Capitalising on female strengths in IT

Maria Horrigan Principal Consultant BA World July 2009

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Capitalising on female strengths

• Identifying areas where women excel and capitalise on these

• Gaining an edge through understanding users and interaction with customers

• Using corporate relationships to network• Dominate through communication and people skills• Understanding the importance of knowing

everything about the business

“IT Conference” Shanghai 2008

Sex and the city?Celluloid Stereotypes:• US Upper-middle class white culture• Shopping, clothes and shoes• Is this who we are?

Sex in the city is a television show produced by NBC. This presentation was for educational purposes only and is NOT in any way, shape, or form affiliated with NBC, or any other persons or organizations responsible for the production of Sex in the City, all trademarks and copyright belong to their respective owners.

Archetypes

• What are the female archetypes?• Why are archetypes good?• Pan-cultural• Any period of pan-historical• How can we capitalise on archetypes?

8 Female Archetypes

The Waif Little girl lost, Damsel in distress, endures hardship

The Librarian Prime and proper, repressed

The Nurturer Takes care of everyone

The Crusader A fighter with a cause

The Spunky Kid Girl next door, team player

The Boss Goal orientated, takes charge

The Free Spirit Optimistic, follows her heart

The Seductress Manipulative, A survivor

http://sparklethis.blogspot.com/2007/10/8-female-archetype-examples-and.html

The Waif

Strengths• Tenacity and endurance• Asks for help• Seeks to understand• Good Listener

Weaknesses• Not taken seriously• Perceived as always needing to be “bailed out”• Not seen as competent

Jennifer Aniston

www.laineygossip.com/pics/jen

The LibrarianStrengths• Knowledgeable• Intelligent• Able to problem solve• Know where to find the info

Weaknesses• Repressed • Perceived as Arrogant and not friendly• Old fashioned

Jane Austin

a.abcnews.com/.../nm_jane_austen_071017_ms.jpg

The NurtuerStrengths• Listens and counsels• Encourages and Mentors • Empathy and Supportive• Collaborative• Good Communicator

Weaknesses• Seen as “fussing” or “nagging”• Indecisive if don’t want to favour one over another• Others happy to let them always pick up the slack

Florence Nightingale

www.britannica.com/eb/art/print?id=88464

Crusader

Strengths Strong, make tough decisions Has a mission/vision Champions a position Strategic focus/ Leader Good Communicator

Weaknesses Not Collaborative Seen as Aggressive

Ripley

9queens.org/.../uploads/15578__04aliens_l.jpg

The Spunky Kid

Strengths• Persistent• Maturity beyond years• Dependable• Easy to talk to - Girl next door• Team player

Weaknesses• Pushy• Annoying

Lisa Simpson

media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/40/157606-13463..

The Free SpiritStrengths Challenges status quo Marches to a “different drum” Likes to dream about possibilities Innovative, Creative, Optimistic

Weaknesses Plans may not be practical Impatient for change May not be a team player

Amelia Earhart

www.legendsofairpower.com/images/Earhart.gif

The BossStrengths• Powerful• Decisive• Leader • Strategist• Communicator• Driven and focused on outcome

Weaknesses• Aloof, distant, not friendly• Task orientated vs people orientated

Queen Elizabeth I

englishhistory.net/tudor/eliz1-ermine.jpg

The SeductressStrengths Communication, Persuasion Goes after what they want Empathy Networking – knows the right people

Weaknesses Self interest – may not be a team player Superficial – not genuinely interested Aggressive – “Barracuda” “Cougar”

Jessica Rabbit

www.moviecritic.com.au/images/realistic-jessicarabbit

image: http://www.lakefronthartwell.com/bm~pix/milkshake~s600x600.jpg

Jennifer AnistonJessica Rabbit

I drink your milkshake

Women aren’t milkshakes

…. more like a McFlurry

Archetypes = Me

Capitalise on these Archetypes

• So how do we ‘capitalise’ on these strengths of these archetypes?

• Need to read the situation – people and context – and knowing what ‘style’ to apply.

• We all have these archetypes inside us• Need to know how much and in what volume to

apply them in our working lives• Contextual• Situational• Contingency

Our Tag Cloud

Collaboration

Understanding Users

Interaction

Networking

Persuasion

Communication

Ability to organiseBuild rapport

Empathy

Get the job done

Decision making

Problem Solving

Creativity

Optimistic Intuitive

Persistent

Influencer

Listening

Interpersonal skills

Organiser

Supporter

Play to your Archetype strengths

• Each individual brings unique strengths to a role

• Become more comfortable with who you, know your talents and strengths

• Be confident in abilities• Need to understand your natural tendencies

and make them work in your favour

My experiences as a McFlurry

At times I have played many roles…..sometimes all at once

• Free Spirit – challenged the current way

• Wiaf – “I’m blonde, can you help me?”

