Having Bev as both a business associate and friend over the last 20 years has provided me with motivation and encouragement to stand up and have a stronger voice in a business environment and also to take on new personal challenges. We met while working at Microsoft deploying Siebel to our sales teams. Bev’s role required her to be deeply entrenched and engaged with the IT side of the tool while representing our field sales team needs. She was a force to be reckoned with as I watched her navigate these muddy waters. I developed a strong sense of respect for her tenacity, perseverance, and honesty.
Bev has many things to teach and share with all of us and I am confident you will come away with examples you can implement after reading her interview.
What an amazing career you have had working for Microsoft for over 28 years. When you began, Microsoft was in the process of releasing Windows 3.1 as an operating system (OS) and when you retired it was releasing Windows 10. Not only were there major advances in the OS, there were so many acquisitions and changes over that time period. Walk us through the highlights of your time at Microsoft. From which group or role did you learn the most and why?
I learned so much from every role I had. I started as an Account Executive selling Local Area Network (LAN) experiences and this shaped the rest of my career at Microsoft. I believe it is one of the hardest jobs at Microsoft and I spent the rest of my time working to help make team members jobs easier and their voices heard.
In the effort to help Microsoft and our sales force I became a part of the team to help develop and deploy the first customer relationship management (CRM) system at Microsoft. I thought it would be a short term assignment. It turned out to be a career change I never dreamed I would take. I moved from field sales to a United States (US) headquarter role leading all Systems and Tools for the US. This role taught me how to scale my team and myself. It also helped me to become an Information Technology (IT) professional.
I then moved to lead global IT platforms and teams. Scaling and managing globally is a skill I found that I do best. I learned that while you need to drive global standards, it is necessary to leave room for about 20% localization. I also learned the importance of leading with your heart and being vulnerable. People will follow a leader and take on huge bold goals if they are doing important work and they feel support and recognized for their work. Transforming teams and the work you do is something that every leader should embrace. You can move faster than you imagine with focus.
Was there a time you were ever at a crossroad in your career? How did you determine which ‘road’ to take? Was the decision well-made or an opportunity for learning?
Yes more than once. The move from “The Field” to corporate was a pivotal decision looking back. I was a successful leader at that time with a loud voice and experiencing lots of pain because of the lack of tools we had in the field to manage our business. I felt at the time that this was my give back to Microsoft to invest a year or two to help. I had no idea at the time that it would take me down such an amazing path. From managing a territory in Missouri, Kansas and Tennessee to managing global teams spread over 30 countries.
The technology sector has known issues attracting and retaining women. As a woman over 50, who clearly had a long and robust career in technology, what were your greatest challenges in the last 10 years of your career? What advice do you have for women looking to succeed at a career in technology? How do you believe we can interest more young females in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and subsequent careers in technology?
To give the last 10 years some perspective I think it important to know the environment of 1991 when I started. On one of my first sales calls to a company in Tennessee I was told that I should come back when I had a man with me implying that there was no way I could have the technical deep dive he wanted to have because I was a woman. For many years I worked hard to bury any softness or vulnerability and worked harder to be more technical than any of my male peers. This hardness helped me survive and even thrive in the early days however it would become a barrier to transforming into a global leader that needs to drive huge projects and change. The last ten years at Microsoft were about me learning the importance of opening my heart again and how to inspire a team. Being willing to learn new skills myself and fail in front of my team. How could I ask them to do that if I did not do it myself? I was very lucky to work for a wonderful leader who believed in personal development. He invested 8 years of development in me and his leadership team. The payoff was huge.
To attract more women we need to help them understand there are many different roles in technology besides being a coder. Nothing wrong with coding but it is only one aspect of the IT field. Also, they need to see that there is no one way to get into tech. I have a Masters Degree in Social Work ? I started in sales and ended up running large development and deployment team.The key for me is I always raised my hand when there was something new to learn. I also think it is easier today to not have to change yourself to fit in as I had to do in the early days. But I also think we need to do a better job of teaching women how to work together to make more slots for women in tech vs. fighting for the one woman slot. I still see too many women not supporting other women or worse. Many of my worst experiences the past ten years were with other women. In my entire career at Microsoft I only had one woman who I worked for who was supportive and helped me grow in my career. The other women I worked for worked hard to move me out of their organizations.
In addition to working full time at Microsoft, you became interested in becoming a triathlete. What motivated you to move into this sport? Again, as a woman over 50 when you became interested in this sport, what unique opportunities and challenges did you face? What has been your most memorable moment thus far?
I mentioned above that I had a personal coach that I worked with for several years. He asked me two questions that really changed my career and life.
He first asked me “Do you dare to dream any more?” He let me marinate on that for a month or two, then he asked me “How do you fill your cup? You can’t give from an empty cup.”
