Capitialising On Female Strenghts 4 Sept 2008 V5
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1 SMS Management & Technology Capitalising on Female Strengths in IT Maria Horrigan Murphy Account Director Health & Human Services SMS Consulting Group Ltd 4 Sept 2008
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Transcript of Capitialising On Female Strenghts 4 Sept 2008 V5
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SMS
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ogy Capitalising on Female Strengths
in IT
Maria Horrigan MurphyAccount Director Health & Human Services SMS Consulting Group Ltd4 Sept 2008
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Slideshare and blogs
www.barocks.comwww.slideshare.com/murph
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Capitalising on female strenghtsIdentifying areas where women excel and capitalise on theseGaining an edge through understanding users and interaction with customersUsing corporate relationships to networkDominate through communication and people skillsUnderstanding the importance of knowing everything about the business
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“IT Conference” Shanghai 2008
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Sex and the city?Celluloid Stereotypes:
US Upper-middle class white cultureShopping, clothes and shoesIs this who we are?
Sex in the city is a television show produced by NBC. This presentation was for educational purposes only and is NOT in any way, shape, or form affiliated with NBC, or any other persons or organizations responsible for the production of Sex in the City, all trademarks and copyright belong to their respective owners.
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ArchetypesWhat are the female archetypes?Why are archetypes good?Pan-culturalAny period of pan-historicalHow can we capitalise on archetypes?
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8 Female Archetypes
The Waif Little girl lost, Damsel in distress, endures hardship
The Librarian Prime and proper, repressedThe Nurturer Takes care of everyoneThe Crusader A fighter with a causeThe Spunky Kid Girl next door, team playerThe Boss Goal orientated, takes chargeThe Free Spirit Optimistic, follows her heartThe Seductress Manipulative, A survivor
http://sparklethis.blogspot.com/2007/10/8-female-archetype-examples-and.html
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The WaifStrengths
Tenacity and enduranceAsks for helpSeeks to understandGood Listener
WeaknessesNot taken seriouslyPerceived as always needing to be “bailed out”Not seen as competent
Jennifer Aniston
www.laineygossip.com/pics/jen
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The LibrarianStrengths
KnowledgeableIntelligentAble to problem solveKnow where to find the info
WeaknessesRepressed Perceived as Arrogant and not friendlyOld fashioned
Jane Austin
a.abcnews.com/.../nm_jane_austen_071017_ms.jpg
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The NurtuerStrengths
Listens and counselsEncourages and Mentors Empathy and SupportiveCollaborativeGood Communicator
WeaknessesSeen as “fussing” or “nagging”Indecisive if don’t want to favour one over anotherOthers happy to let them always pick up the slack
Florence Nightingale
www.britannica.com/eb/art/print?id=88464
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CrusaderStrengths
Strong, make tough decisionsHas a mission/visionChampions a positionStrategic focusLeaderGood Communicator
WeaknessesNot CollaborativeSeen as Aggressive
Ripley
9queens.org/.../uploads/15578__04aliens_l.jpg
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The Spunky KidStrengths
PersistentMaturity beyond yearsDependableEasy to talk to - Girl next doorTeam player
Weaknesses“I hate spunk”Pushy and annoying
Lisa Simpson
media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/40/157606-13463..
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The Free Spirit
StrengthsChallenges status quoMarches to a “different drum”Likes to dream about possibilitiesInnovative and CreativeOptimistic
WeaknessesPlans may not be practical Impatient for changeMay not be a team player
Amelia Earhart
www.legendsofairpower.com/images/Earhart.gif
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The BossStrengths
PowerfulDecisiveLeader StrategistCommunicatorDriven and focused on outcome
WeaknessesAloof, distant, not friendlyTask orientated vs people orientated
Queen Elizabeth I
englishhistory.net/tudor/eliz1-ermine.jpg
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The SeductressStrengths
CommunicationGoes after what they wantEmpathyPersuasionNetworking – knows the right people
WeaknessesSelf interest – may not be a team playerSuperficial – not genuinely interested Aggressive – “Barracuda” “Cougar”
Jessica Rabbit
www.moviecritic.com.au/images/realistic-jessicarabbit
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image: http://www.lakefronthartwell.com/bm~pix/milkshake~s600x600.jpg
Jennifer AnistonJessica Rabbit
I drink your milkshake
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Women aren’t milkshakes
…. more like a McFlurry
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Archetypes = Me
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Capitialise on these Archetypes How do we ‘capitalise’ on these strengths of these
archetypesNeed to read the situation – people and context – and
knowing what ‘style’ to apply.We all have these archetypes inside usNeed to know how much and in what volume to apply
them in our working livesContextualSituationalContingency
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Collaboration
Understanding Users Interaction
Networking
Persuasion
Communication
Ability to organiseBuild rapport
Empathy
Get the job done
Decision making
Problem Solving
Creativity
Optimistic
Intuitive
Persistent
Influencer
Listening
Interpersonal skills
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Play to your Archetype strengthsEach individual brings unique strengths to a role Become more comfortable with who you, know your talents and strengthsBe confident in abilitiesNeed to understand your natural tendencies and make them work in your favour
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My experiences as a McFlurryAt times I have played many roles…..sometimes all at
onceFree Spirit – challenged the current wayWiaf – “I’m blonde, can you help me?”Crusader – There to get the job doneLibrarian – Share knowledgeNurturer – Supportive and counselBoss – Set the directionSpunky kid – Team player, showed persistenceSeductress – push-up bra was my friend
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How I survived moving into an IT careerLearning to speak-geek – Needed to understand the technologies and what was possiblePeople mentored me – Key female colleagues mentored me and supported my knowledge developmentNew collaboration tools – There are lots of useful Web 2.0 social computing tools out there New roles for me (and for you to!) – gravitated toward places I didn’t expect to go: exciting roles, pushing boundaries and capabilities It”s not about programming and pizza
