Take the risk and level-up your career: a Fearless Female's Advice

“The biggest risk in my career was also the biggest game changer.” Sabrina Woodworth, author of the upcoming book “Work Lessons 101 – What they Don’t Teach in School” has had several revolutionary moments in her career. It all started with her relocation from Canada to the Gobi Desert, in Mongolia, to moving to her Canadian Corporate Headquarters, in Calgary. Here, she shares with us critical life lessons from the many different stages in our careers: from building relationships, pushing away personal bias, to remaining true to who you are.

In celebration of Women’s History month, and to spread some positivity, I am sharing #FearlessFemale stories each week on LinkedIn. Read on to be introduced to a female who will inspire you!

NB: What better way to connect than via LinkedIn! Sabrina and I met through this platform, and we connected as two females seeking to promote Women in Industry. Sabrina’s book, “Work Lessons 101 – What they Don’t Teach in School” is an upcoming how-to corporate survival handbook, based largely on lessons learned while leading an engineering project as a young female in Mongolia while being promoted through the corporate ranks.

Q: What was your career journey?

A: I’m a graduate from U. B.C. in Materials Engineering. I originally wanted to enter into mechanical engineering, but I didn’t have the grades, which was a big blessing in disguise, because I loved being a metallurgist! I then pursued a federal co-op position with PWGSC and at times worked with our federal cabinet and Prime Minister’s teams. Within four months into my co-op term, there was a sponsorship scandal that shook Canada’s political system. While my original plan was to complete my engineering degree, enter into law school, and pursue a career in politics, that co-op experience opened up my eyes to the “dirty laundry” side of politics. I walked away from this path and decided to pursue a career in engineering. Through one of my professors, I was able to secure an interview, and began my career journey as a process engineer in the mining industry. 

Q: What big risk have you taken in your career?

A:  About five years into my career I got an offer to go overseas to work in Mongolia. I recognized that if I was going to be a strong process engineer, I needed site experience and see a project come to life. After remaining persistent about this idea for three years, I was given the opportunity to relocate to Mongolia and work in the Gobi Desert.

The mining industry is primarily male dominated; to go to an international site as a young female is very rare. My advice to young women, is to be persistent about what they want in their careers, put a plan together and go after it. My relocation did require extra security and special living conditions in Mongolia; so it’s not that companies don’t want to send females abroad, sometimes it’s about your safety.

The biggest risk in my career was also the biggest game changer: everything went wrong at one point, from shipments not coming in on time, to needing a translator with my team, understanding cultural norms etc. Communication and the ability to lead are universal languages, which are skills always needed in business. When you’re in an environment that forces you to develop those skills, you develop them a lot quicker! I was working 16 hour days, culminating over 11 weeks straight of working, every day, to finish the project on time. When I returned to Canada, I leveled up in my career big time, due to this experience and my ability to lead a team of over 60 nationals.  

The biggest risk in my career was also the biggest game changer

This experience led me to realize that I no longer wanted to be an engineer, but instead I wanted to seek out a leadership role. Based on the network I made in Mongolia, I was able to move to a new business development role in oil and gas, which took me to my Canadian Corporate Headquarters, in Calgary.

This Business Development role was my second career game-changer. Being in a sales-type role in a Fortune 500 company, you meet everyone who is anyone: from presidents to CEOs to board members, you gain exposure to that senior network of influencers and decision makers. This role exposed me to every career path my company could offer. I chose Project Management, so I could hone-in and develop my leadership experience, while mentoring younger employees daily. This is where I found my “home” and where I am now. I have the opportunity to influence clients, as it’s far more hands on, and allows for more freedom to control your own destiny. I enjoy mentoring and developing talent and plan on moving into Talent Development in the future.

Looking back, I’m thrilled that I took the risk of working in Mongolia; not only did a good amount of content from my upcoming book come from this experience, but it taught me critical leadership lessons that completely altered my career trajectory.

Q: What’s a piece of advice you’d like to share?

A: My advice is always to make a connection while being authentic.

Strong relationships are built on trust and respect. To be able to start building a trusting relationship, which in turn will assist in building your network, you must first make an impactful connection with people. Part of making a connection is finding common ground between you and the other person such as career paths, values, priorities, interests, etc.

During my time in Mongolia, I learned to truly push away my own personal bias and understand the local culture. I spent a lot of time with people, with no agenda of my own, to understand who they were. One memory of that time is when I connected with a younger colleague (who worked in permits), who had recently become engaged to his girlfriend, but needed advice to gain his girlfriend’s father’s blessing. We spoke a lot about this, I reassured him, we formed a strong bond and eventually became friends. Six months later, our permits being approved by the Mongolian Government regarding our operating Fire Water System were continuously late, which we critically needed to ensure we remained on schedule. Without even asking, this young colleague went out of his way to secure these timely permits and got them to us. Because of this relationship, and my strong network at site, we got approval for operations, and I was seen as a strong, but humble, leader.

All of this taught me to be authentic when building relationships; be true to who you are. At times, you may need to curb your personality a little, depending on the audience and culture, just don’t fake who you are. If you’re faking it, this will eventually turn into a full-time job, this time could be better spent developing skills and building strong relationships.

Finally, if you stand behind something and have a strong informed opinion, there will always be people who won’t like you. Learn to work with them, but also learn what you aren’t willing to compromise on. Your core values and the authentic you, should never be compromised.

Q: What’s your definition of a Fearless Female?

A: A Fearless Female is someone that can find motivation on their darkest day, someone who has the courage to push through it. Discipline is one thing, but beyond that, you have to push through any lack of motivation. The women I look up to don’t let life stand in the way of what needs to be done.  

Q: Who is your favorite Fearless Female?

A: I’m not one to look up to celebrities, but I would name Eleanor Roosevelt, because she was a strong woman who had a huge influence in her husband’s presidency during a time where women had no voice. It’s because of women like her, who helped pave the way for the women of today, that we have greater opportunities. Rosa Parks and Queen Elizabeth II are two of my honorable mentions. Before her time as queen, Princess Elizabeth was a mechanic during World War II and knows how to step up and get her hands dirty when she needs to. Prince Philip, who had to step down from his role and career path to marry her, is a strong partner who supports her role. It shows strength on both of their parts to support one another in the unique way.

Who is a #fearlessfemale in your network? Give them a shout-out below and remind them how they inspire you!

#womeninbusiness #inspiration #womenshistory #networking #authenticity #womeninengineering #worklessons101