Building Your Own Legacy

The 2015 edition of the WISE National Conference took place last weekend at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. This year's theme was "Build Your Own Legacy". Many speakers shared their insights about this topic. In this post, I will share one of the fireside chats given by Caroline Charter about how to build your legacy.

Let's first start with Caroline's brief bio. Caroline is currently a Microsoft's Operations General Manager. Prior to Microsoft, she was VP within Worldwide Alliance & Channels Operations at Oracle Corporation. She was one of the 2013 Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the Corporate Executive Category. Caroline was also a 2014 Colleges Ontario Premier's Award Nominee.

Caroline started by sharing her own story and lessons learned from her experiences. Her very first job was as a McDonald's Fry Girl, and she quickly made her way up the ladder and got a position in management. After graduation, she moved to Ireland and got a position at Gateway. Unfortunately, the company ended up cutting jobs, and the announcement was made the day of the September 11 attacks. These events put her life in perspective. It was also a life lesson: no matter what day you are having, it could be worse! She also learned that no matter what you have done, you will have to earn your stripes over again. Caroline got another position but the working conditions were quite hard. She decided to find another job that would allow her to transfer back home. Oracle hired her. Caroline ultimately got transferred to Canada. Her career really took off when she decided to exploit a niche that hasn't been looked at. Colleagues told her that it was a dead-end, and nothing would come of it. But, Caroline trusted her gut and made it happen: She led the integration of Sun Microsystems into existing Oracle's existing business in 2011, by designing and launching a partner store that supports $3 billion in annual revenue (You can read more details here). Caroline was offered a position at Microsoft last year.

After sharing her story, Caroline addressed four topics for building one's legacy: what is legacy and why does it matter, filing emotions and managing voices, where to start (action vs impact), and finally calling time out.

From the Leadership Freak blog

• What is legacy & why does it matter?

Your legacy becomes your brand and reputation. And, they are known to people before they meet you [You know how it has become standard to google someone before meeting in person. Well, employers do that.]. It becomes part of your internal identity. You should also be aware that there is a difference between what you think you are and the way you are perceived. The great takeaway from this part was that actions should back up/project what you aspire to be. Everything you do, whether on social media or elsewhere, is going to be there. So, why don't you make sure it serves your future?

• Filing your emotions and Managing the voices

This point is quite essential. We have all been caught in a swirl of emotions, or met someone who was. It's definitely not pretty when emotions take us over and negatively affect the work we are doing. The advice was to check your baggage before going to work. Make sure you do some prework and identify which emotions are appropriate for each situation. Don't let everybody have a bad day at work just because you are having a bad one. At the same time, be aware that it's not always about you. It's not personal. You will probably meet people who will yell at you not because you are terrible, but just because  they feel like yelling. You have to be confident in who you are and what you know. Always come with data, and facts. Finally, humanize everyone. Your colleagues/managers are human beings too. Treat them like yourself or friends.

When it comes to managing stressful situations, you get what you put in. So,

1. Approach with an embrace vs a defense: Don't assume it's personal until someone tells you it's a problem.
2. Inspire those around you: Act assertively, calculatively and logically without taking it out on others.
3. Lead by example: Be genuine, be human, be invested.
4. What's the worst that can happen? Ask yourself: Am I projecting my paradigms onto this situation? If your biggest fear is to forget your speech when you are on stage, and it happens. The audience will not kick you out. So, breathe!

Now, about managing the voices [The voices in our head. It sounds a little bit creepy but it refers to whatever you hear/feel when you take decisions for example]: You have to identify who they are, why they are there, and what triggers them. You need to deal especially with the negative ones. Are they qualified to take up time in your head? If no, prove them wrong. If yes, who says they are qualified and why? Deal with both, and again prove them wrong.

• Where to start (Action vs Impact)

Today is DAY 1! Always remember that. Plus, examine your activities, and determine if there is real impact or if you are just "busy". If you are doing 20 projects at the same time and only 4 have an impact, go for the 4. You will feel better. 

