Whitney Newton

I attribute my success to perseverance and a deep commitment to my personal brand. Everything I do represents who I am, and I take that super seriously. I didn't come from an easy starting point. I came from a broken-style home where I was the first in my family to go to college, so I had to develop a mindset that failure is not an option really early on. I learned that I have to figure it out, adapt, and push forward no matter what. That created a level of ownership that has really stayed with me throughout my career. In project management, it has helped me build a reputation as someone who can be trusted during high-pressure situations, someone who won't walk away from challenges, and that consistency has really helped drive success. I bring a lot of moxie into everything I do, and I hold myself to a high standard. It's not just about the results I deliver at work, but also about how I show up for others. I really want the people around me to succeed, and I take pride in uplifting teams and creating environments or culture where others can grow too. Continuous growth is a huge driver for me. I have a hunger for knowledge and self-improvement, and I'm always looking for ways to evolve, not just professionally but personally too. I like to tell people that I'm in competition with myself, because every day I'm trying to be a better version of me than I was yesterday. You can always make mistakes, there's going to be a time where you slip or say something and wish you spoke better, but instead of worrying about the past, I always just focus on what I learned from that and what I can do today to make it better.

The best career advice I have ever received was to act like a leader before I was even given the title. That advice has always stuck with me because I've seen firsthand that the strongest leaders in the room are usually the ones that aren't asking for permission. They're already operating with that accountability and confidence, and it really carried through my mindset throughout my career too. It taught me how to speak up in rooms, even if I wasn't the most senior person, and to lead even whenever it was needed. So even if it wasn't my role or my responsibility, if they needed something or I wanted to take over something, I would jump in. That advice actually came from a man in the industry who was a huge advocate for women, and he told me not to let myself be put in a box.

I would definitely tell young women to be confident in their presence and don't minimize their voice. You don't have to know everything on day one, but you do have to be willing to learn, you have to ask questions, and you need to stand firm in your values, because I know that gets tested very often in workplaces, but especially in this industry. In telecom, there's not a lot of women, so many times you're going to be the only woman in the room, and it's not a disadvantage as it's sometimes painted to be. It's actually an opportunity where you can bring a different perspective. So take that ownership early, learn the technical sides, build relationships, and advocate for yourself, because from what I've seen, your career, no one will push your career forward more than you will.

I actually just came from a telecom conference this week, so I'm inspired right now. I would say the biggest challenges that I'm seeing are just the increasing complexity that's going on in telecom. You have the growth of 5G, there's fiber expansion, and new technologies like AI are becoming a big buzzword right now. The projects are going to require more coordination across more teams now, and more systems and timelines than before, so it becomes a difficult challenge in having to kind of rein it all in. But it's also a big opportunity too, because there's a shift that's starting to happen with project management in telecom, where it's becoming more about strategy and less about what it previously was, which was all about tracking tasks. Now we're looking more at how to drive alignment and improve processes, especially with AI, and also just enabling a smarter way of working. I would say the biggest opportunity right now for leaders is really to step in and bring structure to the chaos and elevate how these projects are delivered across the industry. Telecom is a very traditional-style industry, so a lot of people don't want to move from what they know, but you have to be innovative and you have to try new things.

The values that are most important to me really resonate deeply because I'm originally from a sorority, and I chose the sorority that I joined based on the virtues that they had. These are things that I really adhere to on a daily basis. They have seven virtues: loyalty, honesty, respect, dedication, integrity, discipline, and a commitment to excellence. For me, I bring a lot of moxie into everything I do, and I hold myself to a high standard, so it's not just about the results I deliver at work, but also about how I show up for others. I really want the people around me to succeed, and I take pride in uplifting the teams and creating environments or culture where others can grow too. Continuous growth is a huge driver for me. I have a hunger for knowledge and self-improvement, and I'm always looking for ways to evolve, not just professionally but personally too. I like to tell people that I'm in competition with myself, because every day I'm trying to be a better version of me than I was yesterday. You can always make mistakes, there's going to be a time where you slip or say something and wish you spoke better, but instead of worrying about the past, I always just focus on what I learned from that and what I can do today to make it better.