“You Have to Step Into It”: Women in Leadership
At the recent Women in Games Careers Expo, Testronic’s CEO and Executive Chair Sharon Baylay-Bell talked leadership, risk and defining success with WIG CEO Dr. Marie-Claire Isaaman. From unplanned career moments to the realities of the ‘glass cliff’ (and ‘glass cage’), and the human skills that will define the next generation of leaders, here’s what they discussed…
Dr Marie-Claire Isaaman: You’ve had a long career across organisations like Microsoft and the BBC. Looking back, what were the moments that really shaped you as a leader?
Sharon Baylay-Bell: It’s been the moments I didn’t plan for.
The biggest leaps in my career came when something unexpected happened – someone left, or there was a gap, or something went wrong in the organisation – and I stepped up. Not necessarily because I had a clear plan, but because the opportunity was there.
Early on, I covered for someone on maternity leave. It was a short-term role, but it gave me exposure and confidence. Later at Microsoft, I was asked to lead business reviews in a much more senior environment. I was the youngest person in the room and the only woman – which was daunting – but that experience ultimately moved me into a leadership role.
You don’t wait until you feel ready. You say yes, and you grow into it.
Isaaman: The idea of the ‘glass cliff’ – women being placed into difficult leadership roles – how do you view that?
Baylay-Bell: It definitely exists. If you look at where many women are appointed into leadership, particularly at senior levels, it’s often in organisations that are already under pressure. But I think we need to reframe it.
The key question is: who defines success?
If you walk into a situation that’s already struggling, the expectation that you’ll fix everything overnight isn’t realistic. But that doesn’t mean you can’t succeed. It just means you need to define success differently.
When I was at Microsoft, and was already succeeding in a senior management role, I was asked to head up anti-piracy measures in MENA – where the piracy rate was about 98%. Friends and colleagues thought I was crazy to even consider it, and –
if success to you looks like climbing up a corporate product management ladder – arguably, they might have been right.
But actually, the way I looked at success was to consider that, if there’s a 98% piracy rate in these regions, I only have to move that dial by a tiny percentage point and I will make millions for this company.
That’s how I am measuring success.
And if I do that, who is going to be a more important individual contributor to this business? The person who is just climbing a ladder? Or me who took a run and whacked a big commercial win out of the jaws of defeat?
For me, it’s about impact. If you can move something forward, even incrementally, that is meaningful. In some cases, those roles can be incredibly valuable because they give you visibility and the chance to make a real difference.
They’re not easy, but they’re often where you learn the most.
Isaaman: And how do you distinguish between a difficult opportunity and one that’s simply not workable?
Baylay-Bell: That’s where experience and judgment come in.
There’s a difference between a challenge that’s tough but achievable, and a situation where the environment itself is the problem. I sometimes think of that as a ‘glass cage’.
That’s where you don’t have the support, the culture, or there’s not an openness from elsewhere to change what you need to succeed. You can be doing all the right things, but you’re not able to move anything forward.
I’ve been in that position before, early in my career. It became clear quite quickly that there was no real opportunity to grow or contribute in a meaningful way.
You have to recognise those situations. Because if you stay too long, it starts to affect your confidence and your development.
Sometimes the right decision is simply to move on.
Isaaman: Confidence is something we talk about a lot, particularly for women in leadership. How do you navigate being the only woman in the room?
Baylay-Bell: You do get used to it, but it never completely goes away.
I’ve been the youngest person in the room, and very often the only woman. It can feel intimidating. But I always come back to the same point: I was asked to be there.
There were other people they could have chosen. If you’ve been asked, it’s because someone believes you can do it.
So you have to trust that, even if you don’t feel it fully yourself.
Isaaman: Let’s talk about workplace culture. How important is it when you’re leading an organisation?
Baylay-Bell: It’s absolutely fundamental. Culture eats strategy for breakfast every day!
You can have the best strategy in the world and read all the business books out there, but if the culture isn’t right, it won’t work. Culture is what determines how people behave, how they collaborate, and how they respond under pressure.
At Testronic, we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on this, particularly because we’ve grown through acquisition. That can leave you with multiple different cultures across the business.
So we’ve worked to define what we stand for and, more importantly, how that shows up in day-to-day behaviour. And that means making decisions when things aren’t aligned.
Culture isn’t just something you talk about. It’s something you have to actively manage.
Isaaman: You have also said that individuals need to take ownership of their careers. Can you expand on that?
Baylay-Bell: Yes, and I think it’s really important.
As leaders, we can support people, we can create opportunities, but we can’t manage someone else’s career for them.
You have to ask yourself: am I learning? Am I growing? Is this the right environment for me? Have I asked for the right support when it comes to career development?
For women in particular, there can sometimes be a tendency to wait – to wait to be recognised, to wait to be told you’re ready. But that moment may not come unless you take action.
Isaaman: We’re seeing rapid change with AI and new technologies. What do you think will matter most for leaders going forward?
Baylay-Bell: Judgement. Technology is incredibly powerful when it comes to processing information and increasing efficiency. But leadership decisions are rarely straightforward. They involve people, context, and nuance. They involve making calls where there isn’t a clear right answer.
I don’t think technology will replace that. If anything, it makes those human skills – judgment, empathy, fairness – even more important.
Isaaman: Ultimately, what advice would you give to women in games who are thinking about stepping into leadership roles?
Baylay-Bell: Don’t wait.
Don’t wait until you feel ready, and don’t assume you need to meet every requirement before you step forward.
Some of the most valuable opportunities are the ones that feel the most challenging. They’re the ones that push you, and the ones that shape your career.
The industry needs to encourage and support more women in leadership. But it also needs more women willing to take that step.
At Testronic, until very recently our leadership team was women only. That was not a deliberate thing against men, it just happened that way. When I looked around the organisation for people who were willing to step in, to take on difficult challenges, to
feel confident that they’ve got that support network around them, it has been the women who have put up their hands.
Equally when I’ve gone externally to look for people to support me in organisational roles that I didn’t have, it has in the main being women that I have hired.
That’s just how it’s happened, and they have all been totally brilliant.
Even now, with two recent men joining the senior leadership team, we are measuring at 70-30 in favour of women; that compares favourably to even PLCs which are roughly 60-40 in favour of men.
Organisations need to provide positivity and sponsorship from the top to encourage more women into leadership, but – to reiterate – we need more women to step forward.
Isaaman: From my perspective, it’s also about making sure those women feel supported when they do step forward – through networks, mentorship, and community.
Because stepping into leadership is one thing. Succeeding in it is something we should all be working towards together.
Baylay-Bell:
Exactly. Leadership isn’t something you wait for.
It’s something you step into.
Testronic is a proud Silver Corporate Ambassador of Women in Games and committed to supporting women within its workplace across its Centers of Excellence in Warsaw, New Orleans and Manila.
