A McKinsey survey in early 2016 showed that 37% of women in the technology industry have always maintained junior-level roles, and only a small number have entered management. And only 15% of senior leaders at technology companies are women. As an executive of a technology company, Zhou Yi has been appointed as the vice president and chief marketing officer of IBM Greater China for more than four years. Looking at her over the past ten years, every step forward is a crossover - a game of the brave.

"Right Person"

Zhou Yi still remembers when he was appointed vice president of communications and strategy for IBM Asia Pacific in 2007. "Before that, those in charge of communication and brand marketing in the Asia-Pacific region were all people with Western backgrounds. This is the first time that Asians have managed the Asian brand image themselves, and it is also the first time that a woman has been appointed to this position." Zhou Yi felt that this might be something of historical significance, so she prepared an inaugural speech for this purpose. However, it only took three minutes to announce the appointment at the morning meeting on March 1, and colleagues did not show any special emotions: "You are the right person for this job."

That incident made Zhou Yi realize that all labels such as background, identity, education, etc. were shackles placed on himself. In fact, the workplace only depends on ability, so what about Asian women? Even with a liberal arts education background, Zhou Yi can still shoulder important responsibilities in a century-old global technology company.

"The only fear is fear itself"

Zhou Yi joined IBM Greater China in 2001 as the general manager of the planning department. In just a few years, he was promoted continuously due to outstanding performance. In 2005, she was offered a job at the New York headquarters, filling in for a director in the software department while she was on maternity leave. "My predecessor spent half a day handing over to me and accompanied me to meet with dozens of Americans who would be led by me. As soon as they entered the conference room, their faces seemed to have six words written on them: 'Who are you? Can you do it?'" Zhou Yi's idea at the time was: he could not reveal his weakness in front of them and had to fight to the end. The next few days were tense and awkward for her, as her subordinates became rivals and work became a competition.

"Roosevelt once said that the only thing we fear is fear itself. " Some people take a step forward but fail. In fact, because of fear, bad mentality and bad behavior will be distorted, and the interaction with the new environment will fall into a bad state.

The situation turned around when Zhou Yi's boss sent an email, which invited her to watch the US Open tennis tournament live. "I'm so excited. What surprised me even more was that in order to avoid the heavy traffic, my boss took me to the city center by helicopter that day." It was her first time flying. Flying over Manhattan at sunset, she saw her boss's kind smile.The purpose of the board seems to be to help her integrate into the new environment.

Why do people fall in love with their hometowns? Because the people and things there are very familiar and they feel at home like a fish in water; why do people feel afraid of distant and unfamiliar places and things? Because they subjectively imagine that they are "outsiders" and "intruders" and will be hostile and resisted; they imagine that they will hit a wall and be unlucky because they are not familiar with them. In fact, they underestimate themselves and the environment. "That day, my boss let me fly freely over the skyscrapers in Manhattan. He told me through personal experience that the reason you are afraid of a strange environment is because you view it as closed and treat your new colleagues astray. To overcome these, you need to have a broader mind, a higher attitude, and a clearer vision. In a word, having a big picture is like flying in the sky."

Zhou Yi’s boss is of Japanese descent, young and promising, and is definitely a young man among the decision-makers. The university he went to was not well-known, and he did not study for a master's or doctorate. He studied media, but he thrived in a high-tech company like IBM with a complex product line and was promoted quickly. How did he do it? At the U.S. Tennis Open that day, Zhou Yi and him watched the game with their eyes and chatted about their workplace experiences. He told Zhou Yi that he should be able to try jobs that he doesn't like or be good at; he should be able to get used to entering fields that he is unfamiliar with and understand; he should be able to cooperate with people who are more senior or even more capable than himself. "He finally told me that there is nothing to be afraid of. Fear is all created by yourself."

Due to the adjustment of his mentality, Zhou Yi felt much more relaxed in the new week and became able to deal with problems more skillfully and skillfully. "In the department I manage, there is a very senior woman in her fifties. She always likes to challenge her leaders, maybe because she thinks too highly of herself, or maybe she doesn't like her boss who is younger than her. Before my predecessor left, he quietly told me to stay away from her." This employee often expressed objections at meetings and wrote emails to other parallel leaders to express his opinions. How to manage such employees? Either avoid conflicts or find opportunities to rectify them. Zhou Yi's two methods were useless.

