Advice From the Top of the Mountain: Women Tech Leaders Share Their Strategies

When women see a broken career ladder, they might be discouraged from climbing to the top. Our advice: don’t give up. In places where structures are fractured, diverse voices are needed more than ever.

In the tech world, creating balanced gender dynamics — and eliminating disparities — has always been an uphill battle. This is particularly true at the top of the mountain, where tech leadership remains predominantly male.

CNBC recently reported that only 28.8 percent of the tech workforce is female, despite the fact that women make up almost half of all U.S. jobholders. Even more worrisome: Due to a “broken rung” in the career ladder, women in entry-level tech positions are not promoted to managerial positions at the same rate as men.

The result? According to Finance Times, we now have a tech industry in which only 19 percent of senior vice president roles and only 15 percent of CEO roles are filled by women.

For those women who have already reached leadership positions in tech, it’s important to hear their advice on not only how to get there, but how to develop leadership skills in an industry that needs diverse voices to be heard.

To learn more, Built In NYC sat down with talented women at four different tech companies to gather advice about not only how to lead, but how to define a leadership style that acts as a beacon to others.

 

First, how would you describe your leadership style?

I don’t necessarily have one style. As a leader, particularly at a high-growth, high-velocity organization, it’s important to be adaptable to the needs of the team. There is some fluidity with how I manage my individuals on the team, because I don’t manage a team of people — I manage a group of individuals. I manage each of them independently of the other depending on what they need from me. I manage depending on what motivates them and in a way that I can elicit the highest potential from each individual. Ultimately, I’d describe my style as situational leadership. I’m serving the people on my team in whatever capacity I need to, for whatever situation comes up. I need to understand what it is they need to be successful in their role and how I can deliver on that.

 

What experiences or lessons helped shape your leadership style throughout your career?

I remember one experience with a manager that’s shaped the way I communicate with my reports. This manager had an amazing way of being conscious of how she closed out a conversation and the feelings left behind. I am always conscious of the emotional wake that I leave behind after a conversation. There are ways to be constructive even when critical. I aim to build a clear go-forward plan and make that person feel like they’re growing. I want to make my team feel like the conversation left behind a positive influence, signaled a positive behavior change or even a positive emotion.

I’ve had managers in your past who had their own agenda and put that agenda before the people they were leading — that behavior is damaging and transparent. It becomes about how that manager makes themselves look good even if it’s at the expense of other people on their team. I aim to put the company front and center in my management style. As a leader, you must put yourself on the bottom rung because the act of leading must come first.

 

As a leader, you must put yourself on the bottom rung because the act of leading must come first.”

 

What advice do you have for others who may be struggling to define or own their leadership style?

I started my career in banking and finance, which was extremely male-dominated at the time. When I had an important meeting or I knew I was going to be in a meeting with all men, I wore my brightest suit to avoid blending into the gray. I stood out because I knew it was important for any woman who was coming behind me to be able to be seen and be visible in her seat at the table. 

Working in male-dominated industries like banking and tech taught me that it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in — all that matters is that you have the skill, you have something to contribute and you understand the business. And we should strive to remove any workplace biases that hinder that.

When young leaders become managers, they want to mimic or mirror every aspect of a leader that they look up to or idolize. You can take bits and parts of it, but make it your own. Your words have to be your own words and in your own style because people will sniff out if you’re uncomfortable in your skin and aren’t being true to who you really are. A lack of honesty makes you lose credibility with the people that you’re leading.

 

 

 

First, how would you describe your leadership style?

My leadership style can be summed up by three beliefs: Put your team first, inspire creativity and assume good intentions. Everyone on the team is here because they want to change our customers’ lives. Since no one can take on such a big endeavor alone, empowering everyone around me with autonomy and ownership is really important. You have to believe in others, put a great deal of trust in them and be open to delegating. People who work closely with me know that I’ll always ask them, “What do you think?” 

One of the things that gets me most excited about work every day is to see the ownership that others are taking on and listening to what they think. Similarly, seeing team members challenged to achieve their highest potential and not being afraid to take creative, outside-the-box approaches to helping customers is one of the most rewarding experiences to me as a leader. I believe that operating under the assumption of good intentions helps build a strong foundation on which to collaborate, share feedback with empathy and help others be the very best versions of themselves. 

 

What experiences or lessons helped shape your leadership style throughout your career?

Experiences working with prior managers, challenges associated with running a company and even just learning more about myself over the years have all shaped my leadership style. During my first job out of college at Goldman Sachs, I was fortunate to work with a strong manager whose leadership style I really admired. He gave me a lot of responsibility at an early point in my career and believed in me. His approach was effective because he was proactive about giving me big projects to take on, putting me on them before I even asked. After a big project, he would be sure to tell me not only what went well but also what could have gone better. He cared about bringing out my potential and I learned a lot from him. 

