Significant Career Lesson From a Managing Director, Programs And Communication at Work on Climate
Inbal, a Managing Director, learned that their "multi-passionate" nature and diverse skillset—moving between sales, operations, and marketing—were valuable assets, contrary to initial concerns. By trusting their intuition and not conforming to expected career paths, Inbal found a leadership role that leverages this "breadth of knowledge" to effectively manage a large organization.
Career Development, Communication, Executive/Leadership, Overcoming Challenges, Resilience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Inbal Nachman
Managing Director, Programs & Communication
Work on Climate
UC Berkeley - Class of 2012
INSEAD - MBA 2018
Ethnic & Related Studies
Climate, Environment, Sustainability & Waste Management
Operations and Project Management
Honors Student, Immigrant
Video Highlights
1. Inbal's career path highlights the value of diverse skills and experiences. Rather than specializing early, she explored various roles (sales, operations, partnerships, marketing), initially believing this would hinder her career. This diverse experience has proven invaluable in her current leadership role.
2. Contrary to initial concerns, Inbal's varied background provides a broad skillset enabling her to effectively manage a large organization. This challenges the conventional notion that deep expertise in one area is always superior.
3. Inbal emphasizes the importance of staying true to oneself and trusting one's intuition when making career decisions. She encourages others not to conform to prescribed career paths, but rather to follow their passions and build a career that aligns with their unique strengths and interests.
Transcript
What's one lesson you've learned that has proven significant in your career?
I had to learn a lesson the hard way: I'm a generalist, a multipassionate individual with skills in many different fields. I always felt like something was wrong with that because society values deep expertise, and I didn't have that.
I popped into different roles quite often, going from sales to operations, to partnership management, and then to marketing. I really feel like I spread myself all over. A lot of people told me this pattern wouldn't look good on my resume.
They said it meant I wouldn't have deep subject knowledge or expertise, which might make it harder to get jobs in the future. Now that I've gotten to where I'm at, I realize that having a breadth of knowledge is actually a valuable skill. It really helps me manage a large organization.
So, to summarize this lesson: I learned I just had to stay true to myself, even if it didn't fit what others expected my career trajectory to look like. By trusting my intuition and making intentional decisions, I got to a place that utilizes a lot of these strengths. It's a much better fit for me than if I had tried to dig deeper into one specific knowledge field.