Critical Careers - Women Building Careers in Digital Infrastructure - Book - Page 59
“What ‘good’ looks like can
change over time. If you are
too 昀椀xed on one outcome,
you can end up missing
other opportunities.”
As your career progressed, what started to
feel more complex or challenging as your
responsibilities grew?
The complexity has built over time rather than coming from one speci昀椀c
challenge. Early on, you are focused on execution and delivering
your piece of work. As you become more senior, the focus shifts.
You are working with other people more, managing a wider group of
stakeholders and making decisions that have broader implications.
What skills have become more important to
you at this stage of your career that maybe
weren’t as critical earlier on?
Accountability is a big one for me. If you say you are going to do
something, you need to follow through or be clear about how it will get
done. Alongside that, collaboration becomes increasingly important.
You are rarely delivering anything signi昀椀cant on your own, so being
able to work effectively as part of a team, whether you are leading it or
contributing to it, really matters.
Curiosity and enthusiasm also play a bigger role than people sometimes
realise. It is very obvious when someone is genuinely engaged in what
they are doing, and that energy carries through, especially when things
get more challenging.
Leadership is another area that has become more important over time,
but not always in a title-driven way. Everyone is leading something, and
part of that is being able to adapt how you work depending on who you
are working with and what you are trying to achieve.
As you progress, you also develop a greater level of awareness. You
become more conscious of different perspectives, cultural nuances and
the importance of regularly asking for feedback so you can adjust and
keep improving.
One of the biggest shifts for me has been moving from a local mindset
to a much more global one. Earlier in my career, I was focused on a
single city or market. Over time, that expanded to national and then
regional responsibilities. That changes how you think about decisions.
You are not just considering what works in one place, but how it
translates across different markets, cultures and ways of working.
As you look ahead, how are you thinking
about what comes next in your career?
That global mindset also brings a greater awareness of cultural nuance.
The way you communicate, how direct you are, how decisions are made,
all of that can vary depending on where you are operating. Being able to
adapt to that and be thoughtful about how you engage with people in
different regions becomes really important.
I think it is important to have a sense of direction, a bit of a North Star,
but not to be too rigid about it. What good looks like can change over
time, and that is a positive thing. If you are too 昀椀xed on one outcome,
you can end up missing other opportunities.
Also, when you pivot across sectors, there is also a reset. You have to
rebuild your network and establish yourself in a different space. That
brings its own challenges, but it is also part of the opportunity.
In terms of progression, I see it as taking on more responsibility, leading
more initiatives and moving further into people leadership. At the same
time, I think progress is also about helping other people succeed, not
just focusing on your own achievements.
I do not see careers as a straight line. It is more about trying different
things, following what interests you and staying aware of how the market
is evolving.
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