By Supriya Mimani

Ritu Mehta, Sr Director, Engineering was recently interviewed by Amy Richman, Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition, on the topic “Power Communication” in the second Women in Tech Peer Learning Squad Session!  Ritu shares her experiences and learnings from the Women Leadership Forum that she recently attended at the Harvard Business School.

While the video is available internally for Pitney Bowes employees, a brief recap is offered below to learn more about Ritu’s point of view on power communication and the interesting conversation between Amy and Ritu.  Both cited real-life examples and readily applicable tips and tricks, some of which they also role-played during the interview.

In this insightful conversation, Ritu shared her learnings from an interesting corporate journey, having worked in two very different geographies and cultures, across multiple different product/solutions.  Here are a few key insights from Ritu:

• Communication: It’s critical it is to take a moment to structure our thoughts and think before we speak. Especially for women in tech, Ritu recommends how one must practice ‘reading the room’, trying to understand the verbal and non-verbal cues to gauge the ‘mood’ of the room when presenting to senior leaders, think of what the audience wants to hear and accordingly determining how technically deep and detailed to go into a conversation.
• Presence: Consider your posture, presence and one’s signature style [that often needs to be cultivated and perfected over time] impact one’s communication skills. The usage of ‘space’ in power communication Here is one of her favorite Ted speakers [Amy Cuddy whose Ted Talk video on “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are”, is highly recommended].

While interviewing Ritu, Amy also shed light on the importance of presence in communication skills and how Power Communication comes to play in telephonic conversations, large group conference calls and conversations amongst a manager and his/her team etc.

Pitney Bowes – A Catalyst CEO Champions For Change Company

By Sheryl Battles

Pitney Bowes is committed to taking an #InsideFirst look at our talent opportunities. Internal mobility means growth and development. It may be a move from one part of the business to another, from individual contributor to people manager. The #InsideFirst Journey series profiles employees enjoying success in a new role.

By Claire Carlson

From: Sales Team Leader, Supplies

To: Marketing Campaign Manager

Location: Sydney, Australia

What skills and experiences do you feel helped you transition into your new role?

• With a background in IT, I joined Pitney Bowes in 2013 as an Account Manager in PB Supplies. When I started out, I had a small territory, but I was able to help grow revenue, expand the territory and train others to support the team. In 2016, I was made team leader for the Supplies team and gained even more exposure to different parts of the business. In my sales role, I gained a deep knowledge of our products and established a wide network of contacts across the business including marketing.

What do you enjoy most about your new role and/or Pitney Bowes?

• The people. I really enjoy interacting with my colleagues. I am that person who will always approach you directly rather than sending you an email. And even though my work is flexible enough to do from home, I prefer to be in the office where I can talk to people face to face. This is simply part of who I am but it also helped me develop a broad network of contacts who got to know me and my work. As my network broadened, I was asked to MC the OnePB kickoff. This was something I’d never done before but I was happy to give it a try and it provided even more exposure to people and gave me the confidence to continue trying new things.

Tell us about an individual that supported you through this transition.

• When I first learned about the open Marketing position, I approached my manager, Joseph Saleh, Sales Director, SMB, ANZ, to discuss the idea. I had no real marketing experience and knew it would involve a steep learning curve but I was confident I could do it. Also, Joseph was very supportive even though the move would leave a gap in his team. He helped me think through the pros and cons of making the move but in the end, believed in my abilities to take on the new responsibilities and adapt to a new department. Once I’d made up my mind, he was completely supportive. He’s a great mentor who I continue to turn to for advice. Stephen Darracott, Country Manager ANZ and Kate Talty, Vice President, Marketing and Communications APAC, were also incredibly supportive despite the skills I lacked.  They both encouraged me and helped me realize that the skills I had were adaptable to my new role.  They made it incredibly easy for me to make the move.
• I also have the full support of my family. But at the end of the day, I am driving my career and I believed in myself enough to make the move. I am passionate about what I do.

What advice would you give to others who are interested in moving into a new role within Pitney Bowes?

• First, be clear that you really want to move. Internal mobility has the full support of the business. There is a lot of talent at Pitney Bowes and some of it goes unnoticed.  Completing your talent profile is a great way to get noticed and show off your skills.
• Second, don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. Each time I do, I gain confidence, skills, and exposure to new people. The job posting for the position I’m now in indicated a required 10 years of experience, but many people knew me at that point and I had a proven track record for successfully stretching beyond expectations. I would encourage everyone to try something they are nervous about. Pitney Bowes is a very supportive place to try new things.