Career Defiance: Turning Adversity into Opportunity

Amanda Smith: [: 00:00:00

I know for me a pivotal moment was 2021. I just had my year end review with my manager who I really, we worked really well together and part of the end of year review was then also taking a look at your development plan. And what would that look like?

And there was a part of the development plan that says in two years, and it was just blank. And it was the first time I ever, and I use these words often when I talk about this, is the first time I ever gave myself permission to say, I want to be A-C-H-R-O. I aspire to be this role. And I had never allowed myself to do something like that.

uprooted her whole life and [: 00:01:00

With roots in journalism and a background that spans startups. To Fortune five hundreds, Amanda brings a unique blend of strategic insight and storytelling to every role she holds an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a BA in journalism from Penn State outside the office, Amanda loves being in the mountains or cliffside overlooking a [00:02:00] beach, hiking and cooking with her husband.

Cheering on her as they grow their careers. She is also a proud dog, mom and avid reader of mostly historical fiction fiction and also a good cross stitch.

Amanda, I'm so glad to have you on the show today. And this conversation is all about real talk, minus the cursing at the bar. But let's let's dig in a little bit to one of those big mistakes that you might've made early in your career that you're feeling like, yeah, I have the appetite to share this because I'm in a different place now.

ersus I'm ready for the next [: 00:03:00

Alexa Beavers: That is a great learning and I'm really curious to push a little bit into what were those pivotal moments that maybe before you even had that realization, gave you little clues along the. A, or maybe there was one big clue.

Amanda Smith: 12, 13 years ago or so, now, it's been a while. I had the opportunity to, to move cross country. And take on a a new role. And that meant leaving behind everybody and everything that I knew me and my two boys who were eight and 13 at the time, and really starting completely over from a personal perspective and professionally too, although it was.

red for myself or maybe even [: 00:04:00

So I was there. About six or seven months and a decision was made to hire that role externally. So the person that was in the role was leaving and they decided to hire that role externally. Which was the role that I had moved to California to take and. I was worried, I really was worried that if I spoke up about some of the things that were happening with this new manager, it would look like I was complaining 'cause I didn't get the job that I was bitter or, any of those types of.

Emotions, right? The things that we see in the workplace that might be more negative. That's how I kept telling, like that was a story I had told myself and that had become etched and stone in my brain of I just have to deal with this because I will look. I won't look great otherwise. And so I kept it pretty quiet.

t have a place to share what [: 00:05:00

Alexa Beavers: let me rewind you a little bit 'cause I gotta see, make sure I got this straight. packed up your house, you got your family in a moving truck. You left all your support system. People you knew, colleagues, you knew you went all the way across the country. You worked hard for eight months with the promise that you'd get this job, and then they went outside for it.

e actually happening in your [: 00:06:00

Amanda Smith: Disbelief.

Alexa Beavers: Yeah.

Amanda Smith: This was a, an organization I had been with for a while. Actually it's the organization where I took my first HR position, right? So I went school to be a journalist. I was in corporate communications and it was an organization that helped me grow my career, had fully supported me.

Really, truly advocated for me multiple people across different elements of this organization. So there's absolutely an element of disbelief and shock. There's also an element of hurt because I did leave everything behind and that, it's a interesting lesson in advocating for ourselves, right?

Another whole conversation really is around promises and learning that if it's not documented, it's. It's just a promise and promises don't have to be fulfilled. So a little bit of a tough lesson to learn for myself too, to say, what should I have done differently? So there was of course a little bit of beating my own self up and saying blaming myself for how did this happen.

I didn't know anybody when I [: 00:07:00

While that was, it's just a whole different world and it pushed me personally in different ways. The move was one of the best things I've ever done for myself and for my boys, without question. The work piece did not work out at all, like I thought. But the move itself was definitely the right choice.

Always.

Alexa Beavers: Yeah sometimes things happen for a reason, and it sounds like you're seeing in hindsight, but in the moment, in that moment, you felt like. Disbelief you felt. Ouch. That really stings. And wait a minute, we had a deal here. People.

Amanda Smith: Yes.

the, in the moment you were [: 00:08:00

How did that look like? If I was watching you a week after you got this news, what would I have noticed about you in the office?

