Lubna El Bannan
Leadership is not about a position or title. Indeed, it’s about the action you take, the difference you make, and the example you set for others. While there are plenty of admirable leaders, only a few have the knack of leading a change through their decisive action and adding value to the lives of others. True leaders work together with the team to bring positive change through their business and contribute to the overall growth of society while inspiring others to follow the suit. An instance of such exemplary leadership is portrayed by Lubna El Bannan, the Managing Director at PSdigital, Dubai.
The ardent entrepreneur believes that a good leader prioritizes people over profit while building a long-term relationship with them, nurturing their skills, guiding them, providing resourceful support, and building a positive culture within the organization. “This is what gives employees a sense of ownership in their job and a sense of loyalty to a company. As a leader, you cannot achieve everything by yourself, but when you are surrounded by people who support you, anything is possible,” opines Lubna.
Insightful Journey of Entrepreneurship
Lubna commenced her professional journey when she was still studying at a university in Alexandria, Egypt. Over time, she moved up the career ladder in sales and events roles. In 2013, she relocated to Dubai to oversee business development and operations at a series of successful marketing and communications agencies. But, like every success story, Lubna’s journey to the top wasn’t without its challenges. During one of the toughest points in her life, she had to rebuild everything from scratch. She was working for a branding consultancy but she didn’t feel fulfilled in her career. She was dealing with personal issues while struggling to decide what direction to follow. This is when she realized that joining an already established entity as a partner would speed up the growth and expansion that she had been looking for.
Eventually, she joined the PSdigital’s Dubai branch as a shareholder and active managing partner. “That was when I became a true entrepreneur – the moment I began believing in my own capabilities, my experience, my track record, and my ability to take responsibility. I knew that if I could do this for other companies, I could do it for myself and my own company, too,” shares Lubna.
Delivering End-to-End Digital Marketing Services
Being a leading digital marketing & innovative solutions agency, PS Digital offers a wide range of services including digital consultancy, building digital strategies, developing brand websites, e-commerce, mobile apps, digital and social media communications, creative designs, and digital campaigns. It looks at the business challenges and objectives of a company and works with them to strategize how it can meet those in today’s digital landscape: which digital assets will best serve them; what technology suits their needs and can be upscaled as their business grows and what kind of user interface will offer the best experience to their customers. Ultimately, its solution is the matrix or combination of services designed to give a company the means to meet its unique business objectives.
What further makes PSdigital stand out from the rest is its wide array of innovative solutions that harness the latest technology that often triggers a surge in its clients’ business and the future planning and roadmaps it develops for its clients – helping them plan for what comes next, with solutions that are agile and scalable.
Bridging the Gap with a Strategic Approach
There’s a clear gap in the market for high-quality digital projects that are well-priced and delivered on time. This gap is particularly challenging for SMEs that need to be a part of the digital economy to succeed. Large multinational agencies can offer quality and expertise, but are usually expensive and often stretch timelines as they juggle multiple clients. Conversely, small digital start-ups and freelancers can be very competitive in terms of cost and timeframes, but often lack the quality and breadth of solutions that most clients are looking for.
PSdigital has been able to successfully bridge this gap through its strategic approach and a competitive team. Its perfect geographical location enables the company to meet and serve clients across the Middle East. While it has based the minimum of its resources in Dubai, its highly proficient execution team is based in Egypt. This enables the company to keep its costs at a moderate level while delivering projects that meet the highest international standards and are always on time. “We elevate how businesses perform by expanding their reach through their online presence, as well as looking at the ways in which they can operate more efficiently, with fewer errors, while optimizing their resources,” affirms Lubna.
Success Is Making a Positive Difference in Others’ Lives
From a business perspective, success is solving a challenge to achieve a certain goal. But for Lubna, the meaning of success is much deeper than that. “Success is not about receiving an award or having an important title. It’s about the positive noise around you from the people whose lives you have touched. As the saying goes, ‘work hard in silence and let your success make the noise,’ she adds.
When it comes to leadership, the visionary entrepreneur has a unique approach. At the most basic level, Lubna’s role is to ensure the growth and success of the company. But she believes that being a true leader is much more than that and good leadership isn’t a title or a position, it’s about desire and decision-making. While working with a team that she has collaborated with for a long time, Lubna leans towards a more transformational leadership style, embracing new ideas and solutions to achieve our objectives. However, with a newer team, she is more of a coach, identifying team members’ strengths and potential, and helping them to develop and succeed.
Envisioning a Future of Persistent Growth
While starting her journey with PSdigital, Lubna had a five-year goal in sight: achieving geographical expansion; and establishing a physical office in Silicon Valley, USA, in order to expand its digital solutions and technology innovations and serve the industry’s biggest players there. Now, three years since she joined the company, PSdigital has offices in Egypt and the UAE, serving clients across more than 30 countries, have pioneered technologies in the market, and have a proven success record with its clients. Reflecting on her journey so far, Lubna asserts, “Am I far from achieving my goal? No, I am not. Will I hit my five-year target? Possibly – it might take me longer, but I will keep fighting to ensure it happens in the end. In the meantime, I am doing my best I love my job and am passionate about this industry.”
In her advice to emerging entrepreneurs, Lubna says, “Do something you don’t just like, but really love – something you have a passion for. It’s this that will keep you going when times are tough. Never let people doubt your capabilities when you know you have what it takes. There may be times you’ll have to walk away and start all over again, but it might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.”