Melissa Douglas

I would attribute my success to, first, my upbringing. I think I had really great role models in my life and was surrounded by a lot of people who kept me on the right path. And then I would say it's consistency. I don't think the people who are getting promoted or put in leadership roles are the smartest or the most brightest, or the ones who get there by that path. I think it's those who show up every day and have a commitment to what they do, and really just put their best foot forward. I always say to my husband, I didn't get good grades in school because I'm the smartest one out there, but I did my homework every single day, I learned what I didn't know, and that's just kind of been how I treat life. I think I have been really blessed with a lot of the opportunities, and taking advantage of those, and putting my best foot forward, and putting in the work to take advantage of them, and just keep moving in the right direction has kind of always been my northern star. And now, of course, having kids, I feel like it's that increased reminder of the role model that I want to be, both at work and at home.

I would say try it all, get all the experience you can. You don't know what company, or what team, or what client you're really going to gel with. When you're reaching out to your network and people looking for a job, I may tell you I really like the company that I'm at, but there's so much more to that, because I could be on a different team with a different client at a similar company and have a totally different experience. Early on in your career, I always tell people, kind of opposite of what my parents told me, which is to get a job and stick with it, but to try a lot of different things out, whether that's different companies or different teams. Your right place isn't always going to be the right fit for you. We're all different and are looking for different things within our job, and it's okay to try different things and find out what works best for you, because at the end of the day, you do want to find somewhere that you fit in and you can stay. My goal is to stay somewhere for a while and really make a meaningful impact. But to make sure that you're able to do that and go to work and really love what you're doing is what kind of makes the days easier. So I would say try, try, try, and try again to find the right place that you really feel like is going to make you happy.

Being able to give back is really important to me. There's always dishes to do, laundry to do, but being able to do it for people who really need it is so impactful to be able to make a difference for a family who's going through some of their worst days, and it really just helps put everything into perspective. When I'm having issues at home or issues at work, it's a good reminder that we have it pretty good, and there's always opportunity to give back. That's something I want to make sure that my kids see me doing, you know, on top of being a working mom. I hope they see that and value that and appreciate it, that you can always find time for yourself to go work out, or for yourself to go volunteer and make a difference in other people's lives. I want to make sure that I'm not just talking about those things, but they're able to see me, and hopefully, when they're older, that's something that they'll kind of want to mimic and do as well, maybe not at the same place, but really instilling those values of giving back. I also value working for a company and a brand that I feel good about - it makes showing up to work just feel that much better. You feel like you're making a bit of a difference in the world.