Keep Learning, Stay Flexible, and Do the Work
Growing up, I was surrounded by strong, passionate women who impressed upon me the importance of believing in myself first, and that anything you really want in life requires hard work and determination. There were no defined gender roles in our house—we were taught that everyone was equally capable and expected to do the work at hand. My father supported and reinforced these ideas with me and my sisters. He also believed you should always aim to give more than 100 percent. He recognized it would not be possible to do so every day, for you or for others, but the goal was to give more than 100 percent effort to the task at hand. If you did, then when others could not give their all, the work would not suffer because the team would get the job done. My mother believed in life-long learning and that your education is never finished. To stay engaged, you must always be willing to learn new things and seek opportunities to do so.
These valuable lessons helped shape my approach to work and my career. I entered the job market when the economy was still reeling from an economic downturn, and there have been additional downturns since then. During these times, I learned the importance of being flexible and giving more than 100 percent, regardless of the work environment. I strive to be fully present in whatever I am doing to ensure I enjoy the good moments and grow during the hard times. I also continuously search for opportunities to learn new things. My commitment to my role in helping others solve legal and business problems remains the same regardless of external factors—and my ability to be flexible in hard moments has created unanticipated opportunities in my career and personal life.
Current events in our country are hard, but they provide us with an opportunity to learn and grow in new ways if we are willing to stay committed, do the work, and be flexible in how we get there. At Wellstar, one of our core values is to honor every voice. All women bring unique gifts to the workplace. Their voices deserve to be heard because we need their input to effectuate positive change and work through these challenging times. The current pandemic is forcing workplaces to change and adapt in ways they may not have thought possible. This creates tremendous opportunity to do things differently, and we need women to use their voices to bring creative solutions forward for everyone’s benefit.
If you find yourself on what looks like a different path now due to external factors beyond your control, this may be an opportunity for you to try something new or work in a different way. In the meantime, keep learning, be flexible, and do the work. You will be rewarded for your efforts; it just may look different than you expected.
