Welcome to Part One of my conversation with Carey Jenkins. Carey took an unconventional path to CEO of Substantial, a Seattle-based digital product studio. And while you may not know who Substantial is, their clients do. Clients that include such big names as Amazon, Mercedes Benz, and the Wall Street Journal.
A theater major who also pursued a journalism degree, Carey had to discover what moves her. An adventurous spirit combined with strong motivation, she found Substantial to be a welcome fit. She joined their client services team in 2012.
Carey began working with a career coach to ready herself for a CEO position at Substantial before it was even available. She became Substantial’s CEO six short years later in 2018.
Carey knows how to turn dreams into reality. This episode is packed with tips and pointers that will propel you to growth in your current role while helping you to think about the next one. There is so much good content here and I note my key takeaways below.
Key Takeaways From Part One
- Stop procrastination – be thoughtful, but jump in and get started
- Be on guard against impatience
- Don’t be afraid to change dreams – sometimes you can’t tell whether something will satisfy until you pursue and achieve it
- The people we assume are cut-out for c-suite positions, the group of people that are anointed because of business school, background or gender, is not the full group of those capable of filling c-suite positions
- Your first step to obtaining a c-suite position is being able to envision yourself in that position
- You need relatable models to help you imagine yourself in a c-suite role
- Coaching is integral
- Choose a path that allows you to have an impact
- You must have a growth mindset – it helps you do your job and make good decisions
- Purpose to learn and grow with intention, especially in the area of your blind spots (which you will need others to help you discover)
- Literally, everyone has to learn how to do something. EVERYONE. The entire job of a CEO or c-suite role is to learn. Every. Single. Day.
- Weak leaders are closed to learning something new
- Women feel they have to be overqualified for a role and men feel they have to be partially qualified – women need to overcome their mindset in this important area
Regardless of the path taken, unconventional or typical, you can leverage your experiences and commit to learning how to think like a CEO or other c-suite executive.
Resources Mentioned In This Episode:
Substantial’s Hello Epics Trello Power-Up for creating easily identifiable links between cards on your Trello board
Follow Substantial on LinkedIn
Connect with Carey on LinkedIn
Thanks for Listening!
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Now, go lead like someone you would want to follow!
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