October 1, 2024 • 57 mins
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How does one transition from the fast-paced world of Austin startups to leading a remote-first team in Denver? Find out in our enlightening conversation with Cheryl Spriggs, the Manager of Premier Support at Zapier.
Cheryl opens up about her evolution from an individual contributor to a leadership role, offering candid insights into overcoming imposter syndrome and navigating the tech industry's male-dominated landscape. You'll hear stories of her pioneering efforts, like creating maternity leave policies in her former company, and how embracing neurodiversity has transformed her leadership style.
In this episode, we tackle the real-life challenges and opportunities Cheryl faced while managing high-stakes programs and global teams. Learn how she dealt with the fear of failure and leaned into self-validation, trusting that her colleagues and leaders believed in her capabilities. Cheryl also shares practical anecdotes about global time zone mishaps and the importance of extending grace to oneself during these professional hurdles. Her journey serves as a masterclass in employee empowerment, particularly in times of organizational changes and personal challenges, emphasizing mentorship and support.
Finally, we discuss the critical role of self-care in leadership. Cheryl shares her personal journey of reducing self-imposed pressure and redefining failure as a learning experience. She talks about the importance of having a supportive network of peers, leaders, and family to maintain a balanced perspective. Cheryl’s narrative is a testament to the power of empathetic and supportive leadership, showcasing how fostering growth and stability, especially among women, can significantly impact team morale and career progression. Join us for an episode filled with empowering lessons on leadership, growth, and self-belief.
Don't forget to check out The Support Human Podcast!
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
- Barack Obama
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sarah Caminiti (00:07):
Hello, hello listeners, welcome back to
Epochal Growth.
I'm Sarah Caminiti and I am sohappy that you're here.
If you're new to Epochal Growth, this is a podcast where we
dive into transformative storiesand insightful conversations
with leaders from all industries, and today I am thrilled to be
joined by Cheryl Spriggs.
Cheryl's the manager of premiersupport at Zapier.
(00:30):
Cheryl's had an incrediblejourney from navigating startups
to thriving in a remote-firstenvironment.
She's going to share herthoughts on leadership,
overcoming imposter syndrome andhow embracing neurodiversity
has impacted her leadershipstyle.
Stay tuned for a conversationfilled with powerful lessons on
empowerment, growth and findingconfidence in the face of
(00:52):
challenges.
And before we dive into thisepisode, did you know that
you're listening to one of thelast five episodes of season one
of Epochal Growth?
It has been such an amazingjourney and I want to thank you
for being part of it.
We're already gearing up fornext season.
It's going to be coming aroundQ2 of 2025.
There's going to be someexciting changes and I am really
(01:15):
, really excited to share themwith you.
The best way to be the firstones to know is to follow me on
LinkedIn.
You can easily find me bysearching for Sarah Caminiti.
You can also find me bysearching for Sarah Caminiti.
You can also find me in theElevate CX Slack community.
If you have any questions orcomments or you just want to say
hi, stay tuned and let's finishthis season strong.
Cheryl Spriggs (01:36):
Hi, I'm Cheryl Spriggs.
I am based in Denver, colorado,so happy to be here today.
My role currently is manager ofpremier support at Zapier,
which is a no-code, low-codeautomation platform, and I've
been there for just over threeyears now, which is super
(01:58):
exciting.
This job is all remote andallowed me to move from Austin,
texas, to Denver, colorado, area, which is super awesome, to
like kind of live my dreams outnear the mountains, which I
really love camping and hikingand just getting outdoors.
I'm an avid runner.
(02:18):
I picked up skiing this winter,which is super cool, so I'm
just like fully immersed intoliving that Colorado lifestyle,
which is super cool.
But yeah, so, and you canusually find me at a local
brewery, which there are amillion here, so love craft beer
.
Sarah Caminiti (02:38):
That's awesome.
Oh, my goodness, I didn'trealize that you uh you just
moved up to Denver.
