Marina Swartz knows what it's like to hold a sleeping baby in one arm while typing softly on a keyboard with the other.
As a senior manager of analytics at ezCater, she’s accustomed to the balancing act that defines life as both a manager and mother. That’s why Swartz believes it’s essential for women to seek out workplaces where they feel supported both professionally and personally.
“It’s important to surround yourself with people who lift you up, give you autonomy, acknowledge your hurdles and celebrate your wins,” she said.
While a supportive work environment is important for women leaders, transparency is equally crucial. For Maxwell Senior Product Manager Michele Alesia, being an effective manager doesn’t involve having all the answers. Rather, it requires the fortitude to find them with the help of your team, which in turn empowers others and encourages growth.
“I like to think the more shared knowledge there is across my team, the stronger we can become as a collective unit — and that starts with me,” Alesia said.
Across Colorado, women tech leaders have learned what it takes to rise the ranks — and succeed in doing so. Built In Colorado caught up with four managers to learn their stories, hard-won lessons and advice for others.
Pie Insurance offers insurance options for small businesses.
Describe your career journey and current role.
I started my career in accounting at MetLife. My transition into technology was unintentional: I didn’t want to move away from Denver when the accounting team was moved to Des Moines, so I applied for a Denver-based role as an analyst writing requirements for software engineering teams. After that, I continued working for MetLife, rounding out my tenure to 16 years. I spent roughly six years on a software delivery team in both analyst and project management roles and eventually went on to work in several organizational effectiveness roles, leading a team that supported an organization of 600 people.
I came to Pie Insurance a little over two years ago with a desire to expand my experience and grow my skill set with a smaller company. I initially joined the company to build a team and practice around API integrations, but eventually transitioned into the product organization.
What’s one important lesson you’ve learned in your time as a leader, and how has that made you a better manager?
I recently stepped into a leadership scenario in which I encountered both a new role and team. I immediately realized I would need to cross a trust gap in order to lead the team successfully. Through this experience, I learned that communication is key to creating trust and alignment, both of which are required to enable a team to achieve its goals. Additionally, successful communication has to be reciprocated between a team and its leader.
A team needs to feel heard and understood in order to process change and ambiguity. And for that reason, leaders must hear what their team has to say in order to offer the most complete information to help guide the team and foster an inclusive environment. Leaders also need to help their teams understand the context regarding what’s important for the company and what part the team plays in that. Whenever I share information or ask the team for something, I try to include the “why” so the team can connect the information or request back to the bigger picture. I like to think that every time I tell my team why I’m sharing or asking something, I enrich their understanding of why their work matters.
A team needs to feel heard and understood in order to process change and ambiguity.”
What advice do you have for other women who manage tech teams or aspire to?
It’s important to continually learn and grow. I acknowledge that I’m certainly not perfect, and I often find inspiration in the tactics, techniques, qualities and suggestions of other leaders. Therefore, my advice would be to stay authentic to your natural leadership style and not feel pressured to completely change it in the pursuit of improvement.
I’ve learned that staying authentic is more effective for me than adopting someone else’s idea of what my style should be. If you’ve found something to be effective for you through your own experience, you shouldn’t feel obligated to change it. The key to more successful outcomes is finding ways to incorporate your inspirations into your own style and interpret them in your own way.
Corporations use ezCater’s online catering marketplace to provide food for their employees for any occasion.
Describe your career journey and current role.
I started my professional career in sales at the tail end of a recession. I wanted to pivot into a more mathematical role, so I went to graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in data analytics. My career changed significantly almost immediately. When I started working in analytics, I was focused primarily on sales forecasting, customer cohorting and delivering better assessments of sales teams. From there, I moved into financial planning and analysis and eventually into advanced analytics, during which time I became a manager.
Within the last 18 months, I transitioned back to financial analysis. Now, I lead the enterprise performance analytics team at ezCater, owning financial data enablement and overall enterprise-level efforts. I oversee a team of highly skilled analysts, who play a pivotal role in helping our business leaders drive decisions that impact the company at large. Here, analytics takes a front seat in decision-making, so our analysts not only have to be technically savvy, but they also have to be business partners.
Our team is proactive and solution-oriented. Our forefront goal is to drive incremental financial gains and achieve robust companywide objectives by leveraging large-scale data models and insights.
What’s one really important lesson you’ve learned in your time as a leader, and how has that made you a better manager?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is that managers are in a position of tremendous responsibility and accountability. You have responsibilities regarding company goals, objectives and incremental financial results — and that’s in addition to the success and well-being of the people on your team. You’re accountable for their growth, career development and psychological safety in the workplace.
I admit that I started in management for reasons that had more to do with my career growth. However, I’ve come to realize that management should be leveraged for the advancement of others. I can help institute changes that have macro benefits. The best ideas are often held by the people that live and breathe the company’s data day in and day out, but their voices are seldom brought into leadership meetings. I aim to amplify the voices of individual contributors by bringing them into high-visibility meetings and ensuring their work gets credit. We amplify the voices of others when we make space for everyone to share their ideas in a manner that is most comfortable to them.
