Alma Aretti

One of my favourite book series is the Harry Potter saga by J.K. Rowling. I love how the books transport me to a magical world full of adventure, mystery, and heart.

The relationships between Harry, Ron, and Hermione demonstrate real friendship. And there are valuable life lessons throughout about bravery, sacrifice, and fighting for what’s right.

Beyond the story and characters, I simply admire Rowling’s gift for imaginative writing. The Harry Potter saga will always have a special place in my heart.

One of my favourite quotes comes from Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She said, “When because of your years you cannot run, jog. When you cannot jog, walk. When you cannot walk, use a cane, but never hold back.” I find this so inspirational because it’s about persevering no matter what barriers you face. It reminds me that giving up is never an option—even when challenges arise, you must push through with determination.

One childhood passion I don’t get to indulge in anymore now that I’m an adult, is playing with Barbie dolls. As a little girl, I was obsessed with the Barbie world and would spend hours creating elaborate storylines and fashion shows for my dolls.

There was something creative about being able to visualize any scenario through play. Now between work responsibilities and keeping up with my own family, I no longer have unlimited time to indulge in make-believe.

One pastime I’ll always make sure to keep up is playing cards and board games. There’s something simple but fun about gathering around a table. It’s something I grew up doing and still find relaxing as an adult.

Even when life gets busy, I make an effort to get together with others over a few strategic games. It’s a nice break from work and a way for us all to connect. I know technology keeps evolving, but this is one tradition from my past that I have no plans to let go of anytime soon.

If I ever decided to pursue a different second career, I think being a writer is something that appeals to me. I’ve always loved expressing myself through words and finding creative ways to craft stories.

As a leader in tech, a large part of my job involves strategic planning and communication, but as a writer, I could focus purely on the literary aspects. I enjoy learning about different genres and honing my ability to weave compelling narratives.

While I plan to stay in my current field, being a writer is a potential ‘second act’ I find quite intriguing.

If I could cut loose from all responsibilities holding me back, I would love to spend a significant amount of time in Africa doing volunteer work. There’s so much natural beauty on the continent and cultures I find deeply interesting to learn about.

Just being able to immerse myself fully in communities and learn from local people would be incredibly eye-opening. To fully devote my time to helping others in an entirely new environment, without worrying about work or other obligations, sounds tremendously rewarding and impactful.

For me, two of the biggest motivations at work are the satisfaction of accomplishing meaningful goals and gaining the esteem of my colleagues. I take real pleasure in seeing tangible outcomes from projects that I know are helpful for our customers or help move our company mission forward.

There’s no better feeling than hearing that our work has impacted others in a positive way. While I always work diligently regardless, the positive feedback and validation is extremely rewarding. I find that the most fulfilment comes from working hard, doing right by others, and knowing that my efforts and contributions are valued within our team.

From my experience in the tech industry, one potential obstacle to career growth can be an unwillingness to work overtime when necessary. While maintaining a reasonable work-life balance is important, certain roles and time-bound projects may require occasional longer hours. Those who aren’t flexible in taking on important after-hours work risk being seen as uncommitted to success and deadlines.

However, I don’t think constant overtime should be expected either—that leads to burnout. A balanced approach is ideal, where extra effort is given when projects are most intense, but not at the cost of one’s well-being in the long run.

Careers progress through hard work, but also as a result of prioritizing long-term productivity and health. If boundaries are clear and reasonable, personal lives as well as work can still be effectively managed during demanding times.

One of the biggest challenges I have faced so far in this industry is balancing demanding work with personal priorities, like family responsibilities. Fast-paced cycles and intense deadlines can conflict with the time needed at home.

Throughout my career thus far, two things I feel I've received recognition for are my availability and my ability to work effectively in a team environment.

In terms of availability, I strive to be flexible and collaborative with my colleagues to help meet deadlines and solve problems as they arise. Being someone people can consistently count on has helped my contributions stand out.