That is a totally differentvibe, I'm sure, than Austin, but
it sounds like it was exactlywhat you needed.
Cheryl Spriggs (02:57):
Yeah, I mean we are spending thousands of
dollars coming up here one totwo times a year to come
off-road and vacation, and now Ican just pop off of work a
little early on a Friday and gocamping for the weekend, like in
a really cool forest surroundedby mountains.
So yeah, it's the dream.
Sarah Caminiti (03:17):
Oh, I'm so glad, that's so awesome.
That's so awesome.
So, cheryl, one of the things Iwas super excited to talk to
you about here is your careertrajectory and earning like
feeling like you've earned theright to really own your skills
and everything that you'veworked so hard for.
And I know that.
I mean, I know myself.
It has been a journey to get tothat point of like that
(03:38):
empowered feeling of I know mystuff and I am proud and
confident about this.
But I know that, especially forwomen, it can be a struggle,
and in tech too, it's a maledominated space and there's so
many different big names thatcome into play and people and
all sorts of different layers ofthings.
(04:00):
So I'm really curious to hearabout your career journey and
your kind of journey to being soempowered with what you're
great at.
Cheryl Spriggs (04:12):
Yeah, I would say so a little bit about my
background, probably about10-ish years in customer support
and definitely kicked off byworking at startups in Austin.
That was the whole reason why Imoved there to begin with,
(04:33):
because there was just so manydifferent opportunities and I
was just back in the day I wasjust a lowly little specialist
at the Apple store, so that kindof got me into tech, which
actually my degree is in theater, so nothing to do with what I'm
doing now, but yeah, so I wentto all these different startups
(04:55):
around Austin where they werereally small companies, smaller
teams, and some of the teamsthat I worked on there was maybe
me as the only woman, or therewere a couple of us as women at
these startups too.
So very different navigatingaround the dynamics of these
(05:19):
small teams.
And I had always been anindividual contributor until at
my last company my previousmanager left and I wasn't quite
sure if I wanted to go intopeople management.
So I kind of put like a pin inthat but started acting as the
interim customer support manageranyway.
(05:40):
So I was like, all right, let'sembrace this.
I like mentoring and coachingpeople.
So I became the head of supportthere and I was one of two
female leaders at that company,so it felt like I had a seat at
(06:03):
the big boys table kind of ifthat makes sense, because the
rest of the leaders and theco-founders, they were all men
and I was a little intimidatedby that.
And I remember actually one ofmy employees was the first woman
at the company to go onmaternity leave, so we had to
(06:27):
create maternity leave policiesand such, because no one else
had had a child yet at thiscompany.
That wasn't the co-founders.
I feel like they made up theirown rules, potentially back when
they had kids, when the companyhad first started up their own
rules, potentially back whenthey had kids, when the company
(06:47):
had first started.
So, yeah, so that was verydifferent to navigate through
and actually be the person tomanage and ensure that they were
prepared to go on leave as well.
Sure, yeah, so I feel like I'velearned to really believe in
myself, like kind of going backto that thing of like oh, I
(07:08):
don't want to become the head ofsupport here, like I don't
think I could do a good job,like could I make these
decisions, like I just had tojump into it and really believe
in myself and try things out andsee if it worked and learn
along the way too, because Iwasn't going to be perfect.
(07:29):
So I think that's kind of whatreally got me going into being
in leadership as well.
But I feel like that took acompletely different turn in how
I recognized my work when I gotdiagnosed with like ADHD and
anxiety too.
Sarah Caminiti (07:49):
I bet.
I bet it was.
It must've been like one ofthose moments of true reflection
and also connecting a lot ofdots to how you approach things
and feeling, maybe like you doit differently and and now you
know why you do it differentlyand how you interact with people
, and validating those feelingsthat maybe were really aiding
(08:14):
that whole like impostersyndrome that was creeping up on
you before when you werehesitant to take that leadership
position.
Cheryl Spriggs (08:23):
Yeah, totally.
