An eclectic IT career: Mayo Takeuchi

Controversial opinion: leaders who think or convince themselves into believing that supporting RTO (return to office) policies is the right thing to do are less likely to truly understand and support their teams. I joined IBM half a lifetime (literally!) ago, after an intensive, in person/on site experience at a dot com startup which succumbed to the IT bubble bursting. Ever since then I have only held geographically distributed, cross cultural, and often cross-functional roles.  A two year consulting engagement I had with a customer also involved my running mini-projects with stakeholders in six different countries with distinct cultures, languages, and approaches to problem solving. So by the time I became a People Manager in 2021, not only was I well versed in remotely supporting colleagues, upline, and clients, it had become my way of working.  With the trend in many companies bringing people back to the office, I am firmly on the side of honouring the remote option for mo...

There are a few reasons why many colleagues have lauded me as someone they appreciate and an effective leader. What has aided greatly in my being a valued professional is my self awareness. Whether from being the only Nikkei student in day (English/French) school, the only woman in an university course, the only Canadian in a room full of Europeans*, or in a minority by being neurodivergent (which in itself merits a separate post or several), I have always felt or objectively been conspicuously  different .  Everyone is unique, of course, but I have looked foreign everywhere in the four (Western) countries where I have lived. Due to these circumstances, I am (as judged by body language and values) too westernized to fit into Japanese culture since I never lived in Japan, although I can speak the language at a near native level. To date, I have only felt like I belonged in one place: New York City. Being significantly different to a relatively homogenous group of people not o...