10 Years, 4 Roles, Unlimited Possibilities

I celebrated 10 years at Koch this month. To be honest, the day came and went and I completely forgot the milestone had even passed. Until, that is, I received a package at my home this last Saturday from my leader thanking me with a thoughtful card and some goodies. I was reminded in that simple act of why it is I have stayed in one company for the last 10 years. I have been given the support to learn and grow, been shown appreciation for the work I do and been given the freedom to explore and find new ways to contribute. This place is special, the people are special. It is for that reason I take seriously the role I play, focused on ensuring we engage, attract and deploy talent to continue the cycle of career growth and self discovery for others. My wish is for every individual to experience what I have and to remove barriers or obstacles to ensure that can become a reality!

Reflecting on the last 10 years and really my career as a whole, I recognize one common theme throughout. I always had a network of people and leaders surrounding me who pushed me, challenged me and picked me up when I made a mistake. I had people who believed in me and were willing to take a chance on me, even when I didn't believe in myself. People are at the core of all we do and have certainly been the nucleus of my career.

With that in mind, I wanted to take an opportunity to share some of my own leadership learnings with my network of people to maybe help all of you or just one of you as you navigate your own career.

1. You are an individual, bring the unique you to whatever you do. Your experiences, cultural heritage, social environment, successes, mistakes, hobbies....all of it is a layer that made you who you are and no two people have the same layers. Celebrate this and find a role that fits you and a company that helps you discover that.
2. Get to know yourself. This one sounds a bit goofy, but for me it was key. I had for a long time worried about being perfect and not making a mistake that I forgot two really important pieces to life-long learning: experimentation and humility. The times I was pushed into some unknown and scary territory was when I grew the most and really discovered my passions, my strengths and the areas that were not for me.
3. Don't sit silent as you identify a problem or expect others to solve it. This one ties in well to being frozen by fear or just assuming you know the outcome before you even ask the question. Some of my greatest contributions have come from me raising my hand and challenging the status quo. At Koch this is expected and I have grown to thrive in an environment where constant reflection on how we get better is common place.
4. Listen. This one word has taken a whole new meaning for me these past few months, but has taught me so much. Listen to the feedback you receive, it is a gift when given. Listen to your heart and your gut when something feels off or you just aren't comfortable. Listen to others and learn from their experiences. Whether it is listening to a candidate on how to improve our recruitment experience, listening to a business leader on what talent she needs for the future, or listening to an employee who is sharing how racism has impacted their life. There is a learning in every interaction if you just listen.
5. Don't try to be a version of someone else. I have had 4 different roles in my past 10 years and my journey during that time and prior to was not something I could have planned. At times I tried to take a path someone else had or approach a situation the way I thought someone else might. Once I realized that I had the power to make my own story, I found a whole new freedom.

I will stop at 5 to keep this short and hopefully you are still reading :-) All in all I have been fortunate to have found my way to Koch and to have been given many opportunities that have pushed me to stretch and grow. 10 years and 4 roles later and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up but I know my journey will go where it needs to. Thank you Koch family for a great 10 years! Here is to many more!