April showers bring May flowers!

April showers bring May flowers! This holds true for me at a personal level. Four years ago, in April 2019, I was hospitalized and Thankfully I returned home after a month in May 2019! The way I see it, numerous Doctors, Nurses treated me, and God cured me! My outlook toward life changed after that, and I find myself looking at life through a lens of gratitude and learning. For me, May 18th 2019, is therefore my second birthday and since then, I have received wonderful gifts of learning that I would like to share here with everyone:

One year later, in May 2020, during the peak pandemic when I was in between jobs, I was onboarded as a contractor at Northwestern Mutual . Two years thereafter, I got converted to a full-time employee! This year in May 2023, I raise a toast to celebrate my 1-year “official” work anniversary as an employee, (3 years overall) at NM, reflect upon my life at NM, and take this opportunity to share the learnings from my leaders at NM.

My day at NM starts with a smile, not just on my face, but in my voice and my eyes as I greet every User who calls in or chats with the specialized CRM Support Team in NM's Technology Customer Success department. From how-to questions to troubleshooting complex issues for the Users, my days at NM are exciting, challenging, enriching, hopeful, and certainly rewarding. Time flies working 8 hours daily in the support queue! I get to speak to so many users, I get to be friendly, helpful, and supportive. I get to listen to their “Queue-T” (cute) stories and learn from their vast experiences of serving clients to design and live a financially secure life.

More than just coffee or tea, my day is filled with plenty of LOL moments with my team members and leaders! These LOL moments keep me going strong, positive, and enthusiastic about my work, especially in challenging situations. I work hybrid and always look forward to meeting everyone on campus. NM has state-of-the-art buildings, warm people, and scrumptious food.

NM provides lunch that sometimes includes Mango Aachar, Chana Masala, and even Naan Roti! Yass, here I feel I am home(USA) away from home(India)! Coming to campus has more benefits like bonding with my team. Bringing “Masala Chai”, “Samosas”, for my team and trying out “Besitos-de-coco”, Spicy “Palomitas”, Donuts, Cookies, and mouthwatering snacks from team members and my awesome Manager! ?I always say, that when I grow up, I want to be like my manager, my immediate leader. He is Batman! He uses his superpowers with responsibility taking us with full stride under his wing. ?He brings with him a positive culture, and flexibility, and welcomes us to be our authentic selves each day. He is Jose Acosta !

From Jose, I learned to always put my best efforts in "helping to make things whole again" for my users. I remember once when I was still a contractor, I lost my voice completely and could not support in the phone queue. Chat support closed before my shift would end and as a contractor, I had to work to complete my shift. That’s when my manager found some areas where I could work and contribute in the CRM space and also complete my shift. I am forever thankful to him as that experience not only helped me get my hours at work but also made me more enthusiastic and got me interested in studying the e-CRM suite in-depth and got me new friends in the CRM product space.

Like my manager, my senior leaders consist of rare-to-find, precious, gems and their pearls of wisdom help me in my professional and personal growth. Sharing a few things I learn from them:

My senior leader, Jim King taught me that “Life is Good” and how important it is to reflect inwards and be thankful for the privileges I have. Thanks to him, I find myself taking every opportunity I get to serve and make life better for those in need. ?Any situation I am in, I want to make it better than I found it. I also admire his simple, relatable art and hope to get my hands on his signature masterpieces.

My VP is powHERful! A strong advocate of having an abundant mentality to thrive together, being the leader you wish to see, being bold, and moving the needle, are the messages she gives and lives by. I enjoy reading the personal stories that she shares with the Technology Customer Success department, and I admire her skill of tying them back to NM's core values. She finds time to always respond to my messages. I feel a direct connection with her - me, an entry-level Tier 1 employee, and she, my top-brass executive VP. Her background, her career journey, and her being a person of color, and an immigrant woman leader are inspiring so many immigrant women of color like me who have stepped into the world of Technology. ?I am proud Sangeetha Rai is my VP. I can be ME because of leaders like her. I often wish I had the power to clone her so everyone can have executive leaders like her.

I got a chance to meet and interact with Jeff Sippel at NM's Annual Meeting. I always remember to follow his advice to “Show up” and “If you are not falling, you are not learning”. ?He makes a great CIO and EVP.

When I was hired, Rich Giles and Matthew Salmons interviewed me in the second and third rounds, and at that time I remember Rich saying to me that if selected I will be working for one of the best teams in one of the best departments in one of the best company in the US! I couldn’t agree more and now that’s what I tell when people ask me where I work. From Rich, I learned to always remember to ask my customer (Users) if there is anything else I could help them with before closing our conversation! Even if it would add a few more seconds to my average handling time, this has proven valuable and makes a fulfilling experience for my users. So important for customers and customer success right, to be heard, assured, and acknowledged. ?

Matthew Salmons is a father figure to me, and his dad jokes take away all the stress during busy days of high-call volume. Matt is a great leader and humbly says his dad jokes are his small contribution to the team’s sanity. Matt gives time to listen and provides open honest feedback. I feel lucky to be in a team where there are leaders like?Matt.

Rasheeda Panniell and Cristofer Palacios are my friendly team leads. Rasheeda is my "Rafiki". Do I need to say anything more? She tops the list of my work friends. Cris teaches me to be calm, fun but focused, and always ready to give a helping hand.

Cannot end my gratitude without mentioning Kim Cheatham and Neal Sample . Kim is my WOO sister (Clifton strength finders) and a very warm coworker. She taught me the importance of always being there for one's work-family. I miss her as my team lead but happy she is only a message away.

I still remember Neal's Diwali message where he shared his own story and connection with India and its value system that he admires. I haven't got a chance to meet him in person yet but I have a picture of him from a talk he gave that speaks volumes about his ally-ship and leadership style. Leaders like him make newcomers like me feel I belong! I hope to meet with Neal sometime soon in the near future.

I am learning and growing at various levels from the many memorable interactions I have with my leaders from time to time and I am glad I can share these with everyone today as I celebrate my 1 year work anniversary as an employee (3 Years overall) at NM in my favorite month of flowering May! Thank You for reading and giving me your time. Please do share any advice you would like to give for personal and professional growth.