Experiencing the extraordinary

On mornings I happen to wake up before the sun rises, I often appreciate the stillness of my life. A pretty steady career in healthcare (now stretching nearly fifteen years) welcomes the levity that a pre-dawn stretch can provide, both physically and mentally.

Fortune seems to have shined on me for most of my professional career by allowing me to politely and rationally adjust to a set of ever-changing circumstances, in service of my co-workers, friends, family, and company. I have been grateful to use my experiences to my advantage, to better plan for a bright future.

Joining Medtronic in the fall of 2019 was the culmination of a career goal I had had since beginning the journey into health in 2006. Their core values were aligned comfortably with the kind of difference I wanted to make, and the team I was joining was dynamic, positive, and inspiring. Like many other companies I had been a part of, the team I joined saw my true talents and future potential for harmony.

Medtronic's mission has inspired many of its' employees, patients, caregivers, and customers on a journey to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. This looks and sounds different to everyone touched by the mission; while experiential, there is a baseline set of values that connected me instantly to my role on the team and my place within the company.

However, six months after I began at Medtronic, a global health crisis impacted the well-being of our world, with many other complex social and economic factors reverberating as a result. Fundamentally, I recognized that the objectives of our company's work would not change: I still felt the overwhelming call to contribute positively and move our best work forward. Throughout this time, I was grateful to be acknowledged by co-workers for my dedication and expertise, transitioning to a new support role within the team in early 2021 and given a tabula rasa by my leaders to help build our team's processes from scratch.

In the eighteen months since I've joined this team, I have been immensely lucky to have helped to engineer and expand our team's capabilities, creating helpful tools and processes, and reinforcing best practices related to governance, privacy, and satisfaction. I feel extremely grateful to be surrounded by such talent, and have tried to build a foundation of belonging and inclusivity on the team, while staying positive and approachable.

Perhaps someday I will rise to the ambition of my experience and share more about what has made me feel personally successful throughout my professional development. But fundamentally, I believe that in order to advocate for others, you have to be willing to advocate for yourself. You have to be willing to fail (e.g. "success training") to understand the full picture. You have to address concerning or problematic areas in a straightforward, unbiased manner. Selflessness should be in the spirit of generosity, not sacrifice - what remains when the meetings are over and the computer is powered off is with you for every sunrise, for every workday.

These are the reasons why I feel I have been successful at Medtronic - the mountain you have to climb looks different every morning, but you can't wait to join your team at the top.

Last month, I traveled to Lake Tahoe and Grass Valley, California for a vacation. I hadn't spent extended time in California since moving to Minnesota, but I was glad to make time to visit a part of the state I hadn't explored before, and to surprise my family by attending my cousin's wedding, unannounced. The peace and serenity of my trip was governed by a well-planned undercurrent. A turn-by-turn copy of the directions were tucked away in my bag, and I had even brought my laptop in the event I was could find time to work remotely.

The mornings felt different while I was on vacation - perhaps it was the time zone change, or maybe it was a real gratitude for my fortune. The time spent exploring the city proceeded without incident, without catastrophe. I found it to be a balm for the soul. It felt good to reconnect with my family - but even better to connect with myself.

The decision to leave my current company has not been an easy one, but the overwhelming support from my co-workers has been immeasurable. So much gratitude and kindness has been shared, and it all harkens back to my decision to join Medtronic nearly three years ago.

Balancing the ideals of selflessness with the capability to make a difference sometimes means looking at your career path through a different facet. The next part of my transformation will involve enmeshing my career experience as a project/process manager with the fundamentals of design thinking, to deliver, delight, and disrupt in the best ways possible. This is not a betrayal of my career values, and it will not require significant adjustment or alteration of my ideals. I believe that when an opportunity presents itself, you must be willing to rise to meet its' potential, and to let your enthusiasm and energy propel you forward into the future. That is why I'm so excited to be joining Veranex, as an Associate Project Manager in Research & Strategy.

Confidence, kindness, and compassion are often shelved in favor of results and rigidity to a standard set of tools or philosophies. But I've found that project management is symbolically a journeyperson's role, requiring a kind of polyconsciousness to help enable strategy for different roles and skills, and to create feed-forward improvements for better reach and project scalability. And although I don't know which tools will be called upon most frequently for future projects, I do know the tools of any healthcare organization need to be wholly fulfilling and usable. They must complement the high-performing, high-functioning staff, and needs to supplement the effective planning, execution and validation of the work done.

My journey continues forward, and I'm grateful for another sunrise, another moment of calm before the energy that accompanies a productive workday. For me, caring for others in healthcare means a willingness to share the experiences that make our lives worthwhile.