Is the Company Culture Right For You with Carolyn Bennett-Sullivan

Danielle Cobo  0:05  
The dream job with Danielle Cobo podcast is designed to empower women to turn life's biggest challenges into their greatest strength. To address the confidence gap and why women often struggle with visibility. Guests, I talk about how to find your voice, create your seat at the table, and how to be an amazing ally to other women in the workplace. I am a career coach, keynote speaker, corporate trainer, military spouse, and mom to young twin boys. I have experienced as a fortune 500 company leader who guided a team to number one in the nation, having a thriving career and a balanced life is within every woman's reach. And the time is now. 

Hey, everyone, welcome to another episode of dream job with Danielle Cobo. I am your host Danielle Cobo. And today we have an extraordinary guest. Her name is Carolyn Bennett Sullivan and Carolyn has 15 years and pharmaceutical medical and nutraceutical sales. She is author of Get the eff out, and TEDx speaker. She has experienced firsthand to creating your best life is you get stuck in fear, feelings experiences resistance, which manifests as self doubt self sabotage, stress, limiting beliefs, fear of change, procrastination, and more. I'm sure many of us can relate to many of these. It results in a feeling of stuck procrastination on what you know you should be doing to be filled with guilt and shame because you're not moving forward. It affects you professionally and personally seeping into your work family and relationships and robs you of feeling full and setting. Today Carolyn is the vice president of soft golf, wife, and mother and I'm so excited for her to be joining us today. So thank you so much for joining us, Carolyn.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  1:58  
Thank you so much, Danielle, I am delighted to be here.

Danielle Cobo  2:02  
Well we are excited to have you here as well. And you've had an incredible journey throughout your career. And as we talked about kind of before jumping on today's episode is we share a very similar background in medical sales. And I know that's a lot of what our our listeners do as well. Yeah. Tell us a little bit about your career journey.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  2:24  
Well, I've had a really varied career journey. I would say the the one common thread through it all, is I've typically always had been in sales. And really, we're all in sales, no matter what our position is, we are always selling ourselves, are we not? So, you know, I started out in actually doing temporary sales, I transitioned into pharmaceutical sales, and then medical sales and nutraceutical sales. And now in my current role, as vice president of a company with that also includes business development. So that is still sales and creating and building those relationships to increase our sales at soft golf and also for my own business, which is savvy heart increasing visibility and brand awareness of my book and speaking opportunities. So that's that's it's been a a very interesting journey. And, and fun doing a lot of different things and learning about different parts of business, and the different roles that individuals play in business and in corporate too, because you don't always stay in one position if you're working for a company, you're always looking to change and grow.

Danielle Cobo  3:57  
That's one of the benefits of as you start to go up in the corporate environment, whether you go as an individual contributor up to a leader and continue to go up, you have a variety of perspective on how the different departments collaborate together. And you really get to see that big picture thinking, you know, when you're an individual contributor role, and you're really in that sales, you're focused a lot on the customer. And as you climb up, as you know, going into a vice president role, you're not only thinking about what are where's the business gonna go now in that supporting that customer, but where is the business going to go in the future innovation with new products, new strategies, new forecasting, launching new products, whatever it is, but it's definitely a bigger picture the higher you go,

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  4:50  
Oh, absolutely, there's no question about it. And I think even when you are in a sales position it's an important to have that big picture to kind of look at what is the overall mission and value and vision of the company that I work for? Not only for how, how can I utilize that to further my own career? But how can I also utilize that to serve our end user, our customers? So it really is having that. Having the big vision in mind with everything that you do. Yes, you always have your day to day and your weekly goals, your monthly goals, but having that overarching goal of what is the mission? And and what part do I play, you know, in that mission of the company, because everybody has an integral role, no matter what your position is, within a company, you know, within a company within an organization.