• Calling Time Out

Calling time out might be particularly helpful to:

1. Distance yourself from a bad/difficult situation
2. Review a situation and circumstances objectively and logically
3. Determine what you should be
4. Identify key barriers and hurdles
5. Make your plan

Reflect on the previous topics and create your own future. Determine what you should be. If you had a blank piece of paper, what would you be? How do you want to feel? Today is DAY 1.

Stay great! 

Daniella

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Daniella is a Master's student in Electrical and Computer Engineering. One of her dreams is to inspire more women to embrace STEM careers and unleash their full potential. Although she is hardworking and can be very serious, she enjoys comedy and dancing, has a big sense of humour, and believes that a little kindness goes a long way!

@niyodanie

Experience : The Measure of Tomorrow

Daniella was part of a delegation of four CU-WISE members who recently travelled to Toronto to attend the 2014 WISE National Conference. In the next coming weeks you'll get to hear from all the delegates. Here are Daniella's impressions.
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UofT WISE hosted its second National Conference on March 22-23 in downtown Toronto. The theme of this year’s conference was “Experience: The Measure of Tomorrow”. The mission was to provide us with inspiration and direction for leading our lives as we embark upon professional careers. [Aren't you excited about the rest of this post? I bet you are!]. For this post, I decided to take you to the Opening Keynote speech given by Kathy Lee. 

Kathy Lee, President & CEO of GE Capital Canada opened the conference with these words “If you’re not failing enough, are you challenging yourself enough?”. She went on and reminded us that we have to make things happen! Failure is an option but fear is not. [Quite a reminder since I (and maybe you do too) sometimes tend to let fear sit in a corner of my mind, but I’m not renting that space anymore!]. We should have a POSITIVE and CAN DO attitude. 

WISENC14 - Opening Keynote

Now, what are the success factors to effectively gain experience? Her answers were the right environment and the right attitude. 

• The right environment - You might need several trials but it's about: 

1. Choosing a workplace you feel involved in
2. Choosing a workplace you are inspired by

• The right attitude 

1. Vision: “The only thing worst than being blind is having sight with no vision” Helen Keller 
2. Networking: Have Coaches, Role Models, Connections and Sponsors 
3. Continuous Learning: Never stop learning! 
4. Risk Taking: “The biggest risk is not taking any risk” Mark Zuckerberg 
5. Personal Branding: Differentiate yourself. Value what you are good at and have your personal signature. 

Kathy also warned us about the battle that always takes place between our Plan (e.g. I’m going to graduate, have an awesome position, climb the career ladder, have kids by 30…) VS Reality (e.g. You don’t see any career ladder at all. It’s your 30th birthday and you are wondering if the father of your children is lost in another dimension because you have no kids yet). It’s okay if your reality does not match your plan. In fact, nobody has it all figured out and you won’t have all the answers. So, don’t get too attached to your plan and be open to change. We have to learn how to deal with challenges and change. Do not only embrace change, thrive with it! Plus, what we think as failure might not be failure but strength. You learn from every experience you gain and every risk you take. So, be bold, be fierce and be fearless!

Besides, Kathy also recommended to surround ourselves with people who will give good advice (Family, friends, ….)

The President & CEO of GE Capital Canada concluded with these notes : “Keep Calm and Enjoy your Life” and beware  “There’s no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them and they have consequences” (Jack Welch) [See this Wall Street Journal article]

I really had a great experience at the WISE National Conference and I hope you appreciated your ride to the opening keynote! 

Stay great,
Daniella

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Daniella is a Master's student in Electrical and Computer Engineering. One of her dreams is to inspire more women to embrace STEM careers and unleash their full potential. Although she is hardworking and can be very serious, she enjoys comedy and dancing, has a big sense of humour, and believes that a little kindness goes a long way!

