3 lessons I've learnt after my first year in a Regional role at Fonterra

Those who know me personally, know that I absolutely love my job. So, when I was asked to join the Regional Digital team at Fonterra, I was over the moon! If I say that my life has never been the same a year ago, it would be a rather underwhelming statement. Anti-climactic, even. Because the past one year has taught me so much and I know now how it feels to truly feel satisfied at a job.

My year has been really humbling and I thought I’d commemorate it by sharing some lessons I’ve learnt so far.?

Lesson one: Being vulnerable will give you strength ??

At any stage in your career, you will experience situations that makes you feel bad about yourself. To make matters worse, you relive those moments in your head repeatedly; trying to figure out how you could’ve handled it better. And most often than not, you end up thinking that you’re all alone in this. It’s easy for people to say, “Stop worrying. Talk to someone about it.” But in reality, not everyone can do it.

But I’ve learnt that being open about what’s going on and talking to people that understand and can support you – helps tremendously. However, it must start with you to open up and ask for the help you need. I put away the feeling of embarrassment of being judged and shared with my manager what’s going on and that I needed help. She listened with kindness and immediately supported me in ways that she can.

Fonterra supports mental health in two ways. Firstly, we have an Employee Assistance Program which employees can schedule an appointment to talk to a therapist about anything. Secondly, we regularly have conversations on mental health where we have people across the Co-op sharing their story, this can help others feel heard and find a way through.

Working at Fonterra has made it easier for me to be honest about my feelings and knowing there’s no judgment and everyone is willing to help.

??Things to ponder:

Who is that person at work that understand and can support you?
Does your company support your overall wellbeing (physical & mental)? If not, how can they help?
        

Lesson two: Support is abundance, if you ask for it ??

Imagine this: your calendar’s full of meetings and there’s not enough time for lunch, your to-do list is piling up and you’re blaming your boss for all of this? If this rings a bell, you’re probably sharing this sentiment with about most of the corporate population.

It’s been here, done that for me too; but here’s what I learnt. I realized that even though my manager is responsible for assigning me these projects / tasks, it is my responsibility to ensure I deliver them. However, instead of complaining about the person who assigned me these tasks, I went back to my manager and seek clarity to prioritize my workload. From here on, the conversation focuses on my manager deciding which project / task is a priority and which ones I can hold off for later. This significantly reduced my anxiety and feelings of overwhelmed. I repeat this process whenever my to-do list piles up again or I need redirection.

It’s easy to point a finger and blame, but it’s much easier to put up our hand and say, “Tell me which one is a priority.” Support and help are always available, but it takes two to tango – the onus is on us to ask for the support and help so that we can get our work done.

??Action point!

If you find yourself overwhlemed with things that needs to be done, write them down in a list.
Bring the list to your manager and ask them to help you prioritize the work. Discuss and agree on a timeline that both of you are comfortable with.
        

Lesson three: Celebrate all wins – big and small ??

Throughout my career, there aren't many times that I could think of moments when I’ve received recognition and appreciation for the work that I do. I think it’s also part of a work culture where we don’t usually celebrate our wins a lot. Even if we do, it must be a pretty significant win, for it to count, I guess?

In my new role, I learnt why it’s important for us to celebrate all wins – no matter the size. In our day-to-day work life, it’s easy to be sucked into the cycle: a monotonous motion day-in, day-out. But celebrating wins, especially the small ones, stimulates dopamine release in the brain, a feel-good chemical that motivates us and creates a stronger connection with those who we work with. It doesn't have to be an extravagant dinner with the team, sometimes a simple "Way to go on that presentation today, you totally slayed it!", is enough to ensure that happy feeling stays with them throughout their work.

So, while we celebrate the big wins: achieving this year’s sales target; don’t forget to also celebrate the small wins: successfully presenting that proposal to the department. Because every success matters.

?? I challenge you!

End the work week by writing down 2-3 things that happeend at work which was your win (no matter big or small). Celebrate you!
        

Come join our Co-op!

To practically sum it all: I love what I do at Fonterra everyday and I think you’d love it too.

We have openings all over the world, so check out Fonterra’s Career page and see if there’s anything up your alley. What else do you want to know about Fonterra? ???? Let me know in the comments.

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Thanks for reading! ??