Amanda Smith: Sure. I probably wasn't smiling as much. I probably had weight on my shoulders that I thought you couldn't see, but I know that you could see from experience teaches me this. Now, at this point in my career there's, absolutely an element of me that's if you're gonna make this work, my other colleagues on the team, we worked really well together. So we're gonna figure this out. We're gonna band together. I still have a role. I have a role that it matters and means something to the organization. And again, it's an organization that I truly believed in. For so many reasons, not just my own development, but just the values the core of the business and what we were doing was very meaningful.

ds at home that needed me to [: 00:09:00

Alexa Beavers: Yeah, you probably weren't smiling that much. You were also at the very time, same time that you were. Walking around and putting on a good face as best you could. You had a lot at stake at home, you were the provider

Amanda Smith: That was it. Yeah. So there was no world in which I could just walk away. Because everything, everything our, their food, their shelter, their everything, all the basics and everything else were depended on me.

Alexa Beavers: Yeah. How does that, that's a lot to carry. What's that like to have all that weight on your shoulders as a professional and a parent?

Amanda Smith: That's a tough one to answer because and here's what's interesting is maybe even a year ago I would've said, that's all I knew. And it's just who I am. It's like what moms do. And I realized that's not all, those things aren't really true. It's what I did is what I chose to do.

re paramount to me, and that [: 00:10:00

They were what truly mattered. I think if the boys were here, they would say, oh, she's told us this. I believe I'm a better mom because I work. I think it's been a really healthy thing for me and the boys to have that time apart, even if it's just a few hours of every day.

And for me to have a purpose that is for me, but also then, the purpose of that's for them. So I think that's part of what kept me going. I also really, one, I was raised with really strong work ethic and I think I absolutely wanted to teach them that and to teach them that even in the hard moments, you still had to show up 'cause they knew right what was going on.

over those couple of months, [: 00:11:00

So my advocacy became external.

Alexa Beavers: So it sounds a lot like, you are great at gutting it out, understanding why you need to, and convincing yourself to do that for all the right reasons. there are costs to that. Can you talk to me a little bit about costs? What were the costs of just gutting it out for you?

letting the rest of the team [: 00:12:00

That had helped me, growing my career. But I had also met a lot of people that I'm still friends with today through that organization. And, some I'm still connected to from a professional perspective. I felt like there was some level of, they think. Different of me because I couldn't manage because I didn't speak up for myself.

I think there was people that thought I left because I was bitter about what had, the new manager instead of me getting the role. Which wasn't the reason. And then I also think about because I didn't advocate for myself, right? There was other people that joined the team that then came into an unhealthy work situation and.

Maybe I could have helped them avoid that.

ts of costs. There's cost to [: 00:13:00

What were some of the lessons, like two lessons that you would say were the biggest lessons from that one experience?

Amanda Smith: sure. I think one, one important lesson is

don't let your circumstances control you. Don't fall victim, don't play victim. And maybe that's part of why I didn't advocate for myself, 'cause maybe I didn't wanna be a victim. So I think there's an element of, I got this, I just got it in a different way. And I got to choose my path.

t me figure out how to go do [: 00:14:00

And of course, there's things we can't control and you gotta learn how to let that go. Not always easy. And then the other piece goes back to advocacy is to say how do you truly advocate for yourself to stand up for and do what is the right thing to do? But you gotta make sure you're doing it in the right way.

And also then advocate for yourself from a career development perspective and a career growth perspective. And some of that is understanding what you wanna go do and what is meaningful to you. I've always been very impressed, like when you go to interview a candidate and they're like, yeah, I've got this five year plan, or this 10 year plan.

Or even some of my older son's high school friends are like, this is, I'm gonna do these things. And, however many years later it's oh no, he wanted to go to that college and go to this degree and do this thing. And like he did all of those things. And I'm always impressed by those people 'cause I'm not that person.

hat is showing up and giving [: 00:15:00

Wait, I could do that job. I am ready for that job. Because I'm ready in my way, and then I can grow as I continue to be in that position. And allow yourself a little bit of that freedom in that room.

Alexa Beavers: I love this idea of, that I think there's three lessons here maybe,

Amanda Smith: Sorry.

b is the third lesson, which [: 00:16:00

Amanda Smith: Yeah. Yeah,

Alexa Beavers: which one of those, all of those I think are really powerful.

Is there one that you could expand on even more for us to talk about how it, how you went from, not advocating or not being in the driver's seat of your own career to where you are now.

