Has your career path been a smooth transition, a rocky road or a combination of both?
I suppose it depends how you look at it, I’ve never had a plan in my career and nearly all of the roles I have done I didn’t know existed when I was a young person growing up, but I am really proud of the breadth and depth I have to my career and the path that I have taken along the way. It’s never been easy, but I am not one to shy away from a tough project, every role I have done has helped me build the skills, resilience and context I have in my role now so although not always smooth I wouldn’t want it any other way.
What specific challenges do you see women facing in the industry?
It’s a bit of a cliché isn’t it – but there are definitely not as many women in the Industry as men. There have been too many times to recall when I have been the only female in a team or at an event and at times that has been a little daunting. I’ve actually been really fortunate in my career however and I don’t think for one moment my gender has held me back. I consider myself fortunate to have been raised surrounded by many strong female characters, my mum in particular raised me to believe my gender would not limit my capabilities nor opportunities.
Judgements are still made however, I was promoted to a senior position at a relatively young age and with my socio-economic background being working class, I felt I “stuck out” a lot. In a coaching session once, I was told to tie my hair back / wear less makeup and even separately suggested I wear glasses when I didn’t need them to hold more gravitas – for me that’s all awful advice and I am so glad I didn’t listen to any of it. When I speak to my mentees or on opportunities like this I would stress be your authentic self!
The guilt of juggling family life and a career can also be a real struggle. Work is a vital fuel to me and has always played a massive part of my life, I try not to focus on a work life balance but a world that works for me and my family. Again, I’ve been judged a lot because of this. I chose to work away from home with very young children and that played a huge part in my career development, this isn’t however for the faint hearted and I am fortunate I have a very supportive partner. I appreciate both genders have a pull on home life but I do still think society has gender stereotypes which somehow made me feel more guilty of my choices. However, both my children are amazing and my daughter now sees me as a role model so I am content we did the right thing for us.
What is the best career advice you can give to others?
I have three non-negotiables in my work environment.
The first is to do the basics brilliantly, even when no-one is watching. Most successful people sweat the small stuff as Steven Bartlett would say, and I am a big believer in this. If you have high standards, attention to detail and consistency in your approach, doing the basics brilliantly, this creates a foundation in which a fantastic culture can be built.
My second non-negotiable is work smarter, not harder. I have to be honest and say this is a non-negotiable I learned the hard way, as a leader growing up, I found delegation a struggle. My natural instinct was to do everything and in doing so I nearly caused myself some real damage. We all need to work smarter and be innovative in what we do to ensure that we keep that life balance.
My final non-negotiable is a Latin phrase from my favourite football team Everton – Nil Satis Nisi Optimum. This translates as “Nothing but the best is good enough.” My dad brainwashed me at birth to being an Evertonian but my mum despite disliking football also lived by this phrase which is one of my key morals – this is not about being the best in a competitive sense but giving your best at all times. I often tell my team if you gave your best and didn’t cut corners or shy away from the basics, I will always have your back. These are all things that have helped me massively in my leadership journey.
From where do you draw inspiration?
I love the psychology of leadership and read lots of books and listen to lots of podcasts about this – high performance podcast is my favourite, but without sounding cheesy, my biggest inspiration is my mum. She didn’t necessarily have a career that you would write about per se, but she was a role model who instilled the standards I live by today and her approach and strength has undoubtedly played the biggest part in my career.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced to date?
I’ve had a fair few challenges in my career and I think what’s important to remember is whilst you are living in a challenge you think it is the worst experience of your life however I am pleased to say that old wives tale that you learn through the resilience is most definitely true. A few years ago I was leading a team which was experiencing significant operational pressures – these were across finances, commercials and serious constraints with the opportunity to affect Critical National Infrastructure. It was a really intense period of time, working alongside multiple team members across multiple disciplines and I’m pleased to say we came out the other side.
From a work viewpoint, what has the last 12 months been like?
I took on a new role just over 12 months ago, so the last year has been a mix of creating a new team shape and ensuring the culture, objectives and strategy of the team is as effective as it can be, whilst also growing and delivering within the business. I really love the variety of work that I can get involved in.
What can be done to encourage more women into the industry?
I’m super passionate about diversity and inclusion, for me it’s about ensuring we all have an equal opportunity. My pursuit has always been to ensure as many people know that as possible. There are so many careers in tech, I think it’s a bit under-sold in terms of just what opportunities there are.
My own daughter thinks my role is boring, not for her, however she came home from school recently talking about how cool it was that they had a presentation about a certain technology in the UK and I laughed and said my team run that and she was like, ‘Noooo, they don’t!’ We need to keep talking and sharing the roles and opportunities that are available and ensuring people see what they want to be – a friend of mine often says if you can’t see it, you can’t be it.
