Learning to Lead: What has worked for me so far.
I am sure many of you out there can relate — being a female leader in technology can be daunting. The industry average for women in technology roles is around 17% globally, so when you walk into a meeting, chances are you are more than likely to be the only one in the room.
In my opinion, the reasons for this are multiple and historic. Personally, as a young girl growing up during the 80s and 90s in Italy — a place known more for its food, fashion and furniture than anything else — Technology was definitely not the stereotypical interest of a young girl.
I feel lucky that my father was interested in Technology and was happy to share his interest with me. He was constantly buying gadgets and leaving magazines about computing and technology around the house which I had free access to.
Through this organic exposure to technology, I grew a passion that my friends at school did not understand (even most of the guys, to be totally honest). I got excited by discussing the specifications of devices and data transfer speeds, tinkering with new processors and customising the motherboards of my family computer. I played video games, I learnt how to code, and I went on to pursue my interest at university where I studied Computer Science.
So today, when I step into the office, I feel like it is a place where I belong and not where I am an outsider.
YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP is a great place to work because it really brings together two opposite domains — Fashion & Technology. I believe that the balance between the two is one of the reasons why we have a good ratio between men and women in our Technology Teams — over 30% of our technology team is made up of women.
I joined the company in January 2012, first working as a developer before pivoting into analysis and working on large scale projects, earning a number of promotions along the way.
My role today is particularly interesting because while I do not have a single direct report, I am responsible for large numbers of people on some of the organisation’s most important Technology projects.
Leading people in this kind of role, with fluidly forming agile teams determined by the needs of the project, feels very futuristic. It also requires a different kind of approach to leadership than more rigid and hierarchical structures require.
I’m fortunate that over the past two years I’ve been empowered to develop my own leadership style to match our permanently evolving needs. So, for those who find themselves in or aspire to a similar position, here are a few principles I live by which might help you in your leadership role.
Technology is evolving, are you?
This is the first question I ask myself every day. Leadership today requires not just vast knowledge but a hunger to learn and apply new things in new ways. Not doing so will render you obsolete very quickly.
Gain the respect of your people by showing respect for your subject.
It is easy to become distant from the “actual work” when you are in a leadership role. Code snippets are hard to digest, compatibilities can be forgotten. It is easy to reach this point when you are new to leadership and are keen to take on more of the management. In reality this is a risky path so flip your perspective and ask yourself how you can manage people if you are not able to understand everything that they do. Thinking this way around will prevent you from overloading yourself and your teams.
Technology is too big to manage, trust your experts.
At the same time, we need to be realistic as leaders about how much we can learn and understand by ourselves. After all, if we could do everything, would anyone else have a job?
Sometimes it’s just worthwhile asking yourself why do we hire people? It is definitely not so that we can micro-manage them (and that’s not going to make for a happy or productive relationship with any team or individual). The answer invariably ends up being because that person has a level of expertise which is useful. Your role as a leader is to get the best expertise out of your teams, to push them to make the best decisions at every step of the way.
Challenge the status quo.
Many of you will have read Bill Hewlett and David Packard’s Rules of the Garage and for me rule #7 is one of the most important: Radical ideas are not bad ideas.
While I believe it is great to get into a routine, if we leave them unchanged for too long, they can lead to complacency and be dangerous. I believe that every day we come to work we need to think hard about if we can do better by doing differently.
This doesn’t mean we need to challenge everything for the sake of the challenge, but it is important to continually suggest improvements, even if you are terrified that your colleagues are going to be frustrated by another change.
Lead by example.
This is not the first time you’ve read this, but there is a reason for that, it is one of the most important things we can do as leaders.
When leading, your most valuable minutes will be the ones spent deciding who you want to be and what you want to achieve with your team. People tend to emulate those around them — so if we are lax in our approach to work, our colleagues will most likely take the same approach — so make sure you manifest in yourself the behaviours you want to see in others.
Being a female leader in a Technology Team of over 1000 people can be tricky. As a leader, you feel enormous responsibility to the company, your colleagues and customers to be the very best. Naturally, being a woman in Italy, sometimes the bar can feel even higher.
However, I’m pleased to work in a company where I have never been made to feel different because of my gender and have been allowed to develop my own leadership style to match the rapidly evolving needs of our company. I was even shortlisted for the Women in IT Awards 2020 for Global Leader of the Year and while I did not win the award (watch this space 2021!), my colleagues nominated me because they enjoy my human-centred management style.
So, to conclude, I think when it comes to modern leadership you need to set your principles first, and then live by them.
