believe in. It recognises their collective effort and gives me a sense of fulfilment.?

What motivates you to stay positive???

Being in the moment instead of delving into the past or fretting about the future. Having a support system of people who believe in me and love me makes all the difference in the world.?Also, Calvin and Hobbes.

What has helped you build confidence?

Failing terribly at things and seeing the world did not crash down upon me. Life goes on with or without you, so it's better to give your best shot than regret not having tried doing something your instincts asked you to!?

Also, my role involves getting to know people leading companies and heading big teams, and I am always humbled to see the ones at the top are not the most outspoken or the most confident, but rather people who really care about a cause. Despite their achievements, they keep improving themselves, which to me is the key to building confidence—being passionate and persistent about the task at hand.

What is the greatest risk you have taken???

Getting into a career I have no educational background in. I am a mechanical engineer with an MS in Insurance, working as a Communication Strategist. Initially, it took guts to say no to engineering jobs; then it took guts to switch to a role in Communications I had no training for, and then quit that job altogether to explore freelancing opportunities.?

What lessons and experiences can you share as a woman?

During my mechanical engineering days, I was the minority in every true sense—I was the only girl in the batch, the only South Indian, the only Christian. The college was not the most progressive of the lot, and I was there because I had a scholarship, which meant I did engineering for free. While it exposed me to a biassed world, it also revealed if you respect yourself, speak up for yourself and are unafraid to be you—a reliable and feisty support system always crops up. The lessons I learnt, the little victories I registered, and the friends I made in those four years help me navigate through life even today.??

Throughout your career, who were your biggest inspirations?

My mother. Despite all the curveballs we faced in life, she never gave up on her career or her family. She showed it was possible and worth the effort to manage both, and at a very young age, she taught me financial freedom gave women a voice at the table.???

What is the best advice you have ever received???

Wise words from my dad~”Get out of your own way. Whatever inhibitions you may have, they are in your head. You would never know what's on the other side if you never try.”

Leap, and the net will appear!?

Would you have done anything differently if you knew what you know now?

I would not have known what I know now had I not done the things I did then. The lessons are essential for self-discovery and growth.

What are some of the traits you admire the most amongst the people you work with?

nurture.farm has a progressive, result-oriented and highly diverse group of people working towards solving agriculture related worries. Everyone is driven by a sense of making a difference in the farming ecosystem, and the spirit of collaboration within the teams is impressive. I love working with the content, creative and marketing teams—ideating, experimenting and crafting the best brand collaterals to put forth for external and internal consumption.?

How do you engage with and empower others??

With gratitude and genuine appreciation. I am grateful for the senior leadership and my peers who bear the time zone difference and the occasional internet hiccups while I associate with them remotely. The efforts everyone from the creative team and our agencies put together are commendable, and I think the underlying passion towards the work empowers us all.?

Why do you think empathy is so important in this day and age???

I think empathy is what makes us human. It helps us to be compassionate about the struggles of others. It is even more critical since we no longer operate in a physical office work model, and the online world has its restrictions in gauging what a co-worker is going through. Empathy helps us bridge the gap and allows us to be considerate towards others and ourselves while we battle a pandemic and its waves together.?

What are your interests/hobbies?

I enjoy scribbling into my journals, doodling, blogging on www.platform-no9.com and travelling. I am a big-time pet person and have four furballs in India. I have Zoya with me in Qatar, who makes guest appearances in almost all of my virtual meetings. As a newfound hobby, my husband and I go buggy riding in the deserts of Qatar on the weekends. We have also tried a hand at gardening and have made the most of Qatari winters by nurturing a full-fledged home garden.