Episode Summary
Believe in yourself and never settle for less than your authentic self. But that’s easier said than done, especially in the corporate world, where employees are sometimes expected to hold back a part of their personality and natural strengths to meet certain expectations.
It’s time to eradicate that belief and prove to executives that only a culture of trust and open communication drives success. Therefore, we asked Amy Hegarty, SVP of Sales at MedTrainer, to join us on this episode of Taking the Lead.
Amy shares her professional and personal background and explains how a strong support system is a prerequisite for professional growth. She also talks about gratitude as the key ingredient of success and why encouraging employees to nurture and be their authentic selves in the workplace will help take the business to the next level.
Guest Profile
- Name: Amy Hegarty
- What she does: Amy is the SVP of sales at MedTrainer.
- Company: MedTrainer
- Noteworthy: Sales was not Amy's first choice; she was a social worker first. However, as usually happens in life, Amy needed a career change, and sales seemed like an interesting and exciting opportunity. ''It's been an amazing journey. There are always questions like ‘If you could go back, would you go back and change anything?’ And my response is always, ‘No, absolutely not,’'' says Amy.
Key Insights
- New experiences are exciting but rarely easy, so don't give up. Prior to entering sales, Amy was a social worker. Although she thought it was her calling, she realized the job didn't fulfill her and needed a change. So, thanks to a mentor at the time, Amy started thinking about sales. Today, she is a successful sales executive, but the beginning was challenging. ''The mortgage business, my first sales role, was a completely different experience. [...] I learned a lot but had moments of asking myself, ‘What did I do? It is crazy. I wanna go back.’ But it's not in my nature to go back; my nature is to push forward. And when I feel that I am in a position where it's not working, or something's not going right, I have a tendency to dig in deeper versus walking away from it. And so, what that opportunity gave me was a network of people I met through this process who helped me or offered me the opportunity to move to the next role. And that has defined my career.''
- Share your story. It could be much-needed inspiration for someone to move forward. Growing up, Amy spent many years in group homes. That's one of the reasons she decided to become a social worker. Her story is her inspiration, but she also knows it could help others face and defeat obstacles and grow as individuals. ''Most people won't have the experiences that I had, and that's okay. Everybody has their own experience. So what I try to do is give enough so that people can connect with it. It's not too scary, and they can understand the challenges because that's at the core. Challenges can be overcome if you allow yourself to be in the right mindset to move forward. And so I try to share my experiences as much as possible.''
- Don't fear feedback. Leaders aiming for long-term success think of company culture and lead by example. So, suppose your culture promotes open communication and allows employees to be authentic and encourages them to ask questions and give feedback. In that case, as a leader, you must do the same. ''I always encourage our managers, supervisors, and leads, across the board, to take the team's pulse and ask questions. If you don't know, ask questions. And so, we've all had feedback we don't love, which we can't be afraid of. And so, if you're afraid to ask the questions, there's a good reason for it. And so we've gotta get in there. And the more we ask the questions, the more we receive feedback, the better off we are in the long term to help us build the business in the best way possible to support our employees.''
Episode Highlights
It’s Essential to Have a Good Support System
”I am an extremely lucky person. I have had an amazing group of people around me since I was young. Friends, acquaintances, and relatives have supported and helped me level up as a person and keep me focused on the right things. That was probably key to me.
I have phenomenal friends and a phenomenal career. I am surrounded by people I’ve known since I was 12 and 13 years old and are still part of my support system. […] And every aspect of my life up until today has continued to help me elevate myself and those around me and drive my internal belief system and ambition moving forward in my life and career.”
Gratitude Leads to Success
”Believing and understanding how fortunate you are to be in the position that you’re in and having the opportunity every single day to make that day the best day possible.
We’ve all been in a situation where everything’s crashing down. We feel like it’s the end. And from the sales side, it could be that you’re not hitting your number; you’re getting Nos constantly. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. And that can feel soul-crushing at times. I know. I’ve been there.
The key is to remember and think about what you’re grateful for. Where you’ve been, where you wanna go, who you can support, who supports you, what the opportunity is in front of you — and not lose sight of that.”
Professional and Personal Growth Begins When You Embrace Your Authentic Self
”I started working for yellowpages.com at the beginning of my [sales] career. And I was lucky enough that a number of mentors allowed me to be me all day long, every day.
And once I moved into more scaled companies, the expectation is you come to work, do what you do, and keep your personal life at home. So what I have found — probably over the last eight to ten years — is that I don’t want to zip on an Amy suit every single morning and walk into an office, spend eight to ten hours there, if not more, and then go home and have to zip off the Amy suit that I had to present to everybody else.
And it’s partially the reason I moved to MedTrainer. I was given an opportunity to embrace who I am and then allow that authenticity to embrace the rest of our team and allow them to be themselves.”
