>>From Las Vegas, it's the cube cuddle EMC world 2016, brought to you by EMC. Now your host, John furrier. Welcome >>Back everyone. We are here, live in Las Vegas for EMC world 2012. I'm John Ferrari, the founder of Silicon angle and host of the cube. And we are extracting the signal from noise. And one of our traditions at EMC world is to do a conversation and panel discussion around women of the world with Stella Lowe, who is VP of global communications for EMC and Susan Carter, Nico, who's the founder and CEO of authentic leadership. Stella. Every year we do this as one of my favorite things. As we wrap up EMC world, soon, it may be Dell world or Dell EMC, whatever that kind of turns into. Yeah, I wish you can't comment. Cause your communications is, is to talk about kind of the human side of what's going on. And the theme for EMC was modernization of enterprise, you know, infrastructure, speed, performance, scalability. And you've taken this theme this year with women of the world to modernizing your career in an era of change. And tell me about what that was this year. >>Yeah, absolutely. John. So yeah, we were in this, um, tech industry is changing all the time, but right now we're in this kind of unprecedented change. Um, you, this, this is gonna be a lot of consolidations is the thinking over the next two years, a lot of people find a lot of companies finding their dance partners. In some ways we've already found our dance partner, which is Dell, but there's gonna be a lot of that going on. And um, and there's definitely a lot of change happening here at EMC. So we wanted to make sure that we were focusing on how to own modernize and direct your career within this sea of tremendous James. >>So Susan, I want to get your take on this because we are living as the theme of the show is, is a transformation happening, which means there are certainly change and there's big bets being made in the business that requires people process and technology transformation. People is a big part of it. And people have to be bold. There's some gambling, there's some bets and with that will come maybe some missteps or some failures and how you can overcome that will define ultimately your success to take maybe little failures, not big failures, but like, but this is part of the evolution of innovation. How does that affect people, specifically women, as they're in this now converge workforce, male, men and women coming together. What's your thoughts on this? >>Well, men and women alike change is hard, right? So as industries converge as merchants and acquisitions happen, you know, the industry itself is in such a massive transformation mode. It's requiring people of all of all levels and in all fields, but particularly in the world of technology to completely redefine their skillsets, their relevance, the way they're going to actually help sort of step into this new era of digital technology. So it's causing, you know, ripple effects of reinvention and change all over the place. You know, we all to change as human beings at a very personal level. What does it mean for me? And so a big part of what we discussed today at the conference was just, how do you sort of lean into that change and how can you begin to look at your own potential and your own skillsets from, with a different lens? >>You know, um, we tend to box ourselves in as far as our potential goes and we say, okay, I've been in this functional area for all of my career. So I guess my opportunities sit squarely in this box. And we talked a lot about the value of sort of reinventing and taking a hard look at our transferable skill sets. So the attributes that we have as, as human beings that could let be leveraged into other roles or expanded roles and the skill sets that have made us so successful in what we're doing today. So how might we bust that open and find new opportunities in this world of change? And it's pretty important that we do it now. I mean, there was a, um, it was announced just a few days ago that in 2015, there were 359 new CEOs announced, uh, in the top two and a half thousand companies around the world. Only 10 were women, John 10, 10 out of 359. It's shocking. So if we're going to change, reverse that trend, we've got to start reversing that rate from that >>Consistent though across all industry, even venture capital, which has really highlighted in Silicon Valley where we live and that's obvious a male dominate, but now there's no women VCs. Now cowboy ventures is a bunch of them that are coming together and Hey, we can play ball each other. >>What does it surprise you that there's less women learning about tech now learning, you know, in tech education now than there was in the eighties? I mean, so, so we've already got to grapple with this and, and, and change the course of this. And, and women have got to start taking responsibility for their own careers and their own direction. >>What are some of the stories that you've heard this week at, at your event, as you guys talk with each other, what are some of the common patterns and stories that you're hearing? >>So we're certainly hearing from the women in the room, but they see that the impending change as exciting as an opportunity, but they're also, there's also some things anxiety around that change. There's definitely fear there and that's what we're seeing. Um, you know, and, and, um, you know, they need, people need to take that fair and use it as a catalyst for positive things. Right, right. I mean, 10 people tend to shut down when they're in environments of fear. And one of the things that we talked a great deal about was how do you sort of turn that around and, um, use