Jun 29, 2016
Superheroes are real. OK so we may be short of telepathy and telekinesis powers like Phoenix, and we may not be that great at controlling the weather like Storm, or leaping between buildings like a cat like… well, like Catwoman (literal). But acts of empathy, greatness and grace are everywhere, and these people save the day, just by being themselves.
I was lucky enough in my career – and out – to have had some superheroes, that happen to be female, as mentors: Lady Jay, Wonder Nay, May Girl and many more. Here are some things I learnt.
Naivety shouldn’t be mistaken for incompetence – don’t stifle passion
During an interview for my first professional role in IT, I was asked by superhero Lady Jay where I saw myself in five years’ time. As a 20-something stats grad who had led a sheltered life and had once had dreams of being a fashion designer, I naturally said what I believed: “I would like to open my own clothing store.” I then went on to talk rather passionately about my shop for about 10 minutes. Lady Jay politely sat through it, smiling the whole time.
She was obviously amused by my declaration, but she must have seen something else in the passion and gave me the tick of approval for the role. I’ve since had a successful career with many advancements and interesting opportunities, in part due to the potential Lady Jay and my hiring manager saw in me.
Years later, Lady Jay still remembers my response as “Completely inappropriate in an interview” and we have a good laugh about it. But now, my dream of opening my own store is actually almost a reality and she’s still supportive.
Whether you are an official mentor or an accidental one, don’t stifle your mentee’s passion – no matter how crazy their idea sounds – lest you lose more than you gain. For everyone else, don’t feel you have to always give the ‘right’ answer – give the one that you believe in, the ‘right’ people will understand.
You may not get given a choice but you always control the decision
As an analytics professional, I like variety in what I do but sometimes I get pigeon-holed by perception. This sometimes brings me to reassess what I want to do in life, career-wise. Whether in analytics or not, I’m sure many people have had this thought sometime in their lives. A few years into my career I came to this crossroad – do I stay, change or go?
In my traditional brain, I had always thought that a measure of career success was to become (people) management. As expected, during a post-movie catch-up over coffee and chocolate cake with Lady Jay, this topic came up, but unexpectedly I ended up receiving the most profound advice: “Don’t think you have to be a people manager to be senior or respected. If you enjoy being technical or anything else, that’s ok! It’s more important to enjoy what you do than force yourself to be something else.”
More recently, another of my superheroes, Wonder Nay, one of my early analytics mentors told me she had been asked (and not for the first time) to take a people management position but wasn’t interested. “Why? Because it’s not for me”. It didn’t matter that she was the most qualified or the most senior person on the team, she just wanted to build models and analyse data. And that is definitely OK.
From that slice of chocolate cake onward, I chose to take roles that challenged me in the right direction and contributed to improving the skills I valued, rather than aim for roles on their ‘perceived’ value. I also decided to make whatever role I was currently in my own, and improve it for the next person – twisting the role as much to my interests as me to the role specs. In an interesting twist, the role I have now was created around my individual strengths. Take that ‘perception’.
The decision to develop certain skills or aim for certain roles is always yours, even if sometimes you don’t have many options. If you don’t get offered other opportunities, find something in what you’re doing that you can mould to your favour. Find something in the role that could be improved or, better yet, could improve you. You may create lucrative career opportunities for yourself, or in the very least you will enjoy your current work a lot more, which will in turn help create opportunities!
Responsibility and Attention to Detail are Signs of Respect – Respect Breeds Respect
I wouldn’t say I’m a perfectionist at work, but I do have a high attention to detail, particularly with presentations and documents, and own a lot of responsibility. I’m the annoying one who points out misalignment of titles and incorrect dates on copyright footnotes, and gets frustrated at myself over a typo. It does drive some people nuts (myself included) but this skill has saved me and projects from several slip-ups over my career. It wasn’t a skill I even knew I needed early in my career.
