• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

What's in a name?

Published: Sunday, 10 March 2013

From August 2009 to August 2011, I was the "Founder and Director of Robogals Global".  Before that, my title was "Founder", and we hadn't created "Robogals Global" yet, so I was just the "Founder of Robogals".

In September 2010, our first "Australia and New Zealand Director" of Robogals took her post and subsequently in February 2011, our first "United Kingdom and European Director" took her post.

The rest of my Global team had the title Secretary, or X Manager.  I didn't think too much about the titles.  As long as people were doing their roles, doing a good job and we were achieving results, then I was confident they were content with their roles.

My "Organisational Development Manager" managed the IT Manager, Science Challenge Manager, the Secretary, the SINE Event Managers (for Australia, UK and the USA), was in charge of documenting all our processes and did off jobs here and there to make sure the organisation ran smoothly.

Organisational Development Manager is a pretty cool title, because whenever I look at it, I think the person either (a) is a glorified sales manager, or (b) has a really awesome job because they get to assess the company and suggest improvements.

In August 2011, my organisational development manager approach me and said he wanted a different title to better reflect all the work he does, and so we came up with the title "Operations Director" for him, and "Executive Director" for me.

Since then, there has been an added level of ownership towards Robogals in his enthusiasm and commitment.

I think the lesson to learn from that is that the little things like someone's official title within an organisation matter and have more of an impact than you think.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Duke and Duchess of Sussex

    The Aubot team was invited to meet the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - that’s right, HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle! We showed them our robots. I...

  • LinkedIn International Women’s Day

    I did a campaign post for LinkedIn for International Women’s Day about my Covid experience and the women who inspired me through it. Women are...

  • When to launch

    I was thinking about my business idea and wondering when would be the right time to launch, if to launch and how. It was really doing my head in. I...

  • Daily plan

    My most productive days, the days I enjoy the most, and the ones that inspire me the most are the days where I have an extensive pre-written to-do...

  • YouthActionNet Global Fellowship Day 6: Succession

      We spoke about our succession plans today.  We did a great activity:  if I were to leave Robogals on November 6, one month from now, what would I...

  • Aipoly Autonomous Store

    I attended CES with members of the Aipoly team.  Aipoly were fortunate to be awarded a CES Best of Innovation Award for the second year in a row! ...

  • Highlight reel and backstage

    When I became the Young Australian of the Year, I was so excited.  I had a glamorous ideal that my life would change completely!  It changed a lot – I...

  • Sunday Funday

    Spent the entire Sunday working in the garage with Garth Bradbeer and Tom Cooper working on a robotic prototype.  We worked until 1am that night, and...

  • Shell Eco-marathon Asia Wrap-up

    It was a whirlwind of a week in Malaysia at Shell Eco-marathon Asia. The air was constantly buzzing with intense excitement and anticipation, mixed...

  • No Electronics Day

    Sometimes I like to take a day to think and reflect. So I get someone else to take away my computer, phone and any electronics in the house - so I...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top