At the time I was taking care of my Mom and Dad who both had health issues. I was moving them out of their home and selling the family farm. My daughter was having health issues; work was crazy and I gave myself no time. I had no idea how to fill my cup. Fate happened to put opportunity in my path while cheering for my cousin at a Disney World Half marathon. I had not personally run since my college days. I stood in the freezing rain for hours watching people cross the finish line. Their look of joy and satisfaction blew me away. I knew that was exactly what I needed. I decided that day that I would come back the next year and run that race. I was 52 and I ran my first 5K 3 months later then a 10K. I did indeed finish that Disney world half marathon the next year. I kept doing more ½ marathons and decided I wanted to do one Disney marathon in my life so I signed up for the Disneyworld Goofy race which was a ½ marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday. I finished and was hooked on endurance races and kept keep doing multi day races and marathons for a few years. I had thought about doing a triathlon but I did not know how to swim. I happened to find a signup for a Triathlon with Team Challenge at a 5K. They promised they could teach me to swim and everything else to finish a Sprint Triathlon in 16 weeks if I would raise money for the Crohn’s and Colitis foundation. I was 56 and this decision totally changed my life. I am most proud of going from literally blowing bubbles in the shallow end of the pool to swimming 400 Meters in the open ocean in 16 weeks. It pushed my boundaries and helped me grow so much. I also found an incredibly supportive group of people. I decided that I wanted to do longer and longer distances. At this point I still did not consider myself an athlete ? I think coming into the sport over 50 that was really hard to get over in my head. It took me finishing several 70.3 Ironman races and a 140.6 Ironman before I really believed it in my heart. I became an Ironman at 59. It t took me 16 hours and 34 mins to finish it. I never would have thought I could do anything like that. Crossing that finish line and hearing Mike Reilly call out “Beverly Hess, you are an IRONMAN!” is something I will never forget. It still gives me chills.
The amazing thing about Triathlon and running is that aging athletes are considered badass and are looked up to. So very, very different from my experiences aging in tech. In Triathlon we proudly wear our ages on our left calf during a race. At work I was afraid to tell people how old I was In fact, once I went public with my age I was clearly discriminated against at work.
What positive impact(s) has your athleticism had on you? What advice do you have for others looking to engage in triathlons?
Triathlon was the very best thing I did for myself. It made me a better manager and leader. I had to learn a new skill which was very humbling. It gave me such insights into what I was asking people on my team to do. I also had to learn to ride my bike differently. This was in fact even harder than learning a brand new skill because you literally go backwards in performance for a bit and even fall a lot and get cut and bruised when you learn to ride with clipin pedals and Tribike. I was asking my team to do that too with upskilling. Most often we expect people to perform at the same or improved levels immediately. How often do we allow for a dip in performance as they learn before they can accelerate?
Swimming is a skill that everyone over 50 should have and practice. It is such a great non impact exercise. Something you can do for the rest of your life. Biking has made me a stronger runner and I found that I am really good at endurance biking. Triathlon has become a lifestyle really. I love the way it makes me feel connected to the earth. I am immersed in the water. I feel the wind and roll of the earth on my bike. And you get to see so many parts of the world you would never see when you run. I have run all around the planet as I have traveled the world. So very thankful I had that opportunity to connect with the land, cultures and people differently.
I would encourage everyone to give it a Triathlon a try….a Sprint is a 400 meter swim 12 mile bike and a 5K run. It is doable for most folks who are active. You will feel like you can literally do anything after you accomplish that. I would encourage you to find a team of people to train with Team in Training supports finding a cure for Lymphoma. TeamChallenge supports Crohns and colitis foundation which are two great organizations that will help you get started and you are doing good along the way.
Part of most Microsoft employee’s DNA contains a strong desire to give back to our communities. As a triathlete you are committed to raising awareness and funds for Crohn’s & Colitis. Why is this specific charity so important to you? How has representing it and bringing awareness and funding to it impacted your life?
It was purely by accident that I found TeamChallenge. I have digestive issues but not Crohns or Colitis but I really signed up for the first race to learn how to swim. During that first 16 weeks of training I met such incredible people including my coach who were impacted by these horrible diseases. So many of them were in and out of the hospital; their lives stolen away bits at a time. I have stayed with TeamChallenge because of my team mates and coaches. The community is something that I had no idea I needed. They are now my tribe, life long friends and several who are like family. It was so unexpected but so needed as we grow older.
Who has been the most influential person in your career? Tell us about them and how that relationship helped you grow.
That is a tough question. I think I will give you 2. First was my mother. She instilled in me very early that I can do anything I put my mind to and that I can do it better than any man? I never saw a gender barrier in anything I did and I had this core belief that I could do anything they could do and better.