Danielle Cobo  6:01  
Yeah, it is every, you know, everybody contributes to the overarching goals of the organization. And I know that I'm grateful for the experience that I had you and I both coming from pharmaceutical medical sales and having the training that we did, because I truly believed it prepared me for where I'm at now, because as an entrepreneur and a business owner, we were talking a little briefly before jumping on here, you do everything. I mean, you are the you're the marketing department, the social media department, you're the HR, the payroll, creating courses, and coaching and customer service, it is everything you can possibly think of in running a business, and you're doing it on your own. And then you get to decide, you know, when are you bringing on assistants and outsourcing, it's just, it's a lot more than I ever anticipated. But it's probably would have been one of the most extraordinary experiences, really understanding how to run a business.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  6:59  
Absolutely. I think the entrepreneurs journey, I think a lot of people and I'm one of them, you know, you you're passionate about something. So you say, Well, you know, I'm going to pursue this passion. And I get to do what I love every day, without understanding that there are so many different roles, so many different things that you have to do as a business owner in order to keep that business going. And I it trips up a lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners. And I that's one of the biggest challenges. Because if if you don't like accounting, which I don't like accounting, and that's not really in my bailiwick, but you've got to do it, then either you have to learn it, or you have to generate the income to outsource it. So I think that's why, you know, they say so many small businesses fail. And a lot of that is because they're not prepared for what it really takes to be able to run a business and be successful.

Danielle Cobo  8:13  
Yeah, and when you whether you are an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur, where you're working in an organization, the more that you think like a business owner, the more successful you're going to be, even if you were in sales, and you're working for a fortune 500 company, when you really take a look at how do you get to support your customers? How do you be an advocate or of the organization, really understanding the why on some of the decisions that are being made and the processes that are taking place? The more you have that big picture thinking and run it as your own business, the more successful you're going to be?

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  8:50  
Absolutely, there's no question about that, Danielle, you know, really, when it comes down to it, where we all create our own realities, we create our own life, right? So it's really important when you are an employee to be clear about how do you want to design that role within the context of the company? What is it that you bring to the table? So it's not just you know, and I think this happens, really in any corporation you get a job and you've done it for a while and you kind of start just going through the motions you kind of lose that spark you know, the excitement of when you first got the job and burnouts you know, starts to happen. I mean, I know I got very burned out and pharma. And yet, I think if I understood what I understand now that you know, you are the captain of your own ship, you do create your own reality. I I believe back then, I would have taken more of a leadership role within my own role as the sales rep. And and taken on the personal responsibility of how can what can I add to, to add more value to this position, what can I add to add more value for my customers and for the company. And and when you take on that kind of leadership, that's what's going to help you grow not only within your, in your role as a sales rep, it's also going to help you get promoted. Because management is going to see that management is going to see that you're accountable. Management is going to see that you're taking ownership and really giving your best value for your company and for your customers. And, you know, so it is it is that, you know, intrapreneurship that terminology wasn't around when I was in pharma. That's how long ago it's been. However, I think that that is really important, no matter what your role is, in any business, is to take that personal accountability for what you can do to add value.

Danielle Cobo  11:30  
Yes, it's treating it like it's your own business and always adding value and running it like it's your own it. And I would there's a quote that I always speak to, and it's by Tara Frank, and she's the VP of hallmark for the Diversity Department. And it says people don't get promoted for doing their job well, people get promoted for the potential that others see in them. So if you're wanting to step into a leadership role, if you're wanting to step into a marketing role, then it's about exemplifying those skill sets now so that they're saying, oh, this person would be great. You want your shoulder, especially in those big corporations, a lot of a lot of things happen behind the scenes, often a position will be open, they already know who they're filling it with. And it's because those individuals that have exemplified those skill sets for that next roll, those are the ones that are getting their shoulder tapped.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  12:28  
Oh, absolutely. There's no question about it. There's no There's no question. So you have to be your own best advocate. You know, and, and really show up.

Danielle Cobo  12:43  
And you worked for, you know, you worked for a huge pharmaceutical company. And you had shared at one point that it got purchased by an, you would work for one company had been purchased by a very large, big pharma company, we now refer to it as Big Pharma. But you decided to leave so tell us a little bit more about why you left where what went behind the decision of that?

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  13:06  
Right. So I started out I worked for sterile and sterile was when after we had launched Celebrex and Bextra, we were purchased by pharmacy. And then pharmacy was purchased by Pfizer. And at that point, I chose to take the severance package. So I had gone and interviewed, we, you know, I thought I'm not going to just leave, I need to go interview and we had interviews with different Pfizer district managers. And you know, at that point, I had been in pharma sales for over 11 years, I was feeling pretty burned out and really ready to do something different. And on top of that, I really didn't feel like I was going to fit into Pfizer's culture. So Pfizer's culture, back then, was very patriarchal. It was very much micromanaged. And I had had quite a bit of it sterile and which I think was just part of Pharma. And at the time, I think it you know, it was really motivated through fear and intimidation. 

Danielle Cobo  14:39  
And for those of you listening right now, that could probably relate to this because also being in a position where I've worked for a company that's been acquired multiple times by bigger companies. Yes. As these bigger farmers, pharma companies, pharmaceutical companies come in, it's they're tracking you know, how many calls are you making? Where are you going? Who are you spending your time with? And they're just tracking everything. And sometimes it feels like you're spending more time doing admin work of tracking things than you are actually in the field interacting with customers. I know many of the listeners can relate to this. Yeah, especially if you've been on my team before you, you know that this was a pain point that I did not like doing. Yeah, it's not to do it anymore. But yeah, that is kind of one of the challenges. And when you think about run it like your own business, if you hire people that you trust, then why are we micromanaging them? 

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  15:36  
Exactly. And, you know, that was one of my big frustrations when I was in pharma was, I remember one Regional Director, you know, at one point, he would talk about, you know, how much money we invest in you as sales reps, and, and you know, you're the cream of the crop and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, you know, and then six months later, or if you turn around and would be micromanaging us and treating us like we didn't even know how to sell. So, you know, those are pain points. And when you're in, in that industry, it is very frustrating, so that was one of the reasons why I chose to leave. I really, I did not feel like I was going to fit into their culture, which I said that was very patriarchal. Hank McKinnell, who was CEO at the time, was former military, you know, so it was kind of that whole type of being the business being run kind of like that. And the other thing too, you know, we had co promoted with Pfizer, we were a much smaller company that CO promoted Celebrex and Bextra with Pfizer because we had Mark right behind just launching Vioxx. And so the company realized it needed a big gun company to help us get the market share up for Celebrex. When it was first launched. We only had six months before Merck was launching Vioxx. So there was kind of, I want to say, I felt like sometimes there was kind of an attitude that I felt like I got from Pfizer and Pfizer reps that were better than you. You know, because they were a bigger company, they had big blockbuster drugs. And I was like, you know, I, I want to have colleagues where I feel like I'm on equal footing with them. And so that that really the those were some of the deciding factors for me as to why I chose to take the severance package. And interestingly enough, my colleagues that did that stayed on, I think there are one or two that may still be with the company everyone else got when they were all laid off within a year. So

Danielle Cobo  18:27  
It's interesting, you talk about that feeling that you had where a company comes in, and there's this almost like pretentiousness about them. Where are they they the feeling that you got the the perception that you had was that they were better than you. And I see that with some of these larger companies in comparison to some of their smaller companies. But I also see it within these big companies, where depending on which division you work in, depending on how much money the company invests in that division, there almost becomes this unspoken hierarchy. Even though often, you know, leadership will say, "Oh, well, we're equal, you know, you guys are all equal." But there is this unspoken hierarchy. And there's been times where I've worked for a division and felt like we used to joke around saying, Well, we're the redheaded stepchild is what we used to be referred to we refer to ourselves as we didn't feel like we were on equal playing field. Now we say that a great way of judging someone's character and it wasn't when he was a judging but observing someone's character is, is when I go to interview somebody, I see their interactions with the people that they have. From the moment they walk in. Oftentimes, I'll interview people in a hotel from the moment they walk in, how do they interact with the person parking their car, how do they interact with the hotel staff? You know, if you How do they interact with the server? You know, you can tell a lot by somebody's character by how they treat everyday people that they interact with. If you're checking out of your hotel room, are you saying hi to the person that cleans your hotel? If you're going to the restroom, and the person is, you know, taking cleaning up the restroom, are you acknowledging them? Are you just going in washing your hands and leaving?

