Who gave you the most useful career advice? We asked leading women from Slack, Microsoft, EY, Culture Amp, M-Time and StartUpVictoria!

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right”. 

This handful of simple words from American industrialist and business magnate Henry Ford packs a powerful punch. Why? Because so much of what we achieve, or don’t, in life is based on the power of positive thinking and self belief. 

But sometimes the obstacles of everyday life, both at a personal and global level especially during times like the COVID-19 pandemic, can hinder our ability to set personal or career goals, work out what matters, and stay a true course to happiness and fulfilment in our lives, study and work.

That’s where great mentors and role models can make a world of difference to how far you go, and how big you dream.

In fact some of the most successful people on the planet attribute their success to being supported and backed along the way by Mentors, who provided encouraging and powerful insights from lived experiences and shaped their Mentees next steps.

We wanted to tap the experience and advice of some of the great leaders and mentors we know, so we can all learn from them.

We hope their words of wisdom will inspire, uplift and invigorate you at a time when many of us need it more than ever before!

Sarah Agboola

CEO & Founder at m-time, Board Member of the Foundation for Young Australians and Australia Post Stakeholder Council Member

“I really wish someone had told me not to worry about choosing a particular career, course or job path - but instead to use the first few years I had out of school to be as curious as possible and to learn as much as I could. Not necessarily in an academic capacity, but just about the world in general through travel and meeting new people, or even just by reading more books or trying new things. That type of growth is invaluable and ultimately helps you learn who you are and what you like, and without knowing who you are it's going to be a challenge to find a path that is fulfilling.” 

Sarah Tinsley

General Counsel & Company Secretary, Culture Amp

“I wish I had known earlier in my career how valuable the 'accidents' are - when you miss out on an opportunity and have to re-think your approach, take Plan B over Plan A or diverge a bit from the plan. Those 'accidents' resulted in me being in the Tech Industry - if I hadn't strayed from my original plan and let things happen organically I'd be missing out on an industry I absolutely love and be missing out terribly right now!

Rebecca Dabbs

Oceania Managing Partner for Climate Change and Sustainability Services at Ernst & Young 

“See everything as an opportunity. Sometimes you might need to do something to help the team that you don’t want to do. You will be surprised at what you learn when you go into everything with an open mind rather than being critical. Give people the benefit of the doubt.  It’s not always about you, people have things happening in their lives that you have no idea about. Always go with your gut. Don't compromise your values to get ahead. If I could have my time over again I would be more patient, more empathetic towards others and more confident in my abilities.”

Rita Arrigo

Chief Digital Advisor at Microsoft

“Have a portfolio approach to your skills. Always be building on new skills. Be Seen Ask Questions – Present, comment, share on all media. Go to User Groups Meet-ups Hackathons- it’s great way to learn new skills, hear opinions and expand your knowledge.”

Sian Gooden

Account Executive at Slack and Storyteller at s p a c e 

“Stay curious and stay humble. Seek to learn- constantly- from everyone around you! Everyone that you cross paths with has a complex story, a unique set of skills and diversity of experience to learn from. So don't underestimate people- give them your time and energy.”

“Stay open to all possibilities. Don't just focus on the obvious path that lies directly ahead of you. Look for the possibilities that might be in your peripheral vision. You might find that the hidden opportunities are the ones that will challenge you, shape you and open up doors that you didn't even know existed!”

Judy Anderson

CEO Startup Victoria

“Avoid separating your work and personal identities. Bring your true self to work and you will succeed. “

Big thanks to all these awesome leaders and mentors for taking time to share their advice.

For more on mentoring listen to this ABC Episode of This Working Life with Lisa Leong and girledworld Cofounder + CEO Madeleine Grummet on The Power Of A Good Mentor, read this ABC article, or join us for virtual Workplace Mentoring in partnership with the Victorian State Government until June 2020.

Mind Over Matter: Yes You Can

How does mind over matter work?

Over 30 years ago, #CarolDweck and her colleagues became interested in students' attitudes about failure. They noticed that some students rebounded while other students were devastated by even the smallest setbacks.

After studying the behavior of 1000’s of children, Dr. Dweck coined the terms #fixedmindset and #growthmindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence.

When students believe they can get smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger. Therefore they put in extra time and effort, and that leads to higher achievement.

Recent advances in #neuroscience have also shown us that the brain is far more malleable than we ever knew, and that with practice, neural networks can grow new connections, strengthen existing ones, and increase our neural growth by the actions we take, such as using good strategies, asking questions, practicing, and following good nutrition and sleep habits.👍🏽

Research has also demonstrated the link between mindsets and achievement.

It turns out, if you believe your brain can grow, you behave differently. 🙋🏻‍♀️🧠

Which means you can indeed change your mindset from fixed to growth, and when you do, it leads to increased motivation and achievement.

