2020 in review - my main professional learnings

I am not a prolific writer. I might publish 2 or 3 articles per year. I only write when I consider that I have learned something it is worth sharing with my network. When reviewing this last year 2020, I believe that I have learned many valuable lessons for my professional and personal life. But I also have the feeling that I am not the only one. These last 12 months have been intense for each of us as individuals and for our societies as a whole.

I started 2020 joining the sales department of an IT multinational company. So, at the beginning of the year I still had a lot to prove to my managers, my teammates and to myself. Luckily, I have been able to end up as one of the top performers of the company worldwide. Securing a place on the top 5, among a group of 100 Account Executives. Additionally, I have been granted with a permanent contract and an increase of my sales reach. Therefore, I can state this has been a highly fruitful year for me at the professional level.

My main motivation to publish this article is to keep it as a record for the future. I believe that the experiences I have had the privilege to live during 2020, somehow can be valuable to myself for the incoming years. As I am a sales person I have structured them by quarters. Highlighting my main professional learnings at the end of each one.

Q1 - The calm before the storm

The year started with a couple of amazing business trips that I enjoyed greatly. In January I travelled to Las Vegas with my colleagues to the Annual Global Sales Conference of the company. In February I attended the formal training for new hires at the heart of Silicon Valley, my first time in San Francisco. Nobody could expect that it was the last in-person class for new employees at the company HQ.

Me enjoying life in San Francisco, when life was normal.

Main learning: Take advantage of every moment you can with your colleagues. Do not take them for granted. Learn from your teammates as much as you can. Be present in every interaction, conversation, training, meeting,... You never know how long they will last.

Q2 – Fear, uncertainty and lockdown

All of the sudden, they shut down the office. The virus Covid-19 had become a serious health issue globally. I will never forget the uncertainty that I felt in those moments. At a professional level I was still struggling to hit my quota. The last quarter I did not achieve my target. From a personal perspective, my life got completely interrupted. Habits such as going to the gym or meeting my friends were abruptly prohibited.

Some images will always be stuck in my mind. Like seeing the supermarkets empty. 

Main learning: Face uncertainty with TRUST. I decided to have blind faith in myself, my team and my company. I knew that my skills were good and that I have joined a firm with a solid business model, even in times of pandemic. I did not allow negativity to occupied too much of my mental space. I kept myself busy looking for opportunities. I even realized that this situation was a perfect topic to have more conversations with my clients and prospects. 

Q3 – Home office is here to stay

When lockdown was announced I was very reluctant to work from my own house. I used to enjoy the personal contact with my colleagues and the energy of the office. But the months were passing by and the home office policy gave no signs to end up in the short run. It was the moment to embrace that remote working was here to stay. So, I decided to change homes to have a better working space. Professionally, it was time to reeducate myself on how to keep a fluent contact with my coworkers from the distance.

The evolution of my home office desk. 

Main learning: The importance of teamwork and prioritizing communication. I decided to make time and take proactive actions to keep a close contact with my colleagues and clients. This meant a lot of videoconferences and conversations about work, projects, issues. But also about the emotional impact of the Covid-19, our families and how our routines were affected. I do not regret any second I have spent on calls talking about life topics. 

Q4 – New normal – new opportunities

At the end of the year, it was clear that the world might not be back to be the same as before the pandemic in the near term. Lockdowns measures were still a common practice, office buildings kept being closed, social gatherings were strictly limited, so on and so forth. It was time to embrace the so called 'new normal'. I realized that there were still things to be grateful for. As well, I started to enjoy other things, such as going more to nature or cooking at home.

Decoration at our office in Amsterdam. Christmas always finds its way through.

Main learning: Embrace reality as it is. Adapt to extract the best outcome. I took advantage of this last months to reevaluate what had worked and what had margin of improvement in the new scenario. BONUS: Check my previous article on how I fine tuned my ‘follow up’ process - Follow up as a Leader – the pandemic edition.

While I was evaluating 2020, this quote attributed to Francis of Assisi came to my mind: “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” I would have never imagined at the beginning of the global pandemic that the results I have achieved were realistic. But taking a look back, I think I did the right things. Facing adversity by moving one step at a time, trusting my skills and focusing on collaborating with my team. Overall, this is what I would like to remember from this year.