@niyodanie

Gaining Inspiration from Successful Women at the 2014 WISE National Conference

Francisca was part of a delegation of four CU-WISE members who recently traveled to Toronto to attend the 2014 WISE National Conference. In the next coming weeks you'll get to hear from all the delegates. Here are Francisca's impressions.
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The returns of a 4-hour train ride along with three other goal oriented ladies as delegates to the Women in Science and Engineering National Conference 2014 hosted by the University of Toronto’s WISE chapter at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Toronto only proved that indeed nothing is more important in life than experience, and truly it is “The Measure of Tomorrow”. The experiences benefited between the 22-23rd of March only reiterated, the quote “Learn what not to do from the experience of others. It's cheaper than your own” (J. Winter Smith). And for the organisers, know that the purpose of providing the delegates with inspiration and direction for leading our lives as we embark upon our professional careers has totally been fulfilled.

The experiences gained from successful women who have strived against all odds to make an impact in this tidal ocean of voracious challenges, daring obstacles and unmovable barriers has left an indelible mark filling me with invaluable experience. They have painstakingly given their time, shared their experiences with me and now I know.

From Kathy Lee, President and CEO of GE Capital Canada, I have learnt to have a vision, to cultivate good relationships, to strive to continue learning, to be a wise and articulated risk taker, and have a personal brand. I have learnt to devote myself to the next idea, to give myself a year to change, survive and thrive knowing that everything would look similar when I get back. From her experiences, I now know that in the early stages of my career, when I think it is not happening I would only be surprised by how much I have learnt and how many people I know.

From Lesley-Ann Scorgie, a trusted financial advisor and best-selling author of ‘Rich by Thirty’ and ‘Rich by 40’, I have met Oprah Winfrey (Interesting!!!!). I  have learnt how to harness my financial potential by curbing excessive spending, gaining financial literacy, having good money management skills, and being financially independent by saving better, spending wisely only on things that grow in value and most importantly, increasing my income through creative ideas. Now I can follow the right path to being a self-made millionaire.

From Swati Mylavarapu, leading Canadian business growth and development at Square, I know that the term career path is not expected to be a one way street but in some cases even a maze-like road which only keeps on unfolding as I met a corner. I know that only the decision to succeed come what may and make an impact in this world of ours would in the end propel me to greater heights and navigate me through the thick bushes of the fierce career circle.

From Marilyn Mcharg, President and CEO of Dignitas International, I have learnt that investing my time in order to reach out to others just as she gave her time to many souls opening up opportunities to improved health and access to quality treatment is not only the right thing to do but also because its ripple effect travels millions of miles all over the world saving lives. I have realised that rest can only be found when working in saving the lives of people dying day-by-day from terrible diseases cutting short their lifespan untimely.

And then it was time to return. "There was no need to cry because the event was over, rather it was to smile because it happened" Dr. Seuss. Now to me, as all of these women encompassed in my experience bosom deeply rooted in my fragile framework, and knowing that “Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him”  Aldous Huxley, I am back to my lectures, assignment deadlines and research thesis, with a clear goal and vision and new pool of strength to strive beyond whatever limit I had set for myself going beyond borders to explore, impact and most of all have fun as the best , unbeatable and unstoppable female Systems  Engineer the world is yet to meet. My mind once enlightened by this cannot again become dark (Thomas Paine). I am more than I was before.

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Francisca F. Adaramola is a Graduate Student in Systems and Computer Engineering at Carleton University. 

A Take Away From Engineers Without Borders 2013 National Conference

Dayna blogged about her experience at the conference she attended as part of the CU-WISE initiative Blog To Attend A Conference Fund. Check out our Opportunities page for more details.

As I find myself with mere months away from graduating from Civil Engineering, I find my place in Engineers Without Borders Carleton ending, but my need to maintain the social values and desire for change greater. In these last months of university I grapple with questions such as: How can I incorporate social change and interest in International Development in the workplace? What can I do when I graduate that contributes to the upward climb of diminishing poverty? How can I maintain my social values in a corporate workplace that doesn't generally think about social or responsibilities at the top of its priorities? These questions are kept at the forefront of my mind as I enter the Engineers Without Borders National Conference. This blog post is the result of my experience.

