Women must dress the part, be confident and competent to succeed in business. Got it — but what else should we be doing or focusing on to realize our potential?
Verizon’s chief marketing executive Janet Schijns provided her candid and compelling views to an engaged audience of men and women at Tuesday morning’s Advancing Women in IT Community meeting. Her perspective was a healthy dose of reality that was refreshing and extremely relevant to both sexes.
It’s Not His Or Hers
One of Schijns’s first important points is that it’s not about male-owned-and-operated vs. female-owned-and -operated companies. On the contrary, the best-performing companies in the market have an even split of males and females.
“Diverse teams outperform non-diverse teams by two times,” she said, encouraging CompTIA members to “have the diversity conversation” and work to achieve balance in their own organizations.
Not missing a beat, she quickly moved the conversation to the impact men and women have on an organization’s culture. “Management doesn’t define company culture - leaders do,” said Schijns.
Another thought provoking statement that drew a number of nods was this: “When everyone sees it as the future, a leader recognizes it as the present.” Her point: Lead, don’t follow. Embrace change and never stand still.
And when it comes to managing the customer experience and making better business decisions, she offered this advice: “Start and end with the customer, and they’ll always be your best customer.”
IT is One of Two Careers Left Standing
Switching gears to the pace of innovation, Schijns called out several startling facts to demonstrate the pace of recent technology advancements. She predicted that within the next 15 years, “only tech and science careers will have meaningful contributions and compensation.”
To succeed now and in the future, businesses — especially those in the IT channel — must embrace the millennial mindset and encourage future generations, especially girls and young women, to get involved in science and technology.
“Why wait when you can get to your future today?” said Schijns. “Now is the time to come in and be in technology.”
Marie Rourke is a Channel PR strategist for CompTIA.
