From Intern To Chief Of Staff In Five Years: Atlassian’s Helen Xue Shares Her Three Pillars For Professional Development
You could say that Helen Xue has experienced a rapid career trajectory, although that might be somewhat of an understatement. In the space of five years, she successfully progressed from an Intern at Atlassian to the Chief of Staff for Platform and Enterprise (which included a move from Sydney across the Pacific to San Francisco).
Speaking with B&T, she puts her professional development down to three main pillars; curiosity, relationships and saying ‘yes’.
“I feel that possessing an insatiable appetite to learn is imperative for any type of success. I am an extremely nosy person, to the point of being annoying at times. I want to know how things work and I will ask you a million questions to make sure I fully understand. This has enabled me to successfully transition to different industries, different teams, and different roles,” she says, in reference to her genuine sense of curiosity.
As for building relationships, Xue points to the role of mentors and sponsors in supporting her along the way and instilling her with belief.
“Networking sometimes attracts a negative connotation, but it’s so important to develop great relationships at work. A huge career accelerant for me personally is that I have had mentors and sponsors along every step of the way. People who believe in me more than I believed in myself,” she says.
Finally, she highlights the opportunity she had to take on another product in her second year at Atlassian as an example of the power of ‘yes’.
“You don’t have the luxury of turning down opportunities to learn when you’re starting out. Embrace the challenges people give you. In my case, I was pushed to take on another product in a new domain. I really didn’t want to because I truly loved my team and the project I was already assigned to, but my manager knew that I’d learn more if I switched out,” she explains.
It is worth noting that these three pillars do not sit in isolation. Rather, each one helps with the next and can generate professional opportunities moving forward.
“Being curious is going to help you uncover new opportunities and connect with more people. This will unlock greater opportunities to say yes to new projects, which will help you meet even more people, and so on. It’s a virtuous cycle of high-velocity learning,” Xue says.
Life experience vs employment and education
Reflecting on her own experience, Xue feels grateful that she has not faced the biases which are sometimes reported in the technology space, such as gender, ageism and tenure.
Of course, these issues are still present in the industry. In fact, the Dice Diversity and Inclusion Report from 2018 found that 76 per cent of respondents believe ageism is an issue for technology globally. To address this, Xue suggests businesses look at how they go about hiring.
“I do worry that rather than evaluating candidates as individuals, many companies resort to checking-the-box for the position. This tends to happen to younger folks, with less work experience,” she says.
“For example, when hiring for entry level Product Managers – don’t just look for folks who went to a certain university, studied computer science, and then Interned at a big tech company or a startup. Look at the life experiences and skills they’re bringing to the table.
“You’ll miss out on having extremely curious, ambitious and diverse people if you set arbitrary constraints on who you’re looking for. There are many skills that can be taught on the job, technical aptitude being one of them.”
Creating value
While the business case for diversity has been established – McKinsey last year revealed companies with greater gender diversity outperformed the rest by 25 per cent – Xue believes a more inclusive recruitment approach and rethinking ‘what’ value is to your business is important.
“When you genuinely believe that outside-in, diverse perspectives can add outsized value to your organization, you’re going to work extremely hard at making sure a broad representation of candidates make it through your recruitment pipeline, and succeed on your team,” she says.
“And this ‘value’ doesn’t just manifest itself in business metrics. Developing a more holistic understanding of your customer and their problems are almost guaranteed to net you more revenue, but the value gained by empowering diversity shows up everywhere,” she says.
“Maybe it’s a manager whose extraordinary empathy rallies an entire organization. Maybe it’s a young immigrant who uncovers a large new foreign market opportunity.
“Maybe it’s the introverted grad who changes the way meetings are run so more of her teammates share their ideas. These behaviours compound and spread throughout your organization, and when you personally feel the positive impact, you’re going to work hard to sustain and support women in tech.”
Developing leadership qualities
Going from an Intern to Chief of Staff in a relatively short period of time has meant Xue has needed to develop leadership qualities quickly.
She reflects on her early experience in taking ownership of projects as a critical step in her own learnings about leadership.
