This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the female leadership that has contributed to Flashtalking’s success across the globe. We’ve returned with more insight to share from our leading ladies about their lives, careers and passions.
JULIE GLASSER
SVP CLIENT OPERATIONS
Is there a female figure in your life who has particularly inspired you more than others? If so, why? What about her inspired you?
I was lucky enough to have had the privilege of working with several strong female managers during the course of my agency career. Each of these women were experts in their field, and had a unique path to becoming well-respected leaders within their organizations. They all helped me climb hurdles at different points in my career, allowing me to learn along the way and helping me become a better leader. These women inspired me to be confident in my decisions and to find my voice in an often male-dominated industry. They also always led by example—they voiced their opinions and they asked questions without hesitation.
What advice would you give to young women who aspire to leadership roles in the tech industry?
Try to look at difficult situations as an opportunity to learn and gain experience to grow your career. Collaborating with your colleagues to solve problems will help you develop as a leader and allow you to continue to learn as you progress further. Don't be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone.
GEORGIA BRAMMER
REGIONAL DIRECTOR, APAC
Is there a female figure in your life who has particularly inspired you more than others? If so, why? What about her inspired you?
One of the great advantages of social media is the exposure and access to inspirational women across all facets of life—from Emma Watson, Turia Pitt to Elizabeth Gilbert—sharing their lessons, promoting other women’s successes and collaborating for future women’s opportunities and advances. It’s this mentality to share and support, to be courageous and kind, that I find incredibly inspirational and look to apply personally day to day.
What advice would you give to young women who aspire to leadership roles in the tech industry?
A mentor said to me recently, we don’t learn when everything goes smoothly, we learn when it doesn’t. As a recovering perfectionist, I can only appreciate how at times this doesn’t ring true, but it’s these challenges that provide us with the opportunity to teach ourselves and demonstrate to others the grace and resilience you bring to your team, organisation and industry. So take a deep breath, perhaps let out a few silent expletives, and embrace the challenge.
BETSY ADELSTEIN
SVP, MIDWEST SALES
What is one thing about yourself or your achievements that you're most proud of? I am most proud the tenure of our team.
To this day, the biggest achievement of my career was somehow persuading so many incredibly talented and insanely hard-working team members to come to work at Flashtalking, especially early on when we were still piecing it all together. And, through all the bumps and bruises and some pretty awesome successes we have stayed a team and grown as a team.
What advice would you give to young women who aspire to leadership roles in the tech industry?
The best advice I can give to anyone aspiring to a leadership role, especially in tech, is to come from a place of deep, evolving knowledge. Knowledge not only about what your customers want and need from your company and team today, but the knowledge to translate that understanding into what will be needed in 3-5 years and work towards that. Beyond customer needs, even more important is focusing on what makes individual team members tick and how to best meet those needs to maximize your relationship with them.
Interested in hearing more? Read Part I and Part III of this series.
