What I’ve

With over 18 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry, Elaine Robinson is currently the Director of Consumer Products at Eircom. Responsible for the first rollout of 4G to the

Irish market with Eircom, she shares the key to her success.

3 The thing I fi nd most di� cult about my job is…when I feel like I am letting people down. A big part

of my job is delivering new products and services. When I am delivering results, it doesn’t always go as I expected, but there are people who are relying on me to get things done. There is pressure to meet budgets, timelines and deliver products to a high quality. Things don’t always work out as planned, so it’s about learning to deal with that and being able to communicate to my stakeholders when things aren’t going as I expected.

4 I love delivering and I love delivering things successfully.Telecoms is a fascinating industry

and it is never boring. I am a total geek at heart, so I love getting lost in the technology. My role is probably ideal because it provides that balance between technology, the future of the industry and the commercial side of the business.

5 I studied a degree in a subject that was male dominated. I work in an industry that’s also quite male

dominated, but I can genuinely say that

my gender has never got in the way of what I want to do. I recognise that I am lucky and that I have employers and managers that have always supported me, but I think a big part of it is that I have the determination to know what I want and to go for it.

6 I am very frequently the only female in the room. In fact, I have just come from a meeting where

I was the only female in the room, but personally, it’s never really gotten in the way of my career.

7 I have been really lucky with the people I have worked with and that is a huge part of what keeps

me motivated. It is so important that I am surrounded by people who I enjoy working with.

8My very fi rst manager was a huge infl uence on me. Even though I was straight out of college, he trusted

me and empowered me to be able to make my own decisions. He allowed me to build a great team and that has always stayed with me.

9I feel lucky because…I have a great husband, two beautiful kids and a job that I love. Success for me

is about being happy and content and being able to provide for my family so that we are all happy and content. That’s essentially what it’s all about for me.

10The piece of advice I am trying to adopt is…‘Don’t sweat the small stuff’. I can safely say that

I am still practising.

1 I am ruthless with my…timekeeping. I have two children who need to be looked after, but

I still � nd the time to be me. I still go out and enjoy myself. I think it’s really important to maintain that variety.

2 I’m currently reading… I Know How She Does It by Lauren Vanderkam. It describes how

women are always putting themselves under pressure to achieve a perfect work life balance to the point where it becomes a self-ful� lling prophecy that we never have any time. This book advises that we look at the 168 hours that make up a week, rather than any one crazy 24 hours, which I think is a much better approach. It’s all about trying to free yourself from the self-imposed expectations about what it is to be a successful working mum, for example, and trying to achieve a perfect life balance. It’s about looking at your diary in a different way. It’s an interesting perspective and it has made me reassess what I consider my work life balance to be.

A C A D E M Y

IT Academy Logo FINAL.indd 1 4/3/14 4:11:12 PM

I was given the Moto 360 by Motorola smartwatch to trial, fully expecting to be discarding it after a few days. Two months later, I’m still using it. It’s great because everything I need for work is at my fi ngertips. I am a master of to-do lists, so I have recently started to use Google Keep. CamScanner is brilliant app for taking a photo of a document, converting it to a PDF and sending it on really quickly. If you are in the city, the ParkingTag app is brilliant. I use the Google Fit ecosystem for keeping track of my fi tness. Zombies, Run! is also fun. I would recommend giving it a go. If you are a wine lover, Vivino is a great app.

Elaine can’t live without…

SEPTEMBER 2015 IRISH TATLER 143

itSept_WOTM_ASM.indd 139 30/07/2015 10:14