My #movethedial in 10 days self-challenge

Have you ever attended an event or conference and walked away totally inspired and convinced that you were going to DO something different in the aftermath of the event? This was me after the #movethedial Global Summit, which took place on November 7, 2018. For those who aren’t in the know, #movethedial is a global movement, with the mission to increase the participation and leadership of women in technology. The movement was started by Jodi Kovitz, a dynamic leader, attorney and advocate for advancing women in technology. Jodi maintains that small actions, collectively done, can add up to big change.

On November 8 (the day after attending this incredible conference; Digital Journal highlights are here) I decided that I didn't want the #movethedial Global Summit experience to be like my past experiences, where I'd leave the event pumped up and inspired, only to have a day, a week, a month, a year go by with no change. So I decided to take Jodi’s advice and focus on doing something small each day to advance the cause of women in leadership and technology. And thus I began my "#movethedial in little ways in 10 days" journey and self-challenge.

Day 1 was easy. I had committed to make a professional introduction several weeks earlier and I had been procrastinating. Boom! Introduction made. Day 2 was another professional introduction. And then it began to feel tough. I felt myself stretching to meet my daily #movethedial goal, but I plugged on through Day 3 with a conversation about implicit bias and women being held to a higher performance standard vs men, with a kick butt attorney friend, where we pinky promised each other about our commitment to hold our female employees to the same standard as men. I closed out Day 4 with positive email feedback to a partner regarding the great performance of a kick butt woman who reports to him. Then Day 5 came. I got home, tired, but responded to a LinkedIn request, resulting in a great candidate for a position at my company.

On Day 6, I said "Yes" to Girls Inc, while on Day 7 and once again tired, I returned a call from the candidate from Day 5 to answer her questions about our corporate culture before her phone screen the following day. This one was a test, because honestly if I had not given myself a challenge, I likely would not have returned her call - at least not so promptly.

At this point in my challenge, even though I was at Day 8 and close to the end, I was feeling a bit panicked. I didn't have anyone asking for a connection or an interview or my time and then - Aha! Lightbulb time! I reached out to Women of Sitecore and asked the group to consider taking up a 10 day #movethedial challenge. Three of them agreed to the challenge! My challenge closed out with a Day 9, donation to Black Girls Code and then I helped a tech parent from my kid's school figure out a strategy to deal with a "Mean Girl" scenario at work for the final Day 10 challenge. Today is Day 12 and the muscle memory of this experience remains with me, as I have recommended three women for the Sitecore MVP Award, which celebrates the most active and valuable Sitecore community members from around the world.

There were two things that hit home for me in the aftermath of this experience. I learned that helping advance the cause of women in technology (or any cause) really is about going out of your way. And yes, it's uncomfortable - you have to ask for things, yikes! And yes, you may be tired and would much rather have that glass of wine than talk to a job candidate. And yes, you don't need this one other thing that you have to track to completion. The list can go on. What I also learned and what will seem to contradict my earlier point is that as you continue down the path of helping others and if it's coming from a place of passion, it starts to feel less like going out of your way and more about doing things that feel right and that make you feel good in your soul. My "#movethedial in little ways in 10 days" self-challenge has left me feeling more empowered. Little things can make a difference! I can make a difference! I plan to continue sharing what I learn, see and do. I shared this post with my husband and he reminded me that I could have mentioned more about how men can be engaged. [Note to self: think about engaging men.] I hope to inspire both men and women to go out of their way and take little actions and big actions that drive inclusion and diversity in technology. Thank you for reading my story. Let's all #movethedial together!