Additionally, my skills in cooperating smoothly with others and playing my part within a group dynamic have served me well.

Moving forward, I hope to continue enhancing both my dependability and collaborative strengths.

In a field like technology that is constantly evolving rapidly, one of the major accelerators for success is a strong work ethic. Being willing and able to work hard is so important when it comes to acquiring in-demand skills, achieving results, and staying ahead of the curve.

However, working intelligently is also key. Success is best found through dedication combined with self-awareness of one's abilities and limitations. Continuing to learn, whether through formal education, hands-on training, or independent study, allows hard work to be applied most effectively.

One thing I appreciate about my career is that there is always room for continued learning and growth. The tech field is constantly evolving at a rapid pace, so there are always new skills to acquire and areas in which I can improve my expertise. I enjoy the challenge of developing my abilities and taking on more responsibilities over time.

The ever-changing nature of technology necessitates constant self-improvement, which I find personally fulfilling. I'm grateful to have a job where growth is not only possible, but a core expectation. It helps me perform at my best.

My golden piece of advice for young women starting in technology would be to continually develop new skills and take advantage of all learning opportunities.

The field is constantly changing so lifelong learning is essential. Commit fully to projects you're passionate about and do outstanding work. This will help open the most interesting doors and potential career paths further down the road.

Staying open to new challenges and changes in direction will serve you well as technologies and needs evolve. Through hard work, curiosity, and flexibility, your options will grow tremendously as your career progresses.

My natural leadership style is that of a servant leader. I believe the most effective way to lead is by focusing first on the needs, development, and success of my team.

As a leader, my top priority is supporting and empowering my colleagues, so they can excel in their roles and achieve their highest potential. I aim to clear roadblocks for them, provide resources, and shield my team from distractions so they can do their best work. I also encourage autonomy, input, and collaboration to increase engagement and ownership over projects and goals.

To lead as a servant means keeping communication open and respecting each person's perspective. It's not about status or authority for authority's sake, but about fostering team strength, growth, and productivity through empathy, advocacy, and shared responsibility. This approach helps bring out the best in others and keeps the focus on our shared mission.

The skills that have supported me most as a leader are communication and understanding different perspectives. As a leader. It is important to involve regularly interacting with and supporting the team members.

To do that effectively, strong communication skills are so important. I strive to listen actively without judgment, so I can understand where people are coming from. The ability to speak openly and address issues or concerns respectfully helps build trust within the team.

One of the most effective ways I've gained commitment from my team has been to lead by example through my own dedication and work ethic.

As a leader, I don't ask anything of my team that I wouldn't do myself. I strive to be just as invested in our goals, stay late if needed to meet deadlines alongside my team and display optimism and positivity even during challenging periods.

I also keep an open door to encourage feedback and promote transparency around priorities and decision-making.

Early in my career, I once made a mistake in how I handled a customer who was requesting information about the people working on their project. At the time, I did not provide as many details as I could have. However, I did not recognize how important transparency was to build trust with that customer.

Today, I would try to have an open dialogue to understand their concerns and their need for accountability. I would make an effort to give assurances about the qualifications, roles, and experience levels of key staff involved. I have since learned it is critical to address a customer's expectations sensitively and take their perspective seriously.

Keeping the customer top of mind is so important in any customer-oriented role. One approach I take daily is putting myself in the customer's shoes—I actively try to view our work and interactions from their perspective.

This helps me stay focused on delivering the type of seamless, helpful experience I would want to receive as a customer myself.

Whether collaborating with teammates, reviewing documentation, or directly assisting clients, I consider how approachable, transparent, and useful each interaction will be for the end user. I also welcome feedback to continuously make improvements based on real customer needs and key issues.

I am dedicating myself to studying SAFe (an agile scaling framework) with which I hope to be able to help our customers in the future.