Scaling a company has also helped shape my leadership style. When the company first started, my co-founder and I were doing nearly every function: building the product, talking with customers, iterating features, designing marketing materials, closing partnerships and so much more. As GlossGenius has scaled, one of the most important realizations I’ve had is that I’m building something much bigger than myself and no one can do that alone. 

 

I’m building something much bigger than myself and no one can do that alone. ”

 

What advice do you have for others who may be struggling to define or own their leadership style?

Start with your values. What do you care about? Why do you care about it? How can you demonstrate it? Values define organizational thinking and actions, and the opportunity for leaders to lead through their values only serves to further strengthen how connected the organization is to them. Values can help you define how you want to lead, and help you get comfortable owning your leadership style. I’ve also found it helpful to share your style with others who work closely with you. When you’ve told others what your style is, it’s easier to own it.

 

 

 

 

First, how would you describe your leadership style?

Leadership makes or breaks a team and culture. I’ve tried to lead by example in demonstrating that, when there’s work to be done, no one is above it. I never ask someone to do something I wouldn’t do myself, or work hours I’m not also willing to work. This approach engenders loyalty and unity in a team. Leaders also set the team’s mood. If I’m distracted or stressed or not invested, my team senses this. It’s a leader’s job to show up to a meeting the way they want their team to leave it. 

On an individual level, I take a coaching approach. I try to understand what type of support allows each person to do their best work and seek opportunities with them to grow — I think it’s important that both parties come to the table with ideas on how to develop. Lastly, a good leader takes care of their team. At the end of the work day, can I reflect and feel like I’ve genuinely tried to do right by my team? I’ll never be perfect, but I strive to be a leader who can honestly answer “yes” to that question each day.

 

What experiences or lessons helped shape your leadership style throughout your career?

I’ve been lucky to work with and learn from many strong leaders — this includes my own bosses as well as colleagues who I admired as leaders on their respective teams. Notably, it’s been inspiring to watch many of my women peers rise the ranks in tech and fintech, and it’s been fun to cheer each other on. Some of the experiences that shaped me most, however, were the negative ones. These felt like real learning opportunities. It wasn’t until I worked for someone who I wasn’t allowed to disagree with that I realized how important it is to be someone who can be challenged and not always need to be right. This has stuck with me. Along the same lines, I’ve witnessed people lead with ego or out of pride, and that never works — teams pick up on this and it doesn’t allow for the trust and honest dialogue that builds better teams, products and processes.

 

Some of the best leaders I’ve known just earned a reputation for taking initiative or being a culture-carrier.”

 

What advice do you have for others who may be struggling to define or own their leadership style?

Not all leaders have the same style, so don’t do anything that feels forced or unlike yourself in order to fit a mold. If you can instill confidence in others, gain buy-in and build trust, you’re already a successful leader. Some of the best leaders I’ve known didn’t have titles that formalized their role or a defined personal style — they just earned a reputation for taking initiative or being a culture-carrier. That speaks so much louder than anything else. 

 

 

 

First, how would you describe your leadership style?

My leadership style is centered around people development. I feel that the best leaders focus on mentoring and coaching rather than managing. I’ve learned that a great way to amplify your success and positive outcomes is to surround yourself with a high-performing team. This starts with hiring, and then understanding your team’s personal and professional goals and aligning their work in a way that helps them achieve those goals. I also aim to set the team up for success as best I can through empowerment and gently pushing them outside their comfort zones. 

I also believe in building a culture of feedback. This means making it a priority to give and receive feedback, and both celebrating wins but also learning from improvement opportunities. It also means being a good listener — I try to remind myself to listen first, ask questions second and finally share an opinion third. Helping others arrive at their own solutions through listening and questioning is a great way to help everyone do their best work.

That being said, my leadership style is still evolving and I am still learning how to be a better leader!

 

Listen first, ask questions second and finally share an opinion third.”

 

What experiences or lessons helped shape your leadership style throughout your career?

The biggest impact on my leadership style has been the opportunity to learn from many incredible leaders along the way and to observe their diverse leadership styles in order to try out what resonates and find a style of my own. Through these observations, I’ve learned that there are many effective styles — the most important is finding one that is authentic to you.

 

 

 

My career path has also provided experiences that shaped me. Working in consulting taught me to approach problems in a solution-oriented way. Working at a high-growth SaaS company in enterprise sales taught me how to predict the future with imperfect information and to always have a contingency plan. It also taught me to be a good listener and the power of great storytelling.

 

 

What advice do you have for others who may be struggling to define or own their leadership style?

There is often a perception that a leadership style is something you need to “arrive at” later in your career. Keep in mind that you can be a leader from wherever you sit in your organization, and the more practice you get, the sooner you are able to solidify your style. I’d encourage others to seek out opportunities to lead, whether it’s leading a small project or overseeing a summer intern, and to keep growing their scope of leadership over time. 

Another piece of advice is to observe many different styles and try out what works best for you — but don’t forget that the most important thing is to be authentic and true to yourself.

Last, embrace a growth mindset — you won’t know everything, and you won’t get it right every time. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and feedback, and to lean into your growth areas to continue improving.