Jennifer Seyler

I think probably my parents are who I attribute my success to. They always said I could do whatever I wanted to do, and I believe that, so I've always had the confidence to follow through on whatever I set my mind to.

The best career advice I ever received was about 10 years ago when I wasn't happy exactly where I was and knew I wanted to work in a different environment. One of my mentors said, 'If there's anything I've learned in life, you don't run away from anything, you run to something.' At the time, I was leaving a PR agency to stay home with my kids and get my MBA, and staying home was an extremely hard concept for me because I was born to work. That advice really changed my perspective - I realized I was going to actually run to my children at that point and try to see that as a job in itself. It helped me reframe a difficult transition into something purposeful.

I think the biggest thing is being able to have a growth and a flexible mindset. You don't know everything - nobody does. So we always have to be willing to learn, and understand that you're not always going to be right. It's important to stay open to new ideas and be ready to adapt.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is that everybody thinks they can produce change, and quickly, but it's not everybody who can produce change, and it typically isn't a very quick process. You end up getting a lot of organizations that have not had successful change programs because maybe they didn't hire the right person, so they just automatically start having a negative kind of thought about change. Even if someone does approach them after that, they're like, 'No, didn't work.' One of the things with organization development is that it's really grounded in values such as collaboration, listening, and being able to work together as a team between the consultant and the organization - not just the CEO, but everybody on all levels. That's what studies show is the most effective way to implement some type of change. But when some people come in without those values, they kind of create this negative thought about change, and then it makes it harder for organization development professionals to come in after that negative experience.

I think it really is being able to be a team. It's understanding your limits, being honest, and being transparent. I mean, I would just say it's being real. We're all going to make mistakes, and it's important to acknowledge that and work together authentically.