Engineers Without Borders is a non-profit organization that looks at systemic solutions to decrease and ultimately diminish poverty. EWB doesn't build schools or bore-holes for wells, and we don’t give away free shoes or T-Shirts to the poor children in Africa. Why? Because it simply doesn't work. Building things for people or giving them free things doesn't diminish poverty! When a village doesn't have access to clean water, what solution do you think will last? Building them a well or nurturing someone from the area to create their own water maintenance business that builds wells, maintains them, and trains a workforce in that can carry on the business after the owner moves on? (if you haven’t guessed, it’s the second option). Engineers Without Borders tries to look at the root causes of poverty rather than the symptoms to determine the best venture that works WITH the people in these communities rather than FOR them.

Going into the conference, being in my last year with the Carleton Chapter, I wanted to know what can I do after I graduate that will still contribute to the goals that I've learned from EWB. Many engineering companies will demolish wetlands and other ecosystems to create buildings, or have mines in impoverished countries that have no sense of social practice and exploit the locals in their labor and resources. How can I get job in civil engineering that not only doesn't go against my morals, but also makes social change a priority? Of all the sessions I went to and keynote speakers I heard, one in particular sticks out: Pamela Rogalski and her talk about the Engineering Leadership Council.

Pamela Rogalski talked about making a change in the engineering profession from the inside. She talked about nurturing today’s leaders to go into the workforce and demand change. During my time with Engineers Without Borders I learned about being a Global Engineer, but going into the workforce there are going to be rules about scope, schedules and costs. How do I work around or with these concepts to bring Global Engineering into the workforce? The Engineering Leadership Council, , is a learning community of industry leaders sharing, and discussing how to live that dream. During Pamela Rogalski’s workshop, she discussed how our employers are actually interested in hearing what we have to say and expressing ideas of how we can make the most of a social license to operate. This was the first time I’ve heard of this concept: Social License to Operate.

A Social License to Operate is when a project maintains approval from a local community. The main objective is to positively cater to the local communities in which a project develops these licenses are most commonly seen in counties outside of where the company was founded. A company must look at beliefs, perceptions and opinions held by the local community and the license is granted by the community. What’s great is that the social license is not permanent. The License must be maintained because the beliefs of the community can change as new information is attained.

Although issues may arise when regulators of civil law oversee the “license” since they view the concept as a formal permissions which they hold the right to granting the “license” over the community as a whole. The concept of the social license is greatly beneficial in working in places such as Africa and Central America. Too often in the past, Canadian mining companies have gone into developing countries, have made agreements with the government, and displeased the locals in their presence. There must be social, economical and environmental positive impacts for companies to be present in new communities and this standard should be held everywhere. In both the developing counties and our own we should be hiring local, sourcing local, boosting the economies in where a project is performed and be continually working to minimize the effects of the project on the environment. This holds us accountable to more than just our employers and public safety. A Social License to Operate holds us accountable to our local impacts beyond safety and into a positive social change and expectation. So using our power as the driving force in these companies to embrace and expand ideas such as the social license and engaging with the Engineering Leadership Council is key to seeing the social change that we want to see both in Canada and abroad.

- Dayna Peloquin

One student's experience at CUSEC 2013

SYSTEM.OUT - My Experience at CUSEC 2013

N.B. A revised version of this post can be found on my blog.

On January 17th, I attended CUSEC 2013 (Canadian University Software Engineering Conference) in Montreal. Initially, I was interested in going to hear a talk given by my friend and mentor, Gail Carmichael– not to mention the chance to meet notable people in the software industry.

Delegates, organizers, and presenters

The unofficial theme of the first day seemed to be "visualizing data." One of the speakers I was most excited about was Ben Fry, one of the co-founders of the Processing language. I've used Processing before, and Fry used several live examples of Processing programs being used to visualize information. Perhaps a description from the processing website tells it best:

"Processing is an open source programming language and environment for people who want to create images, animations, and interactions. Initially developed to serve as a software sketchbook and to teach fundamentals of computer programming within a visual context."

