“A woman alone has power; collectively we have impact.”
So wrote entrepreneur Shelley Zalis. It’s a mantra backed by new research by the National Academy of Sciences, which indicates that women with a close inner circle of fellow businesswomen are more likely to climb the executive ranks.
Why? Because kindred women professionals are more likely to share knowledge and resources — lifting up the women around them to new heights, research shows.
Built In Colorado spoke with four tech leaders about the importance of lending a helping hand to other women in tech. They talk about leaning into leadership even before getting jobs that require it. They also speak of being inquisitive, of thinking through customers’ needs beyond the obvious and effectively growing their employers’ businesses as they build their own capabilities and career accomplishments — and serving as a resource for others.
JumpCloud’s mission is to Make Work Happen®, providing simple, secure access to an organization’s technology resources from any device, or any location. .
How can individual contributors prepare for roles in management?
In management, it is your responsibility to build a highly effective team. But you don't have to be a manager to build your mentorship skills and begin lifting up your team. To move your team's thinking forward, provide constructive feedback and healthy challenges. You can also shape the sort of manager and leader you want to become by observing the traits and behaviors of leaders who have helped you or others to grow.
Share a moment or achievement that accelerated your career.
As an independent contributor, I became passionate about an opportunity I was seeing with our product, and yet no strategy existed to support or realize it. So I crafted a strategy and asked to share it. It was well received and that led to an important question: What do we need to build this?
Leading with curiosity means you know how to listen to the full context of a topic.”
What is one trait or skill all good managers have?
Leading with curiosity means you know how to listen to the full context of a topic, ask meaningful questions, and make progress that is inclusive and intentional from a well-informed place.
Quantum Metric helps online sellers use digital intelligence to improve customer experiences while simultaneously enabling Continuous Product Design (CPD).
How can individual contributors prepare for roles in management?
Every individual contributor should ask why they want to be a manager. It used to be that the only career path folx in tech had was the manager track. That’s not the case anymore. I have seen IC engineers, designers and PMs operate at the staff and principal levels who on paper are paid like director-plus leaders. If you’re just in it for the money there are other ways to make it.
Lean into feedback, both giving and receiving.”
There are several indicators that leadership is an area you could thrive in. One is if you spend time mentoring folx. It’s not about telling someone how to do something, but instead asking questions to help them figure out the answer for themselves. You teach rather than tell.
Another is if you love connecting the dots between seemingly disparate bodies of work and orchestrating conversations between teams so that everyone uses their time efficiently.
Also, it’s when you lean into feedback, both giving and receiving. There’s nothing worse for morale than leaving a feedback conversation too soon. The best people leaders not only stick around but ask what they could have done better to make the team successful.
Share a moment or achievement that accelerated your career.
The moment I am most proud of is getting someone promoted for the first time. It’s an amazing feeling to recognize someone for all of their hard work after months of coaching. But we don’t need to wait for these big moments to recognize team members. It’s my job to tell every single person I speak with about the incredible things my team members are doing. Likewise, it’s my job to pass on compliments I hear in meetings. Feedback is a gift and passing on well-deserved feedback is the fastest way to improve the morale of a team.
What is one trait or skill all good managers have?
Active listening. My job is to help make everyone around me more effective by investing in coaching, changing our practices and understanding user needs. That means I treat every conversation like a user interview to understand what’s blocking us from delivering great experiences for customers and where I should spend my time. You'd be surprised what you can learn by letting others fill space.
SmarterX helps name-brand retailers and product manufacturers identify regulations across their supply chains to remain in compliance and improve their environmental profiles.
How can individual contributors prepare for roles in management?
The first priority is to take initiative. Don’t limit yourself or put barriers on yourself because of the role you are in today. If you see problems then try to be part of the solution.
Also, have solid communication skills, both written and oral. Articulate your work and opinions clearly — and listen with intent so that you can fully comprehend the situation.
It also helps to share your skills and knowledge. If others around you are interested in learning what you do — or how you do it — then share it! When I was a Product Manager, there was a QA analyst who wanted to learn more about product management. I started coaching him in product and eventually brought him onto my team. He was there for four years and ultimately went on to have his own successful product career.
Share a moment or achievement that accelerated your career.
A few years ago I joined a B2B startup on a newly launched product that had a handful of customers and a little revenue. I was curious about our customers and their businesses — outside of our product alone — so I took the time to genuinely learn about them and what they did and ultimately identified other areas where our company could help. I worked cross-functionally to enable the opportunities that led to revenue expansion and customer growth.
I learned to drive the product vision, bring a team together and bring my voice and presence to the leadership team.”
This required me to build out the team that I coached, managed and grew from one to seven people. We managed the full product portfolio. This achievement in turn accelerated my growth as a product leader in a growing company. I learned to drive the product vision, bring a team together and bring my voice and presence to the leadership team. This constant learning, curiosity and interest in my product, our customers and their business ultimately led me to find opportunities that accelerated the product and our company. Consequently, my own career went from being an individual contributor to a manager and ultimately to senior leadership as a vice president.
What is one trait or skill all good managers have?
Good managers must have extraordinary communication skills. This includes being able to listen and understand people or situations around you and be able to communicate your vision and plans so teams have clarity. Communication isn’t a one-time event; it’s a continuous dialogue with your team. Be consistent, persistent and unwavering in your message. Ensure your team understands how the bigger picture aligns with their daily tasks.
DAT Freight & Analytics applies software solutions to supply chain logistics, operating a marketplace with millions of users that has $137 billion value in market data.
How can individual contributors prepare for roles in management?
To prepare for roles in management look for leadership opportunities that present themselves in your current role. Look for ways to lead within your team or offer to coordinate a project you're involved in.
Showing that you can lead a team while having no official authority can be challenging. It can show that you command respect amongst your peers, that you lead by example and that you are able to resolve conflicts without having any real authority over someone.
Share a moment or achievement that accelerated your career.
I advanced both my education and training, which was really beneficial in accelerating my career. Over the past five years, I achieved my Project Management Professional certification and my master's in business administration . By continuing to pursue education and training opportunities, I ensured I had the right qualifications to advance to new roles when available.
What is one trait or skill all good managers have?
I think the most important trait of a good manager is to be a good communicator. When you’re managing people it’s so important to clearly and effectively communicate things like your expectations, individual and team responsibilities, your vision and goals and decisions and changes that impact your team. When you have good communication skills you are able to more effectively lead your team when it’s time to solve problems, collaborate and make decisions.
The most important trait of a good manager is to be a good communicator.”
