I have always been a lover of fashion to express my unique personality and to show affinity and respect for others. But, conversely, my humor as a self-aware leader with high EQ tends to lean towards self-deprecation–recent studies show it makes you more human and likable.

During my second year at a high-growth technology company focused on big data and security, my team doubled in size, and our revenue targets increased 300% Y2Y. A combined interest of the team was the upcoming Country Music Awards. I had a history of doing a “game” self-motivator every quarter where I made a point to buy an expensive pair of up-cycled shoes, and then I would hold them until our team made our goal. I picked unique, outlandish, fun, colorful, and funky items. Then, during calls and meetings, I would show them to encourage my team to set tangible goals, fun ones like this, and serious ones such as buying a home or funding a college.

Coming into the meeting, I knew I needed to change the hearts and minds of the team and leave with a commitment to extreme ownership and massive action. I leveraged this occasion to make a visual and memorable example. Taking a risk, I did my hair like an award-winning country music artist and donned knee-high, purple suede, red-bottom boots. I connected the story of the investment in the boots to our growth in a clever, humorous, and memorable way by illustrating the premise of unreachable goals that we could achieve through creativity, teamwork, and focus. I had them share their BIG BETS, and we agreed on a plan to execute. I had flip charts where everyone shared their commitment with their peers and team.

I captured their attention and trust and pivoted the discussion into a big-bet business discussion that resulted in new ideas, focused efforts, and team collaboration. To this day, the past team members all remember that speech. The connection of the personal story to achieving big goals stuck. We ended the year 200% above our goal and increased customer satisfaction scores, and market share.

As, I reflect on the choices, risks, and connections of intersection, I refer to my first management role. I was an hourly employee fitness instructor at an 80’s fitness club chain in high school. The club managers had averaged retention of six months. I showed up on time (at that time, a big challenge), worked late, and took on additional responsibilities ranging from handling the front desk to cleaning the bathrooms. One week, half of the staff did not show up for work, so I stepped in as the manager, sales rep, and instructor. Because of my work ethic and tenacity, I was offered a role as a manager. I thrived and grew with minimal staff, deteriorating facilities, a roach problem, high sales quotas, and minimal support. The summer after graduation, I was earning a highly competitive wage for people 20 years my senior. With coaching from my mother, I realized as much as I enjoyed the health club lifestyle, a 60-hour, a seven-day-a-week job would not support a family lifestyle in the future. I attended a technology sales career fair and landed my first tech sales role.

My exposure to social impact at scale came from my experience at IBM, where we engaged with the local community via United Way, universities, and nonprofits. Corporate giving and citizenship expanded my personal view of how social impact work could scale through philanthropy, influencing policy, fundraising, and technology. As a result, I joined the TechBridge nonprofit board to get more involved with poverty alleviation and leveraging technology for good. My current role at Twilio allows me to combine revenue leadership which includes sales, marketing, partnerships, alliances, and employee engagement paired with social impact at scale.

I am an early adopter of the career plan “lattice versus ladder” framed by Deloitte Consulting. I have learned to pivot, take risks, and feel comfortable respecting the foundation and adding my own flair and perspective to make it my own.