The future of technology leadership is fundamentally intertwined with the principles of execution and empowerment, a theme thoroughly examined in this dialogue between Feyisayo Enuiyin and Natasha Patrick. As an accomplished IT leader with over two decades of experience, Natasha shares about the vital importance of fostering collaboration and cultivating an environment where diverse voices are both heard and valued.

Throughout the conversation, we explore the transformative impact that women can have in technology, as well as the necessity for continued learning and adaptation in an ever-evolving landscape. Natasha's journey is emblematic of the potential that lies in embracing one's unique path, underscoring the significance of curiosity and resilience.

Ultimately, this episode serves as an inspiring testament to the opportunities that await those who dare to pursue their ambitions in the realm of technology.

Takeaways:

• The podcast emphasizes the importance of women in technology, showcasing their contributions and leadership potential.
• Natasha Patrick's journey illustrates how transferable skills can lead to success in tech leadership roles.
• Continuous learning and upskilling are crucial in the rapidly evolving technology landscape, as highlighted by both speakers.
• The discussion encourages women to pursue their aspirations without seeking permission, fostering a mindset of empowerment.
• Networking and leveraging subject matter experts are vital strategies for overcoming challenges in the tech industry.
• AI is identified as a transformative force in technology, with both excitement and caution expressed regarding its implications.

Find them online:

Feyisayo Enuiyin: linkedin.com/in/feyisayoenuiyin

Natasha Patrick: linkedin.com/in/npatrick

Find us on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/witlovepodcast/

Welcome to witlove, a podcast founded by women, produced by women, about women in technology.

There is a huge place for women in tech and this podcast is going to get well into the work as a leading contributor to help change the trajectory and see the rise of women in technology. Sit back and enjoy as our young female hosts share energy with experienced professional women in technology.

Hello. Hello, hello everyone. How you doing?

Welcome back to another episode of With Love where we spotlight women in technology who are breaking barriers and creating powerful ripples of change. My name is Faishia and Newyen and call me fake and call me Fabulous. I'm your host for today's episode.

But I'm not just here today to talk about, you know, the basic women in tech conversation.

I'm here to spotlight a woman today who has done so much phenomenal things in her years within the the space of technology and we're just super excited to have her on. She's not a stranger by the way.

To wit, love to empower Empowered in My Skin and what we've been building over here and I'm just so excited to spotlight our wonderful, fabulous, fabulous, fabulous guest, Natasha Patrick.

She is an accomplished IT leader with over two decades of experience delivering complex, complex, complex technology projects and managing high performing teams across banking, telecommunications and global enterprise environments.

Natasha has worked for big corporations such as td, IBM and Rogers, leading everything from data center operations and project portfolios to security compliance and large scale delivery teams. She's now a senior member of IT Delivery at td.

Natasha is known for driving results, improving service quality and and building strong collabor collaborative teams. She's also dedicated to empowerment and representation and technology, serving as a board member and coach with Empowered in My Skin.

And she's an executive member of the witlove podcast. So please, please, please help me welcome the fabulous, the fabulous, ever so fabulous Natasha Patrick. Hello, Natasha. How you doing? How you doing?

I'm doing great, Faye. It feels great to be back and it's very interesting to be on the other side of the of a podcast interview. So it feels great to be here.

You're, you're a pro by now. You've seen it so many times, you've directed this so many times. You're a pro brainer. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you today.

Thank you. Please do, please, nothing crazy.

Nothing crazy, Nothing crazy. The way I like to start off every episode is, you know, like I love to me this is my personal coffee chat.

It's always a great way to just talk to get to Learn. And I think for our listeners, it's a great way for them to see.

See our community being reflected in the space of technology, but also just to be able to, like, listen to the experts, listen to the people who have been doing, you know, been in the industry for a while, and really take away things that can either enhance their careers, enhance their lives, and just enhance them as human beings. But before we go into all that nitty gritty, I want to always take it back a bit and ask a fun question.

I want to know, if you could travel to anywhere in the world, like, your ultimate dream spot, what would that be for you? Travel anywhere. Like, if you had the power to be like, I'm tired of this, Faye. I need to. I need a break right now.

And just snap your fingers and disappear. What would that be for you?

Yeah. So I know our audience can't see your background right now, but your background is where I want to be right now.

Manifestation. Manifestation.

I'm seeing blue skies. I'm seeing blue waters, white sandy beach, palm trees. It looks warm. It looks beautiful. It looks relaxed. And that's where I'd love to be.

Okay, Got. Got. Especially this cold Canadian winter.

Absolutely.

This is me manifesting, so. This is just me manifesting, so. I love that word. See? We're so insane, Natasha. We're so insane. Exactly.

Listen, you know me. You know me already.

So just for you. I had it just for you. Just for you. That's amazing.

So we agree that we want to be somewhere warm, somewhere bright, somewhere that, you know, just feels warm, nice, toasty, inclusive, and all things fabulous.

Exactly.

We're online on that. Fantastic. So now I want to now take it from there to say, with the space of technology, my very first question is, what is your vision?

So you told us the vision for your ultimate, you know, dream spot, and where you want to be right now, but with technology and from where you started out to where you're at now, you know, what if. What was that vision? Has that vision changed? Where do you see that vision, you know, going in the next few years?

But I guess first you can break it down and actually give us a background on your journey and, you know, what you. What got you into it? Like, what did you see the future to be for technology?

Well, it's a very interesting question because first of all, I did not see myself being in the technology space at all. So going back to high school, you know, I. I did really, really well with writing, and.

And I thought to myself, hey, you know, I'd love To get and you know, be a news broadcaster and be the one delivering the six o' clock news. And that is where I want to go.

So nonetheless I, in grade 11, grade 12, you know, I took the media course and at that time, you know, we had cameras, lights, everything. Like we had a full production studio in our school, which was really cool.

But one day I do remember and the part of the course I probably enjoyed the least was trying to understand how those telecommunication signals work.

Now we're in this time period of time in human history where things are transitioning from analog to digital analog to thing being more technical and nonetheless.

So when I applied to go to college and at the time would have been Ryerson, Ryerson was the place to go to for radio and telecommunication, I actually applied to school lately, right. So I didn't get for the first semester. So I said okay, well rather sit around doing nothing for that semester.

Let me understand how this whole radio, television broadcasting thing is going to work and understand how technology, how technology is now creeping into this space. So actually. And also is also pre y2k.

They said the world was supposed to end like last month on.

I know.

So we're gonna, we're gonna skip over that. Skip over there. Skip over that.

Yeah. So nonetheless, you know, understanding how technology works in the, in the broadcast space and then also Y2K on the horizon.

I'm like well let me learn about this whole computer things because everything's supposed to shut down. So let me understand this. So I actually.

So to sort of bridge that semester I actually took some technology course, actually took computer programming to start off with and it was really quite interesting. It was really, really interesting. And, and to. Honestly I stuck with it from then. So I started off as doing programming.

I think I have too much personality to be a programmer to be sitting there writing code and debugging, you know, all day, all night. So I went to computer networking which is a little bit more hands on and interfacing with clients and stuff. And.

And then from there I got my first gig at Rogers doing help desk. And again, again being able apply that technical skills and knowled interact with people which I really really love to do.

And, and again my, my career just sort of blossomed from there and, and again as you know, technology is constantly changing, constantly evolving. So I think when I think back to my journalistic side where I enjoy writing, I enjoy talking to people. I enjoy being inquisitive.

I was able to sort of bring that into the technology space. So here I am today.

I love that throughout everything you said, I felt like I was seeing myself like being reflected, if that's the right way to say it, through you. Just because my background was also the same way. I went to Father Henry Carr. I did shize him.

That was a specialized high school programs and I was doing radio stuff, broadcasting. I used to film the GTHL hockey games was my thing, and I was supposed to go to Ryerson for that as well and do that. And yeah, it's amazing.

But what I, what I think I'm learning a lot from your journey and I think a lot of our listeners can also take away is oftentimes you said something there about having too much personality to, you know, be a programmer.

And I often find in technology, because it's not even just about race or about gender, but oftentimes there's a certain Persona that is being depicted of who can be in software, we can be in technology. You know, you got to be the person.

I, for a long time, even with my chemical engineering background, I thought being a software, being in tech, or software in general really was about sitting on your laptop and being able to like, sit still and like code your life away until that was shattered. I'm like, wait a second, I don't have to do this. Cool. So, yeah, I want to analyze that a bit further and go into with.

When you say having too much personality and you talk about having, you know, the traits about yourself and how you were able to take that from.

