Women in Customer Success Podcast

124 - Career Advancement Secrets: Moving Up Within the Same Company - Rebecca Wallace

• Marija Skobe-Pilley • Episode 124

Share episode

Want to know the secrets to climbing the corporate ladder without ever leaving your company? In this episode, we’re talking about the essential skills and strategies you need to master to move up the ladder and secure leadership positions - all while staying with the same company. 

My guest, Rebecca Wallace, is the Senior Director of Customer Success & Support at Workiva. She shares her incredible career journey, providing valuable advice on how to grow and succeed within the same organisation. We explore what it takes to build a strong career path and how to smoothly transition into leadership roles. 

But that's not all, you'll also learn about:

  • Building relationships with managers
  • Crucial considerations for moving up in your career
  • Rebecca’s secrets for moving up in your career
  • People leadership skills


Whether you’re aiming for a management position or eyeing a top leadership role, this episode will enable you to start working on it with confidence. Learn how to handle your career transition, build lasting relationships that support your growth, and make every move count. If this sounds like a good plan, then play this episode to be able to reach the peaks of that career path curve.


Follow Rebecca!

This episode was brought to you by Deployflow.


Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to the Women in Customer Success podcast for more inspiring stories and tips to help you advance your career in customer success.



__________________________________________________
About Women in Customer Success Podcast:

Women in Customer Success Podcast is the first women-only podcast for Customer Success professionals, where remarkable ladies of Customer Success connect, inspire and champion each other.


Follow:

Women in Customer Success

Host Marija Skobe-Pilley


NEW - Women in Customer Success Courses:

  • Thriving as a First-Time People Leader - https://womenincs.co/thriving-as-a-first-time-people-leader
  • The Revenue CSM - https://womenincs.co/the-revenue-csm



Speaker 1:

One of the biggest transitions in someone's career is a move into people, leadership and management. Even the best individual contributors have to master people leadership skills, as we all know that what got you here won't get you there. Join me in conversation with Rebecca Wallace, an executive customer success leader, as we explore moving up the ladder, progressing within leadership positions all within the same company, as Rebecca has moved up more than six times within the last decade all within the same company. So she is a living testimony that you can have an amazing career path without jumping on through different companies and organizations. Let's get into it.

Speaker 1:

Hi everyone, this is Maria Scobepile and you're listening to Women in Customer Success podcast, the first women-only podcast, where remarkable ladies of customer success share their stories and practical tools to help you succeed and make an impact. If you want to learn more about customer success, get career advice and be inspired, you're in the right place, so let's tune in. I'm super excited to welcome Rebecca Wallace to the show today. Rebecca is a Senior Director of Customer Success and Support at WorkViva, and this summer, or after summer, she's celebrating 10 years of being at WorkViva, at the same company. Rebecca, this is amazing. I'm so happy that you're here with us today. Welcome to the show.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much, maria. Yeah, very excited to be here. Thank you very much for having me. Yeah, looking forward to having a chat with you today and thanks for the nice introduction. Yeah, a decade, I can't believe it. Decade.

Speaker 1:

I think it's an amazing milestone. Congrats on this incredible achievement. I think it is really an incredible achievement and this is mostly what we want to talk about today. How do you progress in your career within the same company? What does it take? What are some of the reflection and lessons when you're looking back? So that's all what you can expect from today's episode and, Rebecca, let's just get to know you a little bit better.

Speaker 2:

Tell us where are you calling from, so I'm based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Speaker 1:

And when did you move to Amsterdam From where?

Speaker 2:

So I moved in July 2014 and I moved from Cambridge in the UK. That's where I grew up, that's where I went to school.

Speaker 1:

Oh, one of the most, most most beautiful towns in the UK. Absolutely incredible, obviously, for going to school and for the education in general. Rebecca, are you cycling? I mean you're in Amsterdam. Tell us what is happening with the traffic there.

Speaker 2:

Of course I'm cycling. I'm cycling every day, day. I love just the way of life here and how everybody is is on the bike. I'm actually probably cycling more than I am walking, and I think that's actually one of the nice similarities Cambridge, because it's also lots of cyclists there as well. So, yeah, of course, lots of cycling love it, of course, beautiful.

