321: The Importance Of Growing and Develop Your Resilience with Toni Collis

In this week's show, Phil talks to Toni Collis, the CEO of Collis-Holmes Innovations, an award-winning leader, International Keynote speaker, Consultant and Leadership Coach. Her career has focused on facilitating the use of technology, and she believes that this requires true diversity in the future leadership of the tech industry. As Founder of Women in High Performance Computing (WHPC), she developed and led innovations aiming to diversify the international Supercomputing workforce. And in early 2019, she began to focus on her passion for broadening diversity & inclusion in the technology industry. She now offers Leadership & Executive Coaching for women in tech, with a personal goal of assisting 2000 women into the tech boardroom in the next 5 years. Toni talks about why remaining in our comfort zones can be restrictive. She also discusses why resilience is the key to overcome challenges.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP If you are not growing, then you're shrinking. The longer we remain in our comfort zone, the smaller it becomes. Always look for ways to expand and grow.   WORST CAREER MOMENT Toni found, at one point in her career, that she was saying yes to far too many things, and the overwhelm made her feel as though she was underperforming and not reaching the potential that she felt she could. Through this, she learned that it's okay to say no.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT When Toni was offered her first C-Suite executive role at the age of 34. A lot of work and determination had been spent, but the payoff was worth it.   THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Technology is the solution to all problems being faced by society today. By focusing upon fixing the world through tech, we can provide a better future for everyone.   THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – It was accidental – Toni realized that computing would play a large part in her degree education. What's the best career advice you received? – You can't fix all problems, so be selective about the ones you solve. What's the worst career advice you received? – "You can't afford to say no. Say yes to everything!" What would you do if you started your career now? – Toni would make sure she worked on things upon which supercomputing has more impact What are your current career objectives? Toni is trying to ensure that 2000 women are seated in boardrooms. What's your number one non-technical skill? – The ability to read a room. How do you keep your own career energized? – Toni steps outside of her comfort zone on a regular basis. You need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. What do you do away from technology? – Travelling and DIY.   FINAL CAREER TIP Work on your executive presence and your resilience every day. No matter where you are in your career, you need these skills!   BEST MOMENTS (3:18) – Toni - "I could have more of an impact if I could empower more people to do tech exceptionally well than I could ever do by myself" (4:07) – Toni - "What I really want do is put people into positions of leadership in the technology sector that means we change the way it operates to the betterment of everyone involved" (6:17) – Toni – "It isn't that you have a comfort zone. It's that if you're not constantly pushing at it, it's actually shrinking, and that applies to every aspect of our lives" (17:14) – Toni – " Technology is really the solution for all the problems the human race faces today"   ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organizations to design, develop, and implement software solutions.  Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers.  And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey.   CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/_PhilBurgess LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Instagram: https://instagram.com/_philburgess Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer   ABOUT THE GUEST – TONI COLLIS Toni Collis is , the CEO of Collis-Holmes Innovations, an award-winning leader, International Keynote speaker, Consultant and Leadership Coach. Her career has focused on facilitating the use of technology, and she believes that this requires true diversity in the future leadership of the tech industry. As Founder of Women in High Performance Computing (WHPC), she developed and led innovations aiming to diversify the international Supercomputing workforce. And in early 2019, she began to focus on her passion for broadening diversity & inclusion in the technology industry. She now offers Leadership & Executive Coaching for women in tech, with a personal goal of assisting 2000 women into the tech boardroom in the next 5 years.   CONTACT THE GUEST – TONI COLLIS Toni Collis can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/tonicollis1 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonicollis/ Website: https://tonicollis.com/