Challenging stereotypes with Natalie Field | #EachforEqual
I often credit my drive for a better future to my Dad as he was such a big thinker, but it was my Mum who gave me the skills actually to do the hard work and make it happen.
Throughout my life, I’ve never called myself a feminist. Still, as I’ve gotten more experience, there have been significant moments when I’ve realised my responsibility to change the system, which has primarily been designed by men.
I’ve thought hard about the contribution that I want to make to the world — and with the continued advances in technology — I’m committed to contributing to the momentum, and challenging our thinking to address the many forms of bias that exist.
I know that the solution involves more than women; it’s about creating a system that allows for a true belonging, diversity of thought, and creative, innovative workplaces — which means creating an environment for everyone to belong, not just those that fit the traditional stereotypes of success.
Humble beginnings in regional Victoria
I grew up on a dairy farm in Victoria, and my dad always talked about me getting into computers because that was going to be the future. He could see that technology was going to have a significant impact on the world and wanted us to be part of it.
As a teenager, I announced to my family that I wanted to study engineering like my brother, and my dad said, ‘don’t be ridiculous, girls can’t be engineers’ — and at that moment I made it my mission to prove him wrong. I decided to study electrical and computer systems engineering as it seemed like the most challenging option and would give me the best opportunity to show him wrong.
Going to university was no easy task, moving away from my community, working to pay for everything and maintaining grades that would allow me to get a great job. At times it was overwhelming. On my first day, I didn’t know a single person. I was one of maybe six women in classes of a couple of hundred…being the minority just became the norm.
Learning abroad
As I neared the end of my degree, I was eager to travel before I started my serious career.
There was a lightbulb moment that helped me decide to finish my degree with a thesis year in France — which would allow me to travel — and hopefully add something unique to my CV which would result in a job at the end of it.
My marks were okay, but I was worried that it wouldn’t be enough to get into consulting. It involved travel, training, as well as cutting-edge and diverse projects, which sounded pretty exciting to me.
As it turned out, my crazy idea to go to France (without speaking French) was enough to get my foot in the door, starting my consulting career as an analyst working on network transformation. For a long time, I was the only female in a large all-male group, that included both the consulting team and the client team as well.
At the time, being the only woman didn’t bother me, as it had been the norm since university and for the most part, we had a lot of fun. It’s only more recently that I have had the opportunity to work more closely with other women, that I realise how different it is when there’s a gender balance.
In the first decade of my career, there were plenty of examples of sexism. This included things like having no women’s bathrooms on-site, or my client exclaiming in disbelief that a girl couldn’t possibly fix an issue with a router (especially as the male contractor had already failed). Perhaps the worst was being asked to “put up” with sexual harassment from a client as calling it out could hurt sales.
I find it incredible that this behaviour existed; it doesn’t feel that long ago. Thankfully, there has been and will continue to be, a realignment away from alpha male behaviour and one that is more inclusive of everyone.
Breaking the norm and investing in your strengths
I feel privileged that I have loved my work and gained enormous satisfaction from working hard and achieving outcomes. I love solving problems, using technology to realise value for customers and organisations and helping people be the best version of themselves.
I got to travel and work in Rome and immerse myself in another culture for a few months and then live for a few years in London. While I enjoyed the work, I didn’t understand my boundaries and burnt myself out a few times, landing in hospital and told I needed to reassess my priorities. Which I promptly ignored.
It wasn’t until I did a CliftonStrengths test in 2010 that I realised my greatest strength could also be my greatest weakness. I realised my obsession to be responsible, to do a job and do it right, might be the thing that lands me in the hospital again. And so began my fascination with understanding individual and team talents to bring the best of people to life. The provocation being, what if we started to focus on what is right with people rather than what is wrong with them?
I began to use the tools and language deliberately to create teams, to develop individuals and solve the complex human problems that can hold us back from greatness. I love it!
Finding a home at Belong
I went through a period of deep introspection before joining Belong and thought genuinely about what I wanted to contribute to the world and who I wanted to be.
One of my insightful mentors reminded me that ‘hope is not a strategy, work out your plan and make it happen’. And so I did. I think I had seven interviews with Ben Burge (CEO of Belong), to make sure that I was the right fit for the organisation, and it was the right place for me. It’s been about 15 months since I joined, and I haven’t looked back.
For me, belonging is about having a deep awareness of who you are, being proud of what makes you unique, and never feeling like you have to change yourself to be loved. One of our principles is ‘to be better, we can’t be the same’, and I think this has been a critical foundation to our company culture.
My role allows me to contribute to the culture of our organisation, which is something I’m incredibly grateful for. Amazing people surround me across the breadth of the organisation, who have much to be proud of but equally realise that we have plenty of work to do. We know that if we stop evolving, we will lose the ability to compete and that our ability to grow is a function of our current reality. I’m massively proud to have been a part of shaping it.
What I am working on
Primarily, I’m responsible for our technology team and our way of working across Belong to create products that customers love.
On any given day, I provide insight and contribute to our strategy. This also includes taking action on security risks, coaching someone to turn their talents into strengths, listening to customer calls, and solving issues with our operating model or a technology solution.
Getting the balance of creative friction right is crucial to what we do. This means I am obsessed about individual and team talents, agile and lean ways of working and measuring impact.
Every day I have had the opportunity to be active in changing the system. I want to challenge the structures, the inherent bias and the filters in which we have all traditionally viewed the world.
As I reflect on the mission of International Women’s Day this year, I’d like to consider how we each can help forge a gender-equal world. I encourage you to stay curious, be open and be prepared to evolve the system, not just the things you see. We each have the opportunity to leave the world a more diverse and inclusive place than before.
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