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  20:22  
Yeah, absolutely. And I think you're you're so on point, Danielle, with different divisions like I can remember there used to be a lot of tension at Seral between marketing and sales. Because as salespeople, we were not always thrilled with the marketing and the marketing ideas, you know, and

Danielle Cobo  20:48  
That's a constant at any company I think.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  20:51  
You know, when you get your shipments and you get the big boxes in the mail, and you it specially back then when we had all the tchotchke stuff we were given out, right? And you're like, really, you expect me to give this to?

Danielle Cobo  21:08  
Oh my gosh, I remember my mom was in pharmaceutical sales. And she was passing out Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner. I mean, this really goes back to the days of just the stuff that they would pass out, right? Not related to whatever medication she was promoting at that time. But

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  21:25  
I just I just remember one and I apologize if any of you listening ever worked for Seral and in marketing, but we had one. So we used to have Calan Sr, which is a verb Verapamil product. This is an old old product. And so they used to call it one of the marketing campaigns was the gentle giant. So we got these staplers with whales on the top of them. It was so bad, you know, like, really, you know, and back then we were really competing against Pfizer, you know, because they had was nifedipine, which is the generic name for you know, but I can't remember the brand, the brand name, but you know, we competed against them. And card is in, you know, they were the big, the big guns, but.

Danielle Cobo  22:29  
I'm really grateful I was in esthetics because some of the things that we got were, you know, eye patches to the eye skin care. Ya know, I I'm actually really grateful for some of the fun things I got in esthetics.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  22:43  
And you know we got some good ones too. I mean, you know, we did, you know, with Ambien, we got some good, some good giveaway.

Danielle Cobo  22:54  
Maybe some iPad. Yeah, maybe like an eye mask studio.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  22:58  
Well, but, you know, it's just funny to your point, within divisions and within departments. There can be that, you know, in or like siblings like this bickering, you know, and you, but I think one of the things that COVID has changed, you know, within that COVID You know, COVID turned everything upside down. Companies had to and people had to pivot very quickly, they had to become very resilient. And, and, and really just adapt quickly. I mean, I, you know, I think about the reps out there that have families, and suddenly, they can't go into doctors offices, the kids are being homeschooled, and now they have to manage calling on their clients in a completely different way. And adjusting to that, as well as overseeing homeschooling. I honestly, I don't know how people did it, I really have such such admiration. And, you know, for the parents out there during this whole time with COVID. So I think one thing that COVID brought to corporations was the humaneness and the vulnerability that all of us have, and the willingness to to adapt and adjust quickly. Because everybody had to, yeah, no one had a choice.

Danielle Cobo  24:53  
We will be right back to today's episode. What do you want to get a promotion, find a new job or increase your sales performance. The feeling of clarity on how to accelerate your career is priceless. The risk of uncertainty is missing out on promotions getting passed over by another candidate, or in sales, leaving money on the table. You're left feeling stuck, frustrated and discouraged. 74% of employees feel like they are not achieving their full potential because of lack of development opportunities, it becomes a lot easier to get there when you know where you're going. How would you feel if you knew exactly where to go, and how to get there, with 15 years of experience in corporate America, among the most recent seven years, leading a team for Fortune 500 company to number one in the nation, I've experienced success firsthand. And I've helped 1000s of others through keynote speaking corporate workshops, and one on one coaching on how to achieve their goals without sacrificing their personal life. As a mom to four year old twins, business owner and military spouse, I believe everyone can have a thriving career and a balanced life. I invite you to go to my website, Danielle Cobo, that CO bo.com Danielle cobo.com and schedule your career discovery session with me. Thanks for tuning in. And back to today's episode. 

Our work now as employees were expecting, you know, we talked about his great resignation and how there's a lot of companies that are looking to fulfill positions and they're having a hard time fulfilling them. And it's because employees are looking for culture and they're looking for flexibility. Because you spoke directly to that, you know, when that when the pandemic first hit, my husband had just gotten home from my serving a year deployment he had been home for maybe, gosh, and he was home for two months before the pandemic it so here I'm thinking he's gonna come back from Iraq. And you know, we're gonna go to dinners, and we're gonna have all this fun, and that's not the case. And so we're trying to adjust to him coming home and not integration of being away from a year, then, you know, kids and leading a team through a pandemic, which you've never done before. So if you're listening, please give your whoever was leading you at that point, give him some grace, because that was really stressful as a manager trying to navigate through that, when you've got a lot of people coming to you wanting answers, and you don't always have them. But yeah, the flexibility is what a lot of people are looking for right now is is an understanding that there's going to be times where you're going to have to work from home because your kids are quarantined. My kids were quarantined for two weeks recently,

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  27:42  
Right. Absolutely. Absolutely. And, and, you know, I think, I think COVID was the great wake up call. I think it was, you know, it was so abrupt, it happened so fast. And I think, and all of us were affected, you know, there's no one that was not affected in some way, from COVID. And I think it made people realize that they wanted so much more from their lives, you know, here you have this disease is running rampant, this virus, there are people dying from it. There are, you know, people really sick, there's, you know, it was just so disruptive. And that's what causes people to take a step back and really evaluate what's going on with their life and say, Hey, wait a second, you know, this working 60 hours a week. And, you know, my job is my number one priority. Wait, there's, there's gotta be more. So even to the point of what we were just talking about, of being an intrapreneur. You know, it's it's also about getting really clear about what you want for your life. And what are your priorities and not fitting? Not making yourself fit into something like a culture that isn't in alignment with your values. And what what you want for your life with what your priorities are. Because that that is the intrapreneur role. Yeah, you give your best to your company. But if you're giving your best to your company, at the at the risk of harming yourself or burning yourself out, then you're probably not in the right company.

Danielle Cobo  29:57  
Yeah, you're and that's your So speaking to exactly what I went through, my husband returned from this year deployment while he was gone, my twins were two, they I was traveling 60% of the year, I was working for a fortune 500 company, I was leading a team. Here he comes back then COVID hits my mom, my mom committed suicide around the same time. Oh my gosh, yeah, it was just, it all hit at once. It was just a lot of life changing experiences all at once. And it really opened my eyes to going, what do I want the next five to 10 years to be? You know, am I happy with what I'm doing. And I was seeing some things where I was seeing a culture shift I was seeing, I had lost some of the confidence and my joy in what I was doing. And so I remember writing down a list and going okay, what do I love about my job? What would I change? Or what would I do without? What I loved was the coaching and the mentoring and sitting down with people on my team and going okay, where do you want to be five years, let's build a career plan, you know, hiring people, onboarding them, setting them up for success, loved it. What I didn't love as a micromanaging stuff that you just spoke to, which is getting on top of people will log your calls, oh my gosh, I don't have to get on people for logging their calls or getting their expense reports in on time or forecasting on time. I'm doing when accountable for that, which is grateful. And I outsource my accounting, which is nice. But yeah, just really taking inventory of your life and going. What do you love to do? And are you in? Are you in a position with a company that aligns with your core values? Are you in a position that brings you joy, the people that you work with what you do, and really looking at that and checking in with yourself frequently, too, because a lot can change in the year?

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  31:51  
Oh, absolutely. I mean, look how much, you know, change in three months? You know, is, so a lot can change in any year. And the other reason why you want to do that, Danielle, is because we get so busy. So if we don't, if we aren't checking in routinely, then we can lose sight of what we want. And we start living by default. And then the next thing we know another years pass another five years pass. I mean, it life goes fast. It truly does. And so that's why it is so important to stay on top of what are those priorities that I had? What is the vision for my life? You know, what brings me joy? And and am I taking the time to do that routinely? Am I making time for that? For those things? Because those are the things that are important. You know, it's, I think about, you know, when I get to the end of my life whenever that is tomorrow, for all I know, right? But but it's not because I know I'm gonna live to be really old. But but, you know, it's like, I don't want to have any regrets. I don't and regrets in, why didn't I do that? You know, why didn't I spend the time with the people I wanted to spend time with? Why didn't I take the vacations that I wanted to take? You know? Why didn't I pursue the things that I want to do for my career? You know, and if you're not taking the steps towards those things, then you have to ask yourself what's holding me back?

Danielle Cobo  33:58  
So what do you look for? We talked a lot about culture and looking at organization culture, what are some things that you look for? When it comes to company culture? There's advice that you'd give for our listeners going, ooh, maybe this isn't? I don't know if I'm in the right company or not. I'm looking kind of the culture, what are some things you would look for?

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  34:18  
I would look, number one for me is transparency. Especially from the executive team, are they transparent? Do they do they walk their talk? You know, or it's because he here you know, you read it, you go on a corporate website, and it's like, oh, we do this and we do this and then we do this. And then if you go on, indeed, and you look at the reviews of people that work there in their life, two stars. You're like, Okay, well, apparently they're not walking their talk. So for me transparency are they really are Are they authentic? Are they? Are they real? In their concern? And in their honoring of their employees? Are their employees valuable to them? Or are you just a number? You know, and that's how you know, with with pharma for me, I realized I was just a number, I could be replaced very easily didn't matter. My tenure didn't matter what I've given to the company. I had a bull's eye on my back, and I know it. And I think that that has happened with a lot of people, especially boomers, and Gen X, you know, who saw that so many layoffs and going through layoffs. So when you when you talk about a company culture, is it? Does the company have the same values that you have? Is it is the company? You know, if you're, do you like to have fun? Do you like to be light hearted? Or are you more serious? You know, does the company allowing you to have fun at your job? You know, you look at some of the companies now, especially some of the tech companies, they've got, you know, game rooms in there for people to have to go and take a break and have fun during the day. So, is that your style? Or is your style? Like, no, I want to go out there and get the work done? And, you know, so you have to look at what are their values? What are your values? Do you know what your values are? Are you clear about that? And, and so when you're looking at the culture, if, you know, if it doesn't feel right, then it's not right. You know, and that's not just have your manager because you can get a new man, I'll transfer,

Danielle Cobo  37:12  
Right.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  37:15  
But if the whole company is like that, and you and you feel oppressed, you don't feel valued, you know, then you need to find another company.

Danielle Cobo  37:28  
That is great advice. Great advice. And you spoke so true. I remember growing up, my mom and I always went on a winter trip and a summer trip. And I always remember, we plan these winter trips. And then December hits, and it's uh, Danielle, I don't know, if I'm going to have a job work, the company is potentially going on layoffs. And I think that's probably why I've been such a, I learned early on the value and creating your brand. And always putting together a career plan long term, because you're right at the end of the day, no matter how successful company is, no matter how, even if it's going through expansion. We're always a number, it's just a reality of business. So if something happened for you tomorrow, they're gonna post your job within 24 to 48 hours. So know that the best investment you can make is in yourself. And really looking at what brings you joy, you spend 1/3 of your life working, make sure it's filling up your cup. And I always say your wallet too, especially if you're in sales. Highly motivated by that. But yeah, it's important to look at company culture and really investing in yourself for the long term of your career, because you just never know what tomorrow brings.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  38:43  
Well, you don't you don't and and, you know, I think I think one of the lessons that we've learned too, from COVID is the future is uncertain. I mean, we, you know, before COVID We were just going along, you know, this is here's the norm and, and no one anticipated what happened. And so, you know, companies are always changing. You know, one of the things that I speak to and then I've spoken at companies about are about navigating change, how to navigate change with greater confidence. And there's a lot of fear around change. And I think the the one thing that that you can do is is learn the skill sets and the tools to use to feel more confident in uncertain times. Because what we just experienced I don't think this is the last of it? 

