At the start of my career, I was conscious about how I would be perceived and often softened my uniqueness working hard to blend in; my age, being a woman, and the perception that to be good, you had to be a clone and almost robotic. How very na¯ve of me. I was raised in the UK by immigrant parents as a first-generation Brit. Culturally although raised in the UK, there were still times when I looked blankly around the room when something typically British was mentioned, and I was clueless. I smiled as if I understood. I now question why I did do that.

As I have grown in my career, I have become more aware and recognise the power and privilege my position holds; thus, I am able to be an advocate or ambassador for those who may not yet be able to be their authentic self or to encourage and support the underdog, learn, educate, and champion diversity. This is especially important for me in the STEM field being a Women in Tech; but not just a woman in Tech; a brown woman in Tech, a leader in Tech and all it encompasses.

I have seen the change in organisations, myself, and business culture during my career. The same things that were deemed acceptable or I feared to speak up about early on in my career are easily questionable now, and I have the confidence to do so. With time, development, and career progression, I have come to realise that the one thing I was concerned about at the start of my career is the one thing that differentiates me. And the beauty often of the best teams is their diversity.

By silencing who I was, I was not fully providing my potential and could not achieve my own personal goals, which I was more than capable of.

Embrace your team’s differences, celebrate success and encourage your team to bring their authentic selves to work daily

The advice I would give my younger self and anyone wanting to advance in the Tech field who may be concerned about their difference’s is DON’T; embrace them and bring your authenticity to the table. Those idiosyncrasies, the varying outlooks, and the different perspectives make for more innovative and creative teams. They make for better, more rounded, and authentic leaders. During the pandemic, the lines between work and home have been further blurred, especially with hybrid working. Gen Z employees are looking for more from employers than pay and for companies to hit financial targets. They are looking for companies that have a corporate social responsibility, consider sustainability, have family-friendly policies, embrace diversity, and share data on gender pay gaps, their commitments to diversity, and how they encourage authenticity in the workplace. The working world is changing for the better, and the days of autocratic management and suppressed speech are long gone.

So, what can we do as leaders to support diversity and ensure imposter syndrome does not take over good workers?

Embrace your team’s differences, celebrate success and encourage your team to bring their authentic selves to work daily.