Life at GE : Careers : GE
The teams that I work with and lead are a group of motivated and passionate individuals. This is the best aspect of the job, because it is the key ingredient that enables awesome results.
When I was approached about working at GE I was told that joining this company would be similar to joining many great companies but all in one package. This has been my experience. Working at GE enables you to get access to the top talent across the globe. I have spent my 10 years with Capital, yet I have worked with and relied on partnerships from across the business segments. This collaboration facilitates innovative thinking and superior solutions.
Roles that have an element of uncertainty appeal to me the most. Thus, the roles that I have taken have always been ones where there are great challenges to overcome. As such, I have developed an assortment of tools in my toolkit to draw from. When I took on my current role, I was given the challenge of improving a process that had been in place for many years, had been working fairly smoothly, but was in a technology that we were trying to exit. How do you improve what already works while not making great investments? This is where I relied on my toolkit to come up with ideas on how to rally the team to innovate in the mainframe space.
Early in my career, I was given the opportunity to lead a development project that was very risky, due to extraordinary ambiguity, great expectations, enormous investment, and a scarce talent pool. I accepted the role, learned the technology, and led a global team of 75 resources to deliver a customized ERP system. It had so many elements that made it challenging, but it provided a rich experience that no other project could. I look back and thank my younger self for not being afraid to take a risk.
I have taken roles that have exposed me to a variety of technologies from mainframe, client-server, Oracle ERP, ETL to the web space. What I take the most pride in is the ability to connect the dots for the business. It is the ability to understand the business challenges or opportunities and then to go back to my toolkit and have the skill to produce the best solution.
Don't be afraid of saying "I don't know" and taking roles outside of your comfort zone. You will only grow if you stretch yourself. Have the willingness to learn and reinvent yourself. In addition, create your own growth playbook that can help you with the roadmap of your career. This can shape your vision of where you want to go, but be open to taking opportunities that you may not have planned for. Don't play it safe.
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