One truth I have witnessed throughout the course of my career is people want leadership. People are looking for someone to guide them and steer them along their career path. Everyone has a different idea of what leadership looks like, but in my experience, people want to be led. The mission of PayTech Women is to help all women in paytech rise, thrive and connect. With that mission in mind, it is incumbent on all PayTech Women members to be leaders and help advance women in paytech regardless of where they might be in their career, which made this panel the perfect opportunity to reflect on how we can all be leaders, no matter what seat we are in.

 

So how do you lead if you’re not a “people” leader? It is so easy to get hung up on titles and think it is the title that makes you a leader. Erin Davis, Shannon McCann and Edie Kirkman shared some concrete examples of how we can all be leaders, no matter what seat we are in. Despite their diverse levels of experience and backgrounds, all the panelists had valuable insights to share. There were two messages that really resonated with me.

 

The first was simple but profound: You are there for a reason. As women, we have a tendency to minimize ourselves and our accomplishments. We tell ourselves we can’t do certain things because we don’t have the right title, or we minimize the unique perspective we bring to the table because we don’t think we have enough experience. We are the number one factor holding ourselves back!

 

Minimizing our accomplishments erodes confidence which can lead to a variety of other negative consequences: not raising your hand for new projects, not going after a promotion or new position, not speaking up in meetings, not giving yourself credit during annual reviews, and the list goes on. If you are guilty of this, take a step back and remind yourself you are there for a reason. You are in your role because of your talents and experiences. Don’t be afraid to use your voice and contribute.

 

The second takeaway for me was around building a coalition of the willing. The idea is to find people in your organization you can support and who will support you. You don’t have to be a leader to demonstrate leadership. Having a group of individuals at your organization you can work with to test new ideas and problem solve doesn’t require a leadership title. Building an internal network like this provides you the opportunity to increase your sphere of influence and build a trusted rolodex of individuals you can lean on.

 

Of the many stories and insights shared, those were the two that resonated most with me, however, there is one other insight I’d like to share around leading regardless of where you sit: as members of PayTech Women, we have a platform that provides a golden opportunity to lead with influence. PayTech Women offers the opportunity to be a leader not only within your individual organization but within the broader industry, no matter what seat you are in.