Deborah Harrigan was a single parent with a five-year-old when she moved to Malaysia to take one of the most significant positions of her career.
For the hairdressing apprentice turned ICT industry specialist, moving to a foreign country with no existing contacts and a small child in tow made sense: she was determined to secure her financial future and get the best opportunities possible for her son.
Indeed, her story goes against the often-promoted idea that a supportive life partner is necessary for women pursuing a leadership career.
Harrigan hired a full-time nanny the first week she arrived, found an excellent school, and made the most of Dell’s mobility relocation service to immediately start work.
“People at the time said I was crazy, but I have no regrets,” Harrigan says. “It worked well. The support system was there. There were easy transport options and it really is a great community.”
The move also became a turning point in her leadership career, offering the global experience necessary for leadership within a major multi-national. Harrigan has since gone on to serve as Country Manager for Dell New Zealand, and later as GM for Dell’s Consumer, Small and Medium Business divisions in Australia.
Now based in Sydney, Harrigan’s in a global role with 14 direct reports in offices all over the world, and more than 3000 staff. Reporting to Dell’s head office in Texas, the international nature of her role means she works some strange hours and has truly mastered the art of working from anywhere.
And she believes it’s also given her son – now finishing school – a very different perspective to others his age. The pair spent two and a half years in Malaysia followed by another two and a half in New Zealand.
Harrigan started with Dell in 1999, a role she took when she was newly separated with her then 15-month-old son. She needed flexibility, and had stepped down from a General Manager position elsewhere in order to secure the hours and work she wanted.
“I consolidated for 12 months, and based on what I delivered in those 12 months, the company realised I had potential and they promoted me. I found that balance between work and home and got things on track.”
Her path into technology came by chance. Six months into a hairdressing apprentice after leaving school early, she fell so ill that she had to give the job up, and later took on an administrative role in a hospital. She says the first time in her career that she recalls being ‘sponsored’ was when she was given an opportunity to move from the administrative desk in the hospital she worked to become a computer operator. She later moved to the NSW Department of Health to help with major technology rollouts for state hospitals, before taking a sales position with IBM.
She believes careers in technology can give women incredible scope – especially when it comes to global careers that still have flexible options. At Dell, she says staff can really work from anywhere and she doesn’t personally subscribe to a traditional working week. It’s a culture that driven from the top – from Dell founder and chairman, Michael Dell.
“There is this myth that if you work for a tech company then it’s very geeky, or that you have to be super, super brilliant and have a degree in computer science, that’s just not the case,” she says.
“The technology industry has every key business function that other businesses have: there’s HR, marketing, programming, sales, operations. We just need to get more women to realise that. It’s still a very male dominated industry but that can change.”
From within a major multi-national, Harrigan is also working to promote female entrepreneurs. She says she ‘self-selected’ into leading the local arm of the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur network five years ago, after being inspired by women who put everything on the line in order to achieve their career aspirations.
“There’s just this incredible amount of energy in the group,” she says on attending her first global conference for such women with Dell. “You could plug into it and it would light up a city. There was no prejudice. No ego. Everyone was engaged.”
Key questions on Deborah Harrigan’s story:
Who and what do you lead? 14 direct reports, more than 3000 staff across eight locations.
How do you manage your wellbeing? My job is not nine to five, Monday to Friday. I do work more than 40 hours a week but I think anyone would at this level. But I make it a rule to not work weekends. I try to go to the gym three times a week. I have a great social network. I do work hard, but I find the time to take breaks and to hang out with friends and family on the weekend.
How do you stay informed? I use LinkedIn. I have a lot of news alerts set up. I use social media feeds and Twitter, to a degree. Internally [at Dell], we have our Academy where there is a range of online course available. Basically I have ways to keep up to date with what’s happening externally and internally.
Advice to 18-year-old self? If I had my time over again, I would have figured out that two years of school is a very short period of time (Harrigan left school early). I would have applied myself a lot more. I would have put my hand up. I would have asked for a lot more. I would have asked for assistance. I would have done more extra curricular things outside of school.
A career is not about being managing director of something else. You have to work a lot of years so it’s important to find what you want to do.
Deborah Harrigan’s story is the latest of our 100 Stories Project, telling 100 stories from January 1 about the turning points of great leadership careers.