Speaker 1:

Now, while we are still with Cambridge and Amsterdam connection, is there anything particular that you are missing from Cambridge or from the UK in general when you're in Amsterdam, like craving some particular food, anything?

Speaker 2:

a particular food I miss. I miss my mum's roast dinners. She makes such an amazing roast dinner. I although I have managed to find a couple of restaurants here in Amsterdam that do an okay roast dinner, but it's nothing ever beats that home cooking from your mum.

Speaker 1:

Roast dinner. As a person who hasn't grew up in the UK but moved like a bit more than a decade ago, I needed to learn also what is roast dinner. Would you like to just paint a picture very quickly? For decade ago I needed to learn also what is roast dinner. Would you like to just paint a picture very quickly for the listeners, especially the ones outside of the UK? What do we mean by a roast?

Speaker 2:

dinner. Sure, yeah, that's a great point for your international audience, of course. So in the UK it's very typical, very common, usually on a Sunday, where as a family, family, you all sit down together and you have a roast dinner. So usually that's centered around some kind of meat, whether it's a roast chicken or roast beef or roast pork, and then you'll have all the the sides with it. So roast potatoes, vegetables, gravy, a Yorkshire pudding which is like definitely Yorkshire pudding. The best part, it's delicious. So, yeah, that's, uh, that's something that's very comforting and I'd love to love to have beautiful.

Speaker 1:

And the last question for it um, and until we just going to the lunchtime, I guess what if some of the highlights with food in amsterdam or you know, guilty pleasure, something that you would cycle maybe extra mile to get to?

Speaker 2:

yes. So I have to say the Dutch definitely have a sweet tooth. There's some good pastries and pancakes in the city. I'm particularly partial to something called poffertjes, which are like the mini Dutch pancakes, and you had them with icing, sugar and butter and it's so delicious, it's like a guilty pleasure. And if you want to find some really good offager, I would say go to the Albert Kuyp market in De Pijp in Amsterdam. Really really good.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for the recommendation. Now, here we go. Now you have it. You need to check it out. Let's talk about your career. Can you give us a quick overview of how did you even find yourself in?

Speaker 2:

tech in the world of customer success. Yeah, sure, happy to. So, I guess, taking a step back to when I graduated. So I studied psychology at university. I didn't go to university in Cambridge, I went to Sheffield Hallam Fantastic school and other ones. Yeah, I had a wonderful time there. But I graduated not long after the financial economic crisis that happened in Europe and the UK 2008, 2009.

Speaker 2:

It wasn't the best time for graduates to try and find a job. I actually moved back home, moved back in with my family, took some time to figure out what I wanted to do. What I did know is that I really always just love helping people and I like to be around people. So I was looking for roles that were kind of close to home, where I could really learn some skills, and I found a support role at a company in the UK called Wildpay, which is a payments processing company. So I started them on their e-com team and learning the platform, learning about payments, but it's very much like a customer service support type of role. But it was a great entry into the business and from there I progressed into the corporate support team, which, in looking back now it's more like a what we know today is a customer success role, but it wasn't really known as customer success back then. It was a bit more like account management, account support, um and moved into that team working with some of the high profile customers that we had across the uk and europe and was there for about three years or so and then was looking for a change.

Speaker 2:

Actually, through a previous relationship with my boyfriend, he had the opportunity to relocate to the Netherlands, so took quite a big risk to to quit a job and and move to a new country, which definitely takes takes some courage. But I had the support from from my family and my friends and you know like, why not like take the risk and what's the worst that could happen? I said to my dad I can move back home with you if it doesn't work out. So, yeah, so then I found myself, uh, in Amsterdam and without a job and I was looking for something within same sort of role within customer service, customer success and I actually found where Kiva the company where I am now and where I've been for 10 years through a recruitment agency that we used to work with that specialized in expat recruitment they were called Undouchables and I saw the job post-it for the CSM at Wekiwa and I was like, wow, this has my name written all over it. This sounds really exciting, I think I can do. Has my name written all over it? This sounds really exciting. I think you know I can do this, I think I can do this.

