7 October 2018

Grace Hopper Celebration 2018

by iammyr

I found a bit of lack of information around the Grace Hopper Celebration conference so I’d like to clarify a few points, now that i’ve been there.

TL;DR:

Topics covered:

• career advices,
• entrepreneurship advices,
• broad variety of technical topics,
• social activism topics (around economical inequalities and minorities).

What’s in it for you:

• contacts to collaborate, mentor or be mentored
• very useful career advices
• technical skills through workshop or ideas and talks. However whether this applies to you or not, depends on many factors, since - given the breadth of audience background and topics - the level of the workshops is usually entry-level. There can be talks on advanced topics and advanced research results indeed, but the research area may or may not interest you.

Finally, I’m publishing here my own personal notes from the best sessions I attended. This is to benefit those who could not attend them.

Table of Contents

1. Topics Covered
2. What is the main gain from attending
3. Notes from How to become a better Negotiator
4. Notes from How to become a person of Influence
5. Notes from How to build your personal Brand
6. Notes from being an Architect

Topics Covered

There are different types of sessions:

1. the technical track with mixed subjects and 20mins long talks.
2. poster
3. panel (guests interviewed by a host and then answering all Q&A from the audience)
4. non-technical talk (mainly around career tips)
5. workshops (also technical and non-technical (exercises around career tips and inter-relationships tips)
6. mentoring circle (tables chaired by people who are at a more advanced stage of their career and offer to mentor/talk to the attendees for some time)
7. recruiting booths (there is a huge room flooded with companies’ booths and - mainly new graduate - who queue to file in their CV, get swag and interviews on the spot or booked for later on)
8. keynotes (inspiring because of powerful sociological messages or because of innovative ideas showcased or on career tips)

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What is the main gain from attending

1. network of contacts (you get to meet a lot of women sharing similar interests as yourself, which is not something that happens easily within the tech sector; who are willing to mentor you or to collaborate on projects)
2. career-tips (there’s extremely useful career tips everywhere, which would apply to both men and women)
3. technical-wise you may or may not find talks that interest you, because of the broadness of the topics accepted. also because of the broadness of the audience, in order to involve as many people as possible, the tech workshops tend to be for beginners

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Personal notes from the “Six Steps to Successful Negotiations” workshop by J. Stewart, C. Valdezco

(1) Stategise

Identify your currency (create multiple currencies). A currency is the thing you can do and its value, i.e., what you can ask back for it. Plan: imagine all the possible counter-arguments you may receive from the other person, the bottom terms you’ll be willing to accept, which conditions the other person might agree with.

(2) Set the climate

Be in control. Drive the discussion, with questions to gather information.

(3) Obtain information

“Negotiation is an information gathering process” (Chris Voss)

Ask whatm how, why, TEDS (tell, explain, describe, share) -type of questions, e.g.,: tell me about…; share with me about…. Do not stop at the first answer you’ll receive: drill down instead. Ask broad open questions. Example: What are your concerns; How did you determine your budget; How long has this been an issue; What makes this issue a priority for you; What would b helpful for you; What role do you see me playing in those priorities. etc.

Goal: understand the other person’s priorities in order to select what best to offer (the best currency to use) in order to increase chances of receiving back.

(4) State positions

Do not reveal your own plans, e.g., a deadline, your own terms, your walk-away position Offer low when buying. Offer high when selling. But in general, be flexible. Draw attention to your own concessions.

(5) Bargain

Make concessions conditional. Example: what if I… then would you…; Suppose we… then could you…; If I were to… then would you…

(6) Agree

In general, remember that a negotiation can always be re-opened. Do leverage your Power: TIPS (Time, Information, Personal, Social).

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Personal notes from the “Become a Person of Influence” workshop by J. Miller

Why to Influence

Technical work is Team Work. With Influencing skills, a technical woman can

1. become more efficient,
2. get the job done,
3. establish her reputation

Our behavior teaches people how to treat us.

