Significant Career Lesson From A Founder And Program Director At Treats
Alison's most significant career lesson centers on kindness and emotional intelligence, emphasizing that "being kind being respectful...really goes a long way," fostering smoother collaborations and career advancement. This approach, coupled with trusting one's intuition and embracing calculated risks, has been instrumental in their success as a founder and program director.
Emotional Intelligence, Kindness and Respect, Following Your Gut, Entrepreneurship, Resilience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Alison Griffin
Founder and Program Director
Treats.
University of Southern California, 2012
N/A
Film, Media Arts, Visual Arts
Food, Beverages & Alcohol
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. Treat people kindly and with respect; emotional intelligence is key to success.
2. Prioritize kindness and consideration in the workplace; it makes collaboration easier and improves outcomes.
3. Follow your gut instincts and don't be afraid to take risks; trust your intuition and have faith in your abilities.
Transcript
Something that's been super significant and invaluable is remembering to first treat people kindly.
I think having a really high level of emotional intelligence is important. It's about meeting people where they are and remembering that work isn't everything.
It's nice to think of everybody as a person. People have different reasons for coming to different jobs. You might be more passionate about your job because it's your everything, while someone else might be at a job just because they need to make money and have a side project they're more passionate about.
Being conscious of that and meeting people where they are, being respectful of people's processes, is huge. I don't know if I have just one lesson, but being kind and being respectful has really gotten me super far in my career.
We have a joke in production: if there's someone who's nice and fun to work with and pretty good at their job, or there's someone who's great at their job but rude, the nice person gets picked every time. It really goes a long way to be kind and considerate, to think about other people.
At the end of the day, the work will get done. The way you get there can be a lot easier if you make some simple choices to be kind in a moment and not let stress get to you.
Also, just know that you'll be okay. It's easy, especially when you're young and don't know what the workforce feels like, to feel overwhelmed by the many possibilities.
But if you're always following your gut and leading with that – "I like this, I don't like that" – really go for it. Don't get distracted by what your friends or family are telling you, within reason.
Especially as a creative person and now as an entrepreneur, you might have a bigger capacity for risk-taking and trying something new. Just keep following your gut and know that you'll be okay. Have faith in that, and you'll be great.