The presentation today is team management as learned from the back of a dog sled. Um Now, why have I chosen this topic?Um Is that, um I have worked with many teams from around the globe, uh for a long, long time, probably longer than most of you have even been on this earth, never mind working in the tech industry. Um So I am the head of it for Siemens Energy, oil and Gas Solutions and I am originally from Canada as you might have gathered from the chat. Um And by way of moving to the UK and Norway, I am now actually based in Germany. Um So I, although I don't do any dog sledding any longer back in Canada, I did have a team of seven Huskies, um, and used to spend my winters out, um, running trails and running dogs on the trails, which is absolutely marvelous. Um Now for myself right now, as I mentioned, I have over 35 years working in the tech industry and 25 years working with international teams and currently, I'm overseeing the it operations for 3500 plus people in across 45 countries. Um one of the things that I learned about team management or many of the things I've learned about team management actually happened in some of the most unexpected ways. And that was from the back of the dog sled.

Now, we used to do something called the Saint Lawrence River run every year. Um I was part of a sledding club with uh other dog sled enthusiasts mushers as we were known. And we would do every year, approximately 20 kilometer run along the Saint Lawrence river. And it would be a relay race where you could stop and you could swap out dogs and you could swap out mushers and, and so on. And it was designed to raise awareness, not only about the sport, but for a lot of the um um sorry rescue clubs in the area. And uh on this one day, this was a run that we did on a, on an annual basis, as I had mentioned. And this one particular time um when we would actually start uh in a town called Morris Burg around the the club, uh golf club, we would instead of going straight along the trails as you can see here. Um Because there would be a bridge there that you would need to uh get off your sled and walk your dogs across which is a very busy highway. Then the, then the route would be that we would leave the, the golf club come up around this way. And in part because of woods and so on, we would slide out here onto this creek, which is about two kilometers and normally completely frozen and then rejoin the trail along here and then continue to run the rest of the way, no problems.

So it was decided on this one day that I would actually be the first team out. So I would take four of my dogs being that, that we were one of the faster, stronger teams and we would head out first and start to lay out the trail for the rest of the dogs to follow because they pick up the sense in which direction you're going and they will follow along behind you.

So no problems. Um, now, I don't know if any of you have ever had the opportunity to do dog sledding. Um, those dogs love nothing more than to get out and run and every time you got on the back of that sled. Um, and I would reach over and put my hand on that quick release. Those dogs, the adrenaline is running through them and, you know, for that next, next 3 to 4 kilometers, those next few minutes as you race down to 3 to 4 kilometers that those dogs are gonna go all up and there's not gonna be much you can do to stop them because they just are bursting forward with energy and so ready to get going.

Um, every time I get on this side and I'd reach over and I think what death wish do I have? So I keep coming out here and doing this every weekend, but the adrenaline and it is addictive. Um What I didn't know is that on this particular day, I was probably going to learn some of the most valuable team management lessons I could potentially learn. And that was about dealing with overflow ice. So as the team, as we came down in that first kilometer and a half and came up around this wine corner to come onto the ice. Here, conditions had changed unexpectedly overnight, the ice had broken up. An overflow ice is a condition where water creeps up between cracks in between ice flows and it can look deceivingly solid until you actually get on it. And in the best case scenario, um you when you get to land, the thing that you need to be concerned about is that you don't get frostbite from having gotten wet in the, in, in the, the um icy water that comes up over as you step onto the ice. The worst case scenario is that you actually fall through and you don't make it to shore and then hopefully they will find your bodies in the spring thaw. And it is a very real and very dangerous condition. And I had never been faced with this before.

But as the dogs like came around that corner onto that creek overnight, the ice has started to shift. So there was just open water to my left and open water to my right and an ice bridge that was shifting and creaking under our feet. And you know, it's amazing what happens when you are truly faced with the life and death situation because the adrenaline kicks in, you can feel your heart like it's gonna burst out and, and you become behind your awareness and your senses of every noise and every nuance around you and the dogs are just as equally into that situation.

