I admit it: when I learned that the Women in Technology Luncheon at TechEd 2012 was on “Developing Your Personal Brand,” I groaned. In recent years, I’ve encountered a lot of generic, unhelpful advice on building one’s “personal brand” — like “run a blog or website” or “keep your brand fresh.” The topic pops up on Twitter, YouTube, RSS feeds, newsletters, and at conferences. I wouldn’t be surprised to find it scratched in bathroom stalls.
But Catherine Kaputa, author of three books on personal branding and featured presenter for the Women in Technology luncheon, has an interesting spin: The Female Brand.
She also had some provocative advice for all women, not just technologists.
A Little Personal Background
First, a bit about my upbringing (bear with me — these memories kept surfacing during the Women in Technology talk, and help with the retelling):
- I remembered learning to type when I was very young. My father had a collection of old typewriters in the attic and access to fancy new “electronic typewriters” (ones that could erase your inked mistakes!). I remember feeling that typing was important because I was a girl, and don’t recall my brother being overly encouraged to practice. Although unstated, the impression was this: typing was women’s work, and all that I needed to know.
- I remembered movies at grandmother’s house — the grandmother who was a schoolmarm back when teachers were contractually required to wear three petticoats and keep reasonable curfews. During the funny parts of the movie, my dad and brother roared with laughter. If I joined, my grandmother corrected me with, “Heather, stop the giggling!”
- I remembered my rebellious teenage grunge phase, leaving the house in a men’s flannel shirt, with bare face, ripped jeans and combat boots, my mother’s Southern drawl mounting succinct but eloquent protests: A lady is not dressed without makeup and earrings; I have failed as your mother!
I don’t know why these memories surfaced during the Women in Technology talk. It’s not like I regularly think about them. But they’re always there.
Here are some more recent examples:
- TrainSignal generously and regularly buys employees snacks and lunches. But I can’t recall too many men, let alone a male member of management, cleaning up afterwards. There’s a quiet implication that it’s women’s work.
- At TechEd 2011, I remember watching Gosia interact with fellow IT Pros (Gosia is TrainSignal’s production manager, a former World-of-Warcraft junkie with multiple IT certifications who is also a tall, leggy blond). I remember conversations about whether she was just a “Booth Babe” or if she actually “knew something” about the company. And she was not offended, or even phased.
- TechEd allows only a few minutes between the last session of the day, and the evening events, during which men dash back to their rooms, throw on a new un-ironed shirt, look great, and commence networking. Women don’t have that luxury. But the women who don’t take the time to do their hair and makeup are silently punished.
So the idea of a “Women in Technology” session at TechEd was appealing, for it gave me a chance to network, commiserate, and share with fellow female technologists.
But this year’s talk was so much more than that.
TechEd 2012 Women in Technology Luncheon
One moment early in Catherine Kaputa’s talk resonated with me. Catherine cited research showing that “women have some catching up to do” in regards to our personal brand. These studies (which she elaborates on in The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business) suggest that men are more adept in managing their personal brands because men boast about, and even exaggerate, their accomplishments, a dynamic known as the Male Hubris Effect.
Women, on the other hand, downplay or even omit, accomplishments, a phenomen termed the Female Humility Effect.
I do this way too much, and I fear that it does hinder my personal brand.
A few weeks before TechEd, TrainSignal’s Director of Product Development, was taking around a new contract instructor. The men approached my office, where Gary introduced me as “Heather Ackmann, PowerPoint Guru and [his] personal presentation mentor.” It was a huge compliment. So, how did I respond?
Me: Guru? Mentor?! Gary, I lent you a book [Presentation Zen]; How does that make me your mentor?!
Gary: Um… yeah, [gulp] well, I was also referring to your PowerPoint courses.
Me: Oh, yeah…that.
[Awkward silence]
Any healthy, normal person would be flattered; I threw the compliment back in his face.
I did not intend to be ungracious. I was genuinely startled at the words “Guru” and “mentor.” I was awarded as a Microsoft MVP back in October and there are days I expect Microsoft to call me saying, “yeah, we need the trophy back.”
Do men do this too?
Women in Technology Session Takeaways
I’m not alone in these impressions. In the post session Q&A, women from all branches of IT described heart-wrenching situations from this male-dominated IT world, and I realized how lucky I am to work for a company as progressive and open to women as TrainSignal.
That said, we are still a boys’ club (for crying out loud, we ambushed an interviewee with Nerf darts, and our company fridge regularly holds just beer and expired condiments). I am still a women caught between worlds. On one side of my office sits the verbally passive don’t-tell-me-the-problem-just-submit-a-bug IT guy, and on the other side sits the boisterous I-talk-for-8-plus-hours-a-day MCT. There are days when stepping out of my office is like stepping back to junior high — I am pelted with Nerf darts and I don’t know how to talk to the boys!
And yet, somehow, I fit in.
I have a creative side and vision unlike any of the men in my company — and can communicate it. That is a powerful, valuable skill in IT.
And that’s what Catherine Kaputa’s talk proclaimed — nurturing and leveraging our female edge, a mindset that embraces empathy, intuition, communication, relationships, openness, and collaboration, in conjunction with appearance. (Yes, appearance is a part of it; as women, after all, we often don’t need to scavenge for those TechEd hard-to-get party passes and invitations).
At TechEd 2012, or any tech conference, the female edge is valuable and laudable. These skills and this edge is what 21st century businesses want, and if we allow ourselves to use them, the tools are already in our handbags.