PROFILE won’t apply for jobs unless they meet 100% of the criteria or mentally need to meet half. But I think that happens all the time. Men can see, ‘yeah, I can do most of that. So I’m going to put my hat in the ring so that I can, you know, be considered for this opportunity’ where a lot of women think, ‘There are parts of that I’ve never done before, so I’m probably not the best candidate.’” “I think we sell ourselves short because of that. That’s a big factor in why we sometimes shy away from opportunity. Just trust yourself.”
“The fact that that we’ve been able to get our ducks in a row so that they can provide more for their customers and improve their business – it’s huge. We all want to be able to make an impact somewhere. It’s great to know that you do something here, and it matters to other people out there.” “You have to figure out like what your personal mantra is or your life purpose— how you want to live your life. For me, it’s paving the path for joy for other people. It’s not about me crossing the finish line. It is about clearing the path for other people to be able to do that. That excites me,” says Durham. Using other people to help motivate her is second nature. “In college, I wasn’t married and didn’t have kids. I’d be studying for a test, but I didn’t want to study for it. And I would think to myself; you’re doing this for your children. That was what was inspiring me. So there’s always been that carrot.” Even though leading the company could mean making things better for others, Durham wasn’t sure she was ready for the president’s job. “There were a lot of days where I thought this might be beyond me. Maybe I need to tap on the shoulders of people that I know could do a great job and bring them 20
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in. Then I thought, how many times have you worked for someone or had a leader where you thought I could do better? Time to put your money where your mouth is. I had to hold myself accountable for not selling myself short.” She shares that other women need to do the same. “It’s okay to think and to doubt yourself. It’s okay to think you might not be enough to shy away from opportunity, especially when it comes knocking, and it presents itself out of nowhere. But you have to know who the people that you can trust are and go to them. Get their advice and guidance and lean on them. Use your network to help you through it and at least give it a shot.” “Sheryl Sandberg talks about how women
“I think we sell ourselves short because of that. That’s a big factor in why we sometimes shy away from opportunity. Just trust yourself.”
Working in the tech world as a female was a challenge Durham doesn’t shy from discussing. “It is an old boys network and what have you. It’s like a fraternity, and most of the bias is unconscious. No one’s trying to hold back women. But I’m convinced at this point that if you are not actively mentoring and coaching and advocating for the growth and promotion of women, that you’re falling in some kind of trap where you’re working against them, whether you realize it or not.” “And that goes for both men and women. If you’re not actively promoting and encouraging and guiding other women, then you probably are in some unconscious way, working against them.” “There are so many things about women in general. The way we think, the way that we can juggle multiple things and multitask and empathize with people. Those are all strengths. Don’t put yourself in a box. Skills are so transferrable.” The advice Durham follows is simple: You rarely regret making a decision too early, but almost always regret making it too late. “That’s how I coach myself. If I am struggling with making a decision or torn in some way, that’s what I hear in my head. If you make a decision early, you have an opportunity to reverse it. If you make a decision too late, you’re probably out of time.” “I try to think about what decision I am most likely to regret? And then I pick the one that I’m probably not going to regret. It’s always clear.” The mother of three will be sending her