Speaking Up and Stepping Up
Name: Priyanka
Pronouns: she/her
Title: Principal Product Owner
Location: Farnborough, UK
My personal brand
I take the lead, build teams, solve problems, and do it all with an infusion of dry humor. I mentor and inspire cross-functional staff in enhancing and implementing business-critical infrastructure, systems, and applications. By empowering people, I create a high-impact organization with the capabilities and resources necessary to exceed stakeholder expectations amid constantly changing conditions.
Learning moments, key drivers, and constant evolution
Something I’ve learned over the years is to detach myself from the outcomes and enjoy the process. There have been times when good things fell into my lap without much effort, and on others, nothing went right—even when I tried my hardest. I’ve learned to focus on improving my routines and ignore factors I can’t control. On top of enjoying the process, I take more chances, and let probability work its magic.
What gets me out of bed each day is the opportunity to work with a team of talented and diverse individuals. I enjoy being a part of a team, and it’s rewarding to see everyone excited about a job well done. I enjoy listening to the perspectives of others, learning how they may approach a potential customer problem, adding my own perspectives and making crucial product decisions for the betterment of customers.
I am consistently focused on improving my communications skills to bridge the authority gap. As a woman of color, I feel we tend to be underestimated, interrupted, and spoken over during meetings. To better handle these day-to-day situations, I lean on internal women in tech forums for support and advice. I am also training myself to deal with mansplainers and generally speak up more (and loudly). I make sure I keep my points during meetings and persist until I am heard. Unfortunately, that also means continuously proving my competence to be taken more seriously—so I always put my best foot forward.
The journey
Having grown up in India, I have always been a hard worker (at times a workaholic) for many years in my career. Initially my default state was keeping my head down, doing my best work and hoping to get rewarded. It didn’t take me long to realize how my shyness and social anxiety would cost me growth opportunities at work. There were times when I was passed over for promotions and high visibility opportunities. I didn’t really speak up for what I wanted and hence I did not get what I deserved. Over the years, I focused on improving my communication and speaking up for what I wanted. Slowly but surely, I started getting recognized for the good work I was doing.
I have worked across three continents and have grown in seniority. What helped me on this journey was keeping an open mind, being highly adaptable to different environments, learning to work with diverse colleagues, improving my verbal communication skills, and plain old hard work.
Being a woman brings its own set of challenges. Getting into white, male dominated cliques in leadership has been an uphill task. In the face of these challenges, I try to demonstrate the unique value I bring to the table and keep positive through all the hurdles.