Day 34: Christine O’Connell

November 3, 2009 at 12:01 am, Category: Inspiration

“I think first you have to believe in yourself, and you have to believe in who you are.  Confidence and self-confidence in who you are is key.  If you’re not sure who you are, I think you need to find who that person is and figure out what it is that motivates you, what inspires you, what are you passionate about?”

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Toni Reece: Christine, before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?

Christine O’Connell: Sure.  My name is Christine O’Connell.  I work for Advantage Sales and Marketing as a manager in the talent development department.

Toni: Okay, and whether this is in the work that you do every day or even personally, the first question that I want to ask you is who do you inspire and how do you do that?

Christine: That’s a great question, and I would dare to say I think I inspire anyone that I encounter in my life across the board.  So whether it be personally or professionally, I think one thing I’ve learned is that in life you have an influence on others in one sense of the word and making sure that any time you interact with another individual — whether it be like I said professionally or personally — that you’re aware of that.  And I think every day there’s a little bit of influence.

I think primarily in the workplace it is my staff and my team.  I think I have the ability to kind of see the stars inside of them, maybe the hidden talents, and make them or help them pull those out and, you know, be able to rise to the occasion and do what’s needed to move themselves in their career professionally as well as personally.

Toni: Fantastic!  And when you do that and you work with these people, what do you do?  How do you go about realizing that influence that you have on others that may actually inspire them?

Christine: It’s funny because, you know, someone once said to me, “How do you do what you do?”  And I’m like “I don’t have a method to my madness or a science to what I do.”  “But it’s really about finding out who the person is and what’s important to them, and giving them and providing them the opportunity to grow and move down that path for them in life, whether that falls in the agenda you have for them or not.  And I think that’s probably a difficult piece a lot of people have, “Well, that’s not what I want them to do, so I’m not going to help them.”

My theory is, if I can do anything to help them move to wherever it is, it’s inspiring to them.  They feel … I guess the cool part about it when you hear them say “Thanks for challenging me” or “Thanks for giving me that opportunity” and “That opportunity has made me feel like this, or has made me feel like I can do anything now.”

Toni: How does that translate with what you do on a day-to-day professional level into your personal life?

Christine: Well, I think in my personal life I try to inspire and be there for anyone that I’m friends, family, whatever it is.  And how I do that in my personal life is, you know, I think I’m the one people reach out to a lot.  And it’s such a privilege to think that people reach out to me and think that I can help them walk down a path, figure out a new direction, you know, inspire them to do something different, and just by being there and listening and really kind of giving some personal experiences to lend when I was in a situation or that type of place or what my thoughts were, you know.  But always indicating that really it’s up to them to make that decision and really drive and get what they want out of life because life’s just too short; you have to drive and you have to get what you want because you never know.

Toni: So basically, it sounds as though it relates to both personal and professional.  I just heard some personal ownership taking place that you drive towards others is that, “I’ll help you get to this place, but there has to be some personal ownership along the way.”

Christine: Absolutely.  You know, you can inspire and give positive words and support, but it really is up to each and every person to make that difference or make that change and drive down the path that they want.  And in thinking about it, you really have to take a look at who you are, what you want, and what’s really important to you and drive down that.  And I think making people accountable or asking them to say “Here’s what I think”, but if you … and you get to live with yourself for the rest of your life, what is it that you want to be known for, or what is it that you want this to be?  What is your outcome that you’re looking for?

Toni: Do you run into resistance?

Christine: Sometimes, yes, absolutely.  It’s like, “Oh, it will never work” or the negativity or — it’s horrible to call it this — but the “poor me” syndrome, the victim syndrome.  Each one of us has the opportunity to say “I’m not going to be that person; I’m going to step out of this, I’m going to make myself into what I want to be”, and I think it’s showing them that there are ways or giving examples or stories that lend to that, where you’ve seen it either in yourself or others that could help that person get to that point.

Toni: When you do all of this work to help others to be the best they can be professionally, challenge them, also personally, what do you seek for yourself?  What do you need to be inspired, Christine?

Christine: I need someone to do the same for me, so I don’t think I would be giving back as much if someone hadn’t given to me as much.  There have been a few people in my life throughout my career that have really inspired me; and they’ve given me the opportunities, they’ve taken the risks, they’ve shown me the light in one sense.  You know, “Here, try this, go here” … and if I didn’t have the accountability to step out there and do it, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today.  And I give all that credit to those people that have inspired me throughout my career and my life in general.

Toni: And when you are with those people or those people that have shown you by example and provided you with the affirmations to take that risk, do you find yourself when you feel like you might need just a little bit more inspiration or you need to kind of fill that up again, do you reach for certain tools and resources to do that?