And it was in that moment where they're kind of going forward a bit and taking a couple of steps and we're sinking and the water's up to our knee, up to my knees. And it's like, what do we do? And I thought I need to trust my team and I looked at my big dog and said, snuck, get us out of here and I just gave my trust in the team that they would get us to that shore safely. Now, during this time, there is a, because we're running a relay race, there is a person who has arrived on the other end of the shore has realized what has happened and they've called back so that no other teams are going to come behind us. And then the dogs got sight of that person and, and they started calling to the dogs. So the dogs would know where to go. And fortunately we made it, we made it back to the shore safely. And when we got on that shore, at that point, I stepped off the run of that sled and I dropped to my knees and was immediately physically ill to my stomach and, you know, the dogs and I, we were all kind of shaking and, and, and so on, you know, is that whole adrenaline rushes that wears out of your system.

And at that point, I thought that's it. I give up on dog sledding. I'm never going to do this again. But after a few minutes, the dogs were then they were ready to go and it was like, ok, get back on the sled and get going, which is what we did. And it was only in the retrospect and looking back over that event that I realized that I had learned some of the most valuable lessons in team management, possible. One of the first things and as we can all attest to in these current days, um uh of, of COVID is that conditions around us can change very suddenly and unexpectedly, it's a va world, volatile, uncertain, changing and ambiguous. And whether it's in our professional lives or our personal lives, we encounter these types of challenges and sudden shifts and we have to prepare for them. And quite often we, we, we, we need to look at them and somehow find a mechanism to respond that we've not had before.

And the one thing I can say to you is when you get into those situations, as those amazing women who are up and coming in this tech world today is trust your team, trust their instincts and trust your own instincts. Because as, as, as as women, we are very intuitive and you, you need to have that confidence and that trust even if you're facing new situations. Um another most important lesson toe leadership shines through and, and there are times when we need to step back. And if you're managing teams, especially or as you eventually manage teams, there's times when you need to step back and let your leaders lead. And when I say about a leader leading that leader is not necessarily the person in charge because more often than not the leader isn't that person out in front. In this case, it was with the dogs and, and, and you know, there are those people that you will identify in your teens um or with yourself who are very natural leaders and you know, it's second nature to them and they stand out immediately and they're very easy to identify and to have the confidence in.

And then there's those leaders that I call accidental leaders. Those are, those are us who find ourselves in a situation where maybe we've not led before, but suddenly we do take the lead. And in, in this case, with my dogs, I led the two lead dogs Chinook was a natural leader. He had been that way since he was a pup, wanting to be up front, setting the pace for everybody else. Timber, who was the second lead dog I had that day, he was a special case because he was a rescue and he had been a very abused animal. I had gotten him when he was two years old and no one ever thought this dog would ever run in the harness yet with the encouragement and situational um development when it came to needing to lead on that given day, he immediately fell into that leadership capacity. Remember it takes an entire team to navigate the challenges that eu will face successfully on that day. Yes, the leaders were the ones setting the pace, but the dogs in behind also had to pick their way and had to help make sure that we got there and everybody did their part.

So as you go forward and you face uncertain times or situations right now, remember it will take the entire team to get there and be successful. Always remember to stay focused on your target, keep your eye on that short so that you can actually reach it safely. And that may mean that you need to take a couple steps forward and a couple steps to the left and a couple of steps to the right as you navigate your way through, through unclear waters um or situations, but you can reach the shore safely as you stay focused on the target. And that target could be a target that you have for your work. It could be for your own career aspirations, whatever it happens to be, uh stay focused on your target. Remember to let the experts guide you when you need it. For me that day, it was that handler that was on the shore that was coming to the dogs in our business world. It may be the industry analyst, it may be that management board. It may be those corporate changes that come up that when we're, we're out as part of the overall corporation that we think I don't get it. Why are we going this way? Have confidence and trust that those experts will guide you where you need. Um A as you navigate those unchartered waters as well. And always remember as you're going first, as you're navigating those paths that you may be setting the path for others to follow along behind you.

