The people that shaped me & what they taught me
The people that shaped me & what they taught me
When you look back, there are people that have made a big difference in your life. Maybe you see it more when you look back, rather than when you are in the thick of it. People come in and out of our lives and sometimes we don’t go back to say thank you to the people that have shaped us.
On a day of reflection, I wanted to think through the people that shaped me and what main key learnings were. Rather than name people, I thought I would paint a picture of the kind of people in my life that shaped me & what I learnt along this journey of life.
I am 43 and have a lot of living to do but don’t want to forget the people that shaped me and what I have learnt. As you read this, think about the people that shaped you and what you have learnt.
Take the time to reflect…..
Highschool Teachers
You are in year 10 and you need to pick your subjects for Year 11 and 12 and what uni degree you want to do. Who the hell knows? My Accounting teacher was passionate, entertaining and very encouraging and I really enjoyed accounting and picked up the basics quickly.
It was something I had never considered as a career, but my Accounting high school teacher shaped me. She gave me extra attention and help and gave me the confidence for being able to do really well in the subject. On our year 11 and 12 exam she met us with special pencils for the exam - it was a really nice touch.
First Corporate gig
I did an internship out of high school at a CA firm to do audit. A big transition of travelling to city, clients and earning 14k per year to do audit for small business and councils. I learnt so much. I enjoyed the experience, and it really encouraged me to go to university to do the degree so I could come back to one of the big 4 firms. It gave me a goal to focus on.
This gig gave me an open door when I went for graduate jobs which meant I got to pick Arthur Andersen (the year they were taken over by EY). My graduate experience at EY was exceptional & has set up my career. Paths lead to other paths.
Partner sponsor
An experienced partner at EY took me under his wing. He coached, encouraged, challenged me and gave me opportunities to work on stuff outside of audit that I loved. It gave me opportunity to travel, present, lead high profile projects globally and work on some great accounts / projects. He always challenged me and supported me. It’s been 12 years since I left EY and we still keep in contact.
He is a great bouncing board. His best piece of advice is life is a marathon not a sprint, so slow down….I have listened and maybe now as a bit older see the importance of this advice. Having someone to help you navigate a large Corporate as a sponsor is important, so you don’t get lost.
Great leaders & leadership development
EY leadership is a big area of focus; which means you get annual 360 feedback, leadership development training and an opportunity for feedback on how you lead your teams. You get to work with a range of manager / leaders on different assignments and learn how you work best, who you like to work with and their style. You learn from the good managers and bad ones as well and you shape the kind of leader you want to be.
In a Big 4 environment the people that survive are A class. It’s a competitive environment so to make it you need to be pretty amazing, so you get to learn from a lot of leaders at different levels.
Training opportunities meant that you got to consider what kind of leader you want to be and really map out an action plan each year on how you are going to improve.
Female role models
As a female, this is important, having female role models. Partners at EY, CFO, or senior Finance people in client sites. These role models help you work out what is possible & these evolve over your journey.
As I moved into Corporate, I focused on finding female role models that I could bounce off to continue to build my confidence. I also wanted to be a role model for other women who are on their career journey.
Team members
I have built some super amazing teams through-out my career, what we have delivered, the fun we had and the relationships we have built will always stay with me as I continue on my journey. Keeping in contact with people that you built relationship with, beyond work.
I have met some amazing people and I genuinely care about people and helping and supporting them in their career or their life. I am not good as keeping in contact but when people reach out I’m always very happy to help.
Mentors
Having a couple of mentors (informal) that you can call when you are stuck, need advice or just need a kick up the arse. Life’s journey isn’t always what we expect, but it’s imperative that we take the time to build mentor relationships that work across the journey.
Terrible leaders
After working for a terrible leader (that’s a very long story), you learn what a bad manager/leader is. How to ensure you never work for someone like them again and how you never want to be like them. You learn not what to do. It also has helped me realise that working for someone I respect and I can learn from is so important.
Over time, you build your own confidence and path. It isn’t always what you expect or where you thought you were going to go, but along the journey there are many people that shape who we are. We need to consider / acknowledge these people and their contribution & consider how you give back to others.
Writing this has encouraged me to reflect on how lucky I am to have so many people that shaped me, have contributed to my success and happiness. I want to ensure I say thank-you to them and consider how I can continue to give back.
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