Speaker 2:

Well, and I went in for the interview, met the team. I hadn't heard of Wekiwa. It's an American company, wasn't that well known outside the US, but there is a cloud-based reporting platform so our customers are using it for financial, non-financial reporting, statutory reporting, annual reports but initially it was really created just for SEC filing. So that's the majority of the customers and the majority of the customer base when I joined were all out of the US, so really we were expanding in Europe. So I was really joining at the time where it's like a startup, I think probably employee number 15 outside of the US.

Speaker 2:

So it really was a very exciting time where we were really starting from scratch.

Speaker 2:

Essentially it's very much like a startup mode, startup mentality, but in a very great position that we had an established business in the US already and got the opportunity to go to the US for the first time.

Speaker 2:

We're headquartered in Ames, iowa, so it was great to go there and see the headquarters, meet some of the team and all about the platform, the technology and I was just blown away with the team in general, just the focus on the customer, the fact that it's a fast paced environment, always looking to improve the experience for the customers, taking on board their feedback. So, yeah, I had the opportunity to really be one of the original CSMs for Ikeva in Europe and just had the opportunity to grow with the company from there and then in 2017, moved into a team manager role and then in 2017, moved into a team manager role. That's my first exposure to really management and leadership and learned a lot, had some great opportunities there and really progressed up the career ladder from there into director and then more recently, over the last couple of years, also learning more about our support team and got the opportunity to also lead for support team for Wai Keebra as well, which has been also a fantastic learning opportunity and really enjoying it.

Speaker 1:

And it's been just amazing to see the growth of the company and the team during that time. It's just a fascinating journey, very much full of adventures for even starting you out in tech and starting you with a company and then seeing everything that you have accomplished so far. So let's start to unpack a bit more. I would really like your advice today on growing within the same company, because there is obvious you know current not only current markets in the last many years. There are so many talks about how you can progress really well only when you go outside of your company, how you can get a better salary only if you go outside.

Speaker 1:

In SaaS in particular, I think that like a typical span, especially for customer success, is like 18 to 24 months. Everything above is almost seen as oh, why are you for so long within the company? As oh, why are you for so long within the company? And yet here you are providing us like such an amazing testament and evidence of a very successful career within one company where you are continuously progressing within different roles. So maybe let's start to unpack the first major transitions.

Speaker 1:

I know there are many of the listeners are CSMs thinking of some of the next steps in their careers and I believe one of the maybe biggest transitions in somebody's career is transition from an individual contributor in whatever role that is, to like management. Simply because there are so many differences there, would you like to unpack that for us, like what do you remember from your journey from being a really CSM to getting into team management and then you know senior management? What are the things that you maybe didn't know and you wish like you learned later on, so now you wish you have known, so you would tell the CSM, like what are those major differences between these two types of roles?

Speaker 2:

Sure, yeah, it's a great question and a big topic. I think we could probably talk for hours on this, but it's such a learning curve. I think the first thing is you have to be so open-minded just to wanting to learn, to improve and to grow. And I think specifically to answer your question about what maybe I didn't know then, that I know now I didn't realize at the time is is striving for progress, not perfection. So I think that was something that earlier on in my yeah, it can slow you down, because I think a lot of us like we want to do our absolute best and we'll strive for perfection, but what you can find is it maybe slows you down or you then maybe aren't so open to taking some new risks or trying some new things. But actually that is.

Speaker 2:

You probably heard people say well, that's when magic happens, when you're a bit more outside of your comfort zone, and there were definitely times that I had some anxiety or felt scared, but I thought, well, these are the moments I'm really going to learn and feel challenged and going to grow. Felt scared, but I felt like these are the moments I'm really going to learn and feel challenged and going to grow, so that would be some advice I would give to those that are aspiring leaders or actually anywhere in your career. If you want to continue, even down the individual contributor path, if you're being challenged and you're learning, then you're growing and you're developing more skills, you're gaining more experience. So I would say, be open to new opportunities and taking risks. And I think a big learning as well is don't be afraid to make mistakes, because often that's where the biggest learnings come from from failure and being able to reflect on it. And you know, sometimes we can be very proud and not wanting to make mistakes, but actually we want to get more comfortable with that. And it's certainly the culture I am very grateful for that we have at Wekiva that you know they're very open to people trying new things and it's OK to make mistakes because that's what you really learn and you grow. So having that supportive environment I do think is key and I certainly feel very grateful for the opportunities I've had here at Wreckiever.

