With every stage of my professional life, I’ve come to understand that leadership, mentorship, and collaboration are not just skills. They are ways of being: how we think, how we build, and how we leave a trace behind.
For a long time, I thought leadership meant having the answers: clear direction, confident tone, firm decisions. But years and teams have taught me that true leadership is quieter. It lives in calm moments, in listening, in the patience to see potential where others see limits. Leadership is consistency, the invisible thread that keeps people believing in what they do, even when things get difficult.
I’ve met many kinds of leaders. Some inspired through words; others through silence. The ones who stayed with me were never those who demanded admiration but those who earned trust through integrity. They understood that leadership is not about being followed; it’s about lighting a path so others can walk with you.
Mentorship came to me differently, not through programs or titles, but through connection. Often it began in small moments: a question that made me pause, an insight shared at the right time, a belief in me that I hadn’t yet found myself. I have been mentored through kindness, challenge, and faith—and only later did I understand how those moments shaped me. Then came the time to give back. Mentoring others has been one of the most meaningful parts of my journey. It’s not about having all the answers; it’s about listening, being present, and creating a space where others feel capable and seen. Each exchange teaches both sides. I’ve grown as much from my mentees as they have from me.
Collaboration, meanwhile, has always been the common thread. No idea has meaning if it isn’t shared, and no vision becomes real without the strength of others. Working with people of different backgrounds and mindsets has reminded me that progress needs humility, and that success built together lasts longer. Collaboration asks us to let go of ego and trust the process of shared purpose.
One of the most rewarding parts of this path has been teaching—guiding students not only toward professional readiness but toward becoming thoughtful human beings. I’ve always believed education should prepare not just future employees but future leaders who carry empathy, integrity, and curiosity as naturally as knowledge. Watching students find their voices, build confidence, and realize their own influence has been one of the quiet joys of my work. Teaching reminds me every day that leadership begins with self-awareness, and mentorship begins with care.
Still, our personal and professional evolution cannot be separated from the history that shaped us. Growing up in Albania, a country emerging from decades of very harsh communism, left traces that time hasn’t erased. Those years taught many of us, especially women, to rebuild from limits we did not choose. I often think of the Albanian women in science and academia who came before us: Sabiha Kasimati, Parashqevi and Sevasti Qiriazi, Musine Kokalari, and many others. Their courage came at a time when speaking up carried a cost—some were persecuted, some paid with their lives under the communist regime. Yet they stood for knowledge, for equality, for the right to think freely. The path they walked was never easy, but every barrier they broke became a lesson in resilience, reminding us that progress is never given—it’s earned.
Looking back, every meaningful turning point in my life came from these three intertwined forces.
Leadership gave me purpose.
Mentorship gave it depth.
Collaboration gave it meaning.
And perhaps that is what truly defines growth—not the titles we’ve held or the careers we’ve built, but the courage, empathy, and integrity we’ve carried along the way.
by Dr. Ana Kekezi
University Lecturer, Tirana, Albania