Zhou Yi found that this employee often published articles in well-known American IT media. The content of the articles could not only analyze the company's strategy but also grasp the industry trends. They were informative and clear. Zhou Yi took the initiative to tell her, "Can you help me train two apprentices? We in Greater China lack people with good writing skills." She was very happy and actively conducted video training through the transoceanic system. After a few lectures, feedback from Asia was spread to the United States. Zhou Yi also sent these good feedbacks to other leaders. In the end, to the surprise of other employees, this employee who liked to make things difficult for the leader became Zhou Yi's supporter.

“Ttype” talents

Many times when people make decisions, they first take stock of their own disadvantages, which inevitably destroys morale. But the reality is not as bad as imagined. This is also a soft standard for measuring talent. Zhou Yi introduced to Jiemian News: Now when IBM recruits, it not only examines the professional qualities of talents in the vertical direction, but also considers their ability to expand the scope of knowledge. People who can develop well both horizontally and vertically are called "T"-shaped talents.This is the plastic talent that Big Blue is looking for. In addition, they must have the courage to actively seek growth.

"Cross-border is an important way for you to gain competitive advantage. Especially in the information age, people who are brave and capable of crossing borders are 'scarce products' with competitive advantages."

Crossing borders is also a step forward

IBM's marketing department is not just a department that spends money to promote products. It is a department that is deeply integrated with product sales and creates value by integrating the marketing management system. Zhou Yi has been the vice president and chief marketing officer of IBM Greater China for nearly five years. She said: "You must cherish every impulse you have. The 'cross-borders' in my life are mutually causal. If one or two impulses were suppressed by myself, then I would not be where I am today."

In 2008, IBM announced internally that it would integrate its three major business lines of marketing department, brand public department, and corporate social responsibility department into one department. This adjustment is tantamount to a magnitude 7 earthquake for management operations and personnel arrangements. After the merger, the performance of the marketing department is completely tied to product sales performance. Due to the diversity and high concentration of technology in IBM's products, coupled with the complex operations and calculations of marketing, technical talents will have great advantages in taking on the role of CMO.

At that time, there was a very pessimistic view in the brand communication and public relations departments: Even if you become the CMO through competition, you will still lose because of your inherent lack of IT professional background. Instead of working hard and being defeated in the end, it is better to retreat and be more conservative when faced with difficulties.

Michelle Ryan, professor of social psychology at the University of Exeter, conducted a survey on the gradual erosion of women’s professionalism and found that the small proportion of women in leadership is largely due to their lack of self-confidence and ambition. Not only did Zhou Yi disagree with the pessimistic views in the department, he even took the initiative to compete for this position. Of course we all know the result, and the thought that triggered her action is:

• It is true that she did not graduate in IT, but this CMO is neither a mathematician nor an engineer. What it needs is IT thinking and big data thinking. And this can be obtained and developed at work;
• In the past ten years, Zhou Yi has served as the CEO's creative and think tank. He understands the market and is familiar with the company's strategy and direction. He is more accustomed to thinking about problems from an overall perspective and is better at grasping the interactive relationship between the marketing department and the headquarters, other departments, customers, and society. This is exactly the ability that a CMO must possess.
• The biggest mission of a CMO is to discover new markets and new customers and become the defender of the company's brand. Zhou Yi's connections, trust, experience and reputation in the field of brand management accumulated over many years in the Chinese market should give her enough confidence to compete for this position.

Impulse without careful consideration is recklessness, only decisions made by being able to clearly understand one's own strengths and weaknesses can be called brave. Zhou Yi told the headquarters and Greater China CEO: "Work is not a child's play. New knowledge in unfamiliar fields must be quickly mastered; also, my leadership style is definitely different from that of people with an IT background. You must recognize this difference and give me space."

The year she took over as CMO was the most difficult period of her career. Work fourteen to five hours a day, no weekends. "I can't pretend to know everything just because I'm a leader," she learned while doing it, and repeatedly consulted her subordinates as teachers. "I can't give up my right to make decisions just because I'm surrounded by teachers." On the contrary, after doing his homework carefully, Zhou Yi will make bold decisions. In this way, she exerted her brand marketing capabilities vertically, expanded her product and technical knowledge horizontally, and reversed her disadvantages. Zhou Yi told Jiemian News that she was grateful for her decision to compete for the position, and that she did not escape the difficulties and was reshaped as a result.

Like Sheryl Sandberg, Zhou Yi also believes that women in the workplace need the courage to take a step forward. At the same time, Zhou Yi emphasizes that taking a step forward will make people leave their original comfort zone, but they should never give up the urge to move forward easily. "I even think what's scarier than taking the wrong step is giving up. Because even if you fail, this process will leave us with experience. But standing still means zero."