What if You Could Have It All?

In the Hot Seat

Having it all does mean choosing. Join Sarah Greasly and Denise Johansson as they dive into the myth, break the cycle of mom-shaming, and invite more women into tech. Keep an ear out for tips on how to build the female leaders your organisation needs and what you should never say at work.

Key Takeaways.

• [0:0] Denise Johansson puts Sarah Greasley, former Director, Solution Architecture and EMEA, Amazon Web Services, in the first hot seat of season 2.
• [2:17] What having it all means to Sarah and Denise.
• [4:44] Sarah shares the story of how she got to where she is in tech today.
• [6:03] How to build a 3-year plan around your interests and why Sarah believes 3 trumps 5.
• [7:07] The very first time Sarah realized being a woman in tech was an unusual thing.
• [9:40] Putting on a cloak of invincibility is something Sarah is now passionate about teaching younger generations of women leaders.
• [11:06] What does the separation of personal and professional look like for Sarah, if it exists at all?
• [12:22] Sarah’s journey had a traditional start, but tragedy propelled her into unique roles.
• [16:15] Thinking about “what ifs” is not part of how Sarah lives her life, she explains why.
• [18:43] Denise and Sarah share what having it all means to them.
• [21:49] Sarah shares one thing you should never say at work (but should at home!).
• [24:20] Denise shares how she struggled with managing her schedule to accommodate for her non-negotiables.
• [26:27] Sarah offers that some of the pressure women feel when balancing home and career might be a little self-inflicted.
• [28:04] Getting more women into tech can be achieved by focusing on joining, succession planning, and fixing the leaky pipeline.
• [30:53] 40 years in tech enables Sarah to share what has changed and what she finds incredibly exciting.
• [34:01] Sarah’s advice for women looking to have it all.
• [36:12] Denise signs out until the next time she puts an industry leader in the hot seat.

People.

• Guest Sarah Greasley, former Director, Solution Architecture and EMEA, Amazon Web Services, working with customers, and leading solution architects across EMEA.
• Host Denise Johansson, co-CEO and co-Founder of Enfuce, a female-founded fintech helping drive business growth, solve customer challenges, and extend financial inclusion.

Links.

• Enfuce

Guest Quotes

• Putting on your cloak of invincibility means separating your professional self from your personal self to preserve the latter. — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat
• Don’t apologise if you can’t make it to a meeting. Sometimes it’s just that you literally can’t be there at 1:30 a.m.! — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat
• There is more parity, but by the same token, I think we also put some of that pressure on ourselves as women. — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat
• Succession planning is a good path to getting more women involved in tech. — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat
• We have to live in probabilities, we have to live with risk. — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat
• Every family is different, every partner. Don’t worry about mom shaming and just find what works for you. — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat

Denise Quotes (edited).

• Life will challenge us, we have no idea of the story behind every successful woman. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat
• There are things that you can’t plan in life. Children are among these. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat
• I am not the mom who does the cooking, cleaning, and picking up, but I have never compromised on my family being first. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat
• You can have it all, but you have to choose what having it all means to you. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat
• Create the leaders that you want to have within your organisation. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat