Brea Lake is the CEO of Accelerate Okanagan, an organization that helps technology entrepreneurs in the region start and grow their businesses by providing mentorship and connections. 

She got her business degree at Okanagan College and worked at Disney’s Club Penguin before joining Accelerate Okanagan. 

Brea sat down with us at NowMedia and spoke about the technology industry, what makes a great leader and how things are changing for women in power.
 

How would you define a good leader? 

I feel like I have seen a lot of different leadership styles, and I feel like there are good qualities in a lot of them. 

But I think a good leader is one that is open, listens to their staff members, has a clear vision and is willing to pursue that vision, even if it means saying no to certain opportunities. 

What is your leadership style? 

My leadership style is more of a servient leader.

There are only 10 full-time members and 10 contract members that we work with.

I’m really there to help make their jobs easier – removing the barriers, figuring out what the opportunities are and making sure we are all moving forward in one direction with a clear vision. 

What kind of advice would you give to women who want to get into technology? 

Find a mentor. I think that is probably the biggest piece of advice I could give, and if you are looking for mentorship, our organization helps with that. 

We can help to plug you in or introduce you, but I think it is really important to find someone who has been there and done that to learn where the highs and lows can be and how to overcome some of the challenges that you might face. 

As a leader yourself, what is the biggest challenge you've faced? 

I am a younger female in a leadership role, so I think there is a challenge that comes with getting credibility in new rooms that you walk into.

Sometimes getting your voice heard can be a challenge, but one that I have learned to overcome.

I think it can always be a challenge, but something we can learn to overcome by being more assertive and understanding our position and definitely being prepared to walk into those meetings.

Any leadership lessons that you have learned?

One big leadership lesson I have learned over the years is that it is okay to make mistakes, and if you do make a mistake, own up to it to your team.

It is okay to fall on your sword and say, ‘Hey, this probably wasn’t the best decision,’ and explain where it came from.

What is it like being in the technology industry as a woman? Is it more male-dominated?

First off, I should say that the tech industry has been growing by leaps and bounds since I have gotten to be a part of it, so it has been an exciting opportunity for me to grow in my career. 

While it is definitely more male-dominated, I’ve started to see that switch of more females starting to enter the industry. But it is for sure heavily weighted on the administrative side and not so much in the technical roles. 

We have about 26% females working in tech here in the region, which is higher than most averages we see in other communities. Still, we would love to see that be higher – see more women pursue careers in the technology field, especially more on the technical side of it.

Do you think it’s intimidating going into that environment as a woman? 

I think so, and I think a lot of it has to do with the opportunities that are presented early on. 

When you were growing up as a girl through school, the opportunities might not have been there – whereas now there are a lot of day camps and classes for women or girls to get enrolled in a lot sooner.

I think that helps to plant the seed for what opportunities there could be for a career in technology. 

As a leader in the technology industry, do you see the environment changing? 

Definitely, it is changing. I notice more and more tables I sit around, there are more females. I think the exciting thing about technology is the whole industry really embraces diversity. They are wanting different thought patterns. 

They are looking for people who can think outside of the box and have different perspectives. I think there are a lot of opportunities that might have not been there in more traditional industries. So, I think that is exciting, and I am definitely pleased to see more women around board tables.