What is a Person of Influence

Influencer= Make large impact by:

• Lead
• Inspire
• Motivate
• Engage in ordere to do better than you can do alone.

Common characteristics of persons of influence: powerful stand, empathy, technical knowledge, emotional control (calmness).

How to become a Person of Influence: 6 sources of Influence

(6) Positional Influence

(title, role, etc.) Work on your 30-seconds commercial in which you introduce:

• name
• job title
• I’m responsible for…
• Come directly to me when you need…

This specific source of influence is at the 6th position because your own Influence has little to do with your position in the hierarchy.

(5) Expertise Influence

This source of influence is at the 5th position because “it’s not what or who you know, but who knows what you know”. Plan initiatives that advertise your own expertise within the limits of what you feel comfortable doing.

In order to make your expertise visible:

• Work Less

• Work Hard on the Right projects and refrain from doing Office Housework like minorities tend to do. If you want to volunteer, volunteer for High Profile, Career-Making assignments.

• Amplify the
• Actions that
• Align with your
• Aspirations

(4) Resources Influence

Negotiate the resources that you need to perform well. How to build this:

• negotiation techniques
• learn to lead without authority
• suggest projects as a chance of growth for others
• understand how finances and team budget work
• be a mentor/sponsor/talent scout (regardless of your position in the hierarchy)

(3) Informational Influence

Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest news around

• your own organisation
• your own industry
• your own profession

(2) Direct Influence

Be firm, fair and professional. Be direct and concise when delivering tough news but do that only when needed. Example: if a child is crossing the street in front of a car, you do not start lecturing about the dangers of crossing the streets, but rather you run after the child to prevent an accident. This means being, firm, concise, fair and professional to deliver tough news but only when needed.

(1) Relationship Influence

This comes naturally, by building a network of relationships that are:

• authentic
• strategic (aligned with your goals)
• supportive
• collaborators
• acting as a hub of information.

Get the right people in the boat with you. Engage the entire human fabric.

(from a different session) Be yourself. Authenticity is what helps you build relationships. Get over the fear of reaching out: “hello fear, thank you for being here. You are the indication that I’m doing the right thing”.

(from the “An Introvert’s Guide to Networking” talk by J. Shea) Networking is not superficial (like many introverts often believe). It is about building others up and building yourself up.

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Personal Notes from “How to Foster an Authentic and Consistent Personal Brand” panel by M. Kopczynski, E. Summers, L. Abaibourva, I. Ryabaya, C. Alvarez

Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not there.

• Write internal posts, present yourself, to get momentum.
• Tell others what to say about you: people are often lazy and more than willing to simply repeat what they heard from you.
• Get quick feedback from managers and peers, to make sure people know what is your goal cause then they’ll be willing to help you.
• Read the room. Know your surroundings. Acquire partners rather than people to lead, because only then, they will be on your side.
• Ask people what others say about you.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they get mad at you and then they join you.

Be humble (cause everyone is equal) but in a confident (i.e., with no fear) way. Your projects are important. Do not let unconscious bias hold you back or define you. Put yourself out there, take opportunities. It’s gonna be uncomfortable but it will get you there.

When people do not realise that they did something that is impacting you negatively, let them know, because they may not have realised it.

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Personal Notes from the “Architect: A great Career or the Greatest Career?” panel by J. Plummer, S. Ransom, J. Prusakova, S. Mukhtar

• Make lateral movements cause that gives you more versatility and makes you stand out, especially while the world is moving so fast.
• Good leaders encourage others’ evolution
• Ask yourself: who is part of your fight club? Push out and pull in people, as you move
• Don’t be afraid of doing something big but neither of doing something small
• We can get better only by helping someone else, regardless of where you are in your career path.
• Some fights are not worth fighting
• Your resume doesn’t have to be perfect
• Be gentle with each other; lift each other up.

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tags: conference, - career - growth