What are the top skills that have helped you achieve your current position?

While I can't say these three skills are what helped me achieve my role today (in reality it's a mix of hard work, luck, and re-orgs!) I will say these skills are what help me as I grow:

1. Adaptability: Things change all. the. time. I've changed roles every 1.5-2.5 years, sometimes of my own design and sometimes because a team was eliminated or the organization's priorities changed. My team has grown and shrunk because of re-orgs and redesigns and shifting priorities. I've learned that I can be frustrated or annoyed for a minute about these changes, but the frustration doesn't serve me. The only constant is change and the best thing I can do for my career and my sanity is just adapt and adjust, and if I don't like the way things changed I can either make a change myself or wait a few months and it'll change again!

2. Executive communication/Storytelling: I've learned to take my storytelling and communication skills from the first call deck into every presentation, slack post, and email I send. If I can position an argument or a proposal compellingly, I'm more likely to get my project approved or my idea in front of the right people. Learning how to adjust my communication for my leadership has helped me make a business case for programs, people, and projects, and it's helped leadership see that I can think strategically and position my communications for the right audience.

3. Willingness to Learn: Honestly, I get bored really easily, and sometimes career shifts for me are about the desire to be challenged and learn something new. Once I know what I'm doing, it's not that fun anymore, and I'm ready to move on. While that's not the best advice to give someone, it's a motivator for me in terms of what I look for in a role and has helped me determine when I stay in a role or when I move on.