‘Find What Motivates You, Stay On It, and Be Patient With It’ — Tips From a Senior Director

Nam Radhakrishnan is the Senior Director of eCommerce Platforms at Peapod Digital Labs (PDL), a role that places her in charge of platforms for Ahold Delhaize USA brands (including the cart domain, checkout, payment experience, and fraud protection).

But how did she grow into such an important role — and what’s her top advice for other women looking to advance their own careers? Well, Radhakrishnan says that patience is the key.

“Find what motivates you, stay on it, and be patient with it,” advises Radhakrishnan. “Begin by making informed decisions about what you want to do and the moves you want to make, because it’s not easy to undo something.” And once you’ve found a career path you’re motivated and passionate about, Radhakrishnan says to “give it your time and be patient.” 

This patience should also be utilized in your day-to-day interactions. In fact, Radhakrishnan’s most memorable career advice is to just listen. “Listen to your team, and listen to your peers. Say less, listen more.”

Even though Radhakrishnan is already a natural listener, she says receiving this advice increased her skills. “Now I am so much more intentional in how much and how carefully I’m listening.” This intentionality has aided Radhakrishnan not only in growing her own career, but in helping others, too.

Here, Radhakrishnan gives us a glimpse into her professional life and why PDL is a great place for women who are looking to grow and find their motivation at work.

A look into Radhakrishnan’s senior director role. 

What does a position as a Senior Director of eCommerce Platforms entail? For Radhakrishnan, it currently involves helping to launch new brands onto the PRISM platform, which she tells us is a new business and enterprise initiative.

In short, Radhakrishnan spends her days aiding PDL on their path of digital transformation. “We’re taking a step back and getting the technology to the greatest stack, which doesn’t happen very often,” says Radhakrishnan. 

In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities, Radhakrishnan also emphasizes how, as a woman leader in technology, she’s constantly looking for motivation and people to reach out to and connect with. In fact, that was one of the reasons she took the time to talk with Fairygodboss! “I’m hoping that by putting myself and my story out there, people will reach out to me so we can connect with each other — because you might not know what you need or what you’re looking for until you encounter someone else’s story,” says Radhakrishnan.

Exploring the empowering culture at Peapod Digital Labs.

Radhakrishnan isn’t the only person making PDL a great place for women to work — the whole company is dedicated to supporting women. This effort expands through many things PDL does, both internally and externally. “We care about women and their growth, which means caring for women outside PDL, too,” Radhakrishnan elaborates. “For example, when we order food for a meeting, we make an effort to order from a woman-owned business.

“Internally, we look for different trainings to promote, and we try to target women and their career growth specifically,” says Radhakrishnan. For instance, those in their early career will be happy to know that PDL provides a great deal of flexibility to try new things and gain experiences they may not have had the chance to otherwise. “Even if you come to PDL with a certain skillset or career path in mind, there are people here who can help identify other talents and ways you excel,” Radhakrishnan explains. “We’re not stuck in a role because that’s the one you were hired for.” This is because PDL has the tools and support in place to really grow and develop careers.

One aspect of this support is PDL’s leadership team. “It’s exciting to work for leaders with the right team and the right vision,” says Radhakrishnan. “You get an opportunity to work with a variety of leaders because you’re partnering across the brands. That’s growth for me, because I see and listen to how they think and how they want to grow their business and strategize.”

The culture at PDL is defined by leaders who continuously listen to and act on feedback, invest in their team’s talent, and demonstrate care. It’s no wonder that women like Radhakrishnan are able to grow at the company!

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