“Nothing can prepare you for a leadership role – believe me, I’ve read a book or two on this subject,” she says.
“Only when you’re confronted with a launch date, or a chaotic project fraught with dependencies, while you have disgruntled customers at the end of the phone line, do you start getting a feel for becoming a leader.”
So what makes the ideal leader?
Xue points to her boss, Atlassian VP of Product Anu Bharadwaj as someone who demonstrates many of the qualities.
“To me, great leaders need to be visionary but execution focused at the same time. Great leaders have a vision – they make right calls more than wrong calls, most of the time.They are also a doer – they have both the EQ and execution prowess to deliver on this vision. Great leaders optimize for long-term strategy but are also able to ruthlessly prioritize and deliver with urgency,” she says.
“They also need to be courageous, fair and honest. That’s a lot to ask for in any single person, and that’s what makes great leaders so rare!”
Finding values that fit
As much as Xue’s exceptional career growth is a reflection of her own skills and leadership ability, an alignment of her own personal values and Atlassian’s values has also played a role.
“I think I can only be truly happy at a company where the values align with my own, somewhere that I can bring my full authentic self to work. I feel so incredibly lucky that I started my career at Atlassian. It’s such a repeated cliche but Atlassians truly live and breathe the company values,” she says.
“Our founders, Mike and Scott, take a liberal and explicit stance on a lot of political issues. They are constantly challenging the status quo for a better future, and it creates a safe and inclusive culture at work. I am empowered to not only have a voice, but I feel that they’re rooting for myself and other women to succeed here.”
Latest News
Kantar: AVOD Subscribers Double In 12 Months
Study finds Aussies happy to watch ads on their streaming services. Or, are they just putting the kettle on more often?
Val Morgan Digital Exceeds All Campaign Uplift Benchmarks Via A 12-Month Brand Metrics Study
Val Morgan announces it has exceeded all its campaign benchmarks. Still can't get under an hour for the City To Surf.
Australian Retirement Trust launches monster of a campaign, by M&C Saatchi and Bohemia
Get offered a seat on the bus today? Knees creak like an old pirate's galleon? This retirement ad may be of interest.
Print Audits To Discontinue As Audited Media Association Of Australia Pivots To Support Influencer Marketing
Is it just B&T or are audits in the media industry suddenly becoming murkier than Roxy's husband's tax returns?
News Corp Australia Launches 2024 National Education Advocacy Initiative With Expanded Program
News Corp set to shine a light on the nation's schools in new series, giving illegal bikie gangs a well-earned rest.
Decoding The Consumer Maze: Urban List Report Reveals How Modern Shoppers Spiral From Discovery To Purchase
Latest report unravels a shopper's journey from the joy of discovery through to a nasty letter from a debt collector.
Cosmo Returns To Australia!
Ever get the feeling we've weirdly warped back to 1988 at the moment? Confirm it with the relaunch of Cosmo in print.
People & Culture Consultancy Human Kind Collective Launches To Plug HR Gap For Media Agencies
Does the very mention of HR have you struggling to remember last year's Christmas party? Get the sweats with this news.
‘We Want To Be A Growth Partner, Not Just A Media Buyer Or Someone That Makes Ads’ – Bohemia Boss On Agency’s Ambition
B&T's chatting with Bohemia boss Paul ‘Hutch’ Hutchison. Although we do think 'the dagger' a far superior nickname.
Initiative’s Geoff Clarke: ‘Youth Hits Targets With Enthusiasm, Experience Hits The Targets You Can’t See’
Initiative’s CCO Geoff Clarke on the value of experience in agencies. Not to mention quoting lines from Pulp Fiction.
The Iconic Teams Up With 5 Aussie Athletes For Latest Campaign
Fashion label brings in the athletes for new campaign, many of whom appear to have prepped with re-runs of Zoolander.
Seven West Media Secures New Director Of News & Current Affairs
After a tumultuous few weeks, Seven unveils director of news & current affairs. And B&T never uses tumultuous lightly.