Oh, I actually wanted to be in broadcasting and be creative and being all these, you know, I was able to, you're able to take your, your, your skill sets and transfer that. And you, you started to see the alignment of how this is actually very beneficial even in the world of technology.

Was that something that you were able to roadmap in the moment? Was that something that came after reflection and you were able to see it?

Because, I don't know, I find a lot of people, oftentimes it's easy to talk about something once you've, after you've gone through the phase.

And you know, I think a lot of like, folks out there, especially the audience of With Love, it might be challenging for them to see that to go, oh, when is like. I'm like, is that, is that possible for me? Like, I'm trying to see where do I fit? And I think you breaking that more can actually help them better.

To assess where they currently are right now and who they are and where that can potentially fit in technology. So for you, was that like a foresight or was that something that, you know, you're kind of just like, all right, I've gone through, see it.

Yeah, I, I really, really wish I, I could say I had the foresight, but as a 20 something year old, I don't think I had that skill. But, but definitely when I do reflect back on my career and I, and sometimes I question myself like, how did I end up here?

Because sometimes I, I kind of question myself like, how did I end up in tech?

And especially when I walk into a room and I see the other folks who are also in tech and I'm like, okay, I'm a little different from the other folks that are sitting in here who were, who got into tech because they were truly passionate from day one versus me who kind of fell into it.

But when I look back again, right, it's having those transferable skills and, and again, like just, you know, wanting to not, not be boxed in and, and again, and just think that, hey, I can also apply my creative, creative side here.

Okay, what was that? I was just gonna say, like, what was that number one skill for you then that you would say brought you like, number one skill?

Like looking back in your 20s, I think a lot of our audiences are in that age ring. So thinking back in your 20s, looking back at it, what was that one thing that you would say?

Oh, this has been what, what I had in my 20s, that I didn't even realize it then, but this has actually really helped me along the way in my career journey. Technology.

Being curious. Being curious. Yeah, being curious and just want to just have this.

Just to have that thirst for knowledge and just wanting more and want to know more and just not settling with, okay, this is, this is where I am. This is what it is.

No, definitely, I think having that, that thirst for wanting more and, and, and again too, when I kind of think, you know, talk about, you know, being in spaces where people look like me as well too, it's like, hey, you know what? This here's also a place where we're very much underrepresented.

So not only did it, did it appeal to my, to my curiosity to get to understanding technology, but it's also like, hey, there's also a place where there's not a lot of people who look like me. And I think it's time that, you know, I'm here to break that mold as well and show that, hey, you know what?

As a woman, as a black woman, as a young black woman, we're here and we can do it.

Okay. I love it. Clock it. Moment is going on here. Okay. Oh, no, I love that. I love that.

And when we say being curious, because I'm such, like a visual person, and when someone says be curious, I'm like, okay, what does that look like? So what would you say? That I have it. I have some ideas what that looks like, being curious.

But if you can give actionable items as to what that looked like for you in your 20s, was it just asking questions? Was it raising up your hand when you know, they were like, oh, wants to do this. Like, I want to do it.

I need a lot of help to do it, but I want to do it. Like, what did that look like for you in your 20s? Being curious and like, really going for it.

Oh, you know what?

I would, I would say once you're in the field and you start talking and networking with people and then they start sharing, you know, whether it's an article that they've read or something they've seen on tv, would it be new technology? And I think, and again, I'm just go back to like, security. Security is a big thing.

And you hear a lot of chat about it, and it's like, hey, that, that's, that's very interesting. And it's very, very, very much applicable to, you know, the space that I'm in. I want to know more about it and I'll take a course, right?

So whether it's those free online courses, whether it's a course that's being sponsored by my organization, again, it's, it's always upskilling and, and keeping relevant and, and again, right, it's just, you always want to be in the know and you want to make sure that the, the, the knowledge you have is very much current, very much relevant.

So I usually tell people too, like, when you're getting into this career, it's not a matter of just getting that certification or that diploma or, or that, or that degree. The learning journey never ends.

I love that. I love that. It's upskilling. That's the word.

And just keep on because again, I think technology is going so fast, so many new things are always on the horizon.

And I love that, you know, reminding, you know, reminding us to upskill and like, continuously look for ways to, you know, increase our knowledge, challenge our knowledge, and be surround yourself with the experts is also what I'm learning here. Like, surround yourself with the people who they know what's going on, you know, and poke them and be like, hey, what's that you keep saying?

