糖心传媒

When did you come to 糖心传媒 and what were your plans for after school?

I was one of those students who started in Kindergarten and went through all the way to Year 12. I joined 糖心传媒 way back in 1987! In terms of my plans after school, I had always assumed it was university, I never considered anything else. I changed my mind every two seconds around what I wanted to study [laughs]. I thought that I would go overseas at some point and eventually, get married and have kids (not that creative I admit!) but that was basically the extent of my life鈥檚 plan while I was at school.

What did you do after school?

I went to Sydney University and I studied Aeronautical Engineering and Physics. There鈥檚 not much of an aeronautical industry in Australia but of course, I didn鈥檛 think about that when I planned my study鈥攎y choice of degree was driven by an aspiration to be an astronaut! I did my final year thesis in Italy as part of an exchange program to the Politecnico di Torino. I ended up extending my time in Italy because I didn鈥檛 have a job and I didn鈥檛 have anything to come home to so I thought 鈥淲hy not live in Italy a bit longer?鈥�. I briefly considered doing a PhD, which I applied to but I ended up turning it down as I realised I wasn鈥檛 that passionate about doing more Engineering.

When I came back to Australia I worked in my parent鈥檚 wholesale business for 18 months and did a couple of different roles there. At 6 months in I wasn鈥榯 really enjoying myself. It was quite tough working with my parents and I quickly moved out of home [laughs]. I started looking around鈥攅verything was on the table for me at that point because I was unhappy about my life direction. I thought about going back to university but that wasn鈥檛 appealing as I鈥檇 already done 5 years of study. I even considered working at a restaurant because I really enjoyed a previous job as a waitress. I was exploring all potential options, and I started looking at companies which would take university graduates and mainly targeted consulting firms. I only got interviewed at one company, and luckily they gave me the job!

I joined Bain in 2006 and ended up staying there for almost 7 years鈥攐ne year of which was spent doing my MBA at a school called INSEAD. In mid-2012, I left Bain and I joined LinkedIn. I was at LinkedIn for 7 and a half years and then at the start of 2020, I joined a company called Ascender.

What did your role involve at LinkedIn?

I joined as the first person in the Sales Operations team for the Asian Pacific region. I built the team from the ground up. The role primarily revolved around helping the sales teams build and execute go-to market strategies and running the operations behind the team; setting quotas, allocating territories etc.

What does a typical workday look like for you at the moment?

It generally looks like a lot of meetings. I look for a lunch break at the minimum [laughs] but otherwise, it can be back to back 9-5. I spend a lot of time talking to different people across the organisation and collaborating with them. I鈥檒l be part of other broader meetings and I鈥檒l also have meetings with my peers. My boss and I meet once a week. There鈥檒l be team meetings that I attend as well. Partnerships are also a part of my role so I鈥檒l meet with a lot of people from other companies who partner with us. There鈥檚 really no typical day in terms of who I meet but just lots of meetings in general, making sure we are headed in the right direction, focusing on our priorities and making sure my team is happy and engaged.

What about your life beyond work? What does family and your personal life look like for you?

I鈥檓 married with two kids - I have a daughter who is 7 and a son who is 4. There鈥檚 no hobbies or anything fancy outside of work, I鈥檒l squeeze in yoga where I can [laughs]. My daughter is in school and my son is in daycare. We have a nanny and she鈥檚 a godsend. I couldn鈥檛 balance home and work without that kind of help.

I have pretty clear boundaries as a mum鈥擨 don鈥檛 start work before 9 and I will only on exception have a meeting after 5 as I then start to cook dinner. On weekends I cut off at 5pm on a Friday and you don鈥檛 hear from me until I maybe look at my computer at 8.30 pm on a Sunday night. I鈥檝e got some pretty clear time-out blocks where I don鈥檛 engage with work.

Weekends are spent with friends, family and being outdoors. We鈥檒l go camping on long weekends with friends and we love to travel, although that has been restricted in the past year.

What has been your proudest moment in life to date?

