Heba Youssef is always motivated to help others, to bring them success, happiness, and a better life

Heba Youssef shares her life experiences with her team and colleagues, to provide the support and care they need to take care of their families and to work in successful and supportive teams.

“I was raised in Cairo, Egypt in a small family with both parents working full time, which has instilled a hardworking and committed way of working in me. I first studied Pharmacy and worked in that field, before living abroad for 10 years in KSA, Bahrain and UAE. Those years were challenging but I learnt so much, and I am very grateful for the opportunity. I was away from family, but I had my kids and several career changes. I also completed my Master’s Certificate in Project management, and I appreciate the support of my managers for that time. Working full time, studying, and raising two kids in foreign countries was difficult but rewarding.

Four years ago, we came back to Egypt, and I started working at IDP. Initially I was a Test Centre Administrator and am now the IELTS Operations Manager for Egypt. I have been blessed to give birth to my third child during this time. My personal passions and hobbies are reading and studying human psychology and counselling. I volunteer in community service activities and support many non-profit organizations as a counsellor, giving psychological support especially for refugees and orphan children. This is where I find my full happiness - supporting others to find their goal in life and creating a better world for everyone to meet their needs and live peacefully.

The refugees I support are mostly women, and mostly they are here with their children but not with their husbands. Many of them cannot speak Arabic yet. The non-profit organisations help them find jobs and education. My role is supporting each person with ten counselling sessions. Many of the women have escaped terrible situations, including rape and imprisonment. At times it can raise a lot of negative emotions and questions around how they handled these situations. But I am always motivated to help. When I think I have hard things in my life, compared to these people, it is not hard at all. When I see progress or improvement it makes me feel so rewarded. When a woman shifts from being suicidal, it saves a whole family. I try to hang on and save those positive moments to counteract any negative emotions I might experience. I can remind myself that I have done this before, and I can do it again.

At work, we can often be task focused, but I am a deep thinker, and it is important to look beyond the task, and see the person. When I see people come in to the IDP office, to start work in the morning, I notice their face and I talk with people. If they look like something is not ok, then it probably isn’t. We spend eight or nine hours together each day at work, we need to support each other like family. If someone has a sick child at home, then we send that person home to be where they need to be, and the team step in and get the work done. We are a loyal team, and people feel appreciated here in IDP. Success is about the team, not the individual.

I often have people coming to me to ask all sorts of questions. There is an open channel, and I am very happy to share my experiences and to utilise my psychology and counselling skills and passion. We are all humans, having our own struggles, and no one can live on their own without the support of others in a compassionate way. The best picture has everyone in it.

As I always say, we can achieve all our goals if we care and understand the needs of every person and how we can help each other to fulfil our needs. My heart sings when I see people happy and peaceful. Even cats and dogs! My kids make fun of me because I attract all the street dogs, but I love nature and animals. If I had lots of money, I wouldn’t feel happy, but if I spend my money helping others then I have value and that makes me happy.

I am delighted and very proud of my journey, having 3 wonderful kids aged 18, 15 and 2 years and achieving my career goals as a business manager. Task orientation helps me to achieve my goals. My biggest wish is for the world to be a better place for all of us to live peacefully and with satisfaction. We find competition in the corporate world, but we can all be in the spotlight and be successful. There isn’t a need for competition. Life is stressful, so we should be compassionate and understand the needs of our people. Everyone has a need, but let’s not protect them in an aggressive way.” Thank you Heba for reminding us of the importance of supporting each other and working together as a team!

#ItsUpToMe to bring out the best in myself and my team