TechGirl: How to lead as stewards of tomorrow’s talent

TechGirl C-Suite Exchange

From inclusive design to reverse mentoring and psychological safety, senior technology leaders explored what it truly means to be stewards of tomorrow’s talent.

The way we work is changing. Hybrid environments, generative AI and the multigenerational workforce are all challenging the traditional models of leadership today. To tackle these challenges—arguably the most important for business leaders—technology leaders came together for a recent TechGirl C-Suite Exchange, hosted in partnership with Avanade. 

At its heart, stewardship is about more than mentorship or succession planning. It is about creating the conditions for emerging talent to thrive, whether that is through inclusive leadership, a culture of continuous learning, and a willingness to rethink how and why we lead. 

The takeaways? Read the summary below to find out.

Meet the speakers

With HotTopics’ Community Editor, Kani Talabani, moderating the C-Suite Exchange, the speakers included:

• Nina Tatsiy, Regional CIO, Brambles
• Joanna Drake, CTO, The Hut Group
• Katharine Shaw-Paffett, Director and Head of Data & AI Client Solutions, Avanade

Leading tomorrow’s tech talent: Overview

• The power of inclusion: Who’s in the room—and who isn’t?
• Giving everyone a voice
• Building belonging in hybrid and remote work
• Cultivating a culture that thrives on change
• The “5 Paradoxical Mindsets”

The power of inclusion: Who’s in the room, and who isn't?

Avanade’s Katharine Shaw-Paffett began by highlighting a core philosophy: inclusive design is a business imperative. AI can level the playing field in multiple areas by unlocking and enabling diverse talent pools; but where it has the ability to include it also has the ability to exclude. So, whenever you are designing AI applications, she shared, “you need to think about who is in the room but more importantly, who is not in the room?”

This mindset acknowledges both the inclusive and exclusive power of AI. While it has the potential to level playing fields, it can just as easily amplify biases if inclusive design is not embedded from the start into the design process. That is why diverse teams are essential, not only for innovation but also to ensure fairness and accessibility for everyone.

Examples of inclusive design came to life in Shaw-Paffett’s stories. She spoke of the GitHub Copilot features designed with neurodivergent users in mind, quiet booths at Microsoft for those sensitive to sensory overload and even “no-call zones” at EY to accommodate different working preferences.

"When our employees come to the office, I want everyone to feel enabled and empowered to be able to be their best self and do their best work and that means companies need to embed inclusive design into their office set-up from the start."

Giving everyone a voice

Beyond physical spaces and tools, inclusion also means making sure every voice is heard. 

Shaw-Paffett reflected on a past meeting where, despite meticulous planning and having the best minds in the room, key individuals stayed silent. “That experience really stuck with me,” she said. “I make a real effort in everything I do just to think how can I make sure that everyone has a voice, so that means positioning the right people at the right time.”

Whether it is pinging someone privately or explicitly inviting their input, creating safe space for all voices to be heard has become central to her leadership style. Following on from this, the panel acknowledged the growing tension around inclusion, diversity, and equity, particularly in the face of societal pushback. Yet, they remain steadfast.

Shaw-Paffett emphasised responsibility in AI development, ensuring data is unbiased and inclusive. THG’s Joanna Drake pointed to the proven results: “inclusive teams actually deliver and I know that they're more successful.” And Brambles’ Nina Tatsiy urged leaders to ground the conversation in data; they should not just rely on sentiment, but also track the numbers. “Use statistics and use numbers…they help to move that forward.”

Building belonging in hybrid and remote work

For Tatsiy, the shift to hybrid work made interpersonal connection more critical, and more difficult. “especially for the new joiners for the people who are coming with a bit less experience,” she noted, “in the remote setting it’s super difficult”. Her approach? Encourage informal connections like virtual coffee chats and pair team members intentionally on projects.

Tatsiy also believes in leading by example through vulnerability. She opens up about topics like imposter syndrome to normalise them within her team. “[open] up by leading the way, by showing that it's actually relevant to all of us so that they don't assume that they're on their own struggling with those kinds of problems.”

While many companies are navigating return-to-office debates, the panel shared examples of fostering belonging in both physical and virtual environments. From Microsoft Germany’s “random lunch partner” initiative to Drake’s efforts to create “collision opportunities” online, it is clear that human connection is still at the heart of thriving teams.

Cultivating a culture that thrives on change

Drake emphasised the importance of psychological safety and creating cultures where failure is not punished but embraced as part of growth. “We need to have an environment that doesn't just survive rapid change but actually thrives on it and thrives because of it,” she explained.

This requires leaders to frame failure as learning, actively share their own missteps and encourage fast experimentation. Drake also advocates for “reverse mentoring,” where junior team members mentor more senior ones. “I'm actually being mentored by very junior developers in my teams where I'm really learning about emerging technologies and new techniques, particularly in the world of AI.”

Building on a question from the audience (Jevern Patridge, CIO at Rexel UK), the panel explored how to make failure feel safe and productive.

Drake leads by example, frequently sharing her own missteps and the lessons learned. Tatsiy emphasised more agile workflows and quarterly reviews to allow teams to pivot without stigma. And Shaw-Paffett quoted LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman: “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”

The “5 Paradoxical Mindsets”

Shaw-Paffett brought in a framework from author and leadership strategist Amy Walters-Cohen: the five paradoxical mindsets today’s leaders must adopt:

1. Ruthlessly caring
2. Ambitiously appreciative
3. Politically virtuous
4. Confidently humble
5. Responsibly daring
   
   

For the audience, these paradoxes resonated deeply in a landscape where AI model performance doubles every six months. As Katharine put it, “I have a strategy and sales targets to land but I'm in a very privileged position, I'm working every single day with people who are a lot smarter than me. So I need to be confident but I also need to be humble and be very open to being proved wrong.”

Final thoughts

What emerged clearly from the discussion is that stewarding tomorrow’s talent is not about a single initiative or policy. It’s a mindset and an ongoing commitment to do the following:

• Empower teams;
• Create a space for all voices;
• Embrace change and learning;
• Model vulnerability and accountability;
• Design for inclusion.

As our workplace and technologies evolve, so must our leadership. And that evolution begins with one question: Who’s not in the room?

This C-Suite Exchange was hosted in partnership with Avanade.