Bounteous Career Growth & Development

Describe your career journey so far. What skills and experiences have you acquired along the way that have helped you get to where you are now?

I’m grateful for having had so many varied roles across my career in technology services and having learned from an incredible set of mentors along the way. With the full benefit of hindsight, there are three types of roles that each helped develop a different aspect of my leadership style and career path. The first are the roles where I have had the opportunity to set the strategy of a business and then execute against that plan. The second set of roles were where I was learning something entirely new and building a fund of knowledge around it. And the third and an element I look for in every role, is having the privilege to develop and lead people. The best roles have a combination of two or three of these attributes. My biggest advice in choosing any role is making sure you believe you can have an impact and that it’s something you can see yourself really enjoying each day. There is no such thing as a straight-line career path. Instead, it’s a series of experiences that you string together and hopefully, you can look backwards and like the story that you see.

What support did you receive from individuals or resources that helped you step into a leadership role?

The advice I would give on support is that you first need to be your own best champion. That means showing up in your current role in your best way possible, even when no one is looking. It means helping other colleagues in their day-to-day roles without an expectation that there’s a payback coming to you. And it means focusing on how you can help the leaders around you achieve their goals as opposed to asking how they can help you. This may seem contrary to championing your career but the best opportunities show up when you’re busy being your own great self. That said, everyone should build a core group of people from your professional life that are your trusted advisors. These are the people that you go to for help and advice. Cultivate these relationships carefully and they’ll become your pack throughout your career.

How do you encourage other women on your team to become leaders themselves? Are there any stories you can share that showcase how you’ve done this?

My biggest advice to women as they advance in their careers is that ‘having it all’ is not a thing. It’s a series of compromises and gear shifts between priorities. Each person’s sense of balance comes from a different mix of those priorities. When the mix gets off a bit, it’s up to you to navigate yourself back to the right balance. Neither your boss nor your teammates are going to do that for you. I’ve also always appreciated the analogy that we are each juggling a series of balls. Some of these balls are glass and some are rubber. Keep your focus on not breaking the glass ones because all the other ones can be picked up again at the right time. Growing as a leader becomes much easier once you find your rhythm in taking care of yourself and your personal priorities.