(or – things I’d tell my 25 year old self at work) 

I’m about to leave a company that I’ve been working at for almost seven years. Given that my longest job stint prior to that was three years, this feels like A Long Time. It’s the right moment for me to move on for a few different reasons, but with my time here drawing to a close I’ve become all nostalgic. 

I’ve been lucky enough to encounter some truly great people at my current company, and been on some pretty crazy-fun projects/trips/nights out! All of those experiences have helped me grow and put me where I am today (which isn’t a bad place to be), so do excuse me while I indulge myself by looking back on the lessons I’ve learned along the way… 

1. Know your worth 

Quite early on in my tenure at my current company, I was given the duty of project managing a highly lucrative deal with a Global big-name client. There were many strings to the project, and I honestly believe that I only landed it because I happened to be in the Company Director’s line of eyesight in the PM area of the office when the deal was signed off. I was instantly nervous and defaulted to worrying about all the things I might do wrong, instead of thinking about all the strengths I could bring to the project. 

I even sent an email to the Technical Lead on the project, to suggest that, given the amount of zeroes on the contract sum, perhaps they might want a more experienced Project Manager to take the reins? The reply I received informed me that he and the Company Director had already decided that I was knowledgeable and experienced enough to take it on. I was a bit surprised about their faith in me, but on reflection I also realised that I should have had that same faith in myself from the beginning. I am good at managing projects, and I did a good job with that one. I’ve not second-guessed myself since. (Well, not out loud anyway…) 

2. “I’m not best placed to do that” 

Are you a yes-person? I have spent many years saying ‘yes’ at work, taking on more and more for fear that I’d end up disappointing people if I didn’t. (Don’t worry, I won’t go into a tangent about Milennials here…) The impact of this was that I ended up working a role that was diluted with lots of actions that shouldn’t really have sat with me, and often had to squeeze in what was really important around those things. 

There’s no shame in saying “that’s a great idea, but I don’t think I’m the best person to action it.” It’s not the same as saying no, and allows you to focus on the tasks and actions that are really important to your role.   

3. Managers are people too

Luckily for me, the senior leadership team at my current company have always been very approachable and accessible. That feeds in to a much more relaxed work culture, but it took me quite a while to get used to it.  

For a long time, if I had to go and ask a question of someone at C-level, it used to take me about 2 days to pluck up the courage. Even then, once I’d plucked up enough courage to actually make a move, I’d always be relieved if they were busy or in a meeting, so I could put it off even longer. 

Now I realise that, C-level or otherwise, they are still colleagues and humans too, just like the rest of us. Seldom does anything bad come of a brief, work-related conversation. I’m glad I managed to get over myself on this one. 

4. You only know what you know 

As a newbie to the industry when I started with my current company, I was surrounded by very technically skilled people who had SO MUCH knowledge and experience. This was fairly intimidating. In my head, I’d constantly berate myself for not understanding things, and got frustrated that I couldn’t gen up on the subject matter quick enough to be anywhere near their level of knowledge. 

I came to realise that, not only had it taken them years to amass this wealth of knowledge, but also – they needed to know those things to do their job. My job was different to theirs, so while it was handy to feed off parts of their knowledge, the skills and experience I needed were different. Learning is absolutely still key to developing, but I wish I’d known sooner that it was ok to let the experts be the experts. 

5. My Comfort Zone has an expiry date 

I’ve often thought that I thrive when I’m feeling on top of things, I’m bringing my A-game and nothing can touch me. However, (and this is characterised by the number of different roles I’ve had within the same company) I’ve come to realise that when I do feel on top of things, it doesn’t take me long to hanker after something more. 

Turns out I really thrive on learning new things, and feeling like there’s a mountain to climb, and working towards something, even if that something is not immediately clear. The grey areas are where all the fun is for me. Realising this has helped me a lot, especially in deciding when it’s the right time to move on. 

So there you have it – things I’ve learned, things I’d love to tell my 25 year old work self (she’d have ignored me anyway) and things I hope to take forward into my next chapter. Love to hear some of yours!