It's not necessarily a moment but I鈥檓 proud that I鈥檝e managed to keep two kids alive [laughs]! If I think about satisfaction in my profession, my career鈥檚 at a point now where it's no longer about my own progression. I pride myself more on the fact that I鈥檝e clearly impacted a lot of other people鈥檚 careers. It鈥檚 really satisfying to see people you have worked with go on and develop their careers.

What about a mistake that you鈥檝e made in your work and what was the learning process surrounding that?

My biggest mistakes revolve around poor judgement of character. I鈥檝e made some hiring mistakes鈥攊t happens. A mentor once told me 鈥淒on鈥檛 beat yourself up over a bad hire鈥攂eat yourself up if you don鈥檛 do anything about it鈥� so I鈥檝e stuck to that philosophy.

I鈥檓 very straight up when it comes to work. I don鈥檛 play political games鈥攊f I don鈥檛 like or agree with something I鈥檓 upfront about it. I鈥檇 like for everybody in my team to know where they stand in my eyes. If you鈥檙e underperforming you鈥檒l know you鈥檙e underperforming and if you鈥檙e performing well you鈥檒l know I think that.

What鈥檚 the biggest piece of advice you鈥檝e received in your life and who gave it to you?

Professionally, one of my sponsors at LinkedIn who is also a mother gave me advice as I was coming back after my first maternity leave: 鈥淒on鈥檛 work part-time鈥攜ou鈥檙e just going to be working more and getting less pay.鈥� When I came back, I did 3 days a week for 3 months and that was so hard because I was trying to do five days work in three. I realised when I started working 4 days a week how much easier it was. After realising that, I went back to full time. My second maternity leave I just went straight back to work full time.

My mum also told me 鈥淵ou can have it all but you can鈥檛 do it all鈥�. You can have all the components that you believe contribute to a happy and successful life but you don鈥檛 necessarily have to do it all to get there. So that鈥檚 why I get help with the kids and cleaning. My mum also gave me the really good advice of putting myself first, even though I鈥檓 a mum. If I鈥檓 not able to take care of myself then I won鈥檛 be able to take care of my kids.

If you could travel back in time what would you say to your 17-year-old self?

Don鈥檛 worry about what other people think and just be yourself and be comfortable being yourself. I find that lesson is mostly learnt with experience and it鈥檚 hard to apply! I think being true to yourself, setting boundaries and trusting your gut instinct are important as well. If someone treats you badly I often find that my first reaction is that it's my fault鈥攚hen actually it's not. We鈥檙e not accountable for other people鈥檚 behaviour, or their emotions.

What tools do you use to manage your day to day life and / or to switch off / find balance - books, apps, favourite podcasts?

I listen to a lot of podcasts. Now that I鈥檓 working from home I also try to go for a walk every day. I would like to say that I do yoga every day. I鈥檓 not a huge book reader but I do read a lot of articles. I try not to judge myself or be too critical.

What role has 糖心传媒 played in your life and what gift has your time at 糖心传媒 given you?

糖心传媒 really promoted a message of 鈥測ou can achieve鈥�. There was never any mention of 鈥渨omen can鈥檛鈥� that limited us. That belief was the biggest thing that I embraced from school- there was never a message of 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 do x because you鈥檙e a woman鈥�.

I only realised how strongly this message was communicated when I went into Engineering鈥擨 was one of 20 women out of 200 students in the course. This was the first time I鈥檇 experienced sexism. Up until that point, I鈥檇 never been told 鈥渘o, you can鈥檛 do this because you鈥檙e a woman鈥濃�攖hat concept didn鈥檛 exist at 糖心传媒.

What are some of your favourite memories or memorable teachers from school?

Favourite teacher is easy鈥攏o one forgets Mrs Bubb. She was our Year 9 teacher and was simply a really good teacher, especially for Physics. I still catch up with high school friends鈥攚e catch up every year for Christmas and a few other times during the year.

I have lots of memories of silly things that happened, funny jokes and mucking around in class. The UK Choir and Orchestra Tour in Year 9 was a highlight and there were of course a lot of memorable events in Year 12 including the formal.

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