Security. What, what does that mean? In what context? Can you explain that further?

No, I think those are, those are very valuable things and even beyond upskilling now and you know, now that you, you've done the knowledge, you've acquired it, you've achieved or gotten to at least where you want to be and you're in that rooms now.

A next big challenge that I think for me I even faced, you know, very much early on in my career and I think I'm still early in my career but faced was challenging projects or situations because as much as you're upskilling and you're learning and you're surrounded by the experts and if you're in a fortunate position, it might be unfortunate where you're not leading something and one, you're already dealing with the fact that like, oh, I'm, I'm still learning. I'm still learning with this. And you're surrounded by, you know, the experts who they might, you know. No, a bit more, more than you have.

You've been in that position before. Like, how did you, you know.

Absolutely.

How did you. Because that was a big challenge for me. It's like being thrown in there and oh, I have to figure it out. But it's like I'm new to this.

What do you mean? I have to figure like, where is my resources and you know, we can set aside the management and all that to the side.

But even as an individual, like how do you push in those situations? Like what frameworks, what mindset, what perspective.

Do you have absolutely every single day. That's my existence. So again, no one person has all the answers. No one person knows everything.

But this is where again, you tap into, to your network. Your network. Right. Again you, you mentioned it. You have your experts.

So tap into your subject matter experts again where, where there's a knowledge gap for yourself. Again, there's so much, so much information out there as you know, the Internet.

There'S Coursera linked learning.

Yeah, yeah. There's, there's no excuse to not know it or not or not having the opportunity to. But, but anyways. But drawing back into my work experience again.

Right. Technology is always, is always changing, you know, dealing with different types of projects.

I know I've worked, I've worked in spaces on every single platform, every type of technology out there. And Again, I am no 1 expert on any of them.

But nonetheless, each and every single Time I'm giving a challenge or a project, that's where I lean on my subject matter experts. Again, so definitely leveraging my network to understand what needs to be delivered. And again. Right. And again, just collaborating with these people.

So even as a leader, again, you just want to make sure that you are.

Again, as a leader, you want to make sure that I also understand the scope and the priorities and make sure that I deliver that understanding to my team or the folks that I'm working with. And again, always being think, trying to think clear and strategic.

So again, just, again, just understanding what, what it is that we're trying to deliver. Understanding technologies. And again. Right. Just really just leaning in on our. On those subject matter experts.

No, that's amazing. I wish I had you in the very beginning of all this because everything that you just said right now is absolutely accurate on what needs to be done.

But I think I had to learn that after making a few errors. So this. I hope for anyone listening that you are taking notes because everything Natasha just mentioned right now is extremely factual.

I can back it up. And I think one of the things I love about you is just even in this moment, how you were able to just share and be very. What's the word?

Transparent on exactly what it is. There is no fluff in, you know, in the response you just gave right now to my question. There was absolutely no fluff in.

And I think those are the kind of responses that, you know, helps, you know, women in technology, especially women were very much early in their careers and that is so much appreciated, by the way.

And I think that goes into talking about empower, empowered in my skin and the work that, you know, you've done in this community and the passion behind it and the mentorship and just your experience and like, what, what brought you into this community?

I feel like I know the answer to that, but I want, I want to hear your responsive, like what brought in the community and what keeps you going in the community is good to know.

Yeah. No problems. So. So again, right. Again, no. No one person has all the answers, but nonetheless, you tap into your network to, to find the answers.

And from that I learn. I learn and I grow and as people tap into me for answers because again, no one person has the answer to everything. They learn and they grow.

And my biggest satisfaction is seeing people grow, knowing that I have interact with somebody and I have been impactful in their life in some way, shape or form. I know what it's like to be the underdog. I know what it's like to be the new girl on the team.

I know it's like to be the person who doesn't have all the answers. But nonetheless, I like to take my experience and impart my experience and my knowledge and my wisdom on other folks. Right.

So if you're having those moments of self doubt, if you're feeling frustrated, talk to someone like me. I've been there, I understand it. But you know what? I'll tell you, I'll show you how you can overcome it.

Yeah.

So again, so I really, really take great, great pleasure in again, imparting my knowledge, my experience, my wisdom on others and watching them grow and excel personally and professionally. So that's, that's my, my, my, my, my suit, my super, my super, my superpower. Right.

I love it, I love it, I love it. And it's so genuine and honest and I think it just speaks to who you are as a person to.