Speaker 2:

I think part of the reason for the success is actually having an environment where you feel like you can flourish and also not underestimating the value of having a great support network and building great relationships internally.

Speaker 2:

That's also key as well, I think. As an individual contributor, obviously, you're focused on your own goals and your KPIs, but encouraging those that are aspiring to grow in their career to think broader, think wider, connect with different people, think about the impact of the work that you're doing and how that can actually impact other teams, and then thinking about those combined goals that you're working on together. So it takes some time, I think, to develop that perspective, but I think that's so helpful and so powerful. For you to be successful and to grow in your career is actually learning about all the other different teams and different departments and different roles and what they do, and finding commonality and alignment, and that you're trying to get behind one common goal. Whether that's to grow revenue or prevent churn, everybody has their own part to play and I think it's really important that we can recognize those things and support each other to be successful, to win as a team and it's not all about your own success, right, it's being part of something bigger and something greater.

Speaker 1:

Today's episode is brought to you by DeployFlow, your go-to team for cloud transformation, deployment services and managed support. Are you a US-based company looking to open European offices and operations? Our teams of experts are strategically located in the UK and Central Europe, catering to US companies seeking top-tier application support across Europe. Deployflow specializes in collaborating with scale-ups, ensuring seamless operations and optimal application performance. If you're about to open European offices and operations, partner with DeployFlow and have a peace of mind. Book a call and find out more about top-tier managed IT support services. Deployflowco.

Speaker 1:

Shout out to our partner, guider, the leading mentoring, peer learning and upskilling platform. Women in Customer Success teamed up with Guider to deliver all year-round mentoring programs for our new Power Up Tribe members. Now picture this a dedicated platform where you choose your mentoring goals and skills that you want to develop. You choose your mentoring goals and skills that you want to develop, then you browse through mentors' profiles and you can choose amongst hundreds of remarkable women who are mentors. When you choose your mentor based on their skills or expertise and experience, there's a match and you can schedule calls directly on the platform, write session notes, capture resources and monitor your own progress and goals all in one place. So isn't that great. And also, you will find resources on how to prepare yourself for mentoring sessions, what are the benefits of being a mentor, how to approach your mentoring relationship as a mentee or how to become a first-time mentor, and so much more. So don't leave your career to chance. Work with experts who will help you develop the skills and mindset needed to thrive in your career. Join our power-up tribe to access our flagship mentoring program with Guider. Find the link in the show notes.

Speaker 1:

I love how you're talking a lot about different types of learnings and also really nurturing your support network, which is incredibly important for learning and for progression. I wonder what are those types of learning that you're thinking about and what really works for you, because I really love how you already said that you do need to learn from mistakes, and you definitely learn from the mistakes. You're learning from other departments, especially in C, is definitely just connecting with other departments and learning about how they do work is almost going through a mini MBA, because you just get the exposure for every single part of the business. So we have mistakes. We have other departments.

Speaker 1:

You also mentioned just like new opportunities. Take on new projects. Take on the new opportunities, which I really like, because learning is not only the webinars and the courses. What are maybe other types of learnings that you would really recommend to, especially somebody younger, one in their career paths, because these ones are already incredible sources of learning that are maybe not always seen as conventional. So thank you so much for mentioning them, because it's incredibly important for people to understand all of those situations are really learning and that can help a lot. What works for you when it comes to learning?

Speaker 2:

