Success is going to work happily every morning
Interview with Matanat Asgarova
Ms. Matanat has been at Minera for 20 years. She is one of the guarantors not only of the company's financial stability, but also of its moral resilience.
20 years! Looking back today, how would you describe those 20 years?
For me, 20 years is not just length of service. It is a very big part of my life. Over these years I grew professionally and learned a lot as a person. I changed along with the company, but my attitude to work didn't change.
Over the years I realized that growing a company isn't measured by numbers alone. Real growth is when, years later, you look around and still see people who want to walk the same road with you.
When did work stop being just work for you and become part of your life?
Perhaps work has never been just work for me. I have always felt a bond with what I do. When a person does the work they love, they give it not only their time, but something of themselves.
I don't see work in the morning as just "a place I have to go". Feeling useful there is very important to me. Taking part in solving a problem or making someone's job easier gives me energy.
Why is "being useful" so important to you?
Because I think a person's worth shouldn't be measured only by how much they earn. I think more about the questions "what did I create, and whom did I help?"
I have always tried to do my work on time. Because for me, time at work is more than discipline — it is respect for the other side.
“Sometimes a person doesn't just work somewhere for years. They give that place a piece of themselves. For me, Minera is exactly such a place.”
— Matanat Asgarova
Professionalism and Business
What is the greatest professional advantage you have gained as a leader over 20 years?
I think the greatest advantage is learning to make decisions. Not just making a decision, but carrying the responsibility for it.
A leader's job isn't to know everything. It is to ask the right questions, listen to the right people and make objective decisions. Sometimes the right decision is to trust someone who knows the job better.
What, in your opinion, distinguishes a good business leader from just a good manager?
A good manager can run an existing system well. But a leader must also think about the future. For me, good leadership is a balance of three things: results, people and responsibility.
And what is happiness to you?
It may sound a little cliché, but I truly believe it: happiness is being able to go to work smiling in the morning and come home smiling again in the evening.
An important part of this 20-year journey is our partnership with Khudu Rzayev. How would you express it in one sentence?
- Trust and mutual respect. Respect for each other's work and views. Such a long partnership is no accident — as people get to know each other, they understand what principles the other acts on. I trust Mr. Khudu's decisions very much.
This trust isn't blind, is it?
No. I always speak my mind openly. Healthy cooperation isn't "agreeing to everything" — it's being able to say what you think. That's what I value in Mr. Khudu: he is self-confident but not afraid to listen to others.
