The Value Of Diverse Experiences
Some things in life are within your control, while others are not. And if you belong to an underrepresented demographic, this translates into additional challenges when it comes to having the career you want. Finding a mentor, participating in resource groups, and building your network are all great ways to help you climb the corporate ladder (or more accurately, the jungle gym). For me, refusing to put invisible guardrails around myself led me down an interesting path and allowed me to take charge of my career. In this session, I’ll share personal anecdotes about my journey from a hardware engineer working on 64 nm chips, to software engineer working on large scale distributed systems, to a manager, where I have the opportunity to make a greater impact by building a strong and diverse team. I’ll cover my learnings, and give attendees tips on how to define what a successful career is for you, and keys to building a diverse team.
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The Value Of Diverse Experiences
- 1. The value of Diverse Experiences Sr. Engineering Manager, Docker Nandhini Santhanam
- 4. So what is diversity? Physiologically unique We are inherently diverse Personalized Skillsets We are great at different things Multiple Perspectives We see and process things differently
- 5. In the absence of diversity Male: ✓ Female: ✗ Caucasian: ✓ Ethnic: ✗ Light Toned: ✓ Dark Toned: ✗ Convention: ✓ Evolution: ✗
- 7. It’s not straight(forward) College in India Grad School in the US Hardware startup Industry Pivot Build at scale Startup Mode Leadership Role
- 8. My team
- 9. Inertia is real ❏ Gravitate towards similar individuals ❏ Natural self-expression with native language speakers ❏ Upfront investment with no immediate returns ❏ Consensus supersedes conflict
- 10. My approach to team-building Celebrate strengths Tailor the experience Make room to grow
- 11. My experience thus far Hiring from bootcamps Candid feedback cycles Team building activities Unconscious bias training Conscious time- commitment Change is not instantaneous Unclear metrics to evaluate progress
- 12. What can you do? ❏ Meet a colleague for lunch ❏ Think beyond school, experience or skillset ❏ Encourage the quiet ones to speak up ❏ Give the benefit of the doubt ❏ Remember: disagreement is not personal
- 13. If there’s one takeaway Start small, but start somewhere!