I think one thing that, reflecting back and maybe I didn't have such a clarity on earlier on in my career here is a really true understanding of, like, the mission or what we're trying to achieve. And I think that's also something that I would really encourage anyone who feels like they're missing some sort of clarity in their purpose or their role, like why are you doing what you are doing? Like? What's actually the reason for you heading up every day, logging onto your computer or picking up the phone or whatever it is that you do? Why are you doing that? So what is your purpose, what is the mission? Because I think without having that, that resonating with you or connecting to that, it's quite difficult to then drive forward and be proactive and be successful. You're really missing something and I think it goes down to your core, almost like your own purpose and true values, and I know that my team, you know they're highly engaged and they really understand what are we trying to achieve? Why are we doing what we are doing? Like? What is the bigger picture here? So I would encourage those that aren't sure, like ask questions, like if you don't have the clarity, please just reach out, speak to a manager, a peer, a more senior team member. If something doesn't make sense, you shouldn't be ashamed to speak up and ask, because I can guarantee you there's bound to be other people feeling the same way, and I think one thing that all companies can do is continue to provide that clarity on the mission, on the purpose, also at the team level. Right, what are we all working together? How do we want to work together? How do we to achieve our goals like what, what are we really doing every day? And if you're doing something that you feel like is not adding value or isn't serving a purpose, question those things, because is that really where your time should be spent? Is that really going to be the things that make the biggest impact for your company, your team, team and also your own career?

Speaker 2:

So I also think that's often one of those things that's really challenging as you go up the career ladder, especially moving from an individual contributor to a manager, I think earlier on, as a manager, you feel like you want to save the day and try and do everything, but actually you need to understand what are the things that you can delegate, and it's a challenge for a new manager to be able to identify those things, but also, I think what helped me get more comfortable with this or better at this, especially I realized can't do this all on my own like I need to. I need to delegate. But also it's giving opportunity to others to have exposure to new initiatives or projects and it helps them to develop and build new skills, have more visibility internally, have more exposure and actually that's really your responsibility as a leader, as a manager, to develop other managers and leaders. That's really deep down at the core. What I really feel like is important there and it's something I'm still working on, I'm still improving, I'm still learning every day on that. And I think something that's also been great is because I've been at Wakeva for so long for 10 years and we really also love developing talent internally and seeing those develop their careers here.

Speaker 2:

But sometimes there is a need to bring in a fresh perspective and we've also hired some great people internally into individual contributor roles, into other leadership roles, because it brings a fresh perspective and I could see where, maybe, looking at my team, where are the strengths.

Speaker 2:

I could see where, maybe, looking at my team, where are the strengths, where do we have an opportunity to further build the team and bringing in that talent externally. I think it has also been a bit of our secret sauce is like a bit of both. You need to have both. You need to have those growing and developing internally, but also, as we are scaling so much as a company, really in high growth, growth mode, we've been creating new roles and and even the role of customer success really evolved over the last 10 years and I've seen a lot yeah, we've seen a lot. So bringing in others that have been through different journeys has also been really, really helpful and and really powerful and, I think, just helped strengthen us as a team so, as you've been with the company for around 10 years and this is your sixth role, I guess within the company it's, on average, less than two years.

Speaker 1:

Every 18 months or so you've been moving up. So what have been some of your? I'm not even saying like recipes, but how did you go around progression and moving up? Did you ask for, you know, new responsibilities and then new opportunities appear? Did the company simply open a new position and said, oh, rebecca, would be wonderful, for that Might have been a combination, but from somebody who might be, you know, a CSM at the bottom and thinking about their career, like, what are those things to pay attention to and to really be aware of when you are about to have conversations about moving up and when you recognize the opportunity, like, how did it work for you?

Speaker 2:

So I had never actually aspired originally to move into leadership or management. I think in my role as a CSM I had some really big strategic accounts. I was taking on more responsibility. I was. I was really thriving, I was loving it. I was spending a lot of time also on site with customers, building relationships also with some quite senior stakeholders and I think their feedback was getting back to other leaders internally at Wakeba. So they were always advocating. It's an amazing place to be in the fact that my customers were advocating for me to leaders that were at Wakeba.

Speaker 2:

But the opportunity arose initially because my manager got promoted into a more senior role. So then there was naturally an opening for a manager of customer success in Europe and he had said to me have you considered this? Because I think you would be great, and I felt really flattered. Also, my initial reaction was like, are you sure, is this something that I can do? And oh, you know that's classic imposter syndrome and I've really had to work on my confidence. That's one thing also I've built and still working on to this day. But I think without him really advocating for me, I probably wouldn't have had the confidence to apply for that role, go through the interview process and I think I also thought you know what I've been in my role as a CSM for nearly three years.

