Colleen O'Hara

In layperson terms, what do you actually do at work?

I look at goals a team is trying to achieve and draw up a plan to make those goals a reality. I break down the problem into different steps, figure out who should own the different pieces of activity, assign dates and make sure everything lines up when I put all the pieces together. Then, I work with each owner to see if they agree with the plan and timing. I also set up regular meetings with all the activity owners to check on status, discuss issues, and allow a forum for different functional owners to coordinate with each other. In between these meetings, I am meeting with the owners one on one to make sure they understand the plan and to clarify or discuss in more depth something we may have not had time to cover in the group meetings. We affectionately call it herding cats.

When did you get your first Big Break? How did you get it? How did it go?

I didn't get any of my big breaks from setting up a 5 year plan or carefully managing my future. I have never been good about leveraging a mentor relationship. All my big breaks were from working hard and pouring myself into my job and having good leaders that recognized my performance and the reputation I was building with those I encountered in my day to day job. One of my biggest breaks was getting selected to an expat assignment and living in Malaysia for just over a year. It was a life changing experience for me, beyond just career. Then, the next one after that was deciding I wanted to make a significant career trajectory shift somewhat later in my career and having leaders sign up to take a chance on me.

When you were a student, did you do anything outside of school to build skills or get knowledge that has helped your career?

I played sports and got involved in student government. I believe these activities helped develop my leadership skills and to work well in teams.