What Truly Defines Brilliance in Business Awards

The Brilliance Panel is a new series from the International Brilliance Awards™, where we speak directly with our judges to understand what truly stands out. In this edition of The Brilliance Panel, Mayada Maged, Managing Partner at Staff Arabia Group, shares a perspective shaped by over two decades of leadership in the global HR and outsourcing industry. Having developed human resource infrastructures for world-leading organisations—including Vodafone, Amazon, and McDonald’s—Mayada brings a wealth of experience in scaling operations while maintaining a steadfast “people-first” philosophy. From her work in the MENA region to her advocacy for women’s empowerment and sustainable growth, she offers a unique lens on how human capital drives business success. In this interview, she shares what she will be looking for when reviewing entries, the importance of aligning organisational purpose with team empowerment, and what truly defines a culture of brilliance.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned about driving meaningful impact?

Real impact happens at the intersection of strategy and humanity. You can design the best plans, but unless people see fairness, purpose, and value in what they do, execution will always fall short.

As an advocate for women in business, what do you see as the #1 hurdle for women in leadership today?

The real barrier is not ambition or capability, it’s equitable access. When opportunities, visibility, and sponsorship are distributed fairly, women don’t just participate, they lead and transform.

Big companies often have rigid structures. What is the best way for them to support a woman’s ‘entrepreneurial’ spirit?

Organisations need to move from control to trust. When women are given space to think, build, and challenge, with fair recognition of their contributions, they operate as entrepreneurs within the system, not employees within constraints.

How can departments become more innovative and less ‘corporate’?

Innovation starts when people feel safe to think differently. A fair-value culture, where ideas are respected, contributions are recognised, and failure is treated as learning, naturally shifts organisations from rigid to adaptive.

From your perspective, what makes a strong awards program credible and worth entering?

A credible awards program reflects fairness at every level, transparent criteria, independent judging, and a genuine commitment to recognising impact, not just presentation. People can sense authenticity, and that’s what builds trust.

What is your #1 tip for someone entering these awards?

Focus on substance over storytelling. Tell your story, but anchor it in real outcomes, because true value is always measurable, even when the journey is human.

What is one thing entrants often overlook when preparing their submissions?

The human dimension. Beyond metrics, what truly stands out is how your work impacted people: teams, customers, communities. That’s where differentiation happens.

What does ‘brilliance’ mean to you?

Brilliance is not just excellence, it’s meaningful, fair, and sustainable impact. It’s about achieving results while elevating people, creating value that lasts beyond the moment.

About the International Brilliance Awards™

Founded in 2014, the International Brilliance Awards™ recognise work defined by clear thinking, strong execution, and meaningful business impact across organisations worldwide.

The International Brilliance Awards™ serve as the flagship programme of the Brilliance Awards family, which includes Business Brilliance Awards, HR Brilliance Awards, Internal Communications (IC) Brilliance Awards, Marketing & PR Brilliance Awards, Sales & Revenue Brilliance Awards, and Sustainability & ESG Brilliance Awards.

Each programme focuses on a distinct area of organisational performance, while maintaining a consistent standard of evaluation through an independent, blind judging process.