Kirti Patel-Darnell, MBA, PMP, CSPO, SFC

I attribute my success to being a continuous learner and never being afraid to take risks. Throughout my career, I've learned that it's all about learning and growing - you're never too old to continue developing yourself. I picked up early in life that nothing's going to be handed to you, so you have to ask and put yourself out there. The worst that can happen is people say no, and then you decide where to go from there. I believe that when you know what you want, you have to be willing to leave one firm to go to another, or one role to go to another, because you can't stop your learning. You own your career - nobody owns it for you. I've also learned the importance of taking risks and challenging yourself. If you take a role where you only know 50% of the job and have to learn the next 50%, you focus on learning that next 50%. Don't take something that's easy, because if you're no longer learning, you're no longer in the workforce. I've never really stayed in the same role for more than 5 years because once I've accomplished what I set out to do and I'm no longer being challenged, being a team player, and making a difference with my input, it's time to move on. That continuous learning and growing concept has been the foundation of my entire career journey.

The most important advice I received came from my mom, who taught me that you gotta be nice to everybody regardless of how they treat you, and don't take it personally. Growing up, I watched her work and raise our family while my dad worked hard to provide for us. What I learned from her was incredibly valuable - she helped me recognize early on that I didn't want to be reliant on anybody else. That's just a cultural thing you see through generations, but I knew I wanted to be truly independent, and my husband recognizes that about me. My mom is still around and turning 85 this year, and she continues to be an incredible source of inspiration. Beyond my mother, there were other individuals who played a big role in my career development. Someone at a company I worked for when I was in college - an inventory firm where you went to do audits - gave me the opportunity to become a team leader. I still keep in touch with her, and she lives in Hawaii now. She played a huge role because she gave me that opportunity and I got exposed to dealing with store managers and directors early on. At Pershing, the person who hired me eventually moved up, and I took over her role. Those early opportunities and the people who believed in me enough to give me those chances really set the foundation for everything that came after. It's the early footprint that exists - the rest is just learning.

My advice is to be open to learning and be open to challenges, but you have to focus on yourself first. You have to know what you want, and when you know what you want, that might mean you have to leave one firm to go to another or one role to go to another. You can't stop your learning because you own your career - nobody owns it for you. I picked up early in life that nothing's going to be handed to you, so you have to ask and put yourself out there. The worst that can happen is people say no, and then you decide where to go from there. Find something that you enjoy doing, because there are two things to consider - you're either going to go to work because you need a paycheck, or you're going to work because you really enjoy your job. If you can go to work in a role that you enjoy, it will get you where you want to be. That takes a lot of conversing with people and networking. You have to want to do it, and be a team player. People that you work with will recognize you for being a team player. If you just work solo and only care about yourself, they're going to be like, I don't want that person on my team. It's about giving other people visibility too - when you manage meetings or provide status updates, others on the team should chime in because it's a together project. I have a daughter and son who are both in their 20s, and my daughter is overseas in Ireland. She went to college, graduated, and took ownership of her career, which makes me incredibly proud. You need to thoroughly enjoy what you're doing so that you can feel good at the end of the day and it can get you where you want to be as you continue your journey.

The biggest challenges involve navigating different organizational cultures, keeping pace with evolving technology, and supporting the next generation in navigating their opportunities. Opportunities include mentoring, consulting, thought leadership, and contributing to community and professional networks.

The most important values to me when it comes to enjoying my job are being challenged, being a team player, and having my input make a difference. If I don't find those three things in a role, it's time to move on because that means I've stayed in the role too long. Throughout my career, I've never really stayed in the same role for more than 5 years because once I accomplish what I set out to do, I need the next challenge. It's the whole learning and growing concept, which is a phrase commonly used in my group. My manager is like a motivational speaker type person, and motivation is such an important piece - how do you motivate people and make them want to be generous with their efforts? But not everyone can do that, and sometimes motivation requires being authentic because if people don't believe in you, they're not going to move forward. I'm a curious learner, and my manager says I'm just up for any challenge - I don't say 'I can't do that,' I just do it. I also believe you have to take a risk, because if you don't take a risk, how are you going to know how you're going to perform? It's important to give other people visibility too - it's not just about you. Even as a project manager, when I manage meetings or provide status updates, others on the team should chime in because we're all working together. I truly take the time to understand different generations and modify my communication style to them, because when you interact with people of all different generations, you really understand people better. I'm a learner and I'm very curious - I love learning tools and using them to make my life simpler, especially when it comes to organization skills.