"In a world that wants me to whisper, I choose to yell"
~Luvvie
As I start day 3 of my new job at Palo Alto, I can't sleep again. 3 am rolls around and my mind is on learning. My ultimate career goal is to help organizations grow and run more secure operations. Most of my career, I've been technical but have always wanted to make the move, take on the challenge.
So of course, I look to YouTube for inspiration and resources to fill my toolbox. There are tons of videos (❤ TedX series) on women in leadership and how to change the status quo, and the content is great. But something is missing. None of the speakers showcase women that look like me (from what Ive seen so far, plus that's another story :)) nor provide ways to move from individual contributor to leader.
Everyone's journey will be different but from what I have gathered the following are ways to help you work smarter not harder (Anila Khalique) and move you forward on the corporate ladder:
Find a mentor AND sponsor (men and women)
Find role models (internal and external)
Teamwork (build a team that compliments your skill set)
Networking
Be authentic
Build a roadmap
Take risks without fear
Measure inputs and outputs
Get comfortable with "I" instead of "We"
This is not an exclusive list but it's a great start to figuring out that next step. I took a risk to move from the security of the government world to that of hospitality. This week another risk taken, stepping into the vendor world. I don't know what this future holds but by the looks of it, it looks pretty promising!
~Mostly Mimi
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