Investing in Your Team

Looking back, is there anything you know now that you wish you had known in your 20s that would have helped you to have greater impact?

I’ve been having so many of these discussions about DEI, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. And if I could rewind the clock and think of myself as a first-time manager or when I became in a position where I could build bigger and bigger teams, the thing I regret is that I didn’t have the foresight to look at DEI the way I’m looking at it today. And so how could I have built a more diverse team than what I have currently?
And the other ways I think about this is there’s lots of training right now on unconscious bias, which I think is so fantastic. I mean, where we are today with DEI, I am just so thrilled about. It is time for us to look at diversity in the way that society is asking us to. The things I’m learning today, I wish I had the foresight to think about 20 years ago, when I first became a manager. And I would have been more deliberate about building a more diverse team.

Can you be specific about that? What are the two top things that you’ve learned recently about DEI that you wish you had known as a first-time manager?

When I think about having career conversations with people. Instead of saying, hey, we have a position open today, there’s a position for a manager position or some sort of leadership position. Instead of saying, who’s interested, why couldn’t we have identified these high pots earlier on in their career and say, I believe in you. You are a high potential in the organization. We’re going to invest in you as a leader, a potential leader, and we’re going to throw resources your way just to ensure you are set up for success in being a good manager, in being a good communicator, and ultimately being a really great leader for our organization.
My regret is I didn’t identify those people earlier on in my career. I should have sought them out. I should have had career conversations. I should have told them, we believe in you. You can do this. And we’re going to throw coaching your way. We’re going to invest in you. And we’re going to make sure you succeed. Would have been a huge retention strategy for us. Because if I had somebody say that to me earlier on, I don’t care how much you pay me, I would have stuck around because I know the company had belief in me.
So, those are the things I would have done in my former self, you know, 20 years ago, sought out those people, have those conversations, drive the resources their way to ensure their success.