This week’s newsletter is written by CNBC Make It work reporter Morgan Smith. You can follow Morgan on Twitter @thewordsmithm. Risk-taking might feel counterintuitive on the job, but taking a leap of faith can help your career flourish.
This is true even later in your professional life: Roz Brewer, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance and former COO of Starbucks, didn’t take the biggest risk of her career until after she got promoted to the C-suite — but it would forever change her approach to work.
Brewer told me that she “had to remove the leader of one of the largest entities at the company” in one of her previous jobs (she did not specify the company). “It was a very fine line between putting the business at risk, if we continued with this person, and hiring new talent, which was also a risk, to take on the role.” Although the leader in question was “very popular” with employees, Brewer said she knew in her gut that the person could not help push the business forward — so she “pulled the trigger” and replaced them. The weeks following the decision were “rough” as employees and people on the board of directors questioned Brewer’s actions. “It was almost like running for mayor, trying to convince people why I made the right call and how it fit into my longer-term vision for the business to succeed,” she said. |
Within a month, Brewer said the candidate she hired started “adding value” to the business.
That experience taught Brewer an important lesson, one that continues to guide her career to this day: “You have to be your own champion.”
It was also a reminder of the importance of practicing patience in your professional life — a skill that Brewer says has been critical to her success.
“I’m a self-starter, I would start a job on day one and think, ‘I know how to do this better’ and be ready to take charge,” she shared. “But each company has their own way of doing things. I didn’t always understand the processes, and patience just wasn’t a skill of mine.”
Over time, however, Brewer learned that the more she practiced patience, the more she learned.
“An appetite for learning is so important for your success,” Brewer said. “So I slowed myself down, surrounded myself with mentors and sponsors, and paid close attention to my professional development … I think patience worked really well for me.”
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