Amanda Smith: Most of you guys don't know me. I have this interesting, very interesting career path where I have done corporate communications and then hr and I've gone back to hr and then I did HR communications. So I've had this interesting. Very non-linear, non-typical, I guess you would say career path, which is great 'cause I've had exposure to some pretty incredible projects and things that I'm super proud to have been part of.

hat you can have the biggest [: 00:17:00

And because I, I think all of us wanna do meaningful work and be able to feel good about what we're doing. And when we, close our laptop at the end of the day, feel like I had a good day and I made a difference. So I think part of. Part of, I guess this ties to advocating for yourself is just under understanding what that really looks and feels like for you.

w for me a pivotal moment was: 2021

And there was a part of the development plan that says in two years, and it was just blank. And it was the first time I ever, and I use these words often when I talk about this, is the first time I ever gave myself permission to say, I want to be A-C-H-R-O. I aspire to be this role. And I had never allowed myself to do something like [00:18:00] that.

Alexa Beavers: Wait. Why do you need permission to

Amanda Smith: You don't,

Alexa Beavers: be grown into who you're, yeah, I'm

Amanda Smith: You don't.

Alexa Beavers: why did you feel like you needed to give yourself permission? And I'm so glad you did, but why?

Amanda Smith: I think it ties back to how do I advocate for myself and feeling I'm in these sort, I don't know these rules or parameters I had put on my own self. 'cause people do this all the time. But for me it was like, how dare I think I was ready to be in such a role and not having, the.

I don't even know if it was the confidence in myself. But there was an internal, a little bit of internal dynamics in my head around, is that too boisterous? Is that too bold to say no one day I do wanna be in this position.

times we can be get taken as [: 00:19:00

Amanda Smith: I had joined an organization that was the same role. So same level, same team makeup, same overall responsibilities, accountabilities as the position I was leaving as the company I was leaving.

And it was pretty obvious pretty quickly that it was not the right fit for me. So one thing I tell people is, there's the grass always greener. It's I don't talk about that. And oddly enough, I have a green couch behind me. It's about finding your right shade of green. And that particular company was the right shade of green for a lot of people, but it wasn't my right shade of green and I had somebody reach out about a different position.

s a leader because I was not [: 00:20:00

And I took the call and I put myself out there and I did change companies. I was only there for five months and I can't, I never would've imagined that to be true. You just stick it out, you gotta figure it out. We're gonna make this work. Sometimes it doesn't work and that you have to be okay with that.

So in some ways, I advocated for myself by self-selecting out into a role that really I shouldn't have taken. But who knew at the time? 'cause of course I wouldn't have said yes if I would've known some of the things I knew. But I was open to the conversation and I was open to leaving and leaving for the right reasons and making sure I did it in the right way.

I wouldn't have done that probably even three years prior.

Alexa Beavers: Yeah, so I love your little kind of reminder. You gotta find the right shade of green for you. You gotta find the right shade of green. So what are the tips that you learned to help you to know what is the right shade of green for me? Where I can be my best self?

nt. Where you get to be you. [: 00:21:00

Because when we are showing up somewhere and. In a way that's not who we are. We can't be our best selves and we can't work to our top potential and have great impact to those around us because we're boxed in some way. So I think one, one is that, I think another one is really understand, but truly drives you what's absolutely motivating.

. I just found myself into a [: 00:22:00

But I can help take care of patients and have an impact in the world by taking care of people that do. And so I've, I have continued to, as I've thought about my career and grown my career. It's always been an element of healthcare and it's been a variety of elements, which is fun because in hr, if you can be, if you're open to learning and being curious, that's the fun thing about HR is you can work in a lot of different industries if you're willing to learn the industry.

So finding your passion, so for me, it wa it's something relative to healthcare and helping make the world healthier, better for people in the way that I know how to show up to work. And then the third thing I would say is going back to advocacy is one, not just advocating for myself, but helping people advocate for themselves.

career coaching standpoint, [: 00:23:00

Alexa Beavers: I think that's super important. You are the only one that's really gonna know enough about you to know what's gonna be the best situation, and then if you hold that. In and gut it out. You're not doing yourself any favors and nobody else is gonna step in. So as you think about how this catapulted you to today, let's just fast forward in a minute.

What would you [: 00:24:00

Amanda Smith: I tell people that this the role that I'm in today was one of my easiest career yeses. And so I

started my, the, so I got connected to the role I'm in to originally coming in as. A consultant to do some work relative to culture transformation. And the person who was leading HR at the time had decided to transition into a different role at a different company. And so they said, would you be willing to be interim while we search?

