Audra Rose Penny

I attribute my success to God, my family, and all of my friends. In addition, I think my innate ability to be curious and to strive for success is what drives me forward. I think it's easy, especially as you get farther in your career, to get comfortable, and I don't like comfortability. I feel like it can get boring, I feel like you can get into a routine that's dull, and I think if you're willing to be uncomfortable all the time, great things are gonna happen. I also practice meditation periodically, which teaches me to take emotions as they are - if I know I'm angry, I take that emotion as it is, I feel it, but I don't let it completely control my day. I recognize it, I see it's there, and I move on. I'm allowed to feel emotions, but I put them in a corner when I need to get something done, and I come back to address them effectively later.

Don't be scared to try something new. I learned this when I was at a position early in my career I didn't thoroughly enjoy and could feel it burning me out. I took a step back and decided I needed to go for a different job, even though it meant taking a risk. I got into Equitable at a call center/operational support job that quickly led to familiar feeling of burnout for me. I stuck with it for a few months, before recognizing this feeling of ‘there’s got to be a higher calling for me.’ That’s when I saw Equitable’s Emerging Leaders Program on the company’s Intranet page. This program, which was typically only open to college graduates, intrigued me because it would allow me to explore three different areas of the company to paint a full picture of how Equitable ran as a business. I applied anyway, knowing I was not a recent college graduate and with the notion that the worst they can say is no, and it was 100% worth the risk. That job catapulted my career like I couldn’t have imagined. You never know what's gonna arise from an opportunity that you don’t go for. You could reach out to a complete stranger on LinkedIn with a simple question and it could blossom into a great friendship or opportunity. Technology has empowered our society greatly; we now have opportunities we didn’t have previously - to reach out to strangers that share similar interest on a whim or to take a risk on applying for a job you don't meet the minimum requirements by simply applying online. Embrace the ambiguity and embrace the reject because those small steps can turn into enormous gains. Go into opportunities with the mindset that the only thing they can do is say no, and at least you know you put yourself out there. At least you know you're taking the next steps to advance and grow, whether that's personal growth or career growth. Be true to yourself, and understand it’s okay to get rejected or ‘ghosted,’ because the opposite can happen to- and it could turn out to be all you wanted and more. That is my advice - always take the chance even if it’s scary or uncertain. The worst they're gonna say is no.

Being innately curious is going to be your biggest influencer. The thing with being in a technology space, whether that's a true Salesforce ecosystem, HubSpot, or even search optimization and social media, is that the technology is ever-evolving, so you have to be innately curious to keep pace with it. Otherwise you're gonna go out of market really quick. But it also gives you the opportunity to chart your own path - if you find a technology you're really interested in and you believe there's a case for it to be used in your business or in your area, you can find ways to do that. I also think just being able to be open with yourself - even if I don't love it right now, keep open to the fact it will change, because there's some parts of my job that I might not like that often, where I'm more in data analytics and looking at SQL queries, but at the same time, I also know that where technology's going today, that might not be the case in another year. I might actually be able to step away from that and move more into strategy roles where I'm looking at it in a different light, because AI has influenced the sector entirely and what I was previously manually doing is now being done automatically. So, being innately curious and just being open to what your day-to-day brings is the best advice I could give someone.

Emotional intelligence is incredibly important to me. I know who I am and what I bring to the table, so my confidence should radiate in that sense. Even though I'm in a heavily male-dominated industry, I'm not going to apologize for being emotionally driven and passionate about what I do. Sometimes that may lead to me being a little heated when I know for a fact something won't work or isn’t feasible, but I'm also willing to take a step back and evaluate how else I can position my thoughts and reasoning to ensure I don’t offend someone or make it sound unprofessional in my delivery. I've learned to take emotions as they are - if I'm angry, I take that emotion, I feel it, but I don't let it completely control my day. I recognize it, see it's there, and move on. I'm allowed to feel emotions, but I put them in a corner when I need to get something done, and I come back to address them effectively. Additionally, being authentic is crucial to me - I just speak from the heart and articulate what is on my mind. Some people think that's unprofessional, but I think it's completely authentic. You need to bring whoever you are to the table with your full authenticity. Lastly, I also value being innately curious and striving for growth - meaning, don’t get too comfortable. Comfortability to me feels like you have allowed yourself to go dull. If you're willing to be uncomfortable all the time, great things are gonna happen.