01
作为女性领导，你在职场上经历的比较深刻的事？
As a female leader, what leadership lessons have you learnt over the course of your career?
Paula：几年前我在华盛顿工作，我们这个行业大多数管理者都是男性。他们会在下班后去华盛顿湖划船，但我当时不会受到邀请。这个经历不算很愉快，但也让我学到了包容性的重要。我觉得无论男女，作为管理者都需要海纳百川。
When I was working in Washington a few years ago, most of the leaders in our industry were of a different gender. They would hang out after work or go boating at Lake Washington, and I, being one of only two women in that group, was not invited. That experience was not pleasant, but it taught me about inclusion, either when you are leading an organisation or just collaborating with your peers. It was a valuable lesson learnt for any leader, not just a woman leader.
02
对下一代女性领导人，会遇到哪些机遇和挑战？
What do you think are the main challenges and opportunities for the next generation of women leaders?
Paula：我觉得机会比挑战多。就拿美国大选来说，我们可以看到有色人种女性已经能够成为一个发达国家的副总统。显然，目前对于包容性的关注度是空前高的。我们也可以看到很多类似的例子在政商两界，像是疫情期间，我们可以看到德国、新西兰这些由女性领导的国家都有很出色的表现。所以对于下一代女性领导人，她们应该会很自豪，有一群前任的肩膀给她们站立，未来是很光明的。
I really do think that the opportunities outweigh the challenges. Take the US Presidential Election, for example. It’s exciting to see a woman of colour being the new elected Vice President for one of the most powerful countries in the world. Certainly, the awareness level is unprecedented with regard to diversity and inclusion. We’re also seeing a lot of good progress in the business world and politics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw great leadership demonstrated in countries like Germany and New Zealand, both nations led by a female leader. So for the next generation of women leaders, they should feel like they’re standing on the shoulders of other women. The future is very bright for women leaders.
03
有想象过自己会成为管理者吗？或突然发现自己适合？
Have you always imagined yourself in a leadership position? Or did you stumble into it?
Paula：成长过程中，我总希望做得更好，得到更多尊重。所以我觉得可能这两种感觉都有。一部分是有意识地想要成为那种能做大事的人，另一部分也需要一些运气去得到好的机会。
Growing up, I have always wanted to be better, to be more respected. So I think it’s a combination of both. There’s the intentional piece of wanting to be somebody who’s doing something significant, but there is also certainly a factor of luck involved as well. Luck plays an important role sometimes.
04
有哪些建议给到那些想要身居要职的女性？
What strategies do you have to help these women obtain more prominent roles?
Paula：我觉得首先要在做任何事的时候都建立自信，我们需要培养超越自己的眼光。其次是同盟关系，我们需要去找到那些可能于自己的看法、想法甚至做法不一样的人，但他们可以成为我们很好的支持者，求同存异，从而做到团队内的多元。我觉得在特定群体中不排斥去重用少数派代表，是每一个领导者都应该具备的素质。
We have to build our own confidence in whatever that we do. We have to have a vision that’s beyond ourselves as leaders. The second piece that’s very critical is allyship. It’s important for us to identify folks who may look and think and act differently from us, but they can be our sponsors, our advocates, in terms of diversity. I think that would be a good strategy for any women leader — or anybody, really — who is the minority representation in a certain group to adopt.
05
如何获得自信？
What are some ways you’ve gained more confidence in yourself as a leader?
Paula：我想更多侧重于领导者如何获得自信，而不光是针对女性。一部分是从我自身成长过程中获得的，是一个认知领域。很多时候我觉得自信来源于对于一些东西的精通。另外，导师，支持者以及朋友伙伴的建议必不可少，他们看到你做的事，肯定你的价值，这些在你泄气的时候往往很有帮助。保持信心的时候，你是否拥有支持显得很重要。
I try to emphasise the leadership piece more than the women piece. Part of that is probably just the period of time I grew up in. For me, it always starts from domain knowledge. The confidence, for me, always comes from a good mastery of whatever that thing is. Having a group of advisors, such as mentors, sponsors, your peers, your friends or family members, who can see you, see the value in you, that can really help when you are down. Your support system becomes especially critical when maintaining confidence.
06
分享一个你在职场上的勇敢时刻？
What has been your bravest career moment?
Paula: 我觉得勇气体现在，当你真心确信什么时，你不会因为一个比你位高权重的人有不同的意见，你就妥协自己的相信。我遇到过一些时候，我必须要站出来坚持我的观点，即便是要站在比我职位更高的人面前。意外的是，当你真的这么做的时候，当你真的去分享你的观点的时候，就会有人来支持你。
For me, bravery is manifested when you truly believe in something that’s bigger, and then you are not compromising what you believe in just because somebody who is more powerful has a different opinion. I have certainly had occasions when I would stand up for what I believe in, even in front of much more senior people. Surprisingly, when you do that, and you share your vision, people have to come around and support you.
07
如何应对遇到的第一次拒绝？
How did you deal with your first rejection?
Paula: 其实我被拒的经历还挺多的，第一次被拒不是在职场上，而是很多年前，我申请出国读书，我被驻华领事馆拒了。这件事儿对我而言挺难的，因为在此之前我一直过得顺风顺水。这件事让我意识到，很多事情你可以控制，而有更多事情你无法控制。所以你需要在一个比较艰难的情况下懂得如何去平衡自己的预期。被拒往往会让人更坚强，所以我很感谢这些经历。事实上，那件事情后没多久，我就顺利去美国念MBA了。
I think I have had many experiences with rejection. The first one was not related to work. Many years ago, I applied for my graduate study in the US. I was rejected by the US Consulate in Shanghai, China. That was very hard because, prior to that, I was doing pretty well with my life. What I learnt was that there are always things that you can control, but there are more things you cannot control. So you just have to learn to balance your perspective when you’re in a tough situation. Rejection makes us stronger, and I am very grateful for that. In fact, not long after that, I was able to go to the US to get my MBA.
08
如今你在一个十亿大厂工作，有什么压力？如何坚持？
Now that you are part of a billion-dollar company, what are the pressures that you have experienced? What keeps you going?
Paula: 我目前负责的工作还在一个高速成长期，所以它是动态的，一切变化很快，因为它主要是做用户保密这一块，要求和公共领域有很多的互动。我们目前还在开发阶段，所以压力往往来源于未知。如何才能够在一个分分秒秒在变的新领域做到适应和灵活应对？幸运的是，我们是一个相对年轻的事业，所以也比较敏捷。目前我们已经比较稳定地发展了四五年，对我和团队而言都是困难且具有挑战的，但是我们依然保持着一个比较好的，甚至是超预期的发展。
The business that I am in is high growth. It’s very dynamic. It changes all the time because it has to do with the future of user privacy. There’s a lot of interactions with the public sector. We are in the developer space, the pressure oftentimes comes from the unknown. So how do you stay flexible and adapt to the new business environment? Thankfully, we are a relatively young business, and we are very agile. So far, we’ve been consistently growing for the past four to five years. It can be hard and challenging for me and the team, but we would rather be in a high growth and unpredictable space than something that’s the opposite.
09
你在google以什么特质立足？
Paula: 我善于发现趋势，然后围绕着趋势去做规划建立。说到这，我们目前正在规划一个非常大的产品，我们自己也感觉很兴奋。
I am known for being able to spot trends and then build something around that trend. Speaking of which, we are right in the midst of building something that’s going to be very big. It’s an exciting time for us.
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