Tanya Gurduno

I attribute my success to following through on commitments and the skills I learned from my mother. She taught me to be adaptable when walking into any organization, to observe things carefully before trying to input or make changes, and to constantly stay aware of what's happening around me so I can fit in where I'm needed. My mother has been a force to be reckoned with since I was born, and I strive to be as confident and effective as she is in everything she does, both in personal life and business life. She's an incredible woman, and if I can be half the woman she is, I'll be excited. The follow-through is critical - doing what you say you're going to do, whether in personal or business situations. When you make a commitment and go out of your way to make that effort, you need to follow through because your reputation is on the line, as well as any name you've built for yourself.

The best career advice I ever received was don't keep yourself pigeonholed. I know this is a strange thing to say from an IT perspective, but I was told don't get into coding. Coding changes, the languages evolve, and you'll constantly be working to try and stay ahead of the curve. Instead, I was advised to go into process improvement. Processes are different from organization to organization, but typically the way that you study them and the way that you improve them, those elements become pretty standard. So you can really jump from organization to organization and industry to industry with that skill set. It's one that I enjoy, and it's allowed me to have the flexibility and longevity in my career that I have today.

I would say don't let being a woman be a detriment. A lot of folks, especially in the industries I've been in, women think that they need to adapt to become a man in order to fit in the man's world. IT, construction, that kind of thing is where I live. And I feel that being a woman gives me a lot more power. I come in with confidence, and I come in with knowledge, and usually I can outdo any man that's in the business. So make sure that they're not feeling stifled or feeling that they have to conform to a man's world in order to be successful. A woman is just as successful in a man's world by being a woman and using those qualities to her advantage. Don't be intimidated - if you come in with the right knowledge and the right confidence as you walk through, you'll make that difference when you walk in.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is being a woman in a man's world. I walk into a room and I'm in industries like IT and construction that are dominated by men, so there are challenges that come with that. But again, if you come in with the right knowledge and the right confidence as you walk through, and don't let yourself be intimidated, you'll make that difference when you walk in. It's about turning that challenge into an opportunity by using your qualities as a woman to your advantage rather than seeing them as a limitation.

The most important value to me in both my work and personal life is follow-through. Do what you say you're going to do. Whether it is in personal or in business, if you make the commitment and if you're going to go out of your way to make that much of an effort, then make sure you follow through. Your reputation is on the line, as well as any name that you've built for yourself. So you want to make sure that stays strong. When you commit to something, you need to see it through because that's what builds trust and credibility in every aspect of your life.