that as a catalyst to take stock in not only sort of what your inherent capabilities are, but your vision for your life and the values that you hold dear and say, okay. So if my job serves my life, then what is my end game and what steps in choices can I make, you know, putting myself back in the driver's seat versus letting this this change. That's sort of at the, both of my macro level and the micro level, like sweet meander and, and, and create a, of a victim mentality. We talked a lot about sort of that empowerment and the accountability to sort of take charge of your own desks. >>It's interesting. You mentioned leaned in earlier. So Sheryl Sandberg's in my community in Palo Alto, Facebook friend, you know, where I'm involved a lot with some Facebook stuff. And I put, I've been following her lean in and I want to bring this up is you mentioned the word fearless. Um, you know, I've been called fearless, fearless. That's a guy thing, right. Guys can be fearless. Is it okay for women to be fearless and is lean in a fearless kind of vibes? It's not so much, I don't wanna get semantically tied on views, but this brings up a point that people get stuck on the semantics, but that kind of is a bias thing. Be more fearless and you'll get ahead versus lean in is a guess could be construed as a female version of fearless, the words matter. But at the same day, how does a woman become fearless? It doesn't matter. Yeah. >>So the other speaker that we had on the panel today, we were very lucky also to have Rashma, um, uh Rashma Sudani uh, and she, she, um, has the company, uh, founded the company, girls who code, and she says that women were brought up to be, uh, perfect. Whereas boys were brought up to be brave. So it's okay for a boy to climb a tree and go to the top. But with girls were like, no, no, sit in the chair, look pretty, be nice, you know, but be perfect. Um, and so women are very scared to go into areas that don't know because they're worried about making mistakes. And what we were trying to get over today was imperfection is okay, it's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to, you know, and you've got to get kind of get over that fear to do that. >>And it's the attributes Susan. So a woman and a man, they have different attributes. So maybe fearless my, Oh, he's feeling at the top of the tree, but every attribute in a diverse environment can contribute to a common outcome that makes it better. I mean, that's kind of the theme that I'm seeing. >>It's true. Um, fearlessness in you say words matter, uh, concept is kind of the same. We talked a lot about self con self-confidence and the, the contrast in the sexes, uh, when it comes to self-confidence and then so many women seem to sort of stop short of having that self confidence to step out and you say, be fearless to take risk to just sort of seize that moment and say, you know, what, if it doesn't work out, I can choose again. There's we just seem to stop short of being able to do that, where guys seem to be a little bit more comfortable. And part of it is the way we're raised, you know, women to be perfect. And we tend to be very, very quiet about those failures. And so it kind of sends that message. Like, I really need to set a stay away from those arenas where I just, I might not be a stunning success. >>So there was some discussion around men versus women in the imposter syndrome, which tends to afflict a lot of women, particularly women in business, where we kind of doubt our own worth as, as a leader, as a professional. And there's this fear that, you know, at some point we're going to be found out that we're really not as good as others around us think we are. And that drives a certain kind of behavior in the workplace. So, you know, um, workaholism, perfectionism, procrastination, just so afraid to make a mistake and be found out. So, you know, that seems to be, um, more characteristic of females than males. Um, there are just a lot of, there's a lot of complexity around >>The guys that are faking it, that good will be found out. It may be, maybe there's a thing there, but modernizing your career though. That's the theme? What is the pattern that, what does that mean? I mean, how, how do you talk to that? Because everyone wants, I mean, who doesn't want to be modern, right. And we're in the modern era, we want to be happy. We want to be cool when advance, okay. Advancement means you're climbing the ladder or you're, you're trying something new, which means you will fall and stumble. We all stumble when we learn is that part of the modernization is dealing with the environment and the change and the failure. >>Yeah, it is. In fact, um, the first thing that we talked about was the need to be incredibly strategic in this environment, we're business people. And when facing any business challenge, you tend to do scenario planning, right? And you say, well, if this happens, here's my strategy. Uh, if that happens, here's my strategy. So you say worst case, best case likely case. And, and when you start to develop strategies around how you're going to navigate those things, it gives you additional power and confidence to sort of move forward in your redefinition. So that's sort of that the first step in modernizing your career, we also talked a bit a bit ago about, um, understanding where you might have some self limiting beliefs about where you might play, you know, the, what arena, where you might, you might sit and so starting to sort of broaden your horizons. >>Um, yeah, definitely. I mean, uh, women will look at a job spec, um, and have a completely different perspective from men. So men will look at it and they'll