Melissa is an experienced tech executive. She strives to deliver exceptional high tech products to solve customer pain points.
Melissa believes her crooked path to leadership has been the key to her success; her education in psychology and masters degree in Communications paired with a variety of gigs in technology helped her relate to customers in a unique way. Empathetic and collaborative, Melissa makes people feel at ease and they share their challenges and issues so Melissa can use that information to create new and innovative products.
Melissa is passionate about improving the STEM pipeline and ensuring gender diversity in tech especially. She has presented at seminars and conferences around the world and has led workshops on this and other topics. Melissa recently published her first novel aimed at engaging young girls in math, science and design. You can find "Fashion Figures: How Missy the Mathlete Made the Cut" on Amazon.
Vikings, fairytales, Legos (r), bacon, beer, cheese and a myriad other wonderful things come from Denmark, but have you heard of this lifestyle import? It’s hygge (hyoo-guh).
Hygge has no exact translation. Although experts equate it with a sense of well-being and coziness, it is so much more. Hygge is a lifestyle approach kind of like Feng Shui. Unlike Feng Shui, however, hygge is focused on creating a warm atmosphere where you can indulge in life’s small pleasures with friends and family.
Natural leaders, well-liked executives, and successful managers have one skill in common: they lead through influence. While they may not always have direct reports, they are able to drive consensus, garner approval, and inspire teams to get work done. These folks are generally positive and congenial and often fun to be around. People follow them, look up to them, and help them achieve their goals.
Influence Management is expressed across several dimensions of business acumen. Finding the synergies and building interconnections across business skills and soft skills are what enable and sustain individual success in business and in leadership roles.
The great equalizer is time. Every human being, no matter their aspiration, motivation, location, status or business title, has the same 24-hour day to accomplish their goals and dreams. So, how can more time get allocated to achieving important objectives? The answer: simply by managing personal energy.
Personal energy is the total amount of physical and mental strength a person possesses. The level of personal energy someone has, is impacted by the thoughts, emotions, and choices they make. Personal energy management is the secret to getting more done and to being more effective at work. While building business acumen skills, consider managing and growing personal energy reserves, too.
Attitudes and actions impact how much energy a person has at any given time. For example, an individual who prioritizes good health, fun times with family and friends, along with regular sleep, is going to have more personal energy than another person who eats poorly, sleeps less than six hours each night, and rarely finds times for relaxation.
Fewer women than men have careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields.
Historically girls have been less encouraged in and exposed to STEM opportunities. It sounds outrageous, but it’s not. In the US, studies show that preschool girls are still pushed toward dolls and cooking toys while the same age boys are given building toys and science kits. In a world built on tech, where AI is literally driving us and science is transforming our daily lives, we cannot afford to limit STEM participation!
Melissa Borza 