Conversations move us forward. As we honor Women’s History Month, we asked three Highspot employees to share stories of the conversations that shaped them –– and the words that will inspire the next generation of changemakers.
“Great collaboration and communication start with understanding each person’s unique perspective.”
Early on in my career, I was working as a project manager that frequently collaborated with a product design team. It wasn’t always smooth sailing – we would constantly run into roadblocks even though everyone was following the same process. That’s when I ended up talking to a product designer to get their perspective on the situation.
That conversation revealed that although we were following the correct processes, our views were different: our team had a totally different interface in our project management software than the product design team. We quickly realized that half of the information we were inputting for their team wasn’t showing up on their screen.
This was an ah-ha moment for me. It sparked a lifelong love of operational excellence. But importantly, it also opened my eyes to the fact that at work and in life, great collaboration and communication start with understanding each person’s unique perspective. You may be looking at the same thing and still be seeing something different.
This is a lesson I’ve carried with me. In life, there’s almost nothing you do completely alone. So being able to work and collaborate with others is critical. I encourage everyone to ask questions –– not gotchas –– to genuinely understand the people around you and their perspectives. That’s the only way we can all succeed, together.
–Anna Scharer, Sr. Business Program Manager – Revenue Strategy
“Be strong for others when you can.”
I am now pregnant with a baby boy, and it’s made me very reflective about being a woman and the role as a woman to raise a person regardless of gender. I’ve always been aware of sexism, cultural differences and skin color awareness. Now as a soon-to-be parent, I am thinking more and more of my role in educating my son. How do I want to raise him? What values do I want to teach him?
Of course, I want to teach him to respect women. But also, I want him to care for others –– regardless of their gender, or any other stereotype. Coming from a Latin family, there is a big emphasis on “we”. After all, we are living in a society, not alone. We need to respect and care for one another. It can be as simple as seeing someone who needs help and helping them, finding ways to set aside differences, and choosing peace and collaboration.
Since I am bringing a person into this world, I want them to make a positive contribution to society. I hope, of course, that he will uphold my values and help us build a kinder world. And no matter who you are, you can still make an impact. Be strong for others when you can. We must take care of each other.
–Lizbeth Aguero, Sr. Accountant
“Lift as you climb.”
At Highspot we begin our weekly recruiting team meetings by sharing diversity topics as part of our continued learning in that space. One day, a coworker brought up the topic of “first-generation professionals”, which is defined as “obtaining a 4-year college degree and/or obtaining a higher level professional position than what was held by either parent.” While I think the verbiage can be misleading –– after all, you can become an expert in your field without a degree, or working an office job, and I am proud of the jobs my parents have –– it did resonate. I am the first in my family to do this.
It was eye-opening to think about my background through that lens. Reflecting back on it, there were so many unspoken rules about how to succeed in an office environment that my parents couldn’t teach me because they worked in different areas. For instance, I learned that hard work is not all it takes to get ahead –– networking is also very important. Not having my parents’ networks to lean on, I had to build my own, which is an additional obstacle to overcome in climbing career ladders.
As a recruiter, I believe talent teams have an extra opportunity to level the playing field for people of different backgrounds. On top of that, businesses must create resources that make this knowledge available –– especially for early career talent. By codifying the “unspoken” rules, or removing what’s irrelevant, like for instance, not judging a candidate based on whether or not you have hobbies in common, we can bring equity to hiring.
Finally, for anyone else who identifies as a “first-generation professional”, my network is open to you. We have to lift as we climb!
–Christine Bonfante, Sr. Recruiter
