I attended a week long peer event this past week in Dublin Ireland for the company that I work for. The time was amazing and here are a few things that I learned.
Smart people are still people
Being new to a big company with a lot of smart and talented folks that have built bigger and better things than I have is intimidating. In some cases I wouldn’t know where I stood, especially working fully remote and not being able to interact with co-workers on a more personal level. Seeing in person the same people that I work with on a daily basis remotely, was extremely refreshing. It showed me that they are just people, like me. They enjoy having fun and they’re able to just be themselves.
It really helped me take the pressure off and this newfound freedom will carry over into remote work as well.
Large companies still have lots of room for growth
Meeting folks from different product groups and collaborating on some ideas and frustrations showed me that even though large companies are, well, large and make a lot of money, there is still plenty of room for things to get better.
Interesting thing about large companies is that, unlike a small/medium business where almost everyone knows everyone, people are more segregated and departments operate autonomously. This is important for scalability’s sake but it makes it more challenging to get things done because there needs to be buy in amongst the different teams involved.
Thinking that all problems have already been solved and I may not be able to bring a lot of the table, I was wrong. Even in large corporations, there is much room for change and growth!
Meeting new people is intimidating but well worth it
There’s a note in my phone with about 30 new names of people that I met while at retreat. I make it a point to stick my hand out, make eye contact, and initiate new conversations while I’m around new people. This is an intimidating process… But it’s like running for mayor – I can’t influence if no body knows who I am.
Do I know where those new connections will lead to? No. Did everyone I meet like me? Probably not (odds are that out of 30 people, 10 of them are people I could never relate with). But I did it and I just need to trust that I’m okay. I believe the good karma will come back around.
Directors are normal people just like you
I remember on the final night I was chatting with a man that was early to the marquee event with me. It was a very easy conversation that I enjoyed. Turns out that he was one of the directors at the company.
There was nothing separating you from him. Low ego and lots of professionalism. These people are just like us!
Conclusion
I encourage you to stick your hand out and meet some new people in your profession. Report back the results, you never know what it might lead to (a promotion, a new friend, learning something new, or maybe just knowing that you’re doing something that most people never will do )
– Cheers
