Embracing challenges and celebrating success: key takeaways from WomenWiseRise
Earlier this month (July) we saw the inaugural event of WomensWiseRise in Birmingham, a movement intended to provide a safe space for women working in technology who are either aspiring to move into leadership or who are already in tech, digital, data and transformation leadership.
InX, has found that whilst the number of female leaders is rising, it can still be a lonely place at the top for women. Which is why we decided to create this initiative and provide this community with an avenue to communicate with likeminded females.
Our panel for this event featured four exceptional ladies who are truly experts at what they do.
Luan Hughes, the current Chief Information Officer of Telent
Kelly Goodwin, Transformation Advisor at the Post Office
Heena Mistry, a NED and former Chief Digital Officer of United Utilities
Helen Blaikie, the current Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Aston University
The panel covered themes such as their career journey, problems they have previously encountered and advice for aspiring female leaders.
It’s all about the journey
You don’t need a degree to work in technology, you sometimes don’t even need a background in technology. If you’re looking to make a move into technology, but don’t want to start from scratch at the bottom, it’s worth reading the stories of our panellists.
Luan originally wanted to be on the stage. Whilst working for a SAP consultancy as a receptionist, she was given the opportunity to become a SAP HR Consultant. She didn’t know much about technology at the time, but she said yes, and she learned and excelled in the position. Which is how she laid the foundations of her career in technology. Luan’s biggest piece of advice to the women out there is “Get comfortable being uncomfortable”. If you push your boundaries and say ‘yes’ you will be able to make nonlinear moves like she did.
Kelly, who can be found on the CIO 100 List, was originally a Lawyer. She didn’t study technology at university, she graduated from BCU with a Law Degree. However, over the years she was given opportunities by people that believed in her, and she always rose to the occasion. She found herself in positions that made her feel out of her depth, but she constantly told herself, “I can do this”. Self-belief is an incredibly important tool in our arsenal. Now Kelly has risen to the top of her field in technology and specialises in large scale technology transformations.
Heena wanted to go into fashion from a young age but found herself going to university to study UI/UX. Due to an administrative error she ended up doing her entire degree in Computing. Despite being on a course, she had not signed up for, after her first year she realised that she was consistently one of the top performers in her class and she was really enjoying herself. So Heena completed her degree and began her journey as an IT Administrator and worked her way up.
Helen started off as an accountant, a highly technical career in its own right. However, by opening herself up to opportunities she has merged her skillset with Data and Analytics, moving through the ranks to the position she finds herself in now. Helen spoke about the importance of self-confidence which helped to get her where she is now. In her own words “Don’t let yourself be negatively influenced by others’ perceptions and believe the people who believe in you”. In other words, take on board their encouragement and leave everything negative at the door.
The key messages
Embrace the sliding doors moments - General advice can only take you so far, as every situation is unique. However, we found many consistencies throughout the panel’s journeys. One was those “sliding doors” moments our panellists experienced throughout their careers. Those seemingly, at the time, inconsequential choices they made that changed the direction of their careers and lives. As a whole, the panel agreed that had they not embraced those small changes, they would not be where they are now. The panel stressed the importance of rising to challenges and getting comfortable being uncomfortable. Take those opportunities, even if they scare you.
Fight imposter syndrome - Imposter syndrome is something many of us will experience throughout our careers. That little voice in the back of your mind saying, “Can I really do this?” or “Am I qualified for this?”. This is where the importance of self-confidence arises, but also the importance of having your own support group. Our panel referred to them as their cheerleaders. Now this could be anyone; family, friends, colleagues. Someone who will celebrate with you and tell you when you’re being too hard on yourself. Outside perspective can be so incredibly helpful, and having someone else believe in you can help you believe in yourself.
It's about business, not tech, as you progress - Don’t let yourself get bogged down in the detail either, as you approach the top, your knowledge must become broader. You cannot be an SME in every single area you lead. A Chief Information/Data/Transformation/Digital Officer cannot be an expert in everything. You must learn how to be business minded, how to delegate and how to trust others and let go of the minutiae. Say yes to the challenges that come your way and try to experiment in safe spaces with ample support, so when the time comes, you’re ready to take on more challenging matters.
We hope to expand the reach of these events in the future as we have so far only managed to scrape the surface of this vast topic, but it is promising to see such a healthy community of strong female leaders support each other, be each other’s cheerleaders and mentors, challenge each other and build those networks that enable growth.
We’ll leave you with this excellent piece of advice from the brilliant mind of Heena Mistry, always push yourself yes, but do so in the direction that makes you happy, “Do what makes your heart sing and be yourself.”
Our next WomenWiseRise event will take place in September. Reach out to the team if you would like to join us.