I attribute some of my deep sense of responsibility to my first corporate role working with Wonder Nay as a 2-woman team in a specialist area with short deadlines. If I didn’t take responsibility then it would fall on her and vice versa. That is not a good look. Through this period, we formed a great respect for each other through mutual trust. Though she had to take my questions on top of her workload, she never complained. I still respect her and trust her skills more than most others I know.
My focus on attention to detail came quite abruptly when May Girl joined my superheroes mentor a few years later when I started a presentation-focused role. But it wasn’t just formatting, she also had strong opinions about how messages were delivered. She pointed out details that made me think she had supervision – or laser vision as she and other seasoned colleagues tore some of my early presentations apart. Did my ego get bruised? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes.
There are a lot of positive aftereffects of this attention to detail but it has one major purpose: making the audience and team of presenters feel respected. If the audience and team felt that I cared enough about the presentation or document to pay attention to the details then that would transfer to me caring about them and their jobs. That sounds very pop psychology, but as I soon realised, this was why May Girl was highly respected and knew almost everyone in our domain in town and beyond. The hypersensitivity and empathic nature of the way she works and maintains relationships is one I still strive for today.
When preparing for your next meeting or writing your next document, ask yourself “How would I feel if the audience was a version of me who knew less but felt / saw / heard more?” Spending a bit more time and care won’t always be appreciated but it will never be unappreciated. If you are more ‘get it done’ than ‘make it pretty’, there is probably someone nearby who can help vet your thinking. And if the idea of getting feedback troubles you, it’s probably important to take responsibility and get some!
Minions will Become Mentors
Having these superheroes as my mentors wasn’t the intention at the start. To be honest, I didn’t really know what a mentor was when I met them. The perfect word to describe me at the beginning of my career was ‘clueless’ and it would have been very easy for them to have written me off as naïve or silly or unintelligent. But they didn’t. They saw something in me that I didn’t see and took me under their wing.
Over the years, as our lives and careers have evolved, my relationships with these ladies have progressed from mentor-mentee to friendship, and from friendship to respected peers. They now seek my opinions as I sought and still seek theirs, and any perceived hierarchy has gone. They will always be my mentors and I am sure I will have more in the future.
These experiences are probably why I enjoy being the sounding board and challenge for people who are just starting their careers. It’s my way to pay-it-forward. One day, my mentees will become my mentors and I only hope that I benefit them as much as my superheroes have benefited me.
I happened to have talked about three female mentors I’ve had but I have also had great advice from every other type of person. What’s special about these ladies? My superheroes are proof that you don’t have to ‘fit a mould’ to be content and successful in a corporate world and have a balanced life. You can find a construct in your career that suits the life you want to have. You can also wear bright feminine outfits to work every day and bring in baked goods and not have anyone dare judge you on your competence.
To the mentors, take care when giving advice as it will probably stick! One day, your mentees may be further ahead than you on the corporate ladder but they’ll always respect a mentor who respected them. To those being mentored, remember the good and bad advice you’re given so you can pass on constructive advice to the next generation.
Become your own Superhero
The superheroes in your life will point you in the right direction but as the comics tell us, a lot of your success will be up to you. So take the time to get to know yourself. Figure out your ‘brand’ – your superhero moniker. The more you understand your strengths and weaknesses as a person and in your job, the easier it will be to find where you fit, or sometimes don’t fit. You can make perceived weaknesses your strengths as long as you know how to channel them and communicate them well, a la bat signal or otherwise.
The one thing that’s consistent amongst Lady Jay, Wonder Nay and May Girl is that they are always continuously improving and trying new things. No matter how well respected and knowledgeable they already are, they are the first to say they don’t know everything. There is always more to learn. And there are a lot of sources to help –
· tertiary post-graduate programs like these flexible ones in Data Science or Coursera,
· industry association education programs like these ones in Marketing and Analytics,
· continuing education programs like this in Sydney, and, of course,
· online forums and blogs.
So no excuses! Join the Superheroes. If not for someone else, be a superhero for yourself and fly bravely alongside all those who came before you. We can all be Superheroes.
