Inspiration from Women of Vision 2009 Keynote Speaker Padmasree Warrior

On April 30, 2009 the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology honored three influential women who have made significant contributions to technology with their Women of Vision award. The recipients were:

 · Innovation Award: Yuqing Gao, Senior Manager, IBM Research, IBM
· Social Impact Award: Jan Cuny, Program Director, National Science Foundation
· Leadership Award: Mitchell Baker, Chairperson, Mozilla

 At the banquet the Keynote speaker was Padmasree Warrior who is the Chief Technology Officer for Cisco.

 The Anita Borg Institute has kindly uploaded videos of the speeches for those of us who were unable to attend.

 In watching these videos I am inspired by these women and what they offer from their experience. I will start with the Keynote speaker who’s video is in 3 parts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEfZSad_2J8

 Padmasree Warrior’s speech gave a great account of her journey from a small village in southern India to her current position as the CTO for Cisco. There were five things she wished to impart:

 Every transition brings a growth opportunity

1. You can gain speed at a turn
2. Leaders blur boundaries
3. The best way to gain recognition is to give it away
4. Opportunity is a mold waiting to be reshaped

 Padmasree mentions that ‘balance’ by its very nature means that items such as work and home life are at odds with each other. This is something that she does not subscribe to. She believes that life is about integration and how do we integrate work, marriage, children, and our own personal lives. It is not one against the other as all are part of who we are. Each transition that comes into our lives, be it a job change, another child, or moving to a new city gives us the opportunity to add new skills to our ever changing inventory.

 Padmasree gave examples of how any kind of turn be it an upturn or a downturn, as we are in now, allows us the opportunity and time to focus and prioritize our needs so that we gain focus and learn new skills in order to “prepare ourselves for the growth that is to come.”

 Padmasree talked about working across boundaries and sharing information. She states, “It is more powerful to have the capacity to influence across directions. Influence the industry. Make people listen to what you’re doing rather than being in charge of a large, monolithic, static group that you can’t do anything with.” She mentions utilizing the burgeoning Social Media sector, such as Twitter (which she says is her favorite) as a means to blur those boundaries.

 The fourth item Padmasree speaks to is that of recognition. We are all wanting and needing recognition for the things we do but that is hard to come by when we don’t share our ideas and collaborate. Instead of keeping the silos of information and one-upping each other she suggests that we should get together and gather all possibilities and give credit where credit is due. If someone has a great idea let everyone know that it was theirs and then folks will be more likely to let people know when you have an inspiration. Which goes back to the old adage – that which you sew, you shall reap.

 Regarding opportunities Padmasree says that “there is never a perfect fit.” If you’re looking for a job the employer will always want something that you may not have but this is just a chance to learn something new and grow your skills. She says, “If you’re passionate about something, you will find the courage to break the mold and opportunities will find you…It’s up to you to make the fit happen”

 Padmasree also spoke to ‘How the role of female leaders will change in the future.’

• Instead of just being a Pioneer, one will have the ability to increase their sphere of influence by crossing boundaries and utilizing Social Media, but ultimately by just being authentic.
• While being a trailblazer, one will need to “create the community to follow the trail” by knowing when to merge communities and when to separate them.
• Don’t just be different, be a woman. Be authentic. Be who you are.
• Don’t fly solo. The future is about collaboration and one cannot work alone. Be vulnerable. Be willing to not know all the answers. Look to your community to find the answers.
• While teaching, share your passion. This will inspire those around you to reach out, experiment and learn.

 Check out the speeches of all these fantastic women at You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEfZSad_2J8

 Be the greatest you you can be!

Amelia