say, well, I can do about 38% of this. So I'm going to go for this job. Um, women will look at it unless they can do 85% of it, or they've done that they have experienced in 85% of it. They won't even go for the job. So we have to start to really broaden our view of the types of jobs we can go for the types of opportunities we can go for and start to think more, well, much more openly. So be >>More aggressive on the job. Applicants was one was >>One. Yeah. Broaden your horizons. Think about this, the transferable skill sets that you have, that you can take into other areas. And, and don't be, don't be fair fearful of things that you haven't done before. >>So I had a public failure startup that was very funded and then the public failure and it's traumatizing. And I dealt with that and you know, this whole failure is rewarded in Silicon Valley. That's BS, in my opinion, people tolerate failure, but they loved the comeback. That's part of learning is coming back. And, but, you know, and so I had to deal with that until I was in my own way as a guy, but there's a post in Silicon Valley going around today, around a woman who failed. And she didn't know whether she should be vulnerable or just be that what'd you call it the imposter syndrome, fake it till you make it. And she was saying, no, I want to be vulnerable. Because what she found is by being vulnerable, people were helping her. So that brings up the concept of vulnerability, male, female, and two in the modern world. We have social networks now. So lean is a great example of some gravity around peer groups. Can you guys talk about that? Does that come up at all on your radar, in terms of the dynamic there around men versus women being vulnerable versus being strong and also the notion of networks and how that could be? >>Well, I think vulnerability is often tied to shame and that fear of shame causes people to hold back in sharing their real stories. You said something very important and that's that people care about what you've learned along the way. They don't necessarily care about what, you know, they care about what you've learned. Most people are comfortable talking about what they've learned when they're on the other side of that. So it's not in the, in the middle of that trail here, when you are just feeling horrible, you're feeling horrible. You're feeling like a failure. You're feeling embarrassed, you're feeling shame. So the ability to kind of step up to that is it's a tall order. Now you talked about social networks in this environment of social media. Authenticity is so important, right? So it's that happy balance. If you're not all that comfortable with being completely naked in that vulnerability, maybe there's a happy medium where you can share some of the challenges and things that you've been facing while not necessarily going all the way down to the, you know, to the bare nub of it. Um, I think we're right. >>So authenticity will track the right alchemy of, of help or it relationship as a way to signal to people. I mean, I guess, and that's just me. I love this concept. I mean, I feel like I should get you guys with my life coach. This is my lifestyle. So this is the next one. So, okay. So that's cool. I love that theme. I love this topic because that really helps you get through to the other side and gain to the other side. You're on the comeback. That's a learning what you've learned and applying what you've learned is a growth mindset. Now there's a lot of women, my age, I'm 50 that I've grown through the ranks and they get up to the top. And you mentioned the numbers, aren't that significant on the seat level of women it's lonely yet. They're being asked to be mentors down to the new generation of ladies coming up or women. And, but they're lonely at the top. How do they deal with that? As you're moving closer to the top, have they talked about that >>Only at the top? And I would like still, I was a senior executive at a big company and found that loneliness to be quite palpable. Right? Um, it's part of the choice you make to be in that arena, stepping up to that position of leadership. It often means that you're distancing yourself. You're being more, you're more concerned with being respected than you are being liked. And you know, there there's a, there's a new game, right? New parameters around your relationships like CEO's, um, who find solace in their peer relationships. I think that same goes for women. You know, you, you need to actively cultivate your formal and informal networks and they may be with, with, uh, peers outside of your company, outside of your functional area. Those relationships though are so important because you can become isolated and insulated. Um, people may not always come to you with the, with the truth. >>And so, you know, making sure that you keep those lines of communication and mutual support open is really pivotal. Now you mentioned mentorship. Um, I think it is incumbent on senior women to reach down and find opportunities to mentor other women and sponsor other women. You know, there's mentorship and sponsorship, and both are crucial in terms of sort of direct feedback and developmental advice on the mentorship side, but then sponsorship literally actively opening doors for other women and, and reaching a hand and helping them come up to because that's often where we find a gap. People think I had to claw my way up. It was a lot of work. So I'm just going to sort of protect myself and hang out and let everybody else kind of go on their own journey. We talked a lot today about the need to sort of reach down and help other women. >>So the takeaway there is develop your formal informal