No shifting without sifting

I started at Accelity with a very entry level title. I came to Jackie with eight months of marketing experience and four years of sales experience in one of her target industries. I wasn't a marketing extraordinaire by any means.

What I love to highlight in my early time here, however, is that Jackie saw potential in me right away. And after two months of being at Accelity, she—unprompted—gave me a raise and a title change. She saw my worth, and she rewarded it.

That's hugely impactful as a young professional and a woman... and recognizing and rewarding talent is a core tenet I still stand by and do my best to uphold today.

Was I ready to be a manager when I transitioned into this title? Hmmm... haha. I think yes and no. I had the skills of a strong individual contributor, and I do have natural leadership tendencies, AND I had a lot to learn.

Luckily Accelity invested in me and sent me to the Accelerate Institute for new managers/high-potential employees. From there, I started seeing a management style take shape and come through.

I wasn't perfect, and yet I was able to support Accelity's growth and our small team to succeed.

I also learned a TON about hiring at this time; we now adopt the mantra: hire slow, fire fast.

As one of my former bosses used to say, all the learning I did in this role was like "drinking water from a firehose!"

This role was really a turning point role for me.

It's during this role I learned my strengths: organization, empathy, business operations, management. I also learned my weaknesses: day-to-day internal marketing, big-picture thinking, giving and receiving feedback.

That's quite a list to improve upon! And through some painful conversations and work, I did.

Knowing those things and being receptive to the idea that I had an opportunity to improve and be a better version of me helped me to my next shift.

Some might call this role HR+. I'd call this role seeking, finding and caring for the heart of Accelity.

I loved this role (and still do keep much of it within my responsibilities!). It gave me the opportunity to really connect with and understand our team.

It's during this role that I also found my strategic business voice. I learned how to walk the line between the big picture and day-to-day and understand the impact each area of the business has on the greater whole.

Doing the inner work of balancing vision with implementation set me up for great success to make my most recent shift.

If we were on a map, it would say, "We are here!"

And on that map, it could show you all the places I've been. What an incredible and privileged journey I have had.

The great gift I have been given is that I'm also the creator of my own map—each Accelity employee is. We are constantly sifting to understand what we enjoy, where we need help, and how we can fill in the gaps with great teammates along the way.

As President at Accelity, I feel a profound responsibility to this team to help them all become cartographers of their careers.

As a Partner/Co-Owner, I feel a strong responsibility to ensure they have the resources and support to make that possible.

My journey may not be typical; it's been a pleasure nonetheless!