The 2020 Women Leaders in Technology: Kate Jones

Today Jones is a Director with the Concentrix CX Consulting practices where she is responsible for designing and overseeing CX consulting engagements that deliver against clients' strategic goals of improving customer experience, by leveraging a proven, data-driven methodology.

What does she enjoy most about the work that she does? There are two, she says. First, is building trusted relationships with clients who value an unbiased, data-first perspective on business challenges. "This makes the work impactful, and I love the feeling of knowing my time and energy is resulting in the best customer experiences for top brands," she says. "Second, the camaraderie and sense of shared accomplishment that comes from working on a team with smart, interesting, creative people who aren't afraid to put in the hard work needed to deliver great results. Watching my team grow and be successful brings me enormous joy."

Jones' greatest achievement, she says, has been learning to be bold and take risks even when the path forward is initially ambiguous, she says. "It is more comfortable to stick with the things you already know but tackling new challenges and paving a new way forward is so much more rewarding in the end," she says. "Creating the opportunity and circumstance for junior team members to 'fail with a safety net' allows others to learn this lesson as well."

Meanwhile, Jones says it's such an exciting time to be in this field because of the rapidly changing landscape. "I'm looking forward to watching new digital capabilities emerge that I can help clients leverage in creative, meaningful ways," she says. "It will be fun to look back 12 months from now and realize that what has become commonplace was unheard of the year before."

Have you experienced unique challenges being a woman consultant in the technology field? 

Jones: "Several years ago I led a consulting engagement for a high-tech B2B company. I was the only woman on the floor with the sole exception of a female custodian who cleaned at night. It was intimidating to look around and not see anyone who looked like me. I felt insecure and hesitated to assert myself. I later learned that one of the key influencers within the organization was also a woman working at a different location. Knowing there was another woman out there who commanded respect was incredibly empowering. It changed the way I thought of myself, and changed the way I worked which ultimately led to a successful project. It is so important that diversity be visible because it gives unspoken permission for other under-represented people to be present and heard."