Make this week a YES YOU CAN week :)

What's the average amount of time we each spend on our digital devices per day?

We’re living in the digital age. An age of drones and clones, of big data, of constant screens and technology and social media playing an ever-present and pervasive role in our everyday lives and work.

Technology is not a bad thing. In fact, technological advancements have enabled huge leaps in healthcare, transit and communication delivery across the planet, changing lives every day.

But technology also has a dark side.

Have a think about your relationship with the devices in your life.📲💻⌚️🖥

New statistics on screen time and digital addiction reveal that the global average time spent on smartphones is 261 minutes a day (4hrs 33mins).

And the average user spends 76 minutes a day (1hr 16mins) on the top 5 social media apps.

Countries including China and South Korea have recognised internet addiction as a new disease (Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) and now publicly fund internet and gaming addiction treatment centres across the country.

It’s time to take charge of your usage and stay in control of your devices.

Be aware of your screen time, and try a few stints where you do a digital detox this week.

You just might feel a whole lot better for it. :) 🙏🏼

IN SEARCH OF SELFIE

girledworld joins the Melbourne Writers Festival Schools Program 2019 in a public forum with 200 students and teachers to unpack the strange and rule-ridden world of selfie culture.

#girledworld Cofounders and authors of #youarenotyourface@madeleinegrummet and Edwina Kolomanski @edwinamani will facilitate a youth-led discussion exploring the role of #socialmedia and #selfies in teenage personal narrative and identity development.

Plenty to debate, share - and unpack!💥

‘In Search of Selfie’
Facilitated Q&A Teen Forum
Thursday September 5, 2019.
State Library Victoria
Isabella Fraser Room

Book early to avoid missing out. All deets @melbwritersfest or go to website here for bookings.

Teenage anxiety is an epidemic. Why?

We hang out with and hear from lots of teenagers, and what keeps coming up is that anxiety is an epidemic right now.😬😞

In fact it’s estimated that worldwide up to 20% of teenagers experience anxiety, and in Australia alone one in 14 young Australians (6.9%) aged 4-17 have experienced an anxiety disorder - equivalent to about 278,000 young people.

Social media pressure?

Technology?

More complicated lives?

Nutrition?

There are many theories as to why. .

If you, or someone you know is experiencing anxiety, getting help is the best first step anyone can make.
The second is to try and take tiny steps every day to ground yourself.

Try this little 5-step practice above and see how you go.
1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣ 🙏🏼

#youarenotyourface READ MORE HERE.
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Welcome to the future.

🔟 things you should know about where technology is taking us.

The #internetofthings is transforming and connecting the world around us at an exponential rate with billions of new devices connecting each year. (IoT is the network of physical devices, vehicles, and buildings embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and actuators designed to communicate with users as well as other devices.) Here’s what you can expect in the IoT galaxy we’re in very soon: .

1️⃣ 3D printed makeup. Just insert a person’s face and the machine will apply the exact makeup pattern requested by the user.

2️⃣ 3D printed replacement teeth, printed inside the mouth.

3️⃣ Swarmbot drone printing systems used to produce large buildings and physical structures, working 24/7 until they’re rapidly completed.

4️⃣ Sensor-laced, enviro-responsive clothing scanned and custom-printed instore.

5️⃣ Smart plates, bowls and cups to keep track of what we eat and drink.

6️⃣ Ingestible data collectors, filled with sensors, to give daily internal health scans and reports, plus hyper-personalized, precision-based pharmaceuticals produced by 3D pill printers.

7️⃣ Self-retrieving shoes where you call them by name through your smartphone, and your shoes will come to you.

8️⃣ Scan and print custom-designed clothing at retail clothing stores.

9️⃣ Physical and psychological therapy done through #virtualreality.

🔟 Implanted 'mind mesh' creating AI and human cognitive interface so we can communicate data and with each other wirelessly, and store our memories in the cloud. #blackmirror .

For more on this and to dive deeper see @google's Top Rated futurist Thomas Frey at www.futuristspeaker.com

girledworld Cofounder Edwina Kolomanski shares her story at Melbourne Town Hall event with Lord Mayor Sally Capp

Our Cofounder + COO Edwina Kolomanski will share the girledworld story, startup journey and her career and study pathways at the Melbourne Town Hall this Friday August 2, as part of the The University of Melbourne Young Alumni Cocktails + Conversations series.

Edwina will take the stage alongside Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp and CEO + Cofounder of Allume Energy Cameron Knox.

In case you didn't know it, Edwina is a serial entrepreneur and university student!, who has a Bachelor of Media and Communications, a Master of Entrepreneurship (First Class Honours) from the The University of Melbourne on scholarship, studied as a Visiting International Student at Columbia University in the City of New York, and is currently completing a Juris Doctor on scholarship Monash University, where she was awarded a Monash Global Discovery Scholarship in 2018 for her demonstrated commitment to innovation.