Me and Gail, waiting for the next talk

Continuing the theme of visualizing data, the next talk was from the San Francisco-based company Palantir. Their mission is to simplify the process of analysing large or complex data sets, by using tools to visualize it in a more human-readable way. In the hour-long software demonstration, a live demonstration of Palanir's software was used to map E. Coli outbreaks across the United States. By adding data to the map, the user was able to locate the specific meat-distribution plant that was the source of the outbreak. It should be evident that this method is both faster and potentially more accurate that other means of tracking the outbreak.

Overall, it was a great conference, and introduced me to the cool things that people are building with software. I had a great time and learned quite a bit - from the speakers, representatives from software companies, and students from other Canadian university. I hope to volunteer with planning CUSEC 2014, and would recommend the experience to other computer science or software eng students.

- Liz Allen

@liz_codes

Liz blogged about her experience at the conference she attended as part of the CU-WISE initiative Blog To Attend A Conference Fund. Check out our Opportunities page for more details.

CEMF Dillon Undergraduate Engineering Scholarship

The Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation (CEMF) has announced a NEW!! 2013 scholarship for women in engineering. Partnering with Dillon Consulting Limited a $5,000 Dillon Undergraduate in Engineering scholarship is now open across Canada to a woman studying engineering in an accredited university program. THE DEADLINE IS THIS FEB.22, 2013. The application in English and French is on the CEMF website www.cemf.ca.

Unmanned Systems Canada Conference Review

Amy is blogging about her experience as part of the CU-WISE initiative Blog To Attend A Conference Fund. Check out our Opportunities page for more details. 

The Unmanned Systems industry is a small, tight-knit community.  However, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) community goes beyond tight-knit – it is more like a family.  The few hundred people who attended the Unmanned Systems Canada (USC) Conference this year span pretty much all of Canada’s UAV specialists.  That’s it.  A few hundred researchers and companies making up an entire nation’s worth of knowledge on autonomous systems.  They know each other very well – perhaps too well. 

Walking into the conference, I knew I was an outsider.  Having worked in the UAV industry for just a single year – and as a co-op student no less – I had been introduced to many of the other players in the UAV field, but never like this, never all of them together.  I was intimidated. 

I have been intimidated before. As one of five female aerospace engineering students in my year at Carleton, I was typically made aware of being different from the rest of the crowd.  But this was not like that.  Here the questioning faces weren’t asking “why is she here?” they were just asking how I fit into the UAV family. 

It was amazing.  One of those moments where you realize you are being judged on the knowledge and experiences you bring to the table and not the fact that you are female.  I love that feeling.  I live for that moment when I can get behind the radar and fit in and share and learn.  No judgments.  The USC Conference was like that for four whole days. 

Despite the fact that I counted less than 20 women at the conference, the atmosphere told me that it wasn’t the men who were stopping women from joining their inner circle.  They are ready for us.  We just need the guts to admit we are interested and the confidence to share what we know.   At USC I struck a power pose (see video), then walked up and joined the conversation.  I hope conferences will give you the opportunity to do the same.

The Future of Research in the Alberta Oil Sands - International Oil Sands Tailings Conference Review

Lisa is blogging about her experience as part of the CU-WISE initiative Blog To Attend A Conference Fund. Check out our Opportunities page for more details. 

The International Oil Sands Tailings Conference (IOSTC) is a bi-annual meeting for presenting research aimed at developing innovative means of addressing tailings related issues associated with the development of the Alberta Oil Sands. The conference was held from December 2-5, 2012 in Edmonton, Alberta at the Mayfield Inn and Conference Center. The conference brought together 360 experts, and interested individuals, to address tailings technology and management. Speakers addressed challenging issues such as oil sands tailings management, the required research efforts to overcome these challenges and, how the industry is responding. Papers were presented under the following themes: Tailings Containment, Soft Tailings and Stabilization, Tailings Dewatering, Reclamation, Chemical Interactions, New Tailings Management Concepts, and Water and Heat Considerations. A full list of presenters and abstracts can be found at https://uofa-cee.gobigevent.com:443/prothos/onware.x/conference/web/index.p?!=public=13549203058167=41=25697969&Conference=10293

Keynote speakers addressed future goals and areas of future concern while stressing the importance of reclamation studies. It appears that reclaiming and monitoring reclamation is the new main industry challenge. The talk I presented was the only one that addressed ecological reclamation. The talk titled ‘The use of benthic microorganisms (thecamoebians) to assess ecological response to tailings pond water quality changes and define endpoints to remediation efforts’ introduced a means of monitoring ecosystem development with reclamation efforts. This research is currently being conducted here at Carleton University in the Earth Science department.