Yeah, like it's looking back because like you said, no one, no one has the answers. Like no one is perfect. And you only know by learning. And sometimes it comes through experience.

Sometimes it's having someone hold your hand and like go, no, don't, don't go left. You gotta go right, you gotta go right. And in saying that.

So no, I think that's so much appreciated on behalf of, I would say the Witlove team even bring me coming into this space and feeling welcomed and just like not really being stressed about the whole thing. I think it's just you just made everything so seamless.

Even I would say as a host, like even on, on this end and how you always produce the show and now every time we had, you know, a podcast to record and how you would come on board, always so seamless, always making sure that I felt comfortable in the space. So thank you so much again speaking to the amazing work that you're already doing. We just want to say we love you.

And my last question for you as looking ahead into the future, the same way we looked into the future in the beginning and said that we want to be on an island. Hot, warm, beautiful, beautiful sky. What is the future that you see for technology?

What, what is it exciting you the most in pertaining to women in technology? What. What is that future looking like for you? Like what is getting you excited? What's making me go, I love this industry and I can't wait.

I can't wait for this.

You know what I have to say it's AI So I have a love hate vibe for AI right now. And the reason Why I say that is because I don't, I don't, I don't know it enough, I don't understand it enough.

But what I do know about it, it's absolutely amazing. Like there's so many great things that we can do with the technology.

But at the same time too, if it's being harnessed in the right way again, it can be an absolutely amazing thing. So it's definitely, again, I see how a lot of the organizations are starting to adopt it and apply it in various ways.

Whether it be how we interact with our customers or basically how we do our job on a day to day basis. It's here, it's coming, and I think something that we all need to come to learn and understand a lot more.

So that's something that I would say to get excited about because it's here, it's coming and it'll be really, really cool to see what, what it can do for all of us. Okay.

I love that AI And I think, I feel like, yeah, I think it's always 50, 50 with people. Like, I love AI.

I don't know about AI, but I think overall, if there's one thing everyone can agree on is it is definitely, it definitely has its, its strengths. And I think that's what's excite everyone. I think we're all just conscious of.

Like in the wrong hands for the wrong reason.

In the wrong hands, exactly. The policies around it, who's controlling the data. Like, there's just so much aspect to it.

But we all agree that it can definitely, definitely change the future. But no, I think this is the end of our looking at our time here. But I think this is the end for us today.

Before we go, is there any last piece of wisdom, any knowledge, anything you want to share to our audience that they can work, walk away with on?

Just think of, you know, I'm assuming our audience, you know, young women in technology, whether they're in it, whether they're trying to break through to it, any words of encouragement, any words of excitement, whatever the case might be that you would like to share to our audience today.

Oh, wow, that's a very good question. I would definitely say don't be intimidated by it. Don't ask for permission. If you want it, go for it.

You know, I think about it on a lot of women who I've spoken to and they're asking for permission to enter a space, to enter a role. And I say don't ask for permission, go for it.

I like that, I like that. Do not ask for permission, just go for it. I think we're gonna close it off there. That was amazing.

Thank you so much, Natasha, for joining us today, reminding us that we should not be asking for permission, that we should just be going for it, going for our desires, pursuing, you know, that which we want for ourselves in our lives. Thank you for sharing your journey. Thank you for sharing your insights, your passion.

I mean, the way you've talked about, you know, the work that you're doing, what got you into it, I think these are all things, you know, we could all relate to, even talk about the challenges and how to overcome them. So you're definitely doing something, you know, in this industry.

And thank you for championing inclusion and just even being a part of what we're building over a year at Empowering My Skin, you know, over here at witlove. Thank you so much. Your journey, I. It's definitely inspiring because even right from the beginning, I could already see myself in your story.

So thank you so much.

And I know our listeners will definitely be walking away with just more motivation to lead with purpose, to go for what they want and to just embrace a space that, you know, that you're actively being part of, one of the people that is opening up for everyone to be more included in. So thank you very much and to our listeners, we trust that you enjoyed this conversation. We look forward to seeing you at the next episode.

Please, please, please make sure to subscribe to our podcast so that you never miss an episode. We would love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Bye for now, but we'll see you again.

And don't forget to stay fabulous. Thank you, everyone.

So there you have it. We trust that you enjoyed this episode and are looking forward to the next month. Make sure to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode.

Until then, thank you for listening. With love.