I mean I learned I think one ofthe biggest takeaways I learned
from having ADHD as well aslike why I procrastinate, why I
work under deadlines and suchlike that Like I did that in
school all the time.
I mean I don't know how I didit and how I survived off little
(08:44):
sleep and drank coffee at 10 PMand things like that, or I
could drink coffee and then justgo to bed.
It just didn't make sense, butwriting papers or studying for
tests the day before they woulddo.
And I mean I sometimes see thattranslate I mean more than
sometimes see that translate inmy professional career of like
(09:04):
all right, the due date'stomorrow.
I mean more than sometimes seethat translate in my
professional career of like allright, the due date's tomorrow,
I'm going to finally have thisdone today or before tomorrow.
So it just happens.
Sarah Caminiti (09:12):
But also I recognize that that's just
sometimes how I could get somebest work done as well,
depending on what the task is,though, yeah, no, I definitely
understand what you're sayingthere, because there's a level
of efficiency that you must havedeveloped over the years in
order to have survived and it isthere's like a high that you
(09:35):
kind of get out of that likelast minute prep to like really
crunch it out but make it asperfect as possible, because
most of the time that stuff'sliving in your brain already
because you've been thinkingabout it and it's been like
weighing on you because you knowthat you have to do it.
It's just a matter of throwingit all into something that is
(09:58):
the actual product that you'resupposed to be working on.
Cheryl Spriggs (10:01):
Yeah, and that actually ties back to like my
confidence too, of likeperfecting a specific task or
like a project is like.
I definitely have that likeperfectionism chain or
personality, which sometimes Ireally have to like put the
brakes on and like, all right,let's just ship this like first
(10:24):
version or this draft and likebe transparent about what I'm
working on and like get helpwhen I need it, instead of like
hiding it and like waiting forit to be a hundred percent
perfect.
Um, that's something I've hadto recognize and didn't realize
that I was doing before.
(10:44):
I like went down this likejourney of ADHD as well.
Then I was such a perfectionist.
Sarah Caminiti (10:51):
Oh my gosh, I feel that so much I've realized
with myself is I need to beconfident that I'm making the
right choice and research andresearch and research and
research.
And what has helped me becauseI mean I'm never going to be
somebody that is okay with thatlike leaving something knowing
(11:18):
that it's not complete or thatit's not like thoroughly
addressed complete or that it'snot like thoroughly addressed
and what has helped me has beenhaving, just like you said,
having that first iteration,that first draft go out, but
then it's already a plannedthing to move into the next
round.
Or you take like a two-weekbreak and work on a couple of
(11:41):
low-hanging fruit things, butyou already have the plan to get
another six weeks of time toreally look into this other
section that you discovered whenyou were digging into it.
So acknowledging that this isphase one, using that as an
opportunity to learn from phaseone and then still give yourself
(12:01):
that space and time andallowance, or your team that
space, time and allowance toreally commit to doing it well
the first time.
Cheryl Spriggs (12:08):
Totally Like.
I think some of the pieces thatcome from that are like do I
actually have this knowledge orcan I actually do this?
Like that real feeling ofimposter syndrome.
Do this Like that real feelingof imposter syndrome?
I think it creeps up any time.
You know you could be one weekinto a new role or you could be
(12:34):
many years into an existing roleand really like questioning can
I actually do this?
And like that little I don'tknow devil on your shoulder,
saying like you can't, you can't, but then you really need to
like get through that other sideor lean on people you trust to
tell you you can do this and getthat validation.
Um, there's something that I'verecognized like I need in in
(13:00):
work and in my personal life islike people to be that
cheerleader for me.
Sarah Caminiti (13:08):
Yes, yeah, I was actually just having a
conversation with my husbandabout this the other day,
because it's great to have apartner that is like a devil's
advocate and ask those hardquestions, but also acknowledge
that I'm asking myself thosehard questions and I'm obsessing
over those hard questions likeall the time, and it is like the
all-consuming thing of what I'mthinking about for whatever the
(13:31):
situation may be, and trying tocome up with a strategy or a
Venn diagram or a pro and conlist in my head, and what I
really need is someone to justkeep snapping me out of that of
being that cheerleader, to belike no, no, really, no, really.