Career wise I had one manager for over eight years. Walter invested in me as a leader, gave me more and more responsibility and supported me in every way. He made the personal coach available to me. He was a citizen of the world and was such a great role model in how to do global. He let me grow and step into as much as I wanted. He opened doors for me for executive visibility and he got me recognition. He even helped me deal the best with being a woman at Microsoft as funny as that may sound. He made it safe for me to be myself. To lead with my heart. He also pushed me to do more in helping other women and told me once to stop worrying about hiring too many women because my male counterparts didn’t worry about hiring too many men?
If you could go back and give your 20-year-old self advice, what would it be?
Don’t be so hard on yourself. Make yourself and your self care a priority. You have to take care of you before others or there is nothing left to give. Make time for people and make them the priority. When I look back on my career my legacy was really the impact I had on people not necessarily the work or the projects. While those were also important where you make the biggest difference is in the lives of the people you touch.
One of the biggest blessing and pitfalls of working at Microsoft is ability to have respectful, diverse opinions with a wide range of individuals. Was there a time in your career that you enjoyed a healthy ‘discussion’ with another employee yet lost the argument? What lesson did you learn as an outcome?
More than one? The one I will highlight is about the choice of CRM system for Microsoft long ago. I was against Siebel and customization. I was part of the group making the recommendation to Steve Ballmer. He decided on Siebel (the IT team decided on total customization versus utilizing it out of the box, with no customization) and while I didn’t agree I spent the next 13 years of my career supporting it and trying to retire it. Ultimately I won the Chairman’s award for retiring it and moving us to out of the box Dynamics. I learned that it is important to take the long view and sometimes it can take a very long time for your point of view to “triumph”. Thirteen years is a long time to keep pushing a point of view, but I did. I am Missouri Mule stubborn. If you really believe in something stick with it and never give up on the things that matter. But do pick your battles and be patient. Change brings opportunity. Embrace it!
The attributes of a successful career have been changing dynamically over the past several decades in direct correlation to the ever-changing world we are all shifting through (ecologically, politically, financially). How did you and other key leaders at Microsoft ensure you are adapting with the community you served? What will be important for future leaders?
You have to keep reinventing yourself, transforming and learning new skills. You need to stay relevant and don’t be afraid to embrace new ways of working or what the new generations are bringing. I had the opportunity to co-lead the Women@Microsoft group with a woman who was born the year I started Microsoft ? I learned as much from her as she learned from me. What a great experience it was working together. But to truly embrace the future you need to put yourself in vulnerable positions on a regular basis. Are you willing to fail publicly? How can you build in giving back into your team culture on a daily and weekly basis? Not just something you do once a year. Giving is a way to bring people together in a different way, build new skills and make a difference in the world. Think outside the box and you can build something that not only helps to increase the performance and morale of the team but also helps the communities we live in.
People reading this interview will be fueled to find ways to engage in both a career like you chose as well as perhaps to tackle becoming a triathlete . What advice do you have for others who may want to follow in your footsteps?
Do work that you love and embrace change as opportunity. My career was about taking opportunities that showed up and making the most of them. Triathlon is about learning new skills and building mental toughness. You can do anything with focus and commitment. Don’t let fear steal your joy.
Think back to five years ago. Did you envision this is where you would be?
Had no idea most of what is in my life now would be here?
What challenges have you experienced in your professional life and what are the top lessons learned?
The hardest times for me have been when my sponsor has left the company. It happened 4 times in my career at Microsoft. It really changes everything. It is like starting over. I found that if you are starting over with a new manager who doesn’t want to be your sponsor the very best thing you can do is find another role and a leader who is willing to give you a shot. Staying and trying to change their minds never worked out for me. It is hard to move on from a job that you love but staying with a manager that doesn’t support you is the very worst thing you can do.
What are three key pieces of advice do you have for today’s job seekers?
- Find a way to stand out. Perhaps thru social media or the way you introduce yourself.
- Don’t be afraid to apply for jobs that you are not 100% qualified for. Women in particular look for the perfect fit.
- A job is not a career. You can do more at a company than just your day job to build a career and enhance your life
What are the top 1-5 things that you are looking forward to in 2020?
This is really hard now with the virus? I had big plans for travel and races which are now not likely to happen.
I look forward to getting back in the water to swim. I look forward to long bike rides and runs with friends. I miss the connection with the earth and people that the lockdown has created. I also look forward to finding what my next thing is. This is a transition year for me. It’s.a time to consider how I want to give back to my community and the world.
Last question – if you could be a superhero what special power would your superhero have and why? Cape or no cape?
My superhero would wear a sparkle skirt not a cape. ? I would love the super power to have people believe in themselves. That confidence can literally change the world. I also enjoy making people smile when then see my sparkle skirts. ?
Please include any sources that people can use to connect with you.