What advice do you have for other women who manage tech teams or aspire to?
Take space, be loud and be an advocate for yourself, your ideas and your team. Ultimately, career growth is the result of tremendous work and effort, even more so for underrepresented groups, such as women in tech. Through this process, you’ll also find your resource group, allies, mentors and sponsors who will help you remove roadblocks and accelerate your career growth. Over the last ten years, I’ve built a wide network of business connections who have undoubtedly played a key role in my development.
Take space, be loud and be an advocate for yourself, your ideas and your team.”
It’s also important to find organizations and people who embrace diversity in the workplace. There have been times where I’ve done my work while holding my sleeping baby in one arm and typing really softly on the keyboard so as to not wake her up. I’ve always been mindful of working in environments where I’m supported both professionally and personally.
Maxwell’s products support lenders with every aspect of the mortgage loan process, from underwriting to secondary market trading.
Describe your career journey and current role.
I’ve always been fascinated with human behavior. I studied experimental psychology throughout college and graduate school, conducting research and experiments to study why humans make specific choices. It was natural to apply my wonder of the “why” to my first role in the tech space as a business analyst. As I continued to focus on business requirements, I realized I wanted to expand my customer curiosity and empathy in a more creative way. Transitioning into product management was the right fit. In my role, I get to flex my creative muscles while working toward building better products that change the world for users in some way.
Once I knew I wanted to work in product management, I had to find an industry and company I connected with. That’s how I discovered Maxwell. As a senior product manager at the company, I fully buy into our mission “to give every lender in our network a permanent, disruptive financial advantage in their market.” I am lucky enough to collaborate with extremely talented engineering, design and marketing partners to develop product requirements and drive our roadmap toward our product strategy while leveraging customer feedback and industry trends.
What’s one important lesson you’ve learned in your time as a leader, and how has that made you a better manager?
I don't know everything, and that’s OK. It's important to play to people’s strengths and rely on their expertise in collaborative partnerships. One of our core values at Maxwell is to be “Straight up.” I try to exemplify this by setting realistic expectations with my teammates, customers and leaders.
Sometimes, that requires saying, “I don't know the answer, but I can find it.” Then, I usually seek out the resource or subject matter expert who can help me get to an answer. Being honest allows my team to feel like important contributors, and it enables me to increase my knowledge base. I like to think the more shared knowledge there is across my team, the stronger we can become as a collective unit — and that starts with me.
The more shared knowledge there is across my team, the stronger we can become as a collective unit — and that starts with me.”
What advice do you have for other women who manage tech teams or aspire to?
Be confident and curious, ask “why” and align yourself with people who know the value you bring to the table. As women in a male-dominated industry, we can feel unsure or question ourselves. When I feel like this, I like to remind myself that I have worked hard to be here, and I bring a unique skill set. Sometimes, that means having a pep talk with a peer or mentor. Other times, that requires reviewing my “brag sheet,” which is a list of projects or goals I’ve completed that help me stay on track so I’m ready to tackle the next obstacle.
InspiringApps designs and develops mobile, web and custom applications for a wide range of clients, from fintech companies to healthcare organizations.
Describe your career journey and current role.
My career journey spans over 20 years in technology, project management and people management. I started out as a developer at IBM and then moved into a developer lead role, which is when I began managing projects. From there, I pivoted to a formal project management role, which involved interacting with the business, gathering requirements and managing technical project delivery. I eventually joined InspiringApps as a project manager, applying those same skills.
Recently, I was promoted to director of operations, a new strategic role. I manage people and projects as a member of the leadership team. I’m also involved more on the sales side. My job requires managing a team of developers and overseeing client engagements and project lifecycle and delivery. It requires a lot of communication with clients and developers, both of whom have distinct working styles. To set expectations, I draw from years of experience in listening and applying empathy. I also have a master’s in computer science, which gives me aptitude and credibility with technical audiences.
What advice do you have for other women who manage tech teams or aspire to?
I have two pieces of advice for women who aspire to manage tech teams.
First, find a role model. Look for mentors, ask questions and try to learn from the people around you.
Secondly, avoid imposter syndrome. You should feel comfortable in your own skin. Remember that you’ve earned your seat at the table.
Remember that you’ve earned your seat at the table.”
What’s one important lesson you’ve learned in your time as a leader, and how has that made you a better manager?
I’ve learned that there’s no single right way to manage people. Having the courage to manage in a way that’s comfortable and authentic to my personality allows me to lean into my strengths and improve in areas where I need to grow.
It’s also important to know that treating people with autonomy and respect builds trust. People appreciate it when you’re honest and open. I’m not a micromanager, and I naturally take the role of supporting people. I’ve learned to combine open dialog with frequent check-ins. Bringing my authentic self to work makes me a better manager.
