Blaire Brower

I attribute my success to being able to build a really strong work ethic. I think with every single job I've had, whether that be the first job I had when I was young working at a grocery store, to all of the jobs I've had in tech, I've used every single job as a building block to create a really strong work foundation. And just the support of my family, and that goes back to my parents, to now my husband and two young daughters. Everyone is just so supportive, and wanting to be able to show my two young girls that women are amazing, and with the support of family, you can do anything.

The best career advice I've ever received was when I was in high school working as a camp counselor. My boss told me to leave personal and business separate, leave your personal problems at home when you come to work. I've carried that with me my whole life, and it has served me tremendously. You should leave your personal life at home and leave your professional life at work, keep those two things separate. I truly attribute so much of my success to that advice, and I will never forget it. I've carried it with me to this day.

I would say, always feel empowered to raise your hand. I know it can be really hard as women to feel like we can't speak up, we don't want to answer a question in a meeting. It can be really trying to be a woman in this industry, so always feel empowered to raise your hand, to speak up, to give your best ideas. And just be confident. We all have imposter syndrome, men and women both. I think it's really important to just be confident, use your voice, speak up, and just know that even if a man might seem like the most confident person in the room, he's probably got even more imposter syndrome than the next person. And going back to advice I would give, don't be afraid to ask questions for context.

Where there is challenge, there's also opportunity, so it's always challenging. I thought that I was never going to be able to get out of the EA role. Not that there's anything wrong with being an executive assistant, but it's a really hard job profile to break out of. You have to really, really work at it. It's hard to pivot from it, so where there's challenge in changing roles, there's also opportunity to really advocate for yourself and make a case as to why you could be good at doing something different using the skill set that you have. I was able to speak to all of the experience I have as an executive assistant, which is a role where we do so much behind the scenes, and there's so much invisible work that we do. But I was able to use all of my experience and all of the different things that I've done within my role at different companies, all the different people and personalities that I've worked with, all of the challenges and obstacles that I've been able to overcome, to apply to a new role in a new space.

I think it's really important to have honesty, and that goes with if you make a mistake at work, and we're human, we all make mistakes, to own it, and be honest about it, and grow from it. Loyalty is another key value. I think being loyal to your team, your family, your friends, loyalty is going to get you really far, and it's just so important in every aspect of life. And I would say just being yourself, being your true, authentic self. Letting people see who you are as a human being in the workplace is just as important as being yourself in your personal life. You want to be human, you want to be relatable. Every place I've worked, people have come to me for advice, as a sounding board, to share best practices, and I feel like it's the same thing in my personal life. Because I am so true to myself, I think it attracts people in a sense that they feel like they can talk to me and be open with me.