Destinie Prince

I would say the biggest thing for me has been the fact that I've always had managers that have supported me. I've been able to challenge the status quo, and they've been there to support that. I've been very blessed to have that leadership support, because I have seen other people and other managers that didn't do that. Having managers who let me try new things, who supported me when I wanted to break out of silos, and who backed me up when I challenged the way things were done - that's made all the difference. I've also had great team support. When I was a single mom going to school full-time while working full-time, my mom stepped in to make sure my kids had somebody there for field trips and events. Having that kind of support system, both at work and at home, has been crucial to everything I've been able to accomplish.

The best career advice I ever received was: don't ever be afraid to fall. I tell my team this all the time, especially when we're talking about systems and technology - you're not going to catch everything. Something's always going to break. You will never be 100% perfect, and that is okay. There's nothing that they can do that can't be undone or can't be fixed. I want them to try new things, to always think outside the box, to think upstream and downstream about who is impacting them and who they're impacting. The key is to break out of those silos. I got stuck in my career path in that silo, and breaking out of it was probably the best thing that I did. So that's what I keep telling everybody - don't be afraid to fall, don't be afraid to break out, to ask questions. Challenge the status quo. That is okay to do.

My advice to young women entering this industry is the same as what helped me: don't ever be afraid to fall, and don't be afraid to break out of silos. Challenge the status quo - that is okay to do. Through my work with Encore's Women's Network, where I'm part of a lean-in circle, we help train other women around imposter syndrome and how to be assertive when people say you're being emotional. We teach women how to get what they deserve and how to advocate for themselves. But most importantly, we have to lean on each other and support each other. Don't let fear hold you back from trying new things, asking questions, or thinking outside the box. You're going to make mistakes, and that's perfectly fine - there's nothing you can do that can't be fixed. The key is to keep learning, keep growing, and support other women along the way.

One of the biggest challenges right now, especially with everything you hear about AI and machine learning coming in - human in the loop, human on the loop, human out of the loop - is that I've had a lot of questions from my team, especially from my data analytics side, asking if we're building ourselves out of a job. And I tell them: no, you're not going to lose your job. Your job's going to change. What you do is going to change, but you're not going to lose your job. That's probably the biggest thing right now, especially within the technology world and how fast technology is changing - a lot of people are worried about that. You've got to be able to adapt. You can't reject the change, you can't reject technology that is coming in, because it's going to make us better. You need to adapt and change your focus, change what you do and how you do things, to allow yourself to get better. People are scared because everybody's scared of change, and technology is constantly changing and evolving so fast that it's hard to keep up. But as long as you can embrace the change and continue to learn and grow, that's the power. You have to be forward-thinking and proactive. Those are the people that are valuable, those are the people that companies want to hang on to. On the opportunity side, while we see a lot of industries downsizing, we are growing. I've already got projects lined out through 2031. It's good to see the growth and to see new people being able to come on and continue to challenge and grow and tackle the new technology that's coming in.

My biggest value is work-life balance. I tell everybody on my team: you've got to have a work-life balance. Unless there's a true emergency, there's nothing that can't wait until the next day. Have time with your family. I've got a lot of people with little ones, and I tell them, don't miss those opportunities. If they have field day or a field trip, go. Go be a part of that. Family is very important to me, because they're only little ones. You've got to learn how to balance work demands with being there for your family. Otherwise, everybody loses. You start hitting burnout, and you miss out on everything your kids are doing. I was that way when my two oldest were younger - I was focused on making a name for myself, promoting, doing all the things, because I was a single mom at the time. But there was stuff that I finally said no to. I told myself I'm not going to miss out on this stuff, and luckily I had a manager that supported that. I might be gone for two hours because I'm going on their field trip, but I'd come back online after they went to bed. I made sure my work was done on time and didn't miss deadlines, but I was there for my kids, and that was what meant the most. I never want to have an employee say their kids told them, 'Mom, I hate your job because you're never around.' You've got to have support from not just your leadership, but also your peers to help balance that.