Own your career, live your values and grow! Career stories of successful women leaders in pharma manufacturing
with Wendy Clark, Michelle Hennigan
Being the “Only” in the Workplace: How to Maintain Morale & Momentum on Your Leadership Journey
Susanne Kaufmann, Joanna Vargas
Being the “only” in the room can be distressing. Whether you’re the only woman, the only non-binary person, the only native Spanish speaker, the only Black person, the only man, or the only one over 40, being the only can create feelings of isolation and exhaustion — eventually taking a steep...
Being the “only” in the room can be distressing. Whether you’re the only woman, the only non-binary person, the only native Spanish speaker, the only Black person, the only man, or the only one over 40, being the only can create feelings of isolation and exhaustion — eventually taking a steep psychological toll.
But we’ve got promising news. One doesn’t have to be the loneliest number.
Susanne Kaufmann, Director of Software Engineering, and Joanna Vargas, Design Program Manager at Dropbox, will join us for a live Q&A to share their experiences navigating the tech industry as onlies. They’ll get real about how they piloted tough times and remained motivated by creating space for themselves and the next ones in line.
We’ll discuss:
- How to make a seat for yourself at the table as an only
- Ways to navigate leadership and nurture your career development
- The importance of fostering a growth mindset
- The pivotal role networking plays
- Tips to weather challenging times + boost team morale
Meet The Speakers
Susanne Kaufmann
Director of Engineering, Dropbox
Susanne has led teams that shaped the developer experience, managed a year-long data center move with zero disruptions, created experiences for their largest Enterprise customers, and bootstrapped the creation of their 0 -1 products — over four years as a senior leader at Dropbox.
In her current role as Director of Engineering, she is responsible for delivering the next great version of their Desktop product used by the vast majority of their customers daily to get their most important work done.
Joanna Vargas
Community Design Program Manager, Dropbox
As the Community Design Program Manager at Dropbox, Joanna owns strategic community programs supporting design as a craft and operations as a discipline.
She’s at her best when solving creative problems and cracking jokes. Her role is dedicated to building joy, connection, and belonging for the wider team of 200+ researchers, product, brand, and content designers.
Q&A
Q&A guidelines-
I already submitted a question when I registered
Posted on 2023-05-15 -
what superpowers come with being "an only"
Posted on 2023-05-15 -
What tools or resources do you use to help motivate and for guidance to always present your most authentic self?
Posted on 2023-05-15 -
How do you handle being the only "older" employee in the workplace if co-workers consider that a liability?
Posted on 2023-05-12 -
What are ways your peers can support you or check-in while respecting your boundaries?
Posted on 2023-05-11 -
Tips for establishing yourself as a leader when joining a new team
Posted on 2023-05-11 -
Tell me about a time you took a risk for your career
Posted on 2023-05-11 -
What's the best way to be part of the crowd without giving up yourself?
Posted on 2023-05-11 -
As an only, I'm constantly asked to represent all the other people in my racial makeup or gender. How can I respond in a productive way?
Posted on 2023-05-11 -
I just started working for my family’s business and they are extremely old school with everything they do. I started in April of last year and I’ve realized that I am seen as a woman still and...
Posted on 2023-05-11 -
How do you navigate correcting pronouns in the work place?
Posted on 2023-05-11 -
How do you deal with rejections when you apply for a new role/ company? thinking you have the needed competencies but they didn't agree
Posted on 2023-05-11 -
When you think differently express thoughts differently than teammates, bridging the communication gap and ensuring mutual understanding can be challenging. How can you navigate such a scenario?
Posted on 2023-05-11 -
What is the best way to raise awareness of the impacts of history, without causing perception of blame on current participants.
Posted on 2023-05-10 -
Do you have any tips on motivating your team to be more creative and supportive? Also, what type of leadership style do you approach the most? Follow up, they love the team and you as the lead but...
Posted on 2023-05-10 -
How can you raise awareness about being a "minority" without using he word?
Posted on 2023-05-09 -
Have you ever entered into a work environment where you felt tokenized? How did you decide to navigate this type of environment?
Posted on 2023-05-05 -
How to manage microaggressions? Specifically microinvalidations which often leave one feeling invisible in the workplace, despite hard work and solid efforts to move the company in a positive direction.
Posted on 2023-05-04 -
How do you deal with being shut out?
Posted on 2023-05-03 -
Have you ever dealt with feelings of imposter syndrome? If so, how do you best navigate these feelings?
Posted on 2023-04-26 -
In what ways does Dropbox empower you to be your full self at work?
Posted on 2023-04-06
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