Getting started in the world of technology as someone who identifies as a woman can be difficult, with multiple barriers to entry reducing opportunities. Data from Women In Tech, a community focused on advancing career opportunities for women in STEM, just 29% of the people working in tech in the UK are women. In our last article in the series, we explored some of the ways in with Lean Tree approaches diversity in the technology space.
In our employees, we can see a range of individuals who have taken various career paths to join us in the technology sector. Through this, we know it is possible to find examples of women who had careers outside of the world of technology previously, whether this was a short number of years or what we would consider a “full profession”.
We sat down with one member of the Lean Tree team, Isobel, to find out more about the journey her career has taken her on, and how it has influenced her role in the technology industry today.
1. Before you were in digital transformation, where did you begin your career? How did that experience shape your approach to technology and innovation?
“Before I entered the world of digital transformation and IT consulting, I was a Project Coordinator within sustainability consulting looking after a portfolio of electrical retrofit, PV, and EV projects. Acting as a conduit between the project teams, our clients, and our senior team both on and off site. Liaising with suppliers and contractors, managing and optimising the operational aspects of projects.
“In addition to this I worked as Virtual Assistant to four regular clients, entrepreneurs with businesses in various sectors; Healthcare, Construction, E-Gaming, Food & Beverage, Mobility, Software. As part of both roles, I was able to work on a broad range of exciting projects with fascinating businesses with some incredible entrepreneurs.
“As someone who loves the opportunity to be an all-rounder, I’ve always been naturally curious and love learning about new things. I love to understand things and I enjoy being able to communicate to teams who just want to know, "How do I do my job tomorrow morning?”.
“That mindset naturally transferred into digital transformation, where connecting the dots between people, processes, and technology is what drives real impact.”
2. People often see ‘digital transformation’ as a tech job; when did you realise it was a people and problem-solving job too?
“Every button that needs pressing has a person behind it. It seems so obvious, doesn’t it? Whether that button is for your customers or your internal teams, if the only person who gets it is a someone from the programme or a super user, you are going to have challenges.
“Buy in, understanding, and engagement are essential. If people don’t feel part of the journey or equipped to succeed, even the best technology will not achieve the outcomes you are aiming for.
“Realistically, this goes beyond technology and digital transformation. In all projects and programmes, I have worked on the common denominator has always been people. Whether it’s a hotel manager adjusting to newly installed sensor lighting and wondering how it will affect maintenance, or a store team learning about a new PoS system. It comes back to the need to understand, feel confident, and see the value in change.”
3. What triggered your transition, was it a deliberate career move or an opportunity you seized?
“I had the opportunity to have an informal conversation with the founders of Lean Tree at just the right time. They were embarking on an exciting Point of Sale project and offered me a role within the project’s Business Change team.
“It was an opportunity to do something new, fast paced, and people focused, and I seized it!”
4. Walk us through a moment in your digital transformation career where your previous background gave you an unexpected edge.
“My background meant I was used to liaising with suppliers, understanding commercial impacts, and navigating practical challenges.
“I was heavily involved in supporting the on-site training and go-live phases across multiple store locations. This meant working directly with store teams, answering their questions, troubleshooting in real time, and making sure they felt confident using the new system.
“I was used to being on the ground, managing fast-moving situations, and building strong relationships across all levels and this came in very handy.”
5. How did you learn about the tools, data, and systems thinking without a formal background? What helped most: mentorship, shadowing, baptism by fire?
“Honestly, it was all three. You can’t shortcut experience, so I learned quickly by being deeply involved in it. I was also very privileged to work with great mentors who actively encouraged me, were generous with their time, happy to explain things, and gave me opportunities to shine and give things a go.
“I spent a lot of time on self-directed learning, reading articles, watching videos and playing with systems in the test lab to get a feel for them. It is incredible how much you can absorb when you are genuinely curious!”
6. What advice would you give to other women who see tech as “not for them", but are curious?
“A lot of women I have spoken to outside of the sector see it as this boring, complicated and out of reach space. That really couldn’t be further from the truth, technology is increasingly everywhere, impacting the ways we shop, travel, eat, and access public services.
“There’s always something new to learn, a different hat to wear, a problem to solve, and a chance to work with genuinely interesting people. The industry needs people who can think broadly, bring diverse experiences, and ask the right questions. It’s also probably way more interesting than you would think!”
Giving Women in Technology a Platform
We are constantly exploring initiatives and ways to get involved with promoting diversity and inclusivity at Lean Tree, giving voices to those that could benefit from the support. We will be sharing more of the journeys that our teams have been on to join the technology sector soon, look out for them over on our LinkedIn.
