Jyoti Chopra serves as the current Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity and Sustainability Officer of MGM Resorts International. She works towards creating and maintaining sustainability efforts to improve the quality of life on our planet, and additionally fosters diversity and inclusivity in their practices. These ideals go in hand with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Chopra takes pride in her excellent background, beginning with her education from prestigious universities such as New York University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Oxford. Prior to her role at MGM Resorts International she took on positions at Pearson Plc., Bank of New York Mellon, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, and the United Nations.

She took a moment to share with us some of her key takeaways from throughout her career and what serves as her inspiration and drive.

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Throughout your leadership journey, from your first job to your current position, what are some key lessons you’ve learned that have shaped you as a leader?

I believe one of the most important things that you can do as a leader is to look for opportunities to set goals and measure progress in everything that you do and to encourage your team to do the same. Strive for excellence and to be the gold standard in all you do and deliver. Performance truly matters. Measurement is key for prioritization of activity and to achieve great things – and then strive to improve and do even better from then on. Invest in making time to cultivate and curate relationships inside and outside your organization. Networks are crucial. Invest in the development of those around you. Look to identify and tap into the potential of your team members and help them shine!

Who are some women that have inspired you?

One of the people who has most inspired me is the late Audrey Hepburn. Having herself received lifesaving aid from UNICEF as a teenager in post-war Europe, she went on to use her fame as a world-famous Hollywood movie star to help children in dire need. She was named Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 1989 and, tirelessly worked to bring awareness to the living conditions of under-privileged children across the globe. She is of course most known for her movie career, but her greatest impact was to further the life-saving work of UNICEF through her advocacy. As a staff member of UNICEF in the early 1990s, I was incredibly inspired by Audrey’s humility and her field trips to Somalia and Ethiopia to alleviate unprecedented famines and to mobilize global support. I keep a photograph of Audrey, taken by the UN during these trips, on my desk to remind me daily of the plight of others in need.

Did you have any mentors to help guide and support you? If so, how did you find your mentor?

I’m grateful to have worked with some terrific mentors over the course of my career. In some cases, the mentor relationship evolved organically, and, in others it grew through a formal mentorship program. These individuals helped me clarify my strengths and areas for development, understand the organization, lead change, cope with difficult situations, and navigate my career path. I’ve benefited enormously from my mentors’ willingness to share their perspectives and experiences and to give me direct feedback on a real time basis. I found my mentors organically through work interactions, networking, attending events and by seeking out leaders who I most admired in the workplace.

What are three key characteristics or habits that have led to your success?

Success can take many forms and one person’s path will differ from others. It’s about identifying and embracing characteristics that you either aspire to or believe to be genuinely authentic for yourself, finding a role or objective in which those skills can be useful and then working to continuously improve upon those skills as you apply them in your day to day. Each day when I come into the office, I look to grow, listen, and learn from others.

I aspire to demonstrate empathy and caring in my workplace interactions as well as in the way I think about both local and global issues that corporate sustainability is meant to address. I also believe in tenaciously pursuing and advocating for what I believe to be good and right. And, I hope to approach my work with a certain humility that recognizes there is value in diversity of opinion – knowing that my ideas aren’t always right, and even when they are, can always benefit from the fine-tuning that comes from healthy and rigorous debate. Striving for these principles has always served me well and has helped me become a more valuable and collaborative team player.

Having a “daily routine for success” has been shown to improve mental, physical, and emotional health. Do you have a daily routine?

I greatly appreciate this question. My daily routine, which centers around communication and interpersonal connection, has been vital for me – especially through the course of this past year in which, it’s safe to say, all of us experienced some measure of loneliness, isolation or disconnection. Every day I make it a habit take the time to speak to or message my son, who is now 31 and living thousands of miles away from me in Las Vegas. I make sure that I text or email at least two friends or family members to simply check in, say hello, or otherwise communicate. That’s been vital to my mental health, and something I’m grateful to have the ability to do.