Bringing your whole self to work

This article was first published on LinkedIn. Subscribe to Melanie Mills' 'Bringing Home the Bacon' newsletter to read her articles as soon as they are published.

What’s the impact of stepping out of your comfort zone?

Today as the CRO @caxton, one of the original FinTech providers, I can confidently say #Justdoit as that has been the making of me and my career to date.

2.5 months have flown by, I felt very early on that I’d made the right choice and that’s mainly due to the receptive and open nature of the organisation, who have listened and embraced my expertise and feedback as a fresh perspective.

I’ve had a varied career, to say the least, which makes me (and sometimes others!) pinch myself. It’s a real conversation starter and one that was discussed at length this weekend with my daughter’s Opa (German Grandad)/my ex-Father in-law. He’s baffled by the transition but proud nevertheless.

Many people are confused – if they knew me 15 years ago travelling the world as a Makeup artist & Brad Ambassador posting images of Legends like #Billyjeanking with the WTA at pre Wimbledon events they would not have expected me to end up here!

However there is a very specific value I’m adding, driving revenue and elevating organisations so when I leave they are in a better place than when I found it. It’s a skill that’s needed in almost any industry, which means I’ve been lucky enough to go from fashion & cosmetics to Payroll and today into wider Financial Services.

When you come from outside of an industry, you’re able to see things in a way that people who are embedded into that industry may not be able to do. The first three months in any organisation are so important – that’s when you really get to uncover anything that’s not functioning as it could and any problems that people have just learnt to work around. Doing things the way you always have is such a common scenario and one I came across time and time again in Payroll especially.

By bringing a curious attitude into the workplace, especially to client relations, you’re getting right to the heart of what’s important to the people. I’ve spent a lot of time developing strong relationships both within a team, when building business development teams, and outside the organisation, with clients. Your colleagues and your clients all want to be treated as whole individuals, not just their job role – and by starting with being true to your own expertise, you’ll immediately be in that mindset.

The best thing you can do, both for your career and the relationships you build, is remembering to be confident in your expertise and remembering what you’re bringing into a new organisation, but choose the right place, who are ready to embrace your full skillset:

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions – sometimes, not knowing everything is a superpower. You have the opportunity to ask questions not just to learn, but also to challenge thinking, process, colleagues and the entire business.
• Be confident in your expertise – conversely, don’t forget that you know lots of things, and there may be things that you know that your colleagues don’t know. Find what your unique experience has given you that someone with a more traditional career path may not have
• Make sure that as you’re adding value to every organisation you work for, they’re adding value for you. Now more than ever, we’re not just living to work, we’re working to live. If you can see how your role fits into the bigger picture of who you are and what you want to bring to the world, you’ll be able to achieve exponentially more, for yourself and for the business. Having that synergy with work ensures you are truly bought in