Earn Your Stripes and Wear them with Pride!

Today marks 3 years of my joining Green Park Content, 4 days before my birthday! Much to celebrate, this September is also when I officially start my new role after being promoted to a Creative & Global Brand Head. One more milestone puts all this into perspective as I will be the first Asian group partner, which makes me very proud of my journey thus far.

When I first joined, we had one art director. Today our talented creative production team is 50 people strong with 4 integrated units of Social, Creative, Production and Post Production. Back then, we didn’t have a social media team. Now we are one of the biggest, well-structured social media teams in the Asia Pacific, serving global clients.

My growth wasn’t linear, though. Like I’ve shared before, I’ve had my fair share of struggles. There were times that I didn’t even think I’d make it this far. Three years still feels like a relatively short time, but this is a crucial point when many quit. I believe this is the point you either leave or power through.

And I’m choosing to power through because I’m a relentless fighter and a perpetual optimist. I believe that you don’t know your potential until you’ve faced tough and trying times and have come through victorious.

I’m also a self-confessed overachiever. I’m my harshest critic and not always my biggest cheerleader. However, I’ve learned to not be too hard on myself. It is all too easy to be self-critical and focus on your biggest mistakes or your lowest points.

This becomes more apparent when you take up a leadership position. Being a leader has been an eye-opening experience for me. It has taught me the difference between being liked and being respected, amongst many other things.

For instance, my candour might not always be taken in the right spirit, which made me question my management style. While I still believe in being truthful, certain situations have helped me grow and become more diplomatic and patient. I’ve also had to grapple with balancing being a boss and being great at other aspects of my job – bringing in new clients, growing the business, developing the team and making sure campaigns perform and a million other things.

Furthermore, since of late, I’ve been feeling burnt out. Burnout during this time is real! It just makes you feel alone, and it is easy to feel like you’re close to giving up. But I keep reminding myself not to waste my three years of hardwork.

All this can become quite overwhelming! But I believe that you need to re-evaluate and recognise how far you’ve come during these challenging times. So even when I felt like giving up, I took a pause and kept pushing through. Sometimes with bullish perseverance.

For me, my “rewards” came when my work got recognised twice this year. First, when I was nominated as a Woman Leading Change of the Year, the other was recently when Campaign Asia recognised me as one of the Women to Watch in 2021. I don’t make these honours my goals. However, they are much-appreciated rewards that make my hard work worthwhile.

Remember that real change and progress is sometimes messy, and things will be chaotic, but always keep your eyes on the goal. That is how you ensure growth in your job. Even though you don’t focus on them, the rewards will eventually come. So push through the storms in your life and your career. These storms are what will make you stronger!