- What initially drew you to D2L to begin your career journey in product operations? How did this experience differ from working in other industries or roles?
My journey at D2L began with an unexpected layoff at my previous employer. Sometimes we find amazing opportunities from seemingly difficult events. I had been working in product management (PdM) for several years while product operations was in the back of my mind. With that, it seemed like fate when I received a message from D2L’s Talent Team about an opportunity to join a relatively new product ops team at D2L, getting me back into EdTech, which I love, and giving me an opportunity to help build a team. During the interview process, I was asked, “Why product ops and not stay with PdM?” My answer was that I see product operations as, “product managing the PdM team,” which I stand by today. The concepts, frameworks and skillsets needed to be a successful product manager are the same that are necessary to be a solid product operations manager. In product ops you are simply focused on an internal stakeholder customer. Both functions are focused on solving problems and making the lives of your stakeholders easier, while continuously collecting feedback and testing hypothesis to create iterative improvements.
- What skills or mindsets have been essential for thriving through such a career transition?
Embracing change is the number one thing that comes to mind. Product ops sits on top of change; the trick is to be mindful and clear on the reason for change and ensure that teams are brought in and see the value. Bringing stakeholders in early will help them feel like owners of the decisions and feel that their voices are being heard and valued as we move forward.
Having a PdM mindset is crucial to success in product ops. We own the product development lifecycle to help the PdM and technology, engineering and development (TED) organizations build and deliver world-class products, and this is a perfect framework for us to leverage ourselves as we work through programs and projects. Discover, define, develop, deliver and debrief/decide is a proven way to ensure you are working in an Agile fashion and working on the right thing to deliver the most value for your stakeholders.
- How do you manage the fear of failure when trying something new?
Give yourself grace. Everyone experiences imposter syndrome. Learn from failures, ask questions, and lean on your team and manager for support. “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”
- What are some key lessons you learned along the way?
Set realistic goals and share them with your manager. Your growth benefits both you and your manager and your manager wants to see you succeed.
- How do you stay adaptable in an ever-evolving work environment?
Understand what is in your control and what is not. My life motto is “10:90,” which stands for “10% of life is what happens to you, and 90% is how you react to it.” This motto never fails, and that goes for in the workplace as well. Change is a part of life and work, and rarely is it ever personal. Roll with the punches, and always ask yourself how you can be most helpful and create the most impact. Lean on your manager, who likely knows a bit more of the big picture than you do and will be able to ease your nerves as well as ensure that you are focused on the right things in a changing environment.
- What do you think sets D2L apart in terms of culture, innovation or career development opportunities?
The people at D2L are what get me excited to get out of bed and log into work every day. We are solving some seriously complex problems, but we are all on the same (rocket)ship, so it’s important for us to realize we are a team I appreciate the value of work/life balance as this allows us to bring our best selves to work. At D2L, we think outside of the box and every voice is welcomed and heard. I know I can safely share a hot take with all levels, like our vice president or chief product officer (CPO), for example).
In terms of career growth, I was recently promoted to senior and am extremely grateful about how D2L values its employees and the value the company puts on career growth. Something that stuck out to me in the interview process was the impressive tenure of many of the D2Lers I was chatting with throughout. Having been here for 1.5 years now, I can fully understand why these people have stayed, as the people and projects have already brought a lot of fulfillments for me, and I feel like I am still just getting started.
- What is your favourite perk from D2L and why? Catch the Wave
Our Catch the Wave program, hosted by SkillsWave, has to be my favorite perk as I have already taken advantage of two courses (Carleton’s Mini MBA and McGill’s Change Management Leadership Certificate). The value I took away from these are incredibly valuable and applicable to my day –to day. It was also fun to have fellow D2Lers and teammates in the courses, as it has driven some great discussions about things we face in our day to day, while also making it possible to work with others from different teams and functions that I wouldn’t get to collaborate with otherwise.
- If you could offer just one piece of advice to other folks trying out new career paths, what would you say?
Learn and try new things. Finding ways to explore new skillsets with side projects in your current role is a great way to not only find out if that is the path you want to take, but also gives you great talking points for how you have developed those skillsets during future interviews.
Network. Reach out to people in roles you’re interested in for coffee chats and mutual learning. I know that at D2L, people are more than willing to chat and help each other out.
- How has working at D2L influenced your long-term career goals or professional growth?
I love being a part of something so big and impactful as D2L (I mean, 20M users, are you kidding me?) and I feel like I am making an impact with my awesome team and colleagues to continue this trajectory and make history. We are doing great things and have a lot of opportunities to make history and establish D2L as the market leader in the learning management system space. It’s exciting to be on this journey, and again, I (biasedly) see this as just the beginning, so with that comes confidence in my own professional growth as D2L continues to strive and grow in the EdTech space. I am grateful to have such stellar teammates on the product op’s function who learn and grow together through a relatively new (and very exciting) field while focusing on iterative improvements and impact.
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