Taking risks and feeling uncomfortable is part of growing, especially in career advancement.

“Every time an opportunity to do something different or bigger, to work with really incredible people who I can learn from, to try something new that’s going to push me in a new direction, if that uncomfortable feeling of this seems like it could be risky, that’s usually telling me that it’s something I should take on,” said Leah Bibbo (pictured), vice president of product marketing at Amazon Web Services Inc.

Bibbo spoke with John Furrier, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during the Women in Tech: International Women’s Day event. They discussed motivation, confidence and career pathways for women in tech.

Preparation meets opportunity

Identifying areas of improvement or seeing a need for change within an individual’s organization presents an opportunity for advancement — if they have the confidence and motivation to take action.

Change and challenge can be difficult, but for advancement, “Pushing in those times that are uncomfortable is one way to keep your career going forward,” Bibbo said. “I’m always looking at what’s next. Once I’ve mastered something, I’m ready for the next big thing.”

The theme for the Women in Tech: International Women’s Day event was breaking bias. While the tech workforce is still greatly unbalanced in terms of gender, great strides have been made in the past decade.

“What’s really encouraging is we are seeing more women being moved into positions of leadership so that they create a more inclusive environment,” Bibbo said.

When overcoming bias and continuing to advance, the quality of hard work ranks first, according to Bibbo.

“You have to be willing to work hard, not just as a woman, but as anybody who’s wanting to enter this world that is business and have a career, especially in the technology industry,” she concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Women in Tech: International Women’s Day event.

Photo: SiliconANGLE