Lyte presents “Womyn at Lyte,” a series of conversations highlighting the voices of our womyn.
Q: As a child, what did you think you wanted to be, how do you think you came to that decision?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: I recall that when around age five or six, I wanted to be an astronaut. I liked books, I still like books, I had this encyclopedia for children about space and different planets and stars. I had a conversation with my dad and he said, “You can do that, you know, people go to space.” He told me more and showed me pictures from the 60-70s about Valentina Tereshkova, the first womyn in space. And I decided that I wanted to be an astronaut. But that was a child's mind and a bit later when I was in middle school, I wanted to work in the cinema industry and it's still one of my biggest passions. I wanted to be a part of the magic behind the scenes in the big Belarussian film industry but it doesn’t exist, we are more theater. When I was in school and also in university we created German theater and English theater. But I can't even imagine what it's like to work in the cinema industry.
Q: What would your younger self be most surprised about how you live your life today?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: That's very deep. I would be very surprised I am 26. Back then I thought that was too old and you are on a spike. I also always wanted a great job. A job is 80% of our lives, and I was thinking that I need to do something very cool and work with people. I wanted my work to have an impact, not just on the world, but on at least a small group of people. I didn't have a very specific position I wanted to be in. Now I understand that being helpful and being there for people is exactly what I want to do. I am in the right place right now.
Q: What do you think is the hardest part of what you do for a living?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: Gerard (Lyte Advisor) always reminds me - the team, they’re adults. I don't have to try to take care of everyone, they’re not five-year-olds. Maybe it’s because I worked in a school for two years, I like taking care of people. The engineering team has very young souls, like teenagers, in a good way. They like specific food and drinks and computer games. When you understand them, you treat and react differently and understand where they are coming from and their needs. Sometimes they just want to be heard. I think this is the hardest part to realize that I don't have to be there 24/7. We need to have a work-life balance because we have our own life to live too. I think it's some womyn’s nature, we tend to take care of everything and take on too much responsibility.
Q: What do you love about working at Lyte?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: First of all, this is a very nourishing environment. I feel supported from the very beginning till the very end of the working day. I feel the whole group is a family, we treat each person as a part of the team straight away. From day one I felt like part of the team. It's a very rare thing to happen in your life, whether in school or university, new job, you try to fit in. It feels completely different when people try to understand you and try to help you; which is why I think this is a great environment to be in and work in. And everyone has great music taste. As a company we're coming from a good place, we're trying to do better, trying to make the industry better, the world better, if you may. We can leave our footprint in this industry…we have already.
Q: What lesson took you the longest to unlearn?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: In Russian, there is a phrase, “The school of life.” I can say that I'm a permanent student of the school of life. Never do I think I would graduate, because I keep learning and learning. During the pandemic, I learned that you don’t need to meet a person, in person, to have a bond with them. For example, I feel so connected to the U.S. team and we have never met in person. But seeing everyone in Zoom every other week, I feel so connected. I’m sure when we do meet someday, there will be no awkwardness in the first meeting. This is my lesson for 2020.
Q: What have you accomplished recently that would have shocked you a year ago?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: How resilient I am. I didn't think I could carry so much stress. Especially, in the last couple of years. Sometimes when people first meet me they see me as a very fragile person. But it turns out I'm quite strong and very resilient. I can do my work under pressure, under stress. A year ago, I was too exhausted to cope with anything else more or less stressful but here I am and feeling stronger.
Q: What are you more afraid of failure or success?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: I’m afraid of both because they both have pros and cons. Failure is your best teacher. It gives you the opportunity to reflect and test how resilient you are. Success gives you this drive to push, to keep on doing what you're doing. Little accomplishments in your life are very important and help your confidence which only helps you to succeed. For me, success is not about me, it's about the team. Make sure we're all thriving and we're all happy to come to work every day and see each other. I am in the right place because I’m happy when I wake up in the morning to go into the office and do my tasks. Of course, I get exhausted and tired sometimes. But all the support and gratitude that I get from the team - it's all worth it. It’s the nice feelings and emotions that you experience that will stay forever with you.
Q: What's a non-negotiable in your life?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: Respect. My mom taught me that you don't have to love everyone and you don't have to like everyone, but you need to respect everyone. No matter what, respect, because you don't know the background, you don't know the history. I think respect is a part of all relationships in our lifetime; friendship, work, love, everything. All relationships should be a place of respect for the people and for the world. This is my non-negotiable, I respect. I should be respected back.
Q: What can womyn create together?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: I am so grateful to live in this era when womyn can do anything. Womyn can do everything and anything that comes to our creative minds. We can do everything together. Together is the main word. We need to support each other, have respect for each other and then the magic will happen.
Q: What's the most exciting improvement for womyn in the industry or in general?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: I’ll speak about the IT industry. They say, there are more womyn applying for tech positions each year. In the tech industry and in our team, we have a quite good percentage of womyn. Of course, we can do better, there will always be room for improvement. We will see even more growth in this direction, and more tech positions for womyn within the next few years.
Q: What title would you give this chapter in your life?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: It's easier to name a chapter after it’s over. I was thinking that my previous chapter would be called “Young and Confused.” I feel the next chapter will be more powerful. I'm in the middle of something, and something is going to change.
Q: Is there a question we didn't ask you?
Zhenya Dolzhanskaya: Some of these questions are very deep and I liked it because usually there is no time to just pause and reflect on what happened, what you went through. So, this was very therapeutic.
Womyn at Lyte featuring Zhenya Dolzhanskaya - Operations, Minsk Office Manager