A junior engineer’s perspective on being on a leadership panel

As a junior in tech, it’s strange to imagine that your opinion, perspective or experience at such an early stage in your career could be of any value to others.

I’d like to share my experience at the Triangirls International Women’s Day event, how being early on in your career can be your superpower and why you should share your story too.

Returning to in-person events

Aside from the great swag and food, Triangirls events have always been a source of support and growth for me. The IWD celebration event was no different.

The benefit of returning to physical spaces means that there is some time to get to know the people behind what would otherwise be square still pictures on a screen. Having the opportunity to expand on topics that were discussed in the talks and on the panel meant that I was able to hear even more perspectives.

A lot of what was discussed covered the insecurities that women in the tech industry face as we grow in our careers.

It was so heartwarming that others felt able to share their own challenges and be vulnerable. Being in person meant that these conversations were easier to have, as immediate human connection was possible.

It’s been fantastic to see how the Triangirls team and community have grown, there were people I had got to spend time with virtually but never had the chance to meet in person, as well as new faces that I now look forward to seeing again at the next event.

The 💎’s I took from the leadership panel

The panel started with some questions from Katrina Dargel and the Triangirls team, followed by questions from the audience.

Elwin, Head of Engineering at Cleo, talked about a formative experience early on in her career and how that had impacted her as a leader:

“I remember being told I was too young to be promoted. And now as a Head of Engineering I know what not to do — I will never make a judgement based on somebody’s age.” — Elwin Chan

It was exciting to hear about how the future of leadership is changing to be more inclusive of promoting younger people. I can’t wait for the day where we all have leaders like Elwin, and feel that women can be championed as leaders at any age.

It’s also affirming to know that she was able to use difficulties that she experienced early on, to determine her leadership values in a positive way, later on in her career.

Gelareh, Lead Data Scientist at Beamery, was honest about her needs while she was working towards leadership:

“When you’re at the earliest stage of your career you’re at the most vulnerable and need someone to support you … I realised I needed to work harder to prove myself than others” — @Gelarehai

There’s a misconception that in order to be seen as a strong leader, we need to be fiercely independent. It’s crucial to have a support network, community and mentorship (whether that be informal, peer mentorship or formal mentorship). Although it was tough hearing that Gelareh needed to put in more effort to succeed, it was a relief to know that she was able to do so with help and guidance from others.

Vuokko, VP of Design at Monzo, spoke on the difficulties on being misunderstood due to different working styles as a leader. How do you demonstrate your confidence and assure others when you don’t come across as the stereotypical extroverted male leader?

“A lot of the time I find myself working with people who don’t work in the way I do which can be frustrating… what I do is try and remain centred, remember that I’ve been hired to do a job, that what I do has value, and try to communicate that.” @vuokko

Vuokko is able to lead effectively because she is great at what she does. She is able to communicate her working preferences and allow others to understand how she works best. This was of great relief to the introverts in the room (myself included), as we got to see an inspiring role model who is able to thrive in an environment that typically tends to reward those who are more outgoing.

My contributions were related to the actions that I’m taking in my career right now to prepare myself for leadership.

Some of these things include:

• being a volunteer as part of the leadership team for Coding Black Females,
• leading on projects, where possible, internally at CybSafe,
• and seeking opportunities for learning from fantastic leaders like Kojo Hinson through the Black Valley programme.

We all offered different perspectives on the issues we’ve faced, such as being “the only” in the room.

Being “the only x” in the room, as described in this skillcrush blog post, can be when you have nobody else in the meeting or on your team who is able to understand your characteristics, identity. For me, I’m often “the only” black woman in a meeting. This can bring feelings of inadequacy, lead to situations where micro-aggressions occur and where abilities can be overlooked.

But it can also have career changing impact, such as men getting promoted on potential where a woman may need to be promoted on proof.

All of this contributes to lack of psychological safety in the workplace.

Elwin’s advice for how to handle the responsibility of being “the only”, was:

“Define yourself differently walking in. Are you a data scientist? Are you an engineer? You have a skill and a point of view to bring to the table. Remember that before you walk in.” — Elwin Chan

Reminding yourself of the value that you bring, as well as reassuring yourself that you do deserve a seat at the table, may be what you need to handle that situation.

Adding to that, I thought it was important to acknowledge that being an “only” the room can be really difficult. There will be days where there are micro aggressions and this can be really upsetting. Find a community and a safe space where you can talk to people who “just get it”.

What was wonderful about this event was that everyone on the panel and the majority of the audience could relate to these feelings, and there was a shared understanding of this struggle. We were able to have conversations afterwards about our own individual experiences and relate to each other on a subject which might otherwise not be so easy at any other event.

Feeling the fear and doing it anyway

In her blog post about her relationship with failure, Amber Shand, says that “Sometimes we can’t necessarily get rid of that feeling of fear”, we just need to go for it anyway and be prepared to fail.

This was the energy I needed to overcome the dreaded imposter syndrome.

In reality, I know there would never have been a moment where I felt ‘ready’ this opportunity. Going for it anyway has given me an immense amount of fulfilment and motivation to continue with opportunities like this in the future.

There were moments where I slipped up and said the wrong thing. There were ways I could have made my point clearer, been more articulate or felt more prepared.

Overall those minor ‘failures’ pale in comparison to the warmth I felt from being able to share my story and provide advice as a resource to others in the industry.

My key takeaways

I got to meet some incredible people. Being on the panel among such accomplished women was a massive achievement.

I got to do so in a safe and welcoming environment. I knew that I could be my honest and authentic self, and still be accepted.

I got to practice my public speaking skills.

Your perspective early on in your career is an invaluable resource

As humans, we are prone to recency bias, a cognitive bias that favours recent events over historic ones. This means that the later on in your career you are, the less likely you are to remember the formative experiences from earlier on in your journey.

Being new at something can be what makes you relatable to your audience. It could be what makes your advice powerful.

We can often be our own worst critic and second guess how much insight we can provide to others.

In being a junior on a panel full of accomplished leaders, I was able to provide an alternative perspective on the steps I was taking to prepare myself for leadership.

If you’re a woman in tech, this is your sign to become a part of the Triangirls community, they are always welcoming new joiners and have fantastic opportunities for first time speaking.

If you’re a junior in tech, this is a sign that your voice is worth hearing and to submit that CFP or go for that opportunity that would mean that you get to share your story.

Be the person that you needed to hear. You have the potential to help those who are hoping to get to where you are today.

It’s worth it.