Sirisha Tumma, DBA, MISM

I attribute my success to my family. They are my biggest support and my backbone, especially on the education side. My dad was a professor and he is retired now, so he was my motivation to pursue my PhD. Professionally, my husband and my family have definitely supported me in everything that I do. Actually, I would consider my husband as my go-to person, just to kind of bounce things off. He's in the same field, so we just bounce things off each other. I would say my family has always been my support.

Lead by example. It's always about knowing what you want to do and making sure you have the direction that you want to follow. When you expect others to follow the same thing, make sure you do it first. Make sure you experience it before you expect others to follow. Sometimes action proves more than words, and that's really what it comes down to.

Be strong, definitely, because especially in the technology field, even though more and more women are coming into technology now, it's still a male-dominated environment. I'm the only woman leader apart from my boss - we are the two women leaders. But that doesn't mean I'm being feministic or saying anything against men, it's just that you have to have a strong hold and understanding of what you want to do. Have a clear path and make sure you push yourselves towards it. Whatever motivates you, make sure you latch onto that motivation and just chug along. Make sure you have that mentor, just to have someone to bounce things off - good, bad, ugly, anything. Make sure you have that support, that go-to person who can lead you into whatever direction you want to take in the field. There's so much going on in the technology side, but it's always important to choose your niche, choose what interests you, and make sure you're passionate about it. Just don't do it for the sake of doing, make sure you are passionate about it. At least that's my two cents.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is keeping up with how fast technology is changing, especially with AI and how it's steering its way into different avenues. It's a good thing, but also challenging because you're constantly learning - you get a certification and then it's outdated, and you have to move on to the next best thing. It's that ongoing learning and making sure you are aware of what's going on in the industry and keeping yourself on top of it. The investment it takes in terms of time, energy, and cost can be challenging, and the journey isn't always easy - there are hurdles. But the flip side is that embracing the technology is also the biggest opportunity. Once you get over those hurdles and embrace the technology, there are so many opportunities out there that we can leverage ourselves into. Twenty years ago, we didn't have this - everything is at our fingertips at this point, so we need to make use of that. The challenge is also industry-specific - when you're in finance or other regulated industries, it's harder because you want to do all this awesome stuff with new technology, but you have to make sure you're in compliance with everything. So it's about finding where you fall in line between innovation and the guardrails that are in place.

For me, ethics is the most important - the ethics side of things. Being transparent is crucial. And leading by example is fundamental to everything I do. It's not about saying one thing and doing another - you know, that 'do as I say, not as I do' mentality. For me, it's about making sure you prove your worth before you expect others to follow it. The decision-making should be a group decision through collaboration instead of just coming from me as a leader. I want to make sure I explain the why and the what, and that the 'why' should be part of the collaboration instead of just coming from me. When I expect others to follow something, I make sure I do it first and experience it before expecting others to follow.