What do you get when you possess confidence, drive, surround yourself with great mentors— oh and not to mention have a degree from The Wharton School of Business mixed with a bit of luck? SUCCESS
I sensed early on in my recent conversation with Ellen Robinson, Principal of The Robinson Group, a business and leadership coaching practice based in Denver, that Ellen meant business. How else could she have managed to become President of Ascent Sports, owners of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche at just 35 years old? [The Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche are now owned by Kroenke Sports.]
What can we learn from Ellen Robinson’s climb to the top? Lots of things— including something very surprising and refreshing.
Growing up middle class, the eldest of two girls, Ellen had a very supporting and normal upbringing. As luck would have it, she was surrounded by successful professionals within her community very early on. Exposure to those role models planted the seed for Ellen’s climb to the top; she set her sights high from a young age.
Combining Ellen’s natural drive and ambition with her family’s unwavering support, it was no surprise that she ended up at The Wharton School studying Marketing and Finance. Hard work got her there; but hard work was not enough to land her first job out of college. That took some luck. During Ellen’s senior year, Frito Lay was interviewing graduate students on her campus. Even though she was an undergrad, she managed to procure a slot on their interview schedule. Subsequently, Ellen landed her first job as Assistant Brand Manager with Frito Lay located in Dallas, Texas.
Whether she knew it then or not, Ellen was following some of her own advice she'd given when I asked her what she would tell a young woman interested in moving up the corporate ladder.
“Get in a position where you can affect the company’s bottom line and develop your leadership skills”, says Ellen. “This could be in such areas as sales or line management”.
After three years of successfully increasing market share and sales for Frito Lay packaged goods, Ellen felt it was time for a change. She and her husband relocated to Denver, Colorado— a city she felt better fit her lifestyle.
Finding herself in a new city; a new start, Ellen was looking forward to pursuing her entrepreneurial ambitions. “I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit” explains Ellen, “stemming from running lemonade stands as a young girl.”
But sometimes even the best plans can be thrown off course unexpectedly. One of Ellen’s mentors she met while working at Frito Lay reached out to Ellen when he learned she was living in Denver. He asked her if she was interested in working as the Area Marketing Manager for Pepsi-Cola based out of Denver. While it was Ellen’s intention to start an entrepreneurial venture, this unexpected opportunity seemed right at the time. She seized the opportunity. Remember-never burn your bridges from jobs you leave and stay in touch with former colleagues and mentors— you never know what opportunities may arise because of such connections. Look what doors opened for Ellen by following this rule.
Continuing her self-imposed rule of setting her sights high, Ellen made her ambitions clear at Pepsi-Cola. She strived to move into other positions requiring increased responsibility and exposure and she was not shy in letting upper management aware of her goals. Knowing this, I was surprised to learn that at one point in her career with Pepsi-Cola, she actually took a step down by accepting a position with less responsibility while at the same time allowing her more exposure in other key areas of the company. As part of her strategic master plan of moving up, this move afforded her invaluable experience in the company’s strategy, operation and sales. Ellen’s luck continued. Six months after that step down, the head of sales left the position allowing Ellen the opportunity to take on additional responsibility. Unaware of it at the time, her increased responsibility and varied experiences would culminate in both a preparation for a major career transition and a realization that would catch her by surprise.
When the position of General Manager of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company in Denver opened, Ellen saw this as her golden opportunity. The thought of running the third largest bottling operation in the country enticed her. However, this big step up for Ellen would require bold action. Instead of backing away from this intimidating opportunity, Ellen seized the moment; making it known she was interested in the position. Such a bold course of action landed her an interview. But not just any interview.
Typically, Pepsi-Cola would groom someone for a position of this magnitude; allowing them to get their feet wet before moving them into such a prominent position. Because of this and Ellen’s young age, she was required to fly to New York to interview with Pepsi Company’s President and CEO. To Ellen, this was not just an interview— this was her opportunity to meet her “hero” in person. For years, Ellen had aspired to become just like this woman.
Ellen walked away from the interview with not only the job but something quite unexpected; the realization that she did not aspire to be like her hero. While she was still inspired by the woman’s accomplishments and career success, Ellen realized what her hero had given up to get there. There was no work-life balance; the job was all consuming. Ellen made a commitment right then and there to consciously weave balance into her career as she continued down her path to success.
Are there other departments or positions within your company that you aspire to? However they might be a step up— you may feel like you are not completely qualified or lack the experience so you aren’t willing to express interest? Just think if Ellen didn’t speak out, step up, and take a risk for the position of General Manager. She may not be where she is today. Don’t let fear hold you back from pushing forward in your career.
Ellen was highly successful in her new position with Pepsi-Cola. Because of her accomplishments and client contacts made while at Pepsi-Cola, she was approached by the executive team at Ascent Sports, at the time owners of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, for the position of President. Ellen seized this opportunity. Her luck had continued. Do you feel stuck in your current role or company? Have you lost your enthusiasm you bring to your job? Now is not the time to put less effort into your job; now is the time to work harder than ever. Continue with high quality work because this defines your personal brand. This sets the stage for your next move in your career path. You never know what opportunities may come along from clients or contacts that you interact with each day and if you’re not putting 100% into your current job and defining your personal brand, these opportunities may pass you by.
After two years spent as President of Ascent sports, Ellen could no longer hold her entrepreneurial spirit back. From what she learned in the arena of high level sporting events, Ellen developed a software technology geared towards the meetings and events industry. Unlike lemonade stands this venture was not without risk; this was big time. Ellen connected with another one of her mentors who knew the venture capitalist arena. Through his guidance and a lot of networking, Ellen secured $4 million which allowed her to move from business plan to reality. However, this business start-up failed after three years. Ellen took it in stride; learning more valuable lessons.
“I did the best I could knowing what I knew at the time” says Ellen. “I’m proud of myself, never look back, and have no regrets.”
Have you had a recent failure lately? Maybe something didn’t go as planned? Do what Ellen did and look at your failure as a learning experience and use what you learned to move forward down your path to success.
Feeling tired and “out of balance”, Ellen took time off to spend with her family and to do some soul searching. “I took a lot of time thinking about how hard I wanted to work, how long, and in what industry” says Ellen. “I decided I wanted to help people develop."
Ellen started The Robinson Group— a business and leadership coaching service where she serves as Principal today. Ellen focuses on helping business executives become more effective in the workplace. Of course she stresses the importance of work-life balance to her clients—something near and dear to her heart. By remaining true to herself and taking time to figure out how she wanted to work and live, Ellen truly has found success and happiness. And of course a little bit of luck along the way helped too.
So what can we learn from Ellen’s climb to the top?
1. Importance of mentors— looking back at Ellen’s journey, it appears that a mentor was involved at most key turning points in her career path, whether passing a job opportunity her way or assisting with advice and guidance. If you don’t have mentors, start reaching out.
2. Risk taking— Ellen was not afraid to step out of her comfort zone in order to move up in her career and ultimately change careers. Are you willing to take a risk?
3. Strategic thinking— sometimes a career path unfolds naturally and sometimes it takes some strategic thinking and soul searching. If you are on a career path, decide where you see yourself in the future and map out a course of action to get there. Don’t have a career path? Return to #1— get a mentor to help guide you.
