TECHIE
SMITH-BARTLEY: It’s imperative that you
have an entire support network. A mentor is one component of that. But I think you also have to have what I call the “real” group. Those are the folks that are going to give you the good, the bad and the ugly truth. You know you can always go to them and they’ll be completely authentic. With the mentor, it’s a lot of what Kristin said: It can be someone within the workplace or external, someone who is where you are now or in a position where you want to be in the future. The other layer of that is the sponsor. That’s the person who has the influence and authority within the organization to help you get to that next level. So you want to supplement your mentors with your “real” group as well as your sponsors.
Leading through the new normal Tech execs on being intentional and effective in a remote work environment
he Leadership Panel is one of the biggest events Women in Technology of Tennessee organizes each year and, barring the shift to a virtual setting, 2020 was no different. Brought together in late October to discuss various leadership and management topics were: • Envision Healthcare Enterprise CIO Kristin Darby • Trinisys COO Beth Hoeg • Asurion Chief Diversity and Talent Strategy Officer Yanika Smith-Bartley • Nashville General Hospital Chief Business Development and Information Officer Melanie Thomas • Tractor Supply Senior Vice President Letitia Webster Here are some of their thoughts from the chat, which was moderated by Post Editor Geert De Lombaerde.
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How do you make the mentorship ask? DARBY: The
approaches have changed throughout my career based on where I’ve been from a development perspective and what my specific needs or challenges have been. I think that’s a good approach for individuals throughout their career. Ideally, they should have many mentors if they’re lucky. You may have multiple mentors simultaneously that are helping you become well rounded in a way that makes you a more competent professional. You just have to be very, very strategic about who you’re selecting and why you’re selecting them and making sure you’re communicating that effectively. The other element is you have to seek constructive feedback. Many individuals get feedback or ask for mentorship but don’t necessarily really self-reflect on that feedback. If you’re not seeking that and going through those difficult situations, you’re not going to get better. The mentor needs to know that you’re getting value out of the time that they’re investing so that it’s a two-way relationship.
HOEG: Finding people who are just truthful with you regardless of how uncomfortable it is is really important so you don’t go down paths where everyone is just saying nice things. Nobody needs that. If I just want someone to say nice things, my husband can do that for me. I would add that I’ve found volunteering and board work is a great opportunity to meet a lot of people from a lot of different companies. WiTT is an excellent example of this. You get to know people you can have those relationships with who are not necessarily in your company but who can be great mentors for who you are and who you want to be.
How have you adapted to the COVID work environment — how you interact with your teams, with your fellow leaders? THOMAS: I took advantage of it completely!
I’ve been trying to make the shift to more digital meetings, more utilization of Teams and Zoom. It allows us to be a little more productive because then, when you end one meeting, you don’t have that walk to the elevator and wait then you have that 15-minute transition.
