Elena Karahasan

I don't think my success comes from one single thing - it's a combination of everything I've done. When I moved to the United States as an immigrant in 2004, I had to start from scratch and work multiple part-time jobs to get established. I kept asking for more responsibilities, learning, growing, and asking for opportunities at every step. I worked full-time while going to school full-time to earn my bachelor's degree, and later did the same thing at night to get my MBA. Even when my first daughter was born, I kept pushing forward, and she was there at my graduation party when I got my master's degree - she was a year old and probably doesn't remember much, but I have pictures. I hope I set that example to both my daughters of hard work, ethic, determination, and continuing to be strong and work towards your goals. I believe that if you don't give up, believe in yourself, and keep working towards your goals, anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I was also fortunate to have leaders who directly or indirectly influenced who I am today - they taught me to stay curious, learn as much as possible, and when it's my turn, return the favor and help others grow.

The best career advice I ever received came from Kevin Dill at Bank of America, who used to say 'the more you know, the more marketable you are.' He led by example and encouraged cross-training across all of his units, and I took it to heart. I learned as much as I could, asked for opportunities, and moved around - I didn't stay in the same job for more than a year, a year and a half for quite some time. That advice shaped how I approached my entire career and helped me build the diverse skill set I have today.

I would say don't wait until you're ready - start and learn as you go. Stay curious, ask questions, take feedback, and don't be afraid of high expectations, because they can push you to grow. I think it's important to find people who are willing to teach you, and then when it's your turn, return the favor and help others to grow. Throughout my career, I was fortunate to have leaders who taught me invaluable lessons - one taught me that the more you know, the more marketable you are, another showed me how to teach by walking me through processes step-by-step and helping me build the algorithms so I could reproduce them on my own, and another laid the foundation for process excellence and taught us what process and control mean. Now I'm learning from my current boss how to teach leaders, trust my team, delegate, and be there to support them when needed. That's what growth is all about - learning new skills, developing, growing your team, and amplifying your influence across the organization.