SAPinsider Technology Executive Forum Issue 1 2021

started a strategy to build women in leadership to 25% by 2017, and the target was hit six months ahead of schedule. It is now extending its commitment and increasing the percentage by 1% each year, with a target of 30% by year-end 2022. SAP is making it happen and becoming a better company for it. While I think change is happening, it is slow-going. Women are still over-represented in support func- tions, such as HR and administration, while men tend to concentrate in operations — which is a criti- cal experience needed for top-level CEO positions. Specifically in the IT field, I don’t feel women are being excluded because of gender, it just doesn’t seem there are enough of us in IT to move the needle and get to the top CIO roles. But we are seeing more and more major tech companies promote women in leadership, such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and others. While there is still room for improvement, I do see a shift happening. As these women lead the way, more women will have opportunities to advance in their fields. Q: What can women do to ensure they have the best chance of success in a career in technology? My best advice is to be true to yourself. You don’t have to be aggressive, overconfident, or self-promoting to succeed; you need to prove yourself to be competent and trustworthy. Build a strong track record of accom- plishments, and demonstrate the traits that people love to see — intelligence, curiosity, and integrity. That will get you noticed, and that will get you promoted. You should always be coachable. Feel confident enough in yourself to know that you can always improve. Seek opinions from people you trust and ask them what you could have done better. Take constructive criticism as it is meant to be given and use what you learn to tweak and tune to be a better you. Now more than ever, corporations need the skills and strengths that women typically are good at. Interestingly, the skill that has the most value to me as a CIO is communication. In my job, I do have to understand technology and how it can be used as well as manage budgets, people, and projects, but what I am recognized for the most is my ability to speak to colleagues about technology in a way that they can understand the problem and the proposed solution. I speak in business terms rather than “geek” speak. The CEOs of my last two companies have expressed appreciation for that more than once. They don’t need to know the specifics of how the technology works or the capacity of a device. They just want to know that issues are being handled, the company and its data is secure, and that technology is an enabler for growth and innovation. As I moved up in my career, I realized that those at the top were just like me — human beings who didn’t know everything and could make mistakes. Once I realized that, I stopped putting them on pedestals and tried to learn what made them suc- cessful. I looked for characteristics I could emulate and incorporate into myself in a positive way. The best part of this thinking is that it helped me com- municate with top executives and leadership in a very easy manner so they felt comfortable around me and I around them. More women need to be at the forefront of digi- tal transformation journeys. To be successful, this requires what we do best — that we collaborate, coach, communicate, and build the right teams. As we grow in our careers, there is a time when we have to stop being the technical expert. You should stay technically knowledgeable, but let your teams handle the day-to-day operations. This will allow you to focus and spend time with your business partners building trust and credibility. SAPinsiderOnline.com 24