Speaker 2:

By that point I was starting to think about what's next for me and I knew I loved Wekiva and I really enjoyed working there and I was just excited about where we were going as a business. So I knew like that's where I wanted to be, but and I love customer success I couldn't imagine doing anything else. But I think even at that time we didn't even have like senior CSMs in Europe and I hadn't really, to be honest, given a huge amount of consideration to what's next. I think I was still just riding the wave in terms of, like new company, it's growing. I'm still learning a lot every day and feeling challenged. I'm also still settling into a new country and really enjoying that part of my life as well.

Speaker 2:

And, yeah, so the opportunity just came around organically just because we were growing as a business and there was a need to backfill for a manager and unfortunately, I applied and I was successful. And as I was going through the process, I realized how much actually I really did want it when you really start internalizing more of that. So that's really how I got into it. And fortunately, not long after that, the leaders within Workiva. They did a team manager summit where they brought all of the customer success team managers together. So great timing for me because I could meet my new peers and network with them. They were all based in the US. We all came together and we had some training, some leadership development. We were talking about how we were going to grow the team and that was also just a great entry into that role and I think that also helped give me a good foundation to build from just having also that initial training, onboarding and building my network so that we could also all support and help each other.

Speaker 1:

That's really wonderful to hear how you felt supported, but how you also didn't feel initially that you had the confidence.

Speaker 1:

But then, like, your confidence is something that you constantly build. So I'm really glad you stepped into that role and then, once you were already in team management, you changed again, like almost every year, and so you were on another level, and then on another level, and then getting more and more responsibilities, on another level, and then on another level, and then getting more and more responsibilities. How was that happening Again, were you able to recognize some of the opportunities and it all organically happened as business was growing or did you become strategic about some of the moves? I really wonder, because you definitely have progressed a lot and it seems to be such an enjoyable journey within the same company that you wanted to be part of. But for that you know, it doesn't happen overnight for people you also have to do some part of the work for it, to keep yourself in the company, to keep yourself passionate about it. So I wonder what was some of your secrets for it?

Speaker 2:

The first thing that came to my mind when you asked me that was well, some of it is right place, right time. I do feel very grateful for that. But also you're right grabbing the opportunities that you have and always building that path yourself. And I think, due to the nature of where we were and how we've been growing as a business, I did get the opportunity to work quite closely with our senior leadership team here in Europe so directly with the general manager, vp of sales, vp of marketing and learning from these individuals was just so powerful it really opened my eyes that they would bring me into weekly meetings, they would bring me into business reviews. So I got a much deeper understanding of the business and actually, oh, how can my team make a bigger impact and bigger contribution? What do I need to be thinking about based on this information that they're sharing? Key markets or territories that we're expanding into? How do we drive more efficiency, productivity, how do we scale? They were.

Speaker 2:

I was just being asked some very good questions which I'd never had exposure to or really thought about before, and I think a lot of that is creating that time to think.

Speaker 2:

But it's also about having a seat at the table and being brought into those conversations so that you have the exposure and so that you can learn.

Speaker 2:

So I really felt like it was a crash course in business and how they run the business and I learned so much from those leaders and I'm truly grateful, truly grateful for that and not just the leaders in Europe.

Speaker 2:

I think around that time, maybe a year after I was promoted into a manager, we hired externally our new VP of customer success and she was also just an incredible leader, someone very inspiring that I could learn from, who's now actually our chief customer officer at Wakeva. So she's had an incredible career and someone that you know Wakeva understands how important customers are and the role that we have in customer success and really advocating and championing that as a key part of the business to help contribute to the success. So I honestly feel like if I hadn't had such great role, models or leaders that I could learn from and you brought me into those meetings. So that really is what helped me develop that strategic thinking and strategic mindset and, yeah, that's just been probably the most important thing and where I've, where I've really had the opportunity to learn the most, is being brought into those situations, into those meetings and challenging my way of thinking.

Speaker 1:

Wonderful and getting such a, as you said, strategic perspective that you definitely don't have the opportunity to develop when you're in individual contributor role. To develop when you're in individual contributor role. One thing that I wanted to ask you also is relationship between you and the managers, or every individual and their managers, because no career progressions happens with like that good dynamic and balance between you know, no career progression happens without the input of your managers. So how were you approaching your managing up and the relationship with your managers throughout your career path?

