The 7th annual Women in Leadership conference will be taking place on March 3, 2020. To celebrate its 7th year involved with the conference, CCI would like to highlight 7 women that have been with the conference since the start. In today’s feature, meet Information, Communication, and Technology alumna Ashley Augustine.
Ashley is a PMO/Compliance Manager at Brandt Information Systems. She works with Parks, Fish & Wildlife agencies to increase outdoor participation and revenue streams through creative technology and marketing strategies. Ashley shared with us what leadership means to her.
1) Why is leadership important?
Leadership helps us work together to achieve a common goal. It empowers us to make bold decisions and motivates us to do more. Leadership is a key building block to success.
2) What advice would you give to your younger self?
- Speak up – Advocate for yourself more often, no one knows what you need better than you.
- Fail fast – Failure is inevitable. When you try to stave it off you end up making yourself smaller and that hurts your growth both professionally and personally. Take risks, respond to the outcome with grace, learn from it and move on.
- Save more & invest early – No one wants to work forever or be broke. Start your financial planning now from wherever you are with whatever you have.
- Take care of yourself – You know when you are overdoing it. Don’t try to justify it just take a break. You will be better for it.
3) What challenges do you face as a female leader and how do you overcome them?
The challenge I face most often is others underestimating the value I can provide to a team or initiative. I overcome this challenge by showing up, operating professionally and with a solution oriented attitude, learning from my failures, and honing my skill set with every success. Looking inward, instead of going into a situation trying to prove someone wrong or change their opinion of me, helps me become more confident in my own ability regardless of the circumstance. I can only focus on myself, I can’t control what other people think of me.
4) Name one way women can support one another.
Mentorship – Give back. Be the person that you needed. Share all the lessons you have learned so far. Help someone progress faster than you did so that they can grow and mentor the next person in line.
5) What is a goal of yours for 2020?
To pass the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner exam as part of a larger initiative to really step up my professional development efforts.
We hope to see you at the Women in Leadership Conference on March 3rd at the Turnbull Conference Center from 3:30-8:15 pm. You can hear Ashley speak at the “Investing in YOU and Leading Others: Leadership in Technology” workshop from 6-7 pm. Register for FREE here.