Guest blog and interview written by Roxanne Edwards
At the Women of Impact Conference this year on March 19th, our focus is to empower attendees to Be Fearless – by taking risks, overcoming obstacles and blazing new trails in their personal and professional lives. The Conference focus is to connect, develop and inspire the women in technology at Cisco.
A good manager cares about people and is always available to listen. When Kyoko started her career 29 years ago as a Systems Engineer, she was lucky to have a good manager. She was continually encouraged to step outside her comfort zone and challenged to do more.
With a Bachelors Degree in Literature and a major in Japanese history, Kyoko took a risk and became fearless as she entered the field of technology. Kyoko’s first manager saw potential in her that no one else could see. When she first joined Mitsubishi, her employer provided her with general computer education that she required as a Systems Engineer. Thereafter, she studied hard and improved her technical skills on the job.
Kyoko now holds a certificate in IT Service Management, and she manages a team of Technical Assistance Center experts who interface with customers daily. She is constantly challenging members of her team to keep developing and enhancing their skills. Others rely on her daily for her expertise. Make sure you can stay ahead of the education curve. With such experience, in 2014 Kyoko raised her hand for another fearless challenge. She participated in a six-month volunteer program as an ICT expert in Myanmar, Burma. This is an overseas development administration activity under Japan government.
On top of all of this Kyoko is also quite the music marvel. She plays the clarinet, harp, erhu and piano. Many of our other Women of Impact nominees have also found creativity through music.
Have you registered for the Women of Impact Conference yet? For more conference details or registration information, click here:
Share with us with your stories and pictures how you can Be Fearless on Twitter @Cisco_WOI or find and Like us on Facebook on the Cisco Empowered Women’s Network Facebook page! Don’t forget to use the #WOI2015 hashtag!
What a great story of a fearless female who also has a passion as a multi-instrument musician!
As a woman who also started out as an SE – well done Kyoko! It’s often a struggle in ways you don’t expect. For example, one day I visited a customer with a male account manager. The customer kept asking the account manager the technical questions. He would say “I don’t know, Tina – what do you think?”. The customer spent the entire meeting just not figuring out that I was the technical person! The AM and I had a good laugh about it afterwards – which is often the only reaction you can have.
I’ve registered for the Women of Impact Conference. I read a great quote yesterday from, Barbara Corcoran of SharkTank-
“Don’t be afraid to go for positions, jobs or take on clients just outside of your knowledge base. It’s when you’re uncomfortable that you learn and grow the most”
I couldn’t agree more. #BeFearless