Exclusive Trusted Magazine Q&A with Kenza Hazeb,IT Project Manager @ Nazaries Inteligenia
How could you describe your career path in a few words?
Hard work is probably the best way to describe my path so far. The field of STEM was historically considered as a male industry, and i had to fight to make a space for the young and stubborn woman engineer that I am.
I started my career in the Ticketing industry, interacting with customers from many different countries, in Europe and America, which gave me the opportunity to open my mind to different approaches, different way of communicating and different ways of thinking. Working in the support team of the company, I had to interact with customers quite often while they were stressed, which requires lots of interpersonal skills more than just engineering skills.
After a few years, I seized the opportunity to grow and accepted a position as Project Manager in the IT sector, where i now see the 360° picture of the interactions with customer and not only the support part.
What was your most challenging experience and it has changed your mindset
My most challenging experience was actually before even starting to work, as I was studying and working at the same time since the age of 13. Having to deal with shifts and schedules shaped my personality and forced me to plan my days, weeks precisely to be as efficient as possible. It also gave me a very clear understanding of the professional work and how to fight for what we want. I learnt how not to get manipulated and how to stick to my positions.
On a professional level, managing a project with multiple teams is my main challenge. Having to deal with cultural differences, different mindset, backgrounds... and make sure everyone is heading toward the same goal require sometimes lots of efforts and forced me to change my approach so that everyone understands each other while delivering the project.
When you get surprised by unusual or uncertain context, what do you think?
I tend to recontextualise a lot, to put things in perspective: I am not a doctor operating on an open-heart, so the real impact of a problem might not be that big. That helps me deal with stress.
Leading a team does not mean giving order and going by our own will: I don't know everything, but i know that i can count on each member of my team to provide me with expertise so we can find solutions for our customers. I am very keen on communicating and interacting with the team, sharing opinions and ideas to come up with the best solution possible.
Based on your experience, what’s the key success factor for a female leader / manager?
I would mention several factors:
First of all: have a plan. We have to choose to be the pilots of our lives. If we know where we want to go, there is no reason not to reach this destination. The path might turn sometimes but sticking to the plan will bring us where we want to be. We are the only ones responsible for our professional career.
Leadership starts when we take responsibility for what we want to achieve, where we want to go. Nothing comes really as granted in the professional world, and working hard, knocking on several doors is always necessary to make our dreams come true, especially for women. If we know where we want to go, and if we work towards that goal, we will realize soon enough that our team is ready to follow on that professional journey.