Christine: I probably reach for people that give me that boost most, so it’s reaching out to those people that were my mentors or going back to maybe something they wrote or something that was inspiring that I’ve read to get me back on page and back in the place where I need to be.  Tools and resources?  Really, it’s anything that’s going to motivate me.  I mean, one thing I do every day with my team is I send a quote of the day because it’s the quote that’s going to inspire me for the day, and I want to inspire them in a certain way.  So it’s the little things really that matter most, I think, and reaching out and having those available to me.  So whether it be a phone call from a friend, catching up, reading a motivational article or a quote, those types of little things really make a difference for me.

Toni: And when you’re exploring your own potential — which in your professional life it sounds like that is really what you do is that you explore other people’s potential and make sure they are successful — how do you do that for yourself?

Christine: I’m always looking for whatever opportunities are in front of me, and I’m willing to take on any challenge.  And it’s interesting, in my career I have moved a lot in terms of position — sometimes by choice and sometimes not by choice — but every choice has been made consciously and has the timing and fate around it that it was the right move to take me in the next direction that I need to go into, and that goes for my personal life as well.

You know, you kind of encounter situations where you can go one way or the other, and you take the risk and you go that way and it actually pays off in the long run.  And it’s just getting out there and putting yourself out there and allowing that risk to happen, and then taking accountability whether it works or it doesn’t.

Toni: Do you think it takes a lot of courage to do that?

Christine: I think it does.  I think it’s a long time coming.  I think for me, personally, it probably just needed a good first part of most of my life, about a quarter of a century before I figured it out, I think, and it’s part of driving down that path.  And I think every day I continue to learn more and more how to do that.

Toni: How do you think someone can do what you did?  Go for the opportunities, realize that you’ve got to put yourself out there, but where do you think they can go to gather that strength and courage to walk down that path?

Christine: I think first you have to believe in yourself, and you have to believe in who you are.  Confidence and self-confidence in who you are is key.  If you’re not sure who you are, I think you need to find who that person is and figure out what it is that motivates you, what inspires you, what are you passionate about?  My passion is helping people do what they do better, so it doesn’t matter what part of my life … that’s what I’m passionate about, and I want to make sure anything I do involves that.  So it’s really about looking inside yourself and saying “Is this where I want to be?” and what it is and going and finding it.  Now if that takes you reading a book, if that takes you reaching out to friends, if that takes you going to counseling, whatever that avenue is to get there is what you need to do to get there.

Toni: I’m sure there’s a ton of resources and tools that you would provide to others to help them get to that place to determine what their passion is and to help them with their self-confidence.  I’m assuming that maybe there were times when you reached for those tools as well.

Christine: Yes, absolutely.  Strengths Finder is one of the biggest things I’ve actually used.  The thing about Strengths Finder I like is it focuses on what you do well and asks you to do more of it, versus what you don’t do well.   I think a lot of times when you use tools, you focus on what you’re not doing good and try to work on that.  I’d rather focus on what I’m doing good and do better of that.  I think that’s one of the key tools.  I mean, there’s many assessments such as Myers-Briggs discs, all kinds of assessments out there that will help you kind of find where you sit, what you tend to do most, that will help guide you down the path of what’s going to work for you, but it’s definitely not what you need to change about you.

Toni: I see.  So the work that you’ve done on yourself, Christine, how would you say that’s translated into your professional career and what you do on a day-to-day basis?

Christine: I think how it’s translated into my career is really the opportunities that have opened, the doors that have opened for me throughout my career.  I think professionally I have a pretty good reputation in the industry.  I know what I’m doing; people know that I know that and there’s just something about it that in your network that people talk about.  And it’s a good feeling to know that it’s not just one person, it’s multiple people, and those connections make everything that has happened in my life happen.  Personally, I don’t know; I think it’s about, you know, really identifying with myself and who I am and where I’m going and following that path.

Toni: And I would think that what I’m hearing you say as well through this whole interview is setting that example, that if you’re not sure, be sure.  If you seek help and influence, make sure that you find the right influence for you, the right inspiration for you, and to take that personal ownership.  Is that what I’m hearing you say through this interview?

Christine: Absolutely.  I think that is right on.

Toni: It’s really amazing.  You have provided a really nice way for people to learn from your interview how the personal development does absolutely tie in to a professional career — and when it fits, it fits — and to never stop seeking and to always know where you sit.  And I think that people listening to this interview will benefit by what you’ve said and learn from it.  So for that, I truly thank you for taking part in this project.

Christine: Thank you.  It was a great opportunity, and I’m so excited.

Toni: Thank you, Christine, and I hope that we speak soon and good luck to you.

Christine: Thank you.

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