IWD 2024: Empathy makes us great at business but the ability to plan may be what gives women in tech the edge

Modern businesses greatly benefit from the empathy and compassion women bring to the mix. But there is another area where women excel, and that is in their inherent understanding of the need for planning and treating life and business as a complete process.

As business becomes more complex, more focused, and more driven, the daily plate-spinning act that is many women's experience of life actually makes us rather good at planning. And planning, it turns out, is crucial.

It has never been more important to understand that business is part of life. Understanding that the people we work with – whether clients or colleagues – are more than their job function. They may have a clear, singular goal – likely revenue in the business context – but how they get there is as personal to them as their name. 

Just as human beings are multi-dimensional (they are more than just work) so businesses are more than one thing at a time. Most don't do well with too heavy a focus on one area. Maximum revenue results from forecasting, planning, hiring, investing across the whole business and recognising that a company is more than a bunch of departments – it's a whole organism. People at the best companies consider their business to be a single process with the goal of generating revenue.

This is an approach Clari advocates, and as I've been talking with people about it, I started thinking. Women often grasp the idea immediately. Women understand the holistic nature of things – everything is connected to everything else. And generally, we've become pretty good – naturals, in fact – at the forecasting, scheduling, and communication needed to make the process efficient.

It's an opportunity for any woman on a tech team – to become the champion for planning, for looking at the whole process. Because you're probably already better at it than many of your colleagues. And it's an area which most businesses are coming to recognise is increasingly important. Being the planning champion could pay dividends both for the revenue potential of your company and for your career. 

The juggling of the different aspects of life that has become second nature to most women gives us an advantage in modern business. So, take the initiative and explain how you would do things differently, how you would plan across the whole process for a better output, for increased revenue. It's an area where you can be a trailblazer.