Speaker 2:

I think just firstly, you need to build trust with them. So building relationship before anything else is really just taking the time to get to know each other. Build that trust and they can see things maybe in you that you don't see yourself right. So what do they see as your strengths and where they feel like you could elevate yourself further? And it's definitely been a journey at Wakeva in terms of our approach to career development. So I think even when I joined, no one had a development plan. No one had very clear well, at least in my team at the time very clear goals or KPIs, and I think we've really been on a journey just to define more of that and also how we assess performance and setting clear expectations of what it means to be successful in your role and what are the key skills that you need to work on if you do want to move into the next role, next opportunity or what's going to set you up for success, what are some things that you want to have more exposure to or learn more about. So I just think I've had many different managers here since I've been at Wakeba, which has also been great because I've learned something from all of them. They've all been very different, I have to say now it's been great to have some stability in that and then have the opportunity to work very closely with the same leader for some time, because you really do get to know each other even better.

Speaker 2:

But I think it's just about talking about what you enjoy, what are you passionate about, what do you want to be able to do more of? And I know there's always that classic question question where do you see yourself in five years? It doesn't have to be that far in the distance, but I do think it helps to have those conversations. Well, are you going to be happy doing what you're doing in six months? If it's the same role? What else do you want to do? How do you want to leverage your, your strengths even further? Because we know that if, if individuals are playing to their, they'll be more successful in their role and they'll be more engaged as well. So we have weekly one-on-ones where we sit down and I'll bring topics I want to discuss. My manager will bring topics, and it looks a little bit different with every leader depending on the rhythm, the cadence of what works for them.

Speaker 2:

But I would say at least once or twice a quarter having a conversation that's really dedicated to your development, I think is really, really powerful and whether that you time that with a quarterly review and not just having one-on-ones as just like a check-in to-do list. They shouldn't be used in that way. It should also be about the other future and your development and how they can help you. And also reflecting back.

Speaker 2:

I think earlier on in my career maybe I was maybe a bit shy or didn't feel like I had the confidence to ask some of those questions or ask for help. But there's more of a conversation Satni around career development and everybody on the team now has a career development plan that they're working on. So you have that clarity with your manager on where you want to go and and thinking about the core competencies and skills that you would need to be successful and they can help you with that and whether that's through finding new experience or exposure, whether it's more formal learning or training, or whether it's having an opportunity to work with a mentor or a coach or something like that. So your development, you know it's like a holistic view of what it means to have a development plan and supporting you to that next stage of your growth. It's not just about just reading and studying. It's much more than that. So having more of a holistic approach to career development and having those regular career development conversations I would really encourage people to do on a regular basis.

Speaker 1:

Because there is a responsibility on people as well to understand a bit their strengths and what they want. What are their aspirations. As you said, when people play on their strength, they are always much more successful and very often somebody can just recognize some of the strength based on the performance. But it's only you as an individual who really know what interests you and what would you like to do. So try not to be shy. Even if you're shy at the beginning, as you were, rebecca, that's okay. But you know have a think about it that this is really on to you. Thank you so much for giving us such a nice insight into your amazing career. As we are wrapping up, I give you two questions to choose from, and it's all related to careers, as that's what we're talking about today. So either you can share a best career advice that you have ever received from somebody else, or you could tell us your own career advice that always worked for you and that you would like our listeners to remember.

Speaker 2:

Best career advice? Yeah, no pressure to end this on a high Wow. So the best career advice I think I've touched on this a little bit already during our conversation and it's just don't be put yourself out there, don't be afraid to make mistakes, try new things, you know, build that courage. I would just grasp every opportunity as a learning experience and, yeah, that's going to be something that you take with you whatever step that you go, and it helps you to build that network, build that visibility, and, yeah, I would just take it from there. Really, I think that's quite a simple one, but an effective one, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

Grasp your opportunities. I love that. Thank you, Rebecca, so much for being with us today and for sharing your story.

Speaker 2:

It was my pleasure. Thank you so much for inviting me. I really enjoyed the conversation today.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening. Next week new episode, Subscribe to the podcast and connect with me on LinkedIn so you're up to date with all the new episodes and the content I'm curating for you. Have a great day and talk to you soon.