We don't know how she does it! But she does. Every day.

More info on event below or via this link.

_____________________________________________________________________

UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE YOUNG ALUMNI COCKTAILS + CONVERSATIONS
Friday August 2, 2019 7.00pm-10.00pm
Melbourne Town Hall, Swanston Room

What does the Melbourne of the future have in store for you?

The world is changing rapidly. The drivers of change are many and include trends such as the rise of entrepreneurship, business technology, and consumer expectations around sustainability. So how will these drivers influence our city? And how will you be best placed to take advantage of the opportunities these changes will bring?

Join our key note speaker Lord Mayor Sally Capp as she gives her take on the future of doing business in the City of Melbourne. She will be joined by two young alumni guests who will give their unique perspective as young business owners.

Following formalities, you will be able to continue the conversation with your young alumni network over refreshing cocktails and delicious canapes. If you would like to kick-on further, the Business and Economics Young Alumni Committee will be hosting an after-party in the city.

MEET THE EVENT SPEAKERS

Lord Mayor Sally Capp, BCom, LLB(Hons)1991

Sally Capp was elected Lord Mayor of Melbourne in May 2018 and was the first woman to be directly elected as Lord Mayor. Sally was also the first woman to hold the post of Agent-General for Victoria in the UK, Europe and Israel. She has also served as the CEO for the Committee for Melbourne and COO of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.   Sally began her career as a Solicitor, after completing Law (Hons) and Commerce degrees at the University of Melbourne. Sally has held senior roles at both KPMG and ANZ, and she took the small business she co- founded to the ASX. Most recently she was Victorian Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia. A passionate Magpies supporter, in 2004 Sally made history as the first female board member of Collingwood FC. She is involved in a number of charities, currently sitting on the board of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, the Mary Jane Lewis Scholarship Foundation and the Melbourne University Faculty of Business and Economics. Sally is also Honorary Patron of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, Trustee of the Shrine of Remembrance, Member of the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors, Patron of the Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices, Patron of the Royal Women’s Hospital Foundation and Victorian Honorary Vice President of the Australia-Britain Society (Victoria) Inc.

Cameron Knox, BSc 2016, DipLang 2016

Cameron is the CEO & Co-Founder of Allume Energy, a Melbourne based start-up aimed at making solar affordable and accessible for apartment residents. Since its inception in 2015 Allume have grown to 12 employees, secured over $2M in contracted revenue, signed customers in 2 continents and attracted over $2.5M in investment. Allume are an alumni of the UniMelb affiliated Melbourne Accelerator Program. Cameron is a graduate of a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne and juggles his role at Allume with a part time Masters of Mechatronics.

Edwina Kolomanski, MEnt 2016, BA 2012

Edwina is Cofounder of Australian education startup Girledworld, with the mission of upskilling, equipping and inspiring the next generation of female leaders, entrepreneurs and STEM champions.

In response to a lack of gender diversity in future-facing industries such as STEM and startup, Girledworld deliver large scale World of Work events for high school girls, educators and parents, design in-school career and Future of Work employability programs and partner with schools, industry and governments to better support young women in the critical years of career decision making. 

Edwina has a Bachelor of Media and Communications and Master of Entrepreneurship (First Class Hons) from the University of Melbourne on scholarship, studied as a Visiting International Student at Columbia University’s Barnard College in New York and is currently completing a Juris Doctor at Monash University, where she was awarded a Monash Global Discovery Scholarship in 2018 for her demonstrated commitment to Innovation. 

All event details here.

Meet James. Part human, part machine.

It’s predicted that humanity will change more in the next 20 years than it has in the last 300.

Meet James, a 25-year-old biological scientist who has an advanced cybernetic prosthetic arm with a built-in drone and flashlight.

Humans like James will be commonplace by 2030.

In fact, research and advancements in cybernetics will increasingly give humans super-powers, and we will move to an age of trans-humanism where augmentation, cognitive acceleration and the use of science and technology will evolve the human race beyond its current physical and mental limitations to a new era of advanced intellect and physiology.

Are you ready for it?

Read more about developments in STEM and cybernetics, and how your future job pathway just might be in this space here.

How do we prepare today's students for tomorrow's workforce?

A recent future of jobs report by the @worldeconomicforum shows that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is currently interacting with multiple socio-economic and demographic factors to create a perfect storm of business model change in all industries, resulting in major disruptions to traditional labour and employment markets.

New categories of jobs are emerging, partly or wholly displacing others, and the skill sets required in both old and new occupations is changing in most industries and transforming how, where and why people work.

What is clear is that given the #futureofwork is radically reshaping itself, today’s students are preparing for an uncertain tomorrow where #technology, #automation and #globalisation are driving a new marketplace, requiring new skill sets, mindsets and employment capabilities.