Seven Network Expands NSW Sales Team With Two New Group Business Directors
Seven ramps up its NSW sales team. Both of whom are well versed in pronouncing Manu Feildel's croque-monsieur.
New PR Subscription Changing The Game For Aussie Start Ups
Need better PR? You can now buy it via a monthly subscription. Price does not include a fascinator or Moet piccolos.
Paul Kent At Centre Of Fresh Scandal After Alleged Street Brawl
Do you long for the fights, gouges & testicle grabs of footy's glory years? So too, it appears, does Paul Kent.
DiDi Taps Disney’s Tim Farmer For Head Of Brand Marketing Role
Disney's Tim Farmer shifts over to rideshare company DiDi. Taking with him his Donald Duck coffee mug & mouse ears.
As Sure As Night Becomes Day, The End Of Third-Party Cookies Has Been Delayed
The question remains: what will we see first? The end of cookies, alien invasion or Jesus's second coming?
Fast 10: Scoundrel’s Tim Bullock Explains What Shane Warne & Salt-N-Pepa Have In Common
It's a Fast 10 with Scoundrel's Tim Bullock. Make it sound even faster by sucking on helium while reading it.
Outbrain Snatches Chris Oxley From Foxtel Media
Foxtel's Chris Oxley shifts over to Outbrain, but not before having his press photo taken in the wilds of the Daintree.
oOh!media & POLY Partner With Greening Australia For OOH Awareness Campaign
Like to quell the road rage with super cute pics of fluffy marsupials? This outdoor's just the ticket.
Are Media Cares For The Carers In Its Latest Social Change Campaign
Are Media calls on the government to add super payments to carers' payments. Remains silent on AUKUS, however.
In A Fragmented World, Engagement Is King
Today, B&T TV's talking fragmentation & engagement. But not in a down-on-one-knee sense of the word.
Kyle Sandilands On Advertising: “We Want Return Business. It’s No Good Just Taking Someone’s Money”
Kyle & Jackie O finally arrive on Melbourne radio. As yet, no sign of the monotonous and bitter AFL-NRL debate.
Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]
Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]
Is Meta’s New AI Chatbot Too Left-Wing?
Meta's chatbot accused of being left-wing after being caught wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt & listening to Billy Bragg.
TV Ratings (23/04/2024): Why Did No One Tell Angela That Farmer Wants A Wife Is Set On A Farm?
As wonderful as this headline is, let's face it, we all know an 'Angela', don't we?
PubMatic Unveils New AI Partnership To Turn Social Posts Into Ads For Any Digital Channel
Here's some nifty tech for turning social posts into ads. Assuming said posts aren't one-star character assassinations.
Intuit Mailchimp Makes A Splash With Its First Australian Brand Campaign
Ever laugh along at a gag you didn't get so as not to appear dumb? Get ready for more feigning with this new work.
GumGum’s Rob Hall: Advertisers Can No Longer “Rely On Binary Descriptions” Of Consumers
If anyone's got their finger on adtech's pulse, it's Rob Hall. He also avoids using the good paper in the office printer
Mastercard Nabs Florencia Aimo From Marriott International
Marriott International's Florencia Aimo jumps from the hotel business to the exploitative credit card one.
Bastion Agency Appoints Cheuk Chiang As New ANZ CEO
Cheuk Chiang takes the reins over at Bastion Agency. But not the rains down in Africa.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Major Sponsorship Wins After A Disappointing Week In Sport
B&T continuing our deep dive into local sport sponsorships & that's despite not a single offer of a free ticket as yet.
Macca’s Marketing Director, Samantha McLeod On Big Mac Chant: “What Was Once Old Is Now Cool Again”
Macca's using the power of nostalgia in latest Big Mac campaign. Well, only for those who've ever eaten one sober.
World Premiere Of Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line To Open Sydney Film Festival 2024
Oil's biopic to open Sydney Film Festival. Here's hoping Molly Meldrum will take his pants down at the premiere.
Entries Are Now Open For The 2024 Brandies, IntelligenceBank’s Annual Brand Marketing Awards
The Brandies are, of course, a prestigious marketing gong and not the mystery tipple favoured by nannas everywhere.