networks. That's a foundational really critical linchpin to the whole success. Um, what about now, as we look at the progression going forward, um, the skill development, you mentioned the job applications, a lot of these jobs that are going to come with the next industrial revolution as Michael Dell was pointing out, don't even exist today. So there might be an opportunity here as we look to the future. Did that come up at all on the radar of your sessions? >>Well, we talked, I think it comes back to really transferable skill sets. You need to take a look at what, what you do and who you are, bring it up a level because I got to tell you if you can manage well in ambiguity, if you can lead and motivate people. I mean, if you, there, there are certain attributes that, that pick the job. Yeah. If you have those, if you have those attributes and those skills, you can learn a discipline, but those inherent leadership skills are going to pay off the big time as this industry continues to redefine. And as you say, jobs that we don't even know exist yet, suddenly come onto the table. >>What surprises you the most in this, in the conversation around modernization, as you talk with folks out there, what's a trend that surprised you that you kind of knew about, but, Oh my God, this is really more acute or more explosive than in a good way, or in bad way. Anything you can share, like the literally like, wow, this is really more pressing than I thought, or this is actually more amazing than I thought. >>Yeah. Um, one of the things the Rushman talked about is women supporting other women. I mean, sometimes we are the worst critics of other women and, uh, you know, female bosses can be harder on female employees and so on. And I think there's got to be that kind of sisterhood, um, uh, around, uh, all of us have been bring women up as, as, um, Susan has said, support other women, uh, make sure that you are their back and they are watching yours. And, uh, it will help with the loneliness factor, but it also helps to, to bring women forward. And I think that's always a surprise to me that women don't want to do that. And they, and they don't want to get involved in that. We should be paying that back and paying it. >>So is there anything that surprised you looking back at, and then the constitution here? >>I think I would echo what Stella said. It's, um, it's important to understand the role you may be playing in the plight that faces you. So, you know, we talk about women sometimes being their own worst enemy and trying to, to again, modernize and redefine what that relationship looks like and what that success looks like and how accountable we each are for, you know, moving forward and pushing the envelope. >>Okay. Final question. If you guys could each answer, this would be great. What advice would you give the people watching here live, and then on demand things that they could do to modernize their career in this change, uh, advice that you can surface and share insight around their opportunity, things that they could do differently or new, or, >>Yeah, I'll let Susan have the last word on this. Cause you'll have some fabulous advice, but you know, one thing I would say is, is, uh, be comfortable in your imperfection. You don't have to be perfect. You'd go for it, widen your spear of opportunities and, uh, you know, Matt Mo uh, Charlotte, your way and, and dream bigger and he dreamed bigger. You might, you know, you'll get somewhere bigger. Very good. Um, I would say first and foremost, one of the best things that you can do is challenge some of the beliefs that you might hold about what your potential next steps or career path might be, um, get clear on what your end game is for your life and what your values are, because that becomes a very important lens through which to view future opportunity, get, get really clear that you can always choose. >>Again. I think this fear of making a mistake and that you talked about fearlessness, um, you know, I think people tend to, to limit their opportunities because they think, wow, if I make this choice and it's mistake, then I'm done, but you can just turn around and make a new choice and begin again. And there are limitless choices that you can make. So a lot of this I find is mindset related. You know, we're heading into a, we are in a highly turbulent time. It's going to continue. We need to be agile in our thinking part of that is getting grounded in who we are and what are our potential could be getting clear on what we want because our jobs serve our life, not the, not the other way around and really sort of getting into the driver's seat versus letting whatever the change is, whether it's up here, the industry consolidation level, or whether it's down in, whether we're in the middle of a merger, or we've just gotten a new boss that we don't particularly click with, we can default to a victim mentality. So part of this is just saying, you know what, I am going to pick this thing up and I am going to manage to the change myself >>And we are living in a world where there's great opportunities, women of the world. Great segment. Thank you so much, Stella. We thank you so much, Susan, really great to have you guys sharing your insight here on the cube. Um, congratulations again, always my favorite conversation. I learned a lot, um, and I love, I feel like I'm learning so much and this is a world of diversity and it's great. And the outcome is diversity is fantastic. And I think that's what everyone's seeing. So congratulations on the great work. This is the queue here at EMC world 2016. I'm John for a, you're watching the cube >>Looking back at the history of it.