Sometimes people meet you at the moment something finally happens for you, and they assume that moment tells them your entire story.
They see the promotion.
They don't see the years that came before it.
They don't see where you started, how many times you had to learn something new, how many people taught you along the way, how many people you eventually taught, or how many times you had to begin again.
People who meet me today may only see the new Meat and Produce Lead.
But that's not where my story started.
I started as a cashier.
Three months later, I became a Customer Service Manager.
From there, my journey took me through HBA and Cosmetics as a Department Manager. I worked as an Electronics Associate. I moved into Claims. I became a People Lead. I worked in Reclamation. I became an Apparel Lead. I returned to Asset Operations as a TA.
And now I'm stepping into another new chapter as a Meat and Produce Lead.
Every one of those positions was different.
Every one required me to learn.
Every one taught me something I carried into the next.
And every one introduced me to people who knew things I didn't.
Maybe the Detours Were Necessary
For a long time, I wondered why my career didn't go the way I imagined it would.
I had a goal.
I worked hard.
I had already held leadership positions.
So why did it take so long?
Now I'm starting to ask myself a different question.
What if I wasn't ready yet?
Not because I wasn't capable.
Not because I wasn't hardworking.
Not because I didn't have knowledge or potential.
Maybe I simply wasn't ready to become the kind of leader I wanted to be.
The younger version of me had already been a leader.
But when I look back at her, I can admit something today that I probably couldn't have admitted then.
I was tough.
I was strict.
I was by the book—150 percent.
There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
I thought being a strong leader meant knowing the rules, following them, expecting others to follow them, and making sure the job got done.
And yes, accountability matters.
Standards matter.
Doing the job correctly matters.
I haven't stopped believing those things.
But I've learned that people matter, too.
Leadership isn't only about knowing what needs to be done.
It's understanding the person you're asking to do it.
It's listening.
It's explaining.
It's teaching.
It's knowing when someone needs direction and when they simply need someone to believe they can figure it out.
It's being confident enough to lead while remaining humble enough to say:
"I don't know. Can you teach me?"
I don't think the younger version of me understood that yet.
The Comment That Showed Me How Much I've Changed
Recently, I heard that someone believed I received this promotion for reasons other than my ability.
Years ago?
That comment would have triggered me.
I would have been angry.
I probably would have immediately started thinking about how I was going to prove them wrong.
I'll show you how hard I work.
I'll show you what I know.
I'll show you that I deserve to be here.
But something surprised me this time.
It didn't trigger me.
I wasn't angry.
I didn't feel the need to defend myself.
Instead, I thought:
Okay.
They don't know me.
They don't know my journey.
They don't know what I've learned.
And I don't need to convince them.
I don't want to prove them wrong.
I want to do better for me.
That comment didn't make me want to fight.
It made me want to learn.
That's when I realized something much bigger than the promotion itself:
I've changed.
Maybe that's part of what those nineteen years were preparing me for.
You Met Me at the Promotion
People who meet me today didn't meet the cashier.
They didn't meet the Customer Service Manager.
They didn't meet the Department Manager.
They didn't work beside me in Electronics, Claims, Reclamation, Apparel, People, or Asset Operations.
They didn't see the mistakes.
They didn't see the lessons.
They didn't see the disappointments.
They didn't see the times I had to start again.
They didn't see the version of me who thought strength meant being tough all the time.
They met me at the promotion.
They didn't meet me during the years that prepared me for it.
And that's okay.
Because I'm not walking into Meat and Produce believing nineteen years of experience means I know everything.
Quite the opposite.
I'm walking into an area I've never worked in before.
There are associates there who know things I don't.
There are processes I'll need to learn.
There will be moments when I need guidance.
And instead of being embarrassed by that, I welcome it.
I can walk up to someone and say:
"You know this area better than I do. Show me."
That doesn't take away my authority.
It doesn't erase my experience.
And it doesn't make me less capable of leading.
I think it makes me more capable of learning how to lead them.
And when something from my own experience can help them, I'll share it.
They can teach me.
I can teach them.
We can make each other better.
That's the kind of leader I want to become.
Maybe I Wasn't Late
Nineteen years ago, I set a goal for myself.
For a long time, I probably looked at all the twists and turns in my career as detours from that goal.
Today, I'm beginning to see them differently.
Maybe I wasn't being taken away from my destination.
Maybe I was being prepared for it.
Maybe I needed the cashier experience.
Maybe I needed management.
Maybe I needed Claims.
Maybe I needed People.
Maybe I needed Reclamation.
Maybe I needed Apparel.
Maybe I needed Asset Operations.
Maybe I even needed the disappointments and the times things didn't happen when I thought they should.
Because every one of those experiences gave me something.
And perhaps the biggest lesson wasn't about operations, inventory, processes, or policies.
Maybe the biggest thing I had to learn was people.
And myself.
The woman standing here today isn't the same leader she was nineteen years ago.
I'm still strong.
I still believe in accountability.
I still believe standards matter.
But now strength doesn't have to mean hardness.
I can lead and listen.
I can teach and learn.
I can have expectations and compassion.
I can know something without needing to make someone else feel like they know nothing.
And I can admit when someone knows more than I do.
Don't Be Afraid to Start Again
So if your own life hasn't followed the path you planned, don't automatically assume you're behind.
Maybe some of those detours are teaching you something you're going to need later.
Don't be afraid to start over.
Don't be afraid to walk into something completely new.
Don't be afraid to become a beginner again.
You're never too old to do something that excites you.
You're never too old to return to a goal you set years ago.
And you still have time.
No matter what path you've traveled or how many times the direction changed, those experiences became part of you.
You learned.
You grew.
You changed.
And maybe the person who originally dreamed the dream wasn't quite ready to carry it yet.
Maybe the journey was helping you become that person.
For years, I thought reaching my goal would prove I was ready.
Now I understand something different.
The title doesn't prove I'm ready.
How I choose to lead will.
How I treat people will.
How I respond when I'm challenged will.
How I handle being underestimated will.
How willing I am to learn will.
How willing I am to admit when I'm wrong will.
And how I make the people around me feel while we're accomplishing the work together will.
I'm not entering this chapter to prove anyone wrong.
I'm entering it ready to discover how much more I can learn.
Nineteen years ago, I started behind a cash register with a goal.
Today, I'm still working toward that goal—but I'm carrying nineteen years of lessons with me.
Maybe I didn't take too long to get here.
Maybe it took this long to become the woman who was ready for what came next.
This isn't my finish line.
It's another starting line.
And this time, I'm not afraid to start again.
-SuzyAnna
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