So where do you start if you're going to think about your team management and becoming the best that you possibly can? I am keeping an eye to the time and, and I want to give a few minutes for questions and answers. So successful team management starts with awareness. It starts with awareness of your own strengths where you best fit into a role as well as the outside in view of how others see you. It's about your personality it's about diversity. It's about the biases, all of these things factor into creating successful team management and the more that you're aware, the more you're able to adjust, the more you're able to tap into the actual strengths that each person in your team and yourself are going to bring in at any given time.

Um I always encourage people to embrace diversity because that is truly some of the best and most successful teams that I have worked with have been because of the diversity and encouraging the in, in inclusivity of those people on the different projects that I've worked with um from a tech perspective across the globe.

Um uh Right now, for example, one of the projects we're working on, we have teams in in India, obviously in Europe and in America, all working together on a really heavy deadline and it works, we manage the differences, we manage the diversity, we manage the time zones and it's knowing what we all bring to the table that helps us to actually get there's those dynamics as well as the personality dynamics and we always make the adjustments, make the small corrections can make a big difference and when necessary, get out of the way and let the team lead the way they don't necessarily have to be up in front.

But hey, they can set the pace. One thing I do encourage all of you to do in terms of team management and learning how to really maximize the potential of your teams is first to start to understand, take that inside out, understand you, but also get your team to maybe do some testing. And I highly recommend doing things like the personality test. And there's many of these tools out here which you'll see listed here. These are just some of the tools available. Some of the more common ones like my your breaks um management techniques. Bell Bell Bin stands out, particularly as one that's globally recognized. Um And also the outside in perspective of how the world sees you is equally as important and that could be your personality, but also it could be your cultural or ethnic things that make you stand out and, and separately. But the more that you can understand those dynamics of you and your personality and how it fits to your team or how you fit in the team and the more that you can bring in that knowledge and understanding of the other people around you, then you can really have a team that is, is able to respond to whatever changes happen in the world around us in, in such short order, such as um what's been happening these days and there are some links there as well um that you can use uh afterwards if you want.

Um Thank you very much FNA and sorry, I've just got back out of that presentation mode. So hopefully, that's ok for everybody. Um Those links there. There's great tests out there and things where you can just start to develop that self-awareness. And, oh, you're very welcome, Karen.

Oh, great. I'm really pleased that you guys love the idea, really. Um, and it does help you communicate that, you know, it's really interesting when you do these personality tests. Over 20 years ago, I did the Myer breaks and I did some vocational testing and aptitude testing and I happened to pull it out recently as I was preparing for this. And it was amazing how much of that still applies today and how much that actually influenced my career choices along the way. And if 20 years ago, if someone said that I would be one of those few women out of sea level management with the, with, with the level of responsibility I have, I would have looked at and felt like me. I don't think so. Um But there you go. And it would be having those insights not only for me but for our teams and for the people that work with me. So for example, in understanding that and neurodiversity comes into that conversation, I've had one. I have worked with team members that have been autistic or I've had tourettes where it's enabled me to then see in other team members when maybe they were low spectrum and I could make adjustments and, and this is where having that insight into your, your personality, your traits.

Um do time, I'll come back to you in a moment on that question. Ok. Um can really make a difference in making your team successful and ultimately making you successful because the more you fit to your role and you can play to those trains, the more successful that you will actually be as for the rest of your team. Um So yes, and remember, you never know where you're going to learn to management. It could even come from being on the back of a dog sled finding yourself in a situation you never dreamed where you would ever find yourself in. Um um So, yeah, with that. So because we're coming up on the 20 minutes. Thank you. Um Ladies very much for the feedback on the uh um finding the story inspirational. I'm really, really pleased to hear that because um yeah, II I do truly love to inspire people. Um And I'm just going back up to some of the comments here. Um There's a question about handling criticism from a superior who, you know, isn't constructive but is intended to tear you down. That happens far more than we may realize. Um And it's that way that they try to build themselves and validate.

