Modern business demands a balance of technical expertise and soft skills to unlock productivity and creativity, create inclusive environments and explore our full potential. Senior Tech Leaders from Experian, Lauren Gomez, Angela Beteta Quesada, Jonny Pearson and Alexandrina Gindeva discuss the attributes and mindsets that can give you the edge and create a powerful new toolkit for success.
Empathy: Different perspectives give you an edge
The power of diverse and inclusive environments on productivity and innovation is well-established and key to releasing their rich talent is the ability to appreciate and embrace different perspectives. ‘Empathy offers the biggest impact as a soft skill for me, and not just as a way of being able to understand others’ emotions and be compassionate, but in understanding where they are coming from and what matters for them,’ says Alex, Head of Sofia Delivery Centre Experian Decision Analytics, Experian. For her, the flow works both ways to create a collaborative and communicative team environment. ‘Understanding someone else’s point of view also helps you to then set up what you might want to tell them in a way that they’re able to listen and perceive it more easily.’
Growth Mindset: Discomfort is often a signal of growth
Having a growth mindset means being open to learning, but moving forward also means leaving safe shores, and this can be hard to do. ‘Something that’s helped me achieve a lot more is understanding that I am more than just the thoughts that I have in my mind,’ says Jonny, Senior Product Manager-SaaS GTM, Global Decision Analytics, Experian. ‘A lot of things we ‘can’ and ‘can’t’ do are basically our mind telling us that we feel uncomfortable when doing something. You must understand the things that drive you but also the things that hold you back. It’s about reframing that uncomfortable feeling as a signal that you are at the edge of your comfort zone and learning to push yourself and expand your scope of capabilities.’
Ownership mentality: Proactivity is key to development
Personal development builds the tools to get you to where you want to get to, honing the blend of technical expertise and soft skills that mark out powerful modern leaders. But within this, proactivity is key, says Alex. ‘There are all sorts of great development programmes in companies such as Experian and women should be actively putting themselves forward for these and making sure they take ownership of their own development.’ By embedding responsibility for our growth within ourselves we are empowered to see the myriad opportunities we have to evolve. ‘It’s about leveraging what’s available and being able to progress and navigate your career through leveraging events, taking opportunities and getting involved with development programmes through an ownership mentality.’
Authenticity: Create credibility and congruence
Authenticity at work is a powerful and resonant way to show up in your career, and an alignment that creates trust, clarity and inspires effective leadership. ‘You are creating your credibility daily with each interaction — in the way that you answer an email or in the way that you treat others. It’s so important,’ notes Lauren, SVP Talent and Culture, Experian. For her, congruence is the partner to credibility in being truly authentic at work. ‘The best way to build a career that is aligned with you and who you really are is by understanding what is not negotiable for you. When you are congruent about what you think and what you do you can be real and transparent, and people can trust you because they will not find ‘different versions’ of you in different places – whatever the level or area you’re working in you’re the same person.’
Wellbeing: You are your greatest resource
‘It’s important within this very complex environment that we all live in to remember to take care of ourselves,’ says Alex. ‘It can be tempting to go all-in at work or with family and not to put yourself at the forefront of your thinking. On an airplane, if you want to help someone else, you put your own oxygen mask on first — and the spirit needs to be the same in everyday life.’ For Alex, that includes prioritising health and wellbeing above all. ‘You can push yourself hard for a limited period, but the long-term strategy is really to take care of yourself, mentally and physically so you can bring your best self at work and home.’ But she notes, wellbeing is not a one-size-fits-all approach. ‘There is a lot of great advice out there, but don’t just take what you read or hear and copy-paste it for yourself — really make sure it’s something that is going to work for you and your life.’
Value: Focus on your contribution
Knowing your worth and appreciating your contribution is vital, says Angela, Principal DevOps Engineer Global Decision Analytics, Experian — as well as a foundational part of your own resilience and motivation. ‘In tech we deliver solutions, and everyone contributes to those solutions. It’s important to be aware of how you personally contribute, and to know that what you do at work makes you happy — because we spend eight hours every day doing it,’ she insists. ‘It is so important that you enjoy what you do. So, think how you want to contribute to your role and to the products that you deliver and if you think something could be improved in that then make a start’.
Connect: Show don’t tell HR professional
Lauren has one plea for CV writers: ‘Please don’t ‘copy paste’ when it comes to outlining your soft skills.’ Instead, she suggests expressing the sweet spot where your technical competencies meet your valuable soft skills by describing specific achievements to illustrate this balance. ‘You can do this effectively by demonstrating how you achieved something in your CV — in the ‘how’ is the answer. It’s not only about the result you get, but how you get that result that makes it unique to you. And if you include something that is real like this in your CV then during the interview, you will also be able to demonstrate and convey that in your answers and attitude too.’
Communicate: Learn to translate complexity
Speaking the language of tech can sometimes lock others out — and being able to translate its complexity into broader ideas that can be grasped by everyone in the business is a key communication skill. ‘It’s important for people in the tech world to have the ability to step out of the low-level detail and abstract the knowledge,’ says Alex. ‘Being able to communicate to a broader audience is a specific skill that many tech people need to work on. They know detail is important, but they must also be able to understand the importance of the high-level view and to be able to convey that when they when they’re having a wider conversation.’
