Voices from the PPWLN Executive Council: Lisa Rathburn

Lisa Rathburn
Vice President of Engineering, Marzetti Company

‍What do you enjoy most about your career?

I have been blessed to have been given several opportunities that have leveraged my technical background, but really stretched me out of my comfort zone as it relates to people management and strategy development. Over the length of my career, my interests have shifted from loving technical detail to solving bigger business challenges. The consistent thing that has not changed, is that my roles and career have all involved some form of problem solving, in that every day is a new challenge.

How important do you think networking and/or mentorship is for women in our industry?

Early on in my career, I found networking and mentorship opportunities to feel awkward and forced. Over time though, I started to realize that as I worked alongside several people, or engaged on projects with engineers from other companies, that I naturally started to develop relationships, and those natural relationships became my network. I also naturally identified people that I admired in action on the job, and would seek out opportunities to ask them for advice or coaching on things that I saw as their strengths. I prefer mentor “circles” over a mentor/mentee relationship, because I feel that regardless the level of someone’s position or tenure, we can learn from one another based on each other’s strengths.

What qualities that tend to come naturally to women do you think translate well into leadership qualities?

Listening and empathy. Listening is important for all roles, not just leadership. Empathy is important because it helps you understand the other person’s perspective – which is critical in both conflict resolution and negotiation.

What is an example of one (or more) professional challenge you faced, and how did you address it?

There was a period of time in my career where I was doing international travel often, and was away from home 50-60% of the month. This was when my children were young. It required me to do a couple things differently: realize and leverage the network of friends and family around me were there to help, and not feel like I had to be 100% mom and 100% employee at the same time. Instead of integrating the two and splitting my attention, I learned how to better be fully home when I was home, and fully at work when at work.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were younger and just starting out?

Just starting out as a woman in the industry, it could feel a bit lonely. My advice is to seek out and get to know other women in industry, whether at your company or other companies, quickly. Having a support network is important early on.