Women in Tech at Principal®: Let’s Talk Mentorship, Volunteer Time Off, and Breaking Away From “The Way We’ve Always Done It.”

Originally published on Principal.com

Every role at Principal® serves our customers. Risk and security leaders, like Michelle, play a major role in that—helping secure customer data, their products, and their savings.

“Whenever a customer’s connecting with us, they can trust we’re taking care of them in a secure manner,” she says.

See what else she has to say about her purpose-led tech role, and how it’s evolved over time.

When did you join Principal, and what was that role like?

I started as an intern over 32 years ago! I really enjoyed that internship because I was in my last semester of classes, and I could relate my coursework to the professional work I was doing.

After that, I signed on as a developer. And within a couple of years, I started dabbling in leadership—managing interns and new hires.

What’s your role today?

I’m in information security and risk—primarily working in identity and access management.

That means making sure we’re helping keep our customers’ and our own employees’ data and information secure. We're responsible for ensuring customers can securely log in or connect with an engagement center.

I’m a leader on this team, but what’s cool is that I’m also a Principal customer; we all are. I can put myself in a customer’s shoes and recognize the value firsthand.

How has the way we work evolved over the years?

The scope of roles has changed dramatically. Initially, everyone in IT/engineering did a little bit of everything. Then we broke responsibilities into specific roles. We aren’t afraid to pivot when our processes aren’t effective or aren’t allowing us to move forward.

What's your impression of our modernization?

It's easy to keep doing the things we've always been doing. My teams will ask: Why are we doing this? What value does it bring? What's the impact?

When the answer is, ‘It’s how we've always done it,’ it’s time to dig into whether it still brings value.

Principal really makes a concerted effort to prioritize progress.

How have you helped support other women in tech at Principal?

First, I'm always interested in how I can have a diverse team, in terms of skill sets as well as demographics.

Mentorship—both formal and informal—also really stands out. I enjoy hearing about what others are doing and what challenges or pressures they have. Sometimes I learn from them, and sometimes there are things they can learn from me.

And how have you been supported?

My mantra: I work to live. I don't live to work. That balance isn’t always easy.

One of the things I've always appreciated is the flexibility at Principal. I loved going to my kids’ classrooms to read when they were in grade school, getting involved in their school activities, being a Girl Scout leader. Having that extra time together—or being able to stay home if someone was sick—helped meet the needs of our family.

Also, we have volunteer hours, which I always take advantage of.

What's your advice for someone looking to break into tech?

Be inquisitive. If tech is something that you enjoy, be sure to challenge yourself. Technology changes so quickly. Being able to learn a specific skill and be an expert in that feels really good. What also feels really good is becoming well-rounded and knowledgeable.

At the same time, you don't have to be the expert at everything. It's OK to say, ‘I don't know, I'll get back to you,’ and then work through your network and use the tools available to you to move forward.

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