Embracing constant change and innovation!

Embracing constant change and innovation!

I know the market is tough out there and even great jobs feel less secure with the pace and unpredictability of change these days, so I'd like to share a positive experience I'm having in hopes it sparks some creativity and bravery in others, or at the very least, some hope.

In my current role I work with many different departments and have been noticed by a leader of our retail department who expressed an interest in having me on one of his teams. I told him I was open to it and wanted to learn more. I really love my role, and although there is limited movement from here, I'm hesitant to abandon a role with broad reach for something so focused. Since then, and with what I know from my experience in my role for the last year, I've learned more about the department and realized he was opening this role to fix a problem that could be fixed with upskilling a few employees and streamlining their processes.

So I pitched him. With my own bosses consent and input, I put together a deck proposing I move into a temporary role that splits my time between my current role and a project dedicated to solving this specific challenge. I gave him an outline of what approach I would take in this role and what results he could expect from the work. I don't have everything figured out, but I have a good and clear direction. I was able to showcase a greater value I could bring to his team.

And he loved it! My boss loves it and is supportive and even the CEO is impressed and supports it. We are moving forward with fleshing out the details so that I can step into the dual role, which will be a promotion, in the beginning of the year. When I take a moment to reflect, I'm thrilled that this is all happening expecially considering I've been with the company only a year and a half, 20 weeks of which I was out on (paid) maternity leave.

An entrepreneur mindset is going to be very valuable in an unstable market. Not just to your employer, but to you. If you can talk to leaders like clients, understand their challenges, offer a solution and showcase your value, you can create paths for yourself.

I recognize I'm fortunate my own boss is so supportive and my CEO is creating a culture that values talent and innovation and that this company clearly supports women and working mothers. But I wanted to share because it goes to show that there are positive things happening in the workspace too (among the many bad experiences) and if you don't see a path for yourself, maybe you can create it!