GET TO KNOW
Secondly , I feel diversity and inclusion isn ’ t a choice for businesses anymore ; it ’ s a necessity to drive innovation and success . Despite great efforts made over the past years to tackle the gender gap in Science , Technology , Engineering and Mathematics ( STEM ), there is still a lot to be done by all – governments , businesses and individuals – to inspire and encourage a fairer and more diverse future across these sectors . Diversity in thinking creates enriched insights when creative , data driven thinkers are solving while bringing varying points of view to a solution that can be tested and validated . As leaders , diversity of thought is enabled with that diversity of talent across our teams .
If you could go back and change one career decision , what would it be ?
I would not change a career decision because I am in the right place now . If I changed something , I would not be where I am now with the opportunity to work with amazing co-workers while impacting the scaling of data analytics across all ages and education levels for learning .
What advice would you offer somebody aspiring to obtain a C-level position in your industry ?
I think from what I have seen , curiosity is a trait that I see in great executives . It ’ s about having the willingness to ask why – or willingness to ask why not – especially when you might not have the answers . One of my personal philosophies is : I want to learn something new every day . Another one is the ‘ how ’ question – how are we going to do this ? What would be the ideal outcome ? As an executive , it ’ s not my job to have all the answers – curiosity factor is a great trait . At Alteryx , we empower our global customer base to iterate on the next level of analytics and get answers rapidly . My desire to be curious is also fed by the environment that I ’ ve worked in for 24 years . Technology has always been known for speed and flexibility in analytics . We are the biggest customer of our own platform . I ’ m not afraid to ask that next question – I know the team can iterate quickly on the data . Curiosity is enabled by our ability to iterate quickly .
What behaviour or personality trait do you most attribute your success to , and why ?
Having a curious nature has always helped me . Never being afraid to ask ‘ why ’ or ‘ why not ’ or
‘ how ’ has also been a critical factor in where I am now . Curiosity allows us to never stop learning . Especially in technology , where it is a game of trial and error . Don ’ t be afraid to fail or make mistakes . Identify what you learned , understand the error and be ready to move on .
I am incredibly passionate about my work and that in turn gives me the will to succeed , work hard , contribute and to make a real difference . Being lucky enough to work with people who want to be a part of something bigger than themselves continues to make work exciting .
What ’ s your go-to productivity trick ?
You need to take care of yourself first . You ’ re always going to be more productive when you are in the best state of mind . Whether you ’ re a busy parent or a business leader or an up-andcoming business leader , you have to watch health and manage stress levels .
For me it means exercising either in the gym , bike riding , skiing or walking the dog . It ’ s all those things for me that get me outside and keep me engaged in things that aren ’ t on your phone or in front of the computer . That helps when I ’ m getting ready for events – either a high stakes presentation in front of an audience or an important meeting or decision we are making as a team at Alteryx . Time is a currency . We ’ ll never get it back , so we need to ensure we make the most of those interactions and engagements .
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the next 12 months ?
For the future , we must continue to bring awareness to data literacy and data analytics skills for all . My passion for education and upskilling stems from the fact that data is everywhere , but while it is now part of every human ’ s job and every company ’ s success , we are facing a skill drought .
The Alteryx SparkED programme , which provides free data analytics software and learning paths with free certifications to learners of all skill levels is one way to develop the analytics skills of the future . Already empowering thousands of students and job seekers with in-demand certifications that will set them up for success in their careers and beyond SparkED is creating data workers with the skills to drive data driven insights with confidence . x
64 www . intelligentcxo . com