Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO Of Merck Foundation

Why leaders must know when to be humble, when to stand tall, and when to protect the value of what they have built

I believe in humility.

No matter how much we achieve, there is always more to learn. There will always be people who know...

In my work across countries, institutions, and leadership environments, I have found that the most effective decisions are not the largest, but the most consistent. To ensure clarity, alignment, and long-term impact, I developed a structured approach to de...

After many years of leading partnerships across more than 50 countries and working closely with First Ladies, Ministers, healthcare leaders, and development partners, I often reflected on a simple question: What creates sustainable influence? Many leadersh...

How does environment shape success, creativity, and leadership? And how living in Dubai shaped your career and leadership style which considered unique for many people. Let me answer you in this article.

Living most of my life in UAE has influenc...

We’ve been told for years that work-life balance is the goal. I don’t fully agree. Especially at leadership level, balance often feels artificial. Work does not stop at a specific hour. Responsibility does not switch off. Opportunities don&rsqu...

People often ask me: “What is the secret behind your influence and relationships across so many countries?” My answer surprises them. I never viewed relationships as a strategy. I genuinely care about my partners, their accomplishments, and the...

For many years, I considered multitasking one of my greatest leadership strengths. When you lead international programs, manage partnerships across countries, and work with diverse stakeholders, multitasking can feel like a necessity rather than a choice. ...

Some readers of my recent articles may have noticed what appears to be a contradiction. In one article, I explained why I chose Work-Life Fusion over traditional Work-Life Balance. In another, I wrote about why I stopped glorifying multitasking and started...

One of the biggest leadership mistakes is believing that performance alone determines who should stay on your team. After years of leading my Global team across countries, cultures, and sectors, I have learned that great organizations are not built on perf...

Have you ever worked incredibly hard, done everything right, and still lost? Whether in business, leadership, or life, we all experience setbacks. Sometimes they happen because someone else performed better. Sometimes we make mistakes. And sometimes, despi...

Throughout my career, I have worked across different countries, cultures and fields—from health and education to media, music and film production, TV presenting, fashion design and operations management. I have often been asked how I learned to navig...

“Ignoring your mental hygiene ; the result is that we become busy without necessarily being effective. We become reactive instead of strategic, spending less time creating meaningful impact and more time managing our emotions, dealin...

Sometimes the most important leadership decision is not what you say YES to. It is what you have the courage to say NO to. Throughout my leadership journey across different countries, cultures, institutions and governments, I have learned that saying no is...

I have always loved fashion, and one of the things that fascinates me most about it is the art of layering. Over the years, I realized that I have built my leadership style in much the same way.

Knowledge gave me a foundation.
Experience g...

Over the years, people colleagues, partners, and members of the media—have sometimes asked me how to deal with envy and jealousy in the workplace and, more importantly, how to deal with it peacefully without allowing it to consume their energy, distr...

I have never believed that improvement should begin only when something goes wrong. Excellence is a Moving Target. 

Throughout my leadership journey, I have continuously reviewed, refined and fine-tuned the way I work — my strategies, guidelines, pr...

I have often said that “excellence is a moving target.” But over the last few days, I have been reflecting on how differently this statement can be interpreted and sometimes misunderstood. So I decided to explain more clearly what I mean. For m...

Leadership Beyond the Obvious Lasting change rarely comes from solving only the problem you can see.

Through Merck Foundation’s “More Than a Mother” movement, we didn’t only train fertility specialists and embryologists.Read More