"Helen - Often Tires, But Never Gives Up" - Source UnknownBorn in England and raised in Nigeria, my first technology exposure was after my undergraduate degree in Economics. I stumbled upon a plotter and watched in astonishment as it created a greeting card. It was then that I decided that my future was in technology.I moved to the UK and enrolled in a Computing & AI program. The courses were challenging, intriguing, and empowering all at once! When I figured out my code, I would jump out of my seat to assist others. Excellent at translating technical concepts, my professor suggested that I teach. I did and later set up my training consultancy, first teaching office productivity tools and later helping network engineers attain industry certifications. Today, I help project managers increase their confidence and gain customer satisfaction.In my first CIO role, I had 12 months to transform a 2-person team into 350 employees across 11 dispersed sites. I prioritized tasks, motivated my team, and refined my interpersonal skills to manage stakeholder expectations. My training to accomplish this challenging transformation began long before entering the workforce. I am the oldest of six in a single-parent household, and I took on a leadership role early. I was 12 when I herded three siblings (ages 11 to 4) on a bus trip to visit relatives 4 hours away. The bus ended up in a ditch, and although there were no injuries, the bus driver abandoned his passengers. I had to think and act quickly to get my siblings and me to anxious relatives. As a teenager, I assumed the role of deputy mom and fitted chores around schoolwork. I cared for my siblings while my mom worked. I quickly developed negotiation and conflict resolution techniques to get my siblings to play well and assist with chores. I learned to play to different strengths, especially when they complained about my bar of excellence. It was the ultimate test of my interpersonal skills that I would later leverage as a CIO.Relocation to the US landed me in academia and other sectors. I became adept at quickly identifying organizational pain points and using Agile techniques to prioritize tasks by business value. I treat budgets as mine and constantly renegotiate vendors' contracts to provide win-win solutions. I don't give up and know that every problem has a solution. I find success when I engage stakeholders and get their buy-in. I realized that as "deputy mom," I honed my ability to collaborate, brainstorm, gain clarity, identify risks, and come up with solutions even when a bus ends up in a ditch.