Um Often that type of tearing you down, often factors into things, things, some um factors into um imposter syndrome which you probably have heard about or if not, you should take a look at and there are ways for you to address that to become more objective. I had it recently um including moving into this position where I actually had a senior manager say to me, well, the only reason why they hired you because when the position I'm in today, um originally meant I had to move to Norway and their comment was, well, the only reason they hired you is you're the only one willing to move to Norway.

And that was really like that type of criticism that tears you down. And this is where again, knowing myself and being numb to reflect, did it hurt? Did it undermine me and make me um uh is someone insecure? Yeah, it did. Absolutely. Absolutely. We all want to know that someone's gonna actually get our back and encourage us and it really hurts when it comes from somebody who is meant to be your manager or your, your, your superior. And if they don't, it is hurtful and it is destructive. But the more you know, yourself, the more you can actually withstand those type of criticisms and, and, and step back and look at it and say, you know what you just said more about you than you did about me. And I'm not going to let that stop me. I'm going to just block you out completely. Um And due time at any point in time, if you want to have to discuss that a little bit more because there's not really that much time here over my time as it is. Um Please feel free to connect me on linkedin and we can, I think we may have done. So anyways earlier today, um And I'd be happy to discuss it in one night with you. Um See it to me. Thank you, everybody um for your feedback on this, on this story and, and it being unique and inspiring and, and so on. I really, really appreciate the feedback.

Um because certainly as somebody who's been kicking around the industry, as long as I have my, my biggest excitement about this conference is that I get an opportunity to connect with so many amazing women from around the world who are starting out in the tech industry. And I, there's so many paths I have walked and I would love to be able to help and inspire any one of you um along those paths at any point in time and if there's something I can further share with you, um um then please reach out to me over linkedin and I'd be happy to do so.

And um yeah, thank you, Julia. This is so cool. Sorry, I just love this platform. This is so much fun. Um And I think with that, I have definitely, yeah, it is so much with that. I have definitely gone over my um over my time. You're probably gonna cut me off in a minute here. Um So everybody. Thank you, Anna. Thank you. Uh and yes, again, please feel free to reach out to me, over, over linkedin. And I'm so pleased that you all enjoyed it and that you found that it, it resonated with you. Ok. Yeah, actually Claudia Great Tip Claudia is, is, is running due to take it with a lot of humor. Don't take it seriously. And you know, quite often due to that criticism comes from a man, not from a woman. And there again, don't take it seriously. That is a bit feminist. OK? Um Yes, I will. Um I'll put them up here. Thank you, Mariana. I will do that right now for you. And yeah, some of these tests, most of them are free and there's lots of really, really helpful information um that you guys can tap into and um I think I can still keep this presentation up long enough to put these links in here.

Um There's one, yeah, I can do good. Yeah, it's, it's terrific platform for everybody and um I really encourage, it's like I said, these links when I did um the testing and I looked at it just as a side note, I said 20 years ago, um I invested with a career consultant and I was able to align with what actually I was interested in and so on as a result of that, doing that testing and working with that career consultant within three months of starting that process, I had moved into a job where I jumped up to director level and I had doubled my annual income.

Um and that is having those insights into myself and what I really wanted to do. So I would encourage every one of you to please, you know, take the time, get to know you get to know your team. It's one of the easiest ways um that you can maximize your own performance and the performance of the team and really fit to your fit to your jobs and, and get the success that you truly deserve and are capable of without a doubt. Because if I could be that person, that woman 35 years ago in an industry that had very few women get to the level that I can. Um then so can anyone if you, you certainly can do it as well? So, and with that, um I think I better stop before they kick me off. But if any of you want to reach out over, you know, either slack or any of the other um platforms we have available, I will be around for the next two days at the conference as well most of the time. Um I do have to balance out with a few meetings and so on, but please feel free to reach out to me. OK, thank you, everybody and enjoy the conference.