Having worn most of the hats at TrackTik during the early days, Julie Lacasse isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and get down to work. Her lead by example management style has helped propel the veteran executive into her current role overseeing the operations and ensuring the organizational structure meshes with the mission of the enterprise.
In addition to showing off her mettle rather than giving it lip service, Lacasse likes to be involved with her team members but knows when to delegate, empowering them to run with their own ideas. “Although I’ve always had to manage big teams, I’ve always prided myself as being able to understand each individual in a team,” Lacasse said in a recent question and answer session with The Software Report. “Having a keen understanding of individuals’ capabilities, I am able to assess their strengths and weaknesses and thus plot out the best fits for them in the organization.”
Prior to joining TrackTik, the security workforce management software company, Lacasse’s career was focused on marketing before she transitioned to HR and become “people continuity specialist” which helped hone her recruiting skills. In the same function, she led the company Multi countries ATS pilot and went on to roll it out Globally. After her maternity leave, she decided to come on board at TrackTik, to help launch the company commercial functions as the Director of Commercial Development which also gave her the foundation she needed to understand their clients. She, off course, went on to hiring TrackTik’s first employees given her background in Talent.
Today, Lacasse is the VP of Operations as she oversees the smooth running of the business. Outside of TrackTik, she is committed to mentoring and helping other businesses scale. “In this capacity, not only do I get a chance to share my learnings off of TrackTik, but I also have a chance to learn from other innovators and entrepreneurs,” said the executive. “Being a part of this idea exchange of sorts is greatly enriching for me.”
When it comes to Lacasse’s success, she credits it with a general curiosity to understand something in great detail and her ability to self-learn complex topics. She has long found pride in being able to teach herself and figure things out quickly. Operating in the technology industry, executives have to be able to fully understand something before it can be put into an application. Her natural curiosity has served her well and helped further her career in a bevy of ways.
“That curiosity developed into my eagerness to understand and solve industry problems - especially in the case of TrackTik. When I was first started out, I wanted to understand the security industry pain points and then engineer ways to resolve the issues through technology,” she said. The executive’s ability to learn doesn’t end with technology. As an entrepreneur, she is constantly looking at how others have started and grown their business and how they continue to sustain their successes.
When it comes to motivating her staff, Lacasse said leading by example is a big component. After all the more closely a manager works with his or her team the more they can learn. And once a spark is lit, completing the task at hand becomes easier, she said. Trust is another important aspect of motivating staff. Team members have to be able to rely on and trust their manager. Lacasse goes to great lengths to ensure she is trustworthy and reliable. She also makes sure to understand the aspirations and career goals of her team members. “Being aware of that, you can work with them to set challenges for them to get them to that next level,” she said.
As for what Lacasse would tell aspiring women leaders in technology, she said to never stop believing in yourself. The way Lacasse sees it women typically have a different perspective when it comes to running and growing a business than their male counterparts. That can cause them to second guess an idea because it may seem out of the box or untraditional. “Men are more practical whereas women employ some parts instinct and emotional intelligence in their decision-making process,” she said. “And I think that’s perfectly alright. Having a different idea is great. I would thus like to see women trust that instinct more and press forward with them.”
