Georgianna Fortin

I attribute my success to the transitions and pivots I've had to make throughout my career and life. Every time I get hit, whether personally or professionally, I find that if I look back on those moments, every single time I have managed to not just rise, but rise above where I was before, and didn't even realize it. It's never really been my goal to be a CEO or make a certain amount of money or have a certain kind of car. It's always just been to be better. And not just that, but to have my eyes open to others around me. If I can help somebody be better at what they do by the things I've been through, that to me is the best. It's such a great feeling.

The best advice I've ever received is don't take no for an answer. If no is the immediate answer, maybe there's a spin-off of that, maybe it's no not right now, or maybe you take it a step further and look at why it's a no and whether that was really meant for you. I went through a phase working for a company for over 12 years where I applied for a promotion 7 times and was denied every single time, whether it was because I didn't have the right education or whatever it was. After that last time, I took about two years where I just said okay, I'm just going to get good at what I'm doing and be the best at what I'm doing. Then almost 2 years later, a position came open and the leadership called me into their office and said they'd like to offer me the promotion. I was floored because I didn't even apply for anything and didn't know there was a position available. They told me I really didn't have a choice, they were putting me in it anyway because they knew I deserved it and it had been a long time coming. That experience taught me that the no was a no for a reason. Maybe in those 7 times, I had to do more growing, figure some more things out, and learn more about my industry and what it took to get to where I needed to be.

I would say be a sponge. Find somebody around you who is in the place that you would like to be, and hitch your wagon up to them and become their person. Ask them a ton of questions and just be a sponge. You may not be privy to all the meetings that they go into or all the conversations that they have, but sit and have a cup of coffee with them. Those conversations will give you so much insight into where you want to be and who you want to be. If it's like that particular person, great. If it's not, you learn from the things that they go through and you develop your own character from that. You can develop your own goals from that and see where you'd like to be. Maybe it's not in that field. Maybe you just use some of those conversations and experiences that you see from others in your own toolbox to go on to your next endeavor. This job's not forever. No job is forever. But you have to take something from it, because you're here for a reason.

The biggest challenge in my industry right now is that there are so many people looking for a job, and not just a job but a remote opportunity for various reasons. Since we just came through COVID, everybody loves the remote work and they just want to stay that way. But people have become accustomed to introvert tendencies, and to get someone out of those holes that they've dug themselves in and deemed themselves productive (most are productive), to be able to get them out of that and say hey, let's collaborate, let's talk more, let's see each other, let's work through this problem or work to get this solution for some particular trial that we're going through - that is definitely proven to be more difficult since the last 5 years. Getting people out of that mentality is challenging. In my field, I've worked with a lot of ex-military, and wherever you move, you have to establish family if that's your vibe. I'm very much a family-oriented person, so if you spend most of your time at work, you tend to develop relationships with one another, and that becomes very useful professionally and personally. Having that connection on a daily basis is good.

Quiet time is my number one value. I need that quiet time, and not just quiet time sitting with a book or with my cup of coffee or tea. I take quiet time 2 times a day, wherever I work, and I go outside for about 10 to 15 minutes and completely disconnect. I walk around the building or walk down the road or sit outside on the patio if I'm at home, and just completely disconnect and refocus. I get back into nature, listening to the birds, listening to the wind, enjoying the heat, enjoying the cold. That has been very much a grounding technique, and it's definitely helped me come back after those 10 or 15 minutes and refocus and recharge. I'm able to do more after that reset.