That’s why @girledworld we’re working with high schools all over Australia in 2019 delivering #FutureOfWork 21st Century Career Workshops!💡

Our workshops, led by #girledworld co-founders and expert #innovation facilitators, allow students to be inspired, expand their knowledge and upskill in 21st Century, #entrepreneurship #innovation #teamwork and #STEM capabilities through real world, industry-backed learning contexts so they’re ready and equipped for tomorrow’s world of work, today.

To find out more about our workshops click here.

Embrace your inner freak. You Are Not Your Face FINAL SUBMISSIONS CALL OUT! Teenage writers we're talking to you!

Embrace your inner freak. #youarenotyourface
FINAL DAYS! Submit your story!

If you’re a TEENAGE GIRL and would like to contribute your story to the #girledworld #youarenotyourface project CLICK HERE!

We’ve received 1000’s of AMAZING stories, poetry and writing from teenage girls across the planet 🌏 and we’d love to add your voice to the mix!

Massive and heartfelt THANK YOU to all the amazing girls who have contributed their words and wisdom so far! We can’t wait to share it all VERY SOON! in a phenomenal book for teenage girls!! 🙌🏽💛🌍
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Submissions (first name, age and country only) will be published on the @girledworld platform and selected entries will be published in ‘You Are Not Your Face’ (scheduled for release in late 2019).📓

SUBMIT ENTRIES HERE 🔝🔝🔝

Gorgeous words in picture via @mattzhaig 🙏🏼

What no BS innovation looks like: Inside Atlassian's ShipIt 42.

Just popped out of two amazing days inside @atlassian’s #Shipit #SanFrancisco.

A rare chance to work inside one of Silicon Valley’s hypergrowth tech companies, see what open company no BS looks like, and work with their teams to spin up solutions - fast!🔛

ShipIt gives you 24 hours to innovate. Build stuff. Simple, technical, insane. Doesn’t matter what. It’s about ideas made actual, and about teams humming.

It’s kinda like 20% time. On steroids. (This happens once a quarter right across the world and 1000’s of people join in).

What struck me most was the people inside Atlassian, their open ways of work, patterns of collaboration, the fluid free flow of information.

These are seriously talented, authentic, passionate people working open, working fast, no BS, no power plays, with rapid cycles of communication>ideation>synthesis>focussed work>start again. 

This is unsurprising given Atlassian’s values-first tilt on the world. And people first approach to hiring.

If you walk through any Atlassian office across the globe, you’ll see their values everywhere - hanging like flags, expressed creatively on walls, part of the living culture and bounce boards of the work that’s done day by day:

1. Open company, no bullshit

2. Build with heart and balance

3. Don’t f*ck the customer

4. Play as a team

5. Be the change you seek

But the take out here is that when we talk ad nauseam about innovation, about its process and methodology and science, what we’re really talking about is the way we as REAL people best work together in teams to stand our ideas up. Simple. (As long as you’ve got the right people in the room in the first place).

I’m a big believer in no BS, bringing my authentic self to everything I do, and working with people and in ways that make sense - to me, and the bigger world. 🌏

This #ShipIt experience has restored my faith in what great work looks like.

Future ways of work are already here. At @Atlassian. No BS.

Work open.
Work real.
Bring you to work.

girledworld joins Vivid Sydney to chat the Future Of Work with DropBox, CommBank and NewCo

Artificial intelligence, robotics and digital platforms are changing the way we learn, communicate and work. Australians must continuously innovate to stay relevant, or risk being left behind.

Join us to hear from four of the NewCo festival’s most inspiring business leaders; Shani Langi - Partner & Managing Director of Usual Suspects Creative, Madeleine Grummet - Co-Founder and CEO of GirledWorld, Heath Brown - Executive Manager at CommBank Innovation Labs and Deeps De Silva - Head of Marketing for Asia-Pacific and Japan at Dropbox, as they dissect the future of work, and share the business practices and life hacks that can help keep you ahead of the game. 

NewCo festival was founded in San Francisco by John Battelle (founder of WIRED) and has run in 18 cities around the world with over 2,500 businesses involved to date. 

NewCo is a Silicon Valley-born inside-out festival that opens the office doors to the most innovative and purpose-driven businesses where business leaders demonstrate what they are doing to evolve, adapt, make an impact and generate positive change. 

At the 2017 Sydney and Melbourne festivals, over 600 attendees visit 80 host companies including the likes of Uber, Amazon Web Services, Girledworld, Airtasker, Seven Network, KPMG, LinkedIn, WeWork, Fishburners, Pandora Internet Radio, Lendlease, Lonely Planet, University of Technology, The School of Life, Time Out, Bellroy, The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, The Big Issue and more.

Please join us in Sydney for Vivid, NewCo on Thursday May 31, 2018.

BOOK TICKETS HERE