Carey Jenkins had an unconventional path to her current position as CEO of Substantial, a Seattle-based digital product studio that has worked with companies like Amazon, Mercedes Benz, and the Wall Street Journal. From a theater major and journalism degree to quitting her dream job at Jane Magazine and working with a career coach to ready herself for a CEO position at Substantial before it was even available, Carey knows how to turn her dreams into reality. In fact, she joined the client services team at Substantial in 2012 and became their CEO six short years later.
Top Takeaways: An Unconventional Journey to CEO with Carey Jenkins
- Sometimes you need to take risks (even unpaid) to gain exposure and experience
- You might become more valuable in a support position (an executive assistant that can handle more senior people) that you can possibly be overlooked for promotions and/or opportunities – keep options open for lateral moves that will help you advance – practice patience
- Don’t underestimate the value of experience
- When making a change take some time to evaluate options and new skills and strengths that may redirect your path
- Don’t be so attached to your original dream (or dream job) that you overlook opportunities that are much different
- Focus on your own personal journey and growth rather than just a career path
- Try and find what works, pivot and adapt
- Take action – be proactive in defining your goals and direction to achieve those
- Make sure you find a culture that supports a more balanced life – flexibility, passion, skillsets
- Seek solutions to any challenge – work intentionally
- Leadership looks like many different things. There’s a title that can mean leadership and there’s a role that can mean leadership but the definition of Leadership is somebody with followers – so look for those moments within your current position to lead – don’t wait for the title or the role, its there in any job you have now
Listen to the Audio
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Learning From Leaders:
Current Book: Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World by Marcus Buckingham
Leadership Superpower: Confidence – courage and bravery – jump in and try – not afraid to look dumb – ask questions and learn what needs to be done.
[shareable]Confidence is not the absence of fear but the courage to ACT in the face of fear[/shareable]
Motivational Mantra:
[shareable cite=”Carey Jenkins”]“The thing keeping you from the work IS the work” – meetings, emails, all these things are keeping me from doing the work…..BUT that IS the work[/shareable]
Book Most Often Gifted: So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport
Additional Items Mentioned
Substantial’s website: substantial.com
