Episode 90: Becoming Visible with Carolyn Still

52 Weeks of Me

Born and raised a Kenyan, Carolyn Adagala is a transformational coach who found the UK a second home since her college days. Having spent the last four years in an all-girl school, she felt shocked as she found herself the only female student among twenty boys studying computing.

Although she still graduated on top of her class, that exposed her to the reality that in the tech world women had always been outnumbered by men. It has since become one of her desires to see more and more women thrive and succeed in the profession. And more so because six weeks after she landed her first job, she was fired unjustly. Her redemption happened when her manager on her second job expressed belief in her that she also began believing in herself.

Highlights:

• Learning coaching became necessary for her when she was assigned to lead a team, which paved the way for more women in tech to come to her
• Seeing many women getting stuck in the medium level on their way to getting promoted made her want to dedicate her life to helping women reach the leadership positions
• Hard work is not enough; doing well in your job does not always guarantee recognition and promotion; getting visible is very important
• Speaking up or simply just asking questions (in meetings) is the easiest way to become visible

Since women usually keep their heads down, they could also miss out on opportunities of being visible to other people -- especially people of influence. Hence, Carolyn encourages women to speak up or even just ask questions in order to become visible. Not to prove oneself all the time, but she wants women to be responsible for their growth in order to step up, learn, and take risks.
If somehow you are feeling stuck and cannot seem to move further in your job and cannot ascertain the how-to's or if you are struggling with not being recognized or listened to, her contents and her tribe may just be what you need to do otherwise. You may look up Carolyn Adagala on LinkedIn.

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52 Weeks of Me is hosted by Jacklyn Osborne and Erika Brooks.
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