Women in Tech: Roundtable with Our Leaders
Insights from our Leaders in Content, Customer Success, Engineering, People & Sales
We sat down with some of our women leaders at Main Street Hub and asked them about what it takes to be a leader, how they’ve developed their leadership skills, and the best advice they’ve learned along the way.
Hear their stories and learn how you can grow and develop in your own career:
What skills do you find you use most often in your leadership roles?
Andrea Maher, Director of Operations Excellence: “Having a growth mindset, listening intently, and problem solving.”
Alicia Dixon, VP, People: “Adaptability, passion, empathy, understanding, and vision.”
Qingqing Ouyang, SVP, Engineering: “People skills, listening skills, communication skills, and development skills.”
Nicole Cornelson, Director of Software Engineering: “Listening, observation, leading by example, setting expectations while providing consistent and clear feedback, and understanding people.”
Valerie Pearcy, VP, Content: “Honing communication skills, maintaining strong relationships across teams, and creating, interpreting, and making decisions from data.”
Jenn Bacon, VP, Learning and Development: “Problem-solving, communication, multi-tasking, organization, prioritizing, gratitude, adaptability, resourcefulness, self-awareness, and persistence.”
How did you build your leadership skills over the years?
Andrea: “My early years were spent in public relations, which taught me how to interact and communicate with really bright and creative journalists. It was a great lesson in balancing taking charge with having a good time. After that, I went to business school and then spent 12 years in management consulting across several different industries. In consulting, you learn very quickly to not make assumptions about a business or to be paternalistic — it’s so important to respect the individuality of each business and to quickly gain a deep understanding. My next chapter at HomeAway taught me not just to see opportunities to enable but to implement them and prove them out.”
Alicia: “Many ways — watching and learning from others, reading, making initial mistakes and trying to correct them, and above all, listening to the people around me and what they need. Having a flexible leadership style helps ensure that your people get what they need out of you.”
Qingqing: “First, I learn from great leaders. I am extremely fortunate to have worked for some great leaders all through my career. They taught me everything I know today. By watching them in action, listening to them describe why they did what they did, and asking them for advice, I benefited from all of their great wisdom and generous help.
“Second, I read. Books are great at broadening my perspective. They also provide the vocabularies that describe intangible skills, such as leadership, that I struggle to articulate sometimes. I am on my 16th book now for the year, closing in on my goal of finishing 20 books by year-end.
“Third, I practice. I believe leadership skills can be learned. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to learn next. Once I commit, I look for opportunities to practice those skills. Asking for feedback after every practice is a great way to improve more purposefully.”
Nicole: “I have had various leadership roles in my career. The ability to communicate with people effectively and make decisions on what to do next are key components to any leadership role. To learn more about how to do this, I read leadership books, and my two most recommended are Daniel Pink’s Drive and James A. Autry’s The Servant Leader. As a voracious reader, it’s important to expand my thinking on leadership styles, human motivation, and educate myself on common fears and concerns of people.”
Valerie: “I’m still building my skills! I have learned a lot from other leaders — observing both positive and negative traits that I have chosen either to work hard to emulate or vow to avoid. I consume information both broadly and widely: articles, books, TED talks, local meetups, larger professional networks — you name it. I don’t always agree with everything I take in, but I value a continuous stream of insight with which to challenge myself and my thinking.
“Stretch projects have done a lot for me as well through the years. I know that if I get a bit anxious about a new opportunity — be it a single meeting or a new role — that it means that experience is likely going to be positive for my growth.
“I’m fairly introverted, but my roles have required a fair amount of public speaking. To help manage this innate challenge, I can’t count the number of classes I have taken to gain comfort, if not mastery, in this area.”
Jenn: “I have learned a lot by watching and talking to other leaders. However, the most memorable lessons I have learned came from making mistakes. When that happens, it is essential to take a moment to honestly evaluate what I can do better, and commit to not make the same mistake again. I often say, ‘You’ve only made a mistake if you’ve learned nothing from it.’”
What advice do you have for young women looking to advance their careers and take on leadership roles?
Andrea: “If you see an opportunity for improvement, seize it. Never be afraid to ask for help and a second opinion. Take credit for your accomplishments while elevating others.”
Alicia: “Take risks: Take every opportunity to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. Make mistakes.
“Travel: Learn by experiencing new things, and expand the way you think about everyday things by experiencing them in a new place.
“Mentor: Find a mentor and be a mentor. You learn different but equally important things on each side of the table.
“Network: Meet people and learn from them. Ask questions about what they do and how they do it.”
Qingqing: “My advice is the same to both young women and young men who are looking to advance their careers and take on leadership roles: To advance your career, always chase after the responsibilities and never the money or title. The more responsibilities you have, the more you learn. The more you learn, the better you are at what you do. The better you are, the further and faster you go in your career. Responsibilities pay way more dividends than title.
“Leadership is about owning your responsibilities. No excuses. It’s again not about money or positional power. It’s all about doing everything that needs to get done, whether it is in your job description or not. As a matter of fact, it is the extra effort that makes someone a leader.”
Nicole: “Try new things, observe, listen and most of all — share. You never know what professional or personal experience might speak to someone else. Failure is a way to learn, take reasonable risks, and try something that makes you feel out of your comfort zone. Be personally responsible for your work and your career.”
Valerie: “Like many women, I have fought against the so-called ‘Imposter Syndrome’ for much of my career, both academic and professional. Recognizing these distorted thoughts is the first step in the battle.
“It’s common for women not to seek new challenges or roles until they feel they meet 100% (or more!) of the criteria, as opposed to recognizing that most roles require some on-the-job development. Qualifications certainly matter, but with a self-limiting mindset, it’s more common to pass up potential opportunities.”
Jenn: “1. Know your strengths and your weaknesses.
2. Surround yourself with people whose strengths are your weaknesses.
3. Surround yourself with smart individuals.
4. Be able to say ‘I don’t know’ and ‘Will you help me?’
5. After you receive help, remember what you were taught — knowledge is a gift and people hate wasting their time!”