SAFe is a treasure trove of tried-and-true ideas, interesting practices, and highlevel skills for getting your business into superhero mode with Lean, Agile, and DevOps. It's about seven core competencies of Business Agility, which are needed for staying ahead of the game in this digital age.

With my client, we use Agile and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) principles to drive the effective delivery of our technology products and services.

Agile methodologies promote rapid iteration, continual improvement, and close collaboration between cross-functional teams. This aligns well with the fast-paced innovation in our industry.

To scale Agile across larger initiatives involving multiple teams, we follow the SAFe structure and values. This establishes shared objectives, synchronous planning, and integration routines to coordinate work seamlessly across divisions.

For me, technology represents all of the incredible ways that innovation and engineering have come together to improve lives. Whether it's through new medical breakthroughs, more efficient ways of working and learning or even just staying connected with loved ones, technology has immense power to enrich experiences and help people live better.

I believe technologies like Agile, ChatGPT, cloud computing, and 5G networks will be particularly impactful trends shaping the future. I'm also interested to see how technologies like augmented and virtual reality develop as they could revolutionize industries like education, healthcare, and more.

The ability to generate, transmit, and harness electric energy has truly enabled countless other inventions and advancements by powering modern infrastructure. Being able to access electricity on-demand launched entire new industries and transformed how we live.

I believe technology absolutely can do good for society when developed and applied responsibly. Throughout history, technology has enhanced our lives in numerous ways like improving health, education, accessibility, and more.

Advancements give us opportunities to address pressing issues, like finding cures through biomedical research or mitigating climate change with renewable solutions. Technology also connects the world, sharing knowledge and bringing people together regardless of borders.

I make sure to keep my technology skills up to date through continual learning courses and certifications. As the field rapidly progresses, it's important to regularly acquire new knowledge and stay on top of emerging tools.

By consistently challenging and advancing myself, I aim to keep up with changes in the market and remain a valuable asset as technology continues transforming the landscape.

The primary online tools that facilitate my day-to-day work include the learning management system and translation platforms.

The learning management system is where I access courses to expand my skills and knowledge through online videos, readings, and assessments. It allows me to learn at my own pace and track my progress. I also rely heavily on various machine translation platforms to help me effectively communicate in English.

And ChatGPT of course! Who can live without that one these days? 🙂

Two websites I rely on regularly are Google and Wikipedia. Google is very useful as a search engine to quickly find information on anything I need to look up while working. Both sites allow me accessible, one-stop solutions for exploring answers to my questions online. I appreciate how their wide coverage across all domains helps expand my knowledge and makes me more efficient in my daily tasks.

My favourite technology product would have to be the smartphone. I appreciate how it acts as a portable hub that allows me constant access to information, communication tools, apps, and more, all from one compact device.

On the other hand, while they connect people, one technology I'm less enthusiastic about would be social media platforms. Prolonged social media use has been linked to increased loneliness, mental health issues, lower self-esteem in youth, and even political polarization at times.

There are a few key things that make each human being truly unique. Firstly, we can think—each individual has their perspective, experiences, ideas, thoughts, and ways of problem-solving. No two people think exactly alike.

Secondly, our capacity to love also sets us apart. The complex ways we form emotional connections and attachments to others, whether romantically or platonically, are deeply personal to each individual.

Additionally, qualities like personality, talents, beliefs, and dreams help shape a unique identity for every person.

No, success does not compensate for values or morality. While achieving success and prosperity is desirable for many, it does not override the importance of upholding high ethical standards and positive values in how one conducts themselves and achieves their goals.

Ultimately, how we treat our fellow humans, and society as a whole, matters more than any measure of worldly success alone. Our shared values of compassion, fairness, and bettering the lives of others, are what defines our humanity and leave the deepest, most meaningful impact.

The relationship between the mind and body is complex and interconnected. While the mind is home to our consciousness, thoughts, and perceptions, it relies on the physical functioning of the body and brain. At the same time, our physical health and experiences influence our mental state.