As I celebrate 22 years working for Capital One today, I want to pause to reflect on my journey, as it was not a typical one, and is one I am very grateful for.
My original plans did not include Capital One. I wasn’t 100% sure of what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I was supposed to go to a university in Richmond to get my degree in Mass Communications and explore the field of Graphic Design. I was then diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma right after I graduated from high school which changed all of my plans.
I had to start a local community college while going through my treatments, which is where I met my husband. Although we ended up moving to the Richmond area anyway, my interests had changed, and I needed a job in the area while I finished school and figured out my new path. Little did I know, that job would become my career and I would still work there 22 years later!
I am beyond blessed to work for such an amazing company, and I have learned about the things I enjoy and where I can make a difference. My career progressed from working directly with customers, to leading teams, to leading departments, and then shifted to process and project management roles. I was able to figure out what I really enjoyed and invest in those things, which now includes a mix of leading teams and bringing strategies and ideas to life.
It isn’t always easy, but I love that I can not only do my job, but fulfill my personal mission of trying to lift others up in the process. I am grateful to work with not only the smartest and most innovative, but also the most caring and supportive people I could ever wish for! It isn’t often that you find a company with the best of both.
Every year now, I repost this blog and add an item to the list of things that I have learned in my career that I wish I could have told my younger self. This year’s list is as follows:
Family is first, always. I am not perfect in sticking to it like I should, but I have always advocated for myself to have flexibility where I need to. I am able to be there for all the big things - the ceremonies and parent / teacher conferences, and the “small” things, like being at the dinner table every night. The other stuff is important, but can wait. My kids won’t be around the table in just a few short years..they already both tower over me by at least a few inches.
Show up and give your all every day. If you don’t want to do that, you are probably at the wrong job. You shouldn’t do it because your boss or others expect it - you do it because YOU expect it and nothing less than that.
If you fail (and you will)...acknowledge it. Nothing stands out as a leader to me more than somebody who is humble enough to share their flaws and help others learn from them. If you aren’t failing, you may not be taking enough risks or pushing yourself to your full potential.
Responding to your team and your peers is as important as responding to your boss, and a good one would expect that. Show them the respect of getting back in touch with them quickly and “wow” them by giving them more than they think to ask for.
I don’t care how good you think it is, if others don’t understand it or don’t think it is great, it isn’t. Go back to the drawing board and try again! Feedback is really a gift, and you should seek it out.
Nothing is more important than people. You can drive all the results in the world but if you don’t take care of people in the process, none of it matters. Of the milestones I have been most proud of in my career, they all involve people. None of them involve building an awesome deck or a big presentation to a senior audience. And sometimes that means sticking with them through the tough times, even if you can’t control the situation.
Embrace the change. Often, we are faced with things that later will change the course of our life, even though we don’t realize it at the time. Embrace those changes even if they don’t seem good at the time (the poor rating, the challenging co-worker, the layoff, etc.), and have faith that you will learn from them or benefit from them at some point in the future.
Accept that you won’t even be perfect. After doing the job for many years, it still realize areas where I would have done something differently, and that’s okay. There is no sense in trying to beat myself up over it. I will just try to do better the next go round!
Much of this has become my leadership philosophy, but is also just day to day good stuff to live by, for me anyway.
If I didn’t have cancer, I would have never pursued this path, which is a big part of my testimony and has shaped who I am today.
Thanks so much to the many of you who have supported me through these 22 years! I am forever grateful.
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