Elisabeth Embry
Technology Consultant
Seattle, Washington
My Role
I'm a consultant who helps organizations scale up and scale out. I focus on organizational preparedness. Whether that's around product, product and product practices, organizational readiness, software development lifecycle, all of the things you need within a technology company to have them prepared to get to the next level. I have the opportunity to explore, do analysis, and then create recommendations. I coach many of these companies after those analysis to help them really anchor their next steps.
What I love most about my role
I get the opportunity to meet many people in different industries, which is fun and interesting. But, I love the fact that I'm actually helping others achieve their goals and their objectives. To know that a company has these targets - for either launching a new product or going into a new space - and I'm with them on that journey, helping them achieve that goal is really satisfying. The next most favorite thing is that I get to mentor and coach a lot of incredible talent. Not only does that make me more knowledgeable, but I have the opportunity to give back. I think a lot of women in technology once they reach a certain age or a certain skill level really want to give back to the community and I'm able to do that for this job. So I'm super lucky.
How I define success
Success for the companies that I help is that they've got the tools and the skill set to achieve their goals and objectives. Success for the individuals that I coach is that they are much more armed to take on their next set of challenges. They've gotten the short cut version of the education and they're able to get dense training and information so that they can take on new challenges. And success for me is that I'm able to expand my own personal knowledge in new areas, while also keeping relevant with the industry without having to constantly be in that immersive education and training. The fact that I get to work with so many people gives me an incredible amount of knowledge and keeps my skill set relevant.
The best piece of business advice I ever received was
When I started working at Amazon, it was a revelation. I'd come from banking and I'd worked at IBM before, massive methodical organizations. Yet, at Amazon the attitude and aptitude was fail fast. Experiment often and fail fast. I take that into my personal and professional life even today, and it's certainly a piece of wisdom that I share with organizations that we work with. Don't be afraid to experiment and if it's not going great it's okay, let it go and move on to the next thing. It's about that exposure, exploring the opportunity and figuring out what lands with the customer or solves the situation, etc.
What would I tell my younger self
At the time that I was leaving IBM and going to work for a bank, I was so earnest about reading every book, listening to every lecture, and getting any piece of information to build my skill set. And while I think that was valuable, I took it all too seriously. And so I would say don't forget to have fun along the way. Life is a journey, not a destination, you have to relax a little. Be earnest, but don't be so serious.
What 2B Bolder mean to me
As a woman in technology, back in the day, we really had to play very delicate roles, so that we didn't offend or bruised egos. We had to earn our place in the world and it was not always comfortable. You either played this very masculine persona so that you were one of the guys or you played a very demure persona, so that you didn't offend. Women today have a seat at the table. So, with younger women that I mentor, to be bold is to be present, to be engaged, to not be afraid to have the conversation, and create that seat at a table for yourself. And it's not just about women and it's not just about technology. It's about being present and being the driver in your own life. Be bold in everything that you do in order to achieve your goals, even know what your goals are. You're the only one that is driving your life, you are your own sense of success. So take a first run view and go out there and make it happen.
Years of Experience
25+
I recommend you focus on developing these 3 skills to succeed in a role like mine
I'm an empathetic listener that can understand not only what people are saying but why they're saying it. My organizational culture helps me craft solutions for teams that will not only solve a problem for today, but that will be sticky. And, I bring to the table solutions based on a broad range of experiences.