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Learning to speak-geekAs a Business Manager, I needed to understand so that I knew what I was signing off on I needed to understand the possibilities of what the technology could and couldn’t doI don't have a formal IT qualificationI’ve got lots of business degrees and certificationsI had to ‘learn’ geek-speak
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Learning to speak-geekI learned by doing, observing, collaboratingI asked questionsI hung out with themI read stuff….. and I became one of them
“the company you keep tells me otherwise”
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Value in understanding the business
Business success depends on anticipating future trends and developmentsNeed to design appropriate strategies for implementation is keyIT is now part of the everyday businessEvery program every initiative, will have some touch point with technologyBusiness skills of analysis are often the key to solving the complex data issues When we understand the business environment there is an opportunity to add valueVital IT role as trusted advisor for the business
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People Mentored MeLack of senior females in my area didn’t deter me, it just made me look to other sources for mentoring
I learnt from one of my staff I learnt from one of my colleagues I joined female IT networking groups (WIC, ACS)I learnt from thought leaders within my organisation
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My role as a Mentor Leaning how to be a thought leader (by accident) –suddenly people read what I wrote and looked up to me for advice Feedback from presentations - ‘this is what i want to be when i grow up’Stop competing and start cooperatingThe only power in knowledge is to share it
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I’m not WonderwomanIts hard to juggle all the demands of a senior manager Like other women (and other cultures) I typically have obligations outside of workWe need more women in IT to bring more diversity into this workforceChange the group norm – from the ‘geek culture’ to something that reflects the wider work vs life balance needs of everyone. Break stereotypesI am in Wonder of women Not WonderWoman
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Mentoring vs Female Competition
We should be about collaboration and support
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New tools for Collaboration Learning new toolsLearning new ways of communicating and reaching out to othersLearning new mediums to communicate inWhy i find this good – why do i do it?
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Why I use Social Computing tools
Instant access to a Community of Practice• Access to body of knowledge (in people’s heads, not in
documents)• Communities of practice• Experts, gurus and thought leaders• Access to friends and their friends and their friendsNetworking• Leveraging: the power of many• The power of permission: trust • The power of networks: the friend of my friend is my friendThe cost (time, energy): easiest way (anytime, anywhere) to
make contact, communicate, share, collaborate with “friends”
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Facebook – building online communities
www.facebook.com
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www.delicious.com
Bookmarking
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www.barocks.com
Blogs
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Blogs
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New roles for meBefore I was in IT I was a:
Nurse StudentSales Manager Product ManagerBusiness ManagerDirector (of an NGO)
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Me as an IT consultant @ SMSI found I was good at Consulting because I was a:
Good communicatorGood analystGood at problem solvingDetailed mindedStrategic thinkerGood listenerWanted to help solve the problemUnderstood business needs and goals
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New roles for you too!Role of technology has changedIt’s no longer about IT reducing operational cost and more about ITas an enabler to achieve organisational goals Its about managing information, communication and knowledge.
This is a good industry to work in:It’s constantly changing and challengingIts not about programming and pizzaLots of opportunities to capitalise on your strengths
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Information based roles in ITExciting range of IT jobs available that aren’t just about technical skillsIT provides opportunities to work in dynamic and creative environments (medicine, movies, fashion) Increasing need for skills such as
CommunicationCollaborationAbility to organiseUnderstand business issuesDrive changeProblem-solveDeliver outcomes
Interestingly enough, many of the women working in IT also come from non IT backgrounds
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Backgrounds of IT Consultants I looked at the background of a lot of the female (and male) consultants There are former teachers, scientists, nurses, administrators, psychologists, and army officers. What is common is that they are great communicators, organised, they can take on just about any problem that comes their way, and they get things done. Not all have IT degrees, but they do have experience in IT (business and system) and certification in areas of IT management
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So what does an IT job look like today?
Business analysis and process re-engineeringCollaboration, communication, diplomacy, design & analysis
IT strategic analysis and planning – enterprise architectureAnalysis, decision making, vision, business savvy, influence, persuade
User-centred apps & web online designTeam-player, collaboration between tech/graphic designers, business and users centred, design
Knowledge managementCollaboration, information and communication, analysis
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ConclusionsWe might be perceived as Sterotypes like the SITC girls, Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte or Samantha History tells us that there’s more to us than shallow stereotypical charactersMy experience is about drawing on archetypal strengths of pan-cultural and iconic figures: communication, champion of the business, champion of ‘users’ needs, collaboration, analysis, don’t take ‘no’ for an answer, problem solvingThese strengths are vital and important for IT jobsYou can have a cool IT job as well! (Geek = Black)
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Fin
Maria (Murphy) Horrigan Account Director Health & Human Services
Regional Lead Business Analysis
Email: [email protected]: www.barocks.com
www.slideshare.com/murphwww.smsmt.com
www.twitter.com/miahorri