Upon the completion of my Ph.D. I intend to work in Alberta in relation to the oil sands industry. The general public consensus is that finding work in Alberta is easy but if you actually talk to those looking, finding a career that fits your skillset is rather difficult. The oil companies have relationships with universities in Alberta and positions are typically filled from that pool of candidates. For me attendance at the conference was vital to finding a job. Business people and company researchers mainly attended the conference so the venue was an excellent opportunity for networking. I was one of only two students from outside of Alberta in attendance so I am thankful for the funding assistance that allowed me this opportunity.

ONCWIC: Attending My First Conference

Last weekend (October 12-13, 2012), I attended this year’s Ontario Celebration of Women In Computing conference which was held in London, Ontario. This was my first time attending a conference, so I didn’t really know what to expect.  Being kind of shy and timid also kind of made me nervous. Will people talk to me? Am I going to feel out of place? I was anxious, but at the same time excited to see what the conference had to offer. Walking in and finding a place to sit had to be the most challenging part, since I’m not really the type of person to just join in a conversation with people I don’t know. Fortunately for me, one of the first people I met actually recognized me (and my name tag) since she had seen my earlier tweets about the conference! (Twitter is bringing the world together!)

After settling in and listening to the first woman speak, I knew everything was going to go great. All the keynote speakers were truly inspiring. From how to communicate efficiently with others and being your own PR agent, to how to properly answer the question “what is inheritance?” in a job interview (which I honestly don’t think I’d know the answer to!), I gained some valuable knowledge. I think the one thing that really affected me was Kelley Irwin (who is the Vice President of Technology Solutions at TD Bank Group)’s keynote on Technology in Financial Services. In her talk, she spoke of when she was just beginning as a programmer, when all she wanted to do was write her code by herself and not have to deal with anyone else. She was shy and timid and just wanted to be left alone. And now, she’s a manager of over 300 people all over the world, speaking to large groups of people about her job. For me, hearing her story is so inspiring because she started out right where I am now, shy and timid and never thinking I could ever give talks or manage people. But look at her now! Hearing that gives me hope that maybe one day I could be just like her, a successful woman leading others in a job that she loves doing.

Attending this year’s ONCWIC was truly worth the 8 hour drive it took to get to London. Meeting new people, learning new things, sharing a passion for technology with other women, (and let’s not forget all the great food and prizes!), made this past weekend truly one to remember. I encourage all women in computing to attend next year’s conference which will be held in Waterloo! Let’s hope in years to come ONCWIC can join us here in Ottawa!

 
 

Need some cash to go to a conference? CU-WISE has a new program to help you out!

Conferences are a great way to enrich and support your time spent at Carleton. For undergrads, conferences are a great way to learn practical knowledge required after you leave university. For graduate students, conferences are a great way to share your research with fellow academics. If you haven't guessed, I'm a huge supporter of attending conferences. I always feel inspired and invigorated about my subject matter, environmental engineering, when I get back from a conference. However, living within a student's limited budget, getting to a conference can be difficult. That's why CU-WISE is launching a new program so that you can blog for you dinner... so to speak. We will reimburse up to

$150 of your expenses related to conference attendance in exchange for blogging about an aspect of your time spent at the conference. It really is a win-win. You can practice your writing skills and share your thoughts with the WISE community and we will help ease the financial strain. Your blog post(s) can be about your experience at the conference, a specific thing that you learned or your general impressions. 

If you’re interested, please fill out an application by clicking on the link and tell us the details and your involvement at the conference. Applications can be submitted at any time but you have to apply and get approval before you leave. Application are available here: http://alturl.com/k2eus