I could have easily said no. I could have said, no, I wanted to do this culture thing and mean this is what I wanna do. And maybe then I, anyway, who knows? I could have said, I could have said no. And it's yeah, sure. I'm open, I have the time, like happy to do that and run this other really big project.

he skillset to be able to do [: 00:25:00

Which is why I say it's like the easiest yes I've ever said. So I had seen under the hood, I knew exactly what all we needed to go do, what was working well, where we have some problems, things to go fix. And I love that kind of stuff. Like I love, building and fixing and that sort of thing. So it really fit with what I believe in in an organization that I had got to be part of already for a few months to be able to say, yeah I'm here and I'm all in.

gain, if you go backwards to [: 00:26:00

Think about where they were when they started in that position. They're not, they didn't start where they are today. They started somewhere too. It's okay for you to start where you are at that point in time and allow yourself to continue to grow and develop within a role.

Alexa Beavers: Yeah, everybody starts as a beginner somewhere, even

Amanda Smith: That's exactly right.

Alexa Beavers: Yeah, and it sounds like you had been open to something that fit a lot of the buckets and somehow, all the circumstances aligned so that you are placing a stake in the ground. I wanna be CHRO. It happened and that was part of you not only advocating, but seeing the possibilities.

Amanda Smith: Absolutely. We talk about, and usually it's in a negative situation, right? The concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think we usually think about that as doom and gloom. I used to way back in my very first corporate job I had somebody that was always just like this, I'm gonna get fired today.

I'm gonna get [: 00:27:00

Alexa Beavers: Yeah, put it out there. Figure out what you need to do to make it real and stop the negative self-talk. Talk to yourself like you would talk to somebody else. So Amanda, this has been amazing. Thank you so much. I'm gonna ask you to underline the three biggest lessons that you want somebody to take away.

There was so much in this conversation so that you said them, but I want you to say 'em so people can write it down right now.

Amanda Smith: sure. Number one, advocate for yourself and be okay with it, and give yourself permission to advocate for yourself. And don't feel like it's ego or bragging because it's about how you do it. But stand up for yourself, advocate for yourself. Do you give yourself permission to take on some crazy project or move into a new role that you thought no one would think you were capable of?

o be you. Find where you can [: 00:28:00

I'm not defined by my title either, right? Like I am me. But find that place where you get to show up as you I am, I, this is a little bit of a silly story, but I'm a huge Doc Martin person. I've been wearing Doc Martin since I was a think 14 years old. Find a, if that's you, find a place where you get to wear your docs and be comfortable showing up in your docs and not look down upon, 'cause you're in your dog Mars.

So find a place that you get to be, that get you, get to be you and you get to bring your full self to work. And all the fun and interesting ways that shows up. And then the other one I would say, I alluded to this a little bit about about this in the Advocate. But give yourself permission.

? And I don't know the exact [: 00:29:00

Because for a lot of my life, honestly, even as a younger kid, I think I put rules on myself and I probably still do, I don't wanna admit it, but I probably still do, where I put rules on myself. And it's why do I do that? So give yourself permission. Give yourself permission to say the thing out loud that you really wanna go do, or you wanna go be or write it down.

Put it, post it up on the poster behind your monitor or whatever you have to do to say that's what I'm advocating for. So it comes back to advocating as well. But I'm, I wanna do this and that's okay.

Alexa Beavers: That's amazing. So one bu, are you wearing your doc Martins right now? I hope you are. If you're not, go put 'em on. Then when you can be fully, you advocate for you because the fully you is the only person that really knows the best thing for you in your career and really the one that's gonna step up and make you get where you'd really deserve to go, and you need to give yourself permission for that.

don't hold yourself back. Be [: 00:30:00

Amanda Smith: If you wanna learn more about me, you can absolutely find me on LinkedIn. It's the normal LinkedIn slash Amanda Tate Smith is where you can find me .

Alexa Beavers: awesome. I think LinkedIn is a great place to connect with folks who inspire us, who can help us grow and who we can learn from. So Amanda, thank you so much for spending time with us on Transformation Unfiltered. This is gonna air very soon. And folks, if you wanna hear more stories like this, please tune into Transformation Unfiltered on your favorite podcast.

Platform. We are always looking to feature people that have the best advice. And usually that advice comes unfiltered like Amanda shared with us today. Thank you so much, Amanda. You've been such a delight.

[: 00:31:00