• Crusader – There to get the job done

• Librarian – Share knowledge

• Nurturer – Supportive and counsel

• Boss – Set the direction

• Spunky kid – Team player, showed persistence

• Seductress – push-up bra was my friend

How I survived moving into an IT career

• Learning to speak-geek – Needed to understand the technologies and what was possible

• People mentored me – Key female colleagues mentored me and supported my knowledge development

• New collaboration tools – There are lots of useful Web 2.0 social computing tools out there

• New roles for me (and for you to!) – gravitated toward places I didn’t expect to go: exciting roles, pushing boundaries and capabilities

• It”s not about programming and pizza

Learning to speak-geek

• As a Business Manager, I needed to understand so that I knew what I was signing off on

• I needed to understand the possibilities of what the technology could and couldn’t do

• I don't have a formal IT qualification• I’ve got lots of business degrees and certifications• I had to ‘learn’ geek-speak

Learning to speak-geek

• I learned by doing, observing, collaborating• I asked questions• I hung out with them• I read stuff• ….. and I became one of them

“the company you keep tells me otherwise”

Value in understanding the business

• Business success depends on anticipating future trends and developments

• Need to design appropriate strategies for implementation is key

• IT is now part of the everyday business, every program every initiative, will have some touch point with technology

• Business skills of analysis are often the key to solving the complex data issues

• When we understand the business environment there is an opportunity to add value

• Vital IT role as trusted advisor for the business

People Mentored Me

• Lack of senior females in my area didn’t deter me, it just made me look to other sources for mentoring

• I learnt from one of my staff • I learnt from one of my colleagues • I joined female IT networking groups (WIC, ACS)• I learnt from thought leaders within my

organisation

My role as a Mentor

• Leaning how to be a thought leader (by accident) – suddenly people read what I wrote and looked up to me for advice

• Feedback from presentations - ‘this is what i want to be when i grow up’

• Stop competing and start cooperating• The only power in knowledge is to share it

I’m not Wonder Woman

• Its hard to juggle all the demands of a senior manager

• Like other women (and other cultures) I typically have obligations outside of work

• We need more women in IT to bring more diversity into this workforce

• Change the group norm – from the ‘geek culture’ to something that reflects the wider work vs life balance needs of everyone. Break stereotypes

• I am in Wonder of women Not Wonder Woman

Mentoring vs Female Competition

We should be about collaboration and support

New tools for Collaboration

• Learning new tools• Learning new ways of communicating and

reaching out to others• Learning new mediums to communicate in• Why i find this good – why do i do it?

Why I use Social Computing tools

Instant access to a Community of Practice• Access to body of knowledge (in people’s heads,

not in documents) and communities of practice• Experts, gurus and thought leaders• Access to friends, their friends and their friendsNetworking• Leveraging: the power of many• The power of permission: trust

The cost (time, energy): easiest way (anytime, anywhere) to make contact, communicate, share, collaborate with “friends”

http://www.linkedin.com

Linked in

Facebook – building online communities

www.facebook.com

Twitter

www.delicious.com

Bookmarking

www.barocks.com

Blogs

Blogs

Matt’s blog Matt’s blog

Craig’s blogCraig’s blog

New roles for me

Before I was in IT I was a:

• Nurse

• Student

• Sales Manager

• Product Manager

• Business Manager

• Director (of an NGO)

Me as an IT consultant

I found I was good at Consulting because I was a:• Communicator• Analyst• Good at problem solving• Detailed minded• Strategic thinker• Good listener• Wanted to help solve the problem• Understood business needs and goals

New roles for you too!

• Role of technology has changed

• It’s no longer about IT reducing operational cost and more about IT as an enabler to achieve organisational goals

• Its about managing information, communication and knowledge.

This is a good industry to work in:

• It’s constantly changing and challenging

• Its not about programming and pizza

• Lots of opportunities to capitalise on your strengths

Information based roles in IT• Exciting range of IT jobs available that aren’t just about technical

skills• IT provides opportunities to work in dynamic and creative

environments (medicine, movies, fashion) • Increasing need for skills such as• Communication• Collaboration• Ability to organise• Understand business issues• Drive change• Problem-solve• Deliver outcomes

• Interestingly enough, many of the women working in IT also come from non IT backgrounds

Backgrounds of IT Consultants

• I looked at the background of a lot of the female (and male) consultants

• There are former teachers, scientists, nurses, administrators, psychologists, and army officers.

• What is common is that they are great communicators, organised, they can take on just about any problem that comes their way, and they get things done.

• Not all have IT degrees, but they do have experience in IT (business and system) and certification in areas of IT management

So what does an IT job look like today?Business analysis and process re-engineering• Collaboration, communication, diplomacy, design

& analysis

IT strategic analysis and planning – architecture• Analysis, decision making, vision, business

savvy, influence, persuade

User-centred apps & web design• Team-player, collaboration between tech/graphic

designers, business and users centred, design

Knowledge management• Collaboration, information and communication,

analysis

Conclusions

• We might be perceived as Sterotypes like the SITC girls, Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte or Samantha

• History tells us that there’s more to us than shallow stereotypical characters

• My experience is about drawing on archetypal strengths of pan-cultural and iconic figures: communication, champion of the business, champion of ‘users’ needs, collaboration, analysis, don’t take ‘no’ for an answer, problem solving

• These strengths are vital and important for IT jobs• You can have a cool IT job as well! (Geek = Black)

FIN

Questions?

Maria Horrigan Principal Consultant

Email: maria.horrigan@oakton.com.auBlog: www.barocks.com

Slideshare: www.slideshare.com/murphTwitter: @miahorri