Danielle Cobo  40:01  
No, I agree with you know.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  40:03  
And I'm not into humor at all, you know, I tend to be a very optimistic person. However, the more that you can feel confident within yourself, whenever you're faced with whatever kind of chaos is going on in your life, or whatever kind of changes happening in your life, you're going to be able to navigate that change better. And, you know, it's okay to feel uncomfortable. You know, it's okay to, to question like, what's going on? And what am I going to do? And how am I going to manage this, you know, that that's all normal human emotion. Yet, the point is, allow yourself, don't beat yourself up, allow yourself to know that getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, is how you're going to grow. And it's how you're going to be able to navigate that change successful successfully, no matter what that change is. So we know corporate culture, is constantly changing. You know, I did recently read an article that was published from Deloitte. And it talks about how executives, especially now with having dealt with COVID, really what are working to help their employees be more adaptive and more resilient. They're also looking for greater teamwork. And they realize that during COVID, that teams across different sectors of the company could pull together and cooperate in and really become productive and efficient. And, and that people could work outside their traditional roles, they stepped up to the plate. And management discovered, oh, well, this person that's in sales, as an example, also has these really great sales skill sets that we never even considered. So to your point, Danielle, investing in yourself, investing in your skill sets, investing in those things that you're passionate about. So if you're in sales now, but maybe you have a real passion for operations, you know, start learning what you need to learn about operations so that you have that skill set under your belt, when the opportunity knocks. And like you said, they're always looking at people who are taking the lead in their own careers, you know, to be to tap them on the shoulder. 

Danielle Cobo  43:14  
Well, you provided such valuable advice. I mean, really speaking to culture, and we talked about the great resignation, and the number one thing that employers are looking for is company culture. And you provided so many great nuggets in our episode today as to looking at, you know, is the company culture aligned with your core values and what you want to do. So thank you so much for joining.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  43:37  
Oh, you are so welcome. Thank you so much for having me.

Danielle Cobo  43:40  
Absolutely. And you know what this is perfect segue to because I have an episode coming up. That I invite everybody to tune into I have a another fellow military spouse, that's going to be joining in. And I will say that some of the things I learned as a military spouse change and resiliency and adapting to things because often as a military spouse, I don't know where I'm going to live. I don't know when he's going to get deployed next. There's been times where I've been laying in the hospital and need emergency surgery and my husband's been activated to leave, you just never know what's going to happen. And so we talk about some of the things that we've learned as military spouses that are skill sets that can be applied to everyday life. It was perfect that you kind of spoke to that and thank you, appreciate it.

Carolyn Bennett Sullivan  44:28  
Uh, you're welcome. My pleasure, Danielle, I thank you so much for having me on the show. And I'm just happy that I could be of service to you the mission.

Danielle Cobo  44:41  
Well, for those of you tuning in, I invite you to please share this episode with your friends, your family, your peers. I'm sure that there are people that you know out there that are kind of looking at is this culture right for me, so I invite you to share this episode. And of course, write a review. That's how exposed Have this podcast gets sent out is the more reviews and more downloads is what supports exposure to these to this podcast. And at the end of this day this podcast is support women and having a thriving career and abundant life. So thank you so much for tuning in and create an intentional day. Thank you for tuning in to today's episode. To receive your free career accelerator and crush your quota workbooks with actionable steps on how to accelerate your career. Go to Danielle cobo.com. To learn more about my services, including keynote speaking, corporate workshops and one on one coaching. I invite you to go to my website, Danielle cobo.com and schedule a call with me. And one last favor to ask. The best compliment is a review. Please take a quick minute to share on iTunes or Spotify. Why you enjoy tuning into the dream job with Danielle Cobo podcast. Thanks for tuning in and create an intentional day