No, this is good, this is good.
That's just a small thing,that's a small piece of a big
(13:52):
puzzle, and that other, thoseother pieces are great, and I'm
glad that you were able torecognize that too and and find
a space where where you feelsafe enough at work and in your
personal life to acknowledgethat and voice that, because
sometimes that's half the battle.
Cheryl Spriggs (14:11):
Oh yeah, totally .
It comes in waves, you know,like, especially if you're
handed something like right nowI'm being handed, where, like,
the expectation is for me, justtake over this new program by
the end of this quarter.
And I'm a little new to it andit's a new program and I'm like,
(14:35):
all right, how do I get started?
They're trusting me to do this.
Why, like what?
Why Is there something that Ibrought to the table that they
see that I could like change orimprove, or I don't know?
I'm like questioning, like whyme Like?
But I have to like think backof, like, oh well, this is a
(14:58):
safe space to like innovate andlike create new processes and be
more creative as well.
So I that's what I have to tellmyself of like this is this is
a cool opportunity to learn andgrow, even if there are things
that I'm going to learn alongthe way, like that's going to.
(15:19):
That's going to be a big, greatexperience overall.
Sarah Caminiti (15:22):
Yeah, congratulations.
That's fantastic that they'retrusting you with this new
project and reminding yourselfthat they saw something that
made them say like without adoubt, we know that Cheryl is
capable of this, because whenyou work in a company that's as
(15:42):
large, especially as the onethat you work for, there are
plenty of people that I'm surethat they considered or thought
about or could have given thisto, but they picked you and
that's very validating andthat's really exciting and a
proud thing for you to kind ofjust sit with for a second.
(16:04):
So that's awesome.
I'm so happy for you, yeah.
Cheryl Spriggs (16:08):
And thank you, it feels, it feels nice, like
talking about it like and like,yeah, the validation piece,
cause I think it has beenstirring in my head um of like
am I going to mess this up?
Am I, am I going to be okay?
I think that's something that Itotally have.
You know, this complete likefear of failure, and I think a
lot of folks do, and givingpeople the space to make
(16:34):
mistakes is like something Ireally treasure, like working
with others and relationshipstoo.
Like you know, nothing's evergoing to be perfect.
Sarah Caminiti (16:47):
Definitely Do you find yourself being more of
a uh.
You create these incrediblespaces for the people that are
around you and then you don'tallow yourself to enjoy them.
Oh, 100%.
Cheryl Spriggs (17:05):
Yes, I have a really good example of this that
just happened recently that Ijust totally I did not give
myself the grace that I thoughtlike that I would actually give
someone else.
I did not put myself in likesomeone else's shoes.
So one of the things aboutworking at a global company is
(17:27):
that there are just like timezones are my biggest enemy.
Like I cannot figure out timezones for the life of me.
I don't think I have.
Like I don't know so anyways, Iwas putting on an event actually
for the Empower EmployeeResource Group that I'm a part
(17:47):
of that I'll probably talk aboutlater and this is like our
Women of Zapier EmployeeResource Group and I scheduled
this event with an externalspeaker.
An external speaker like acoach, a coaching session, and I
had the event in GoogleCalendar.
I was promoting it all thesethings with my other committee
(18:15):
leads and we're all trying toget on the Zoom link or the
attendance link and we're likewhy can't we join?
Turns out.
And we're like why can't wejoin?
Turns out, I scheduled it forthe wrong time I scheduled it
for like 3 pm Mountain and I goback to the original messaging
with the facilitator and it waslike 4 pm Pacific and I was like
that is 5 pm Mountain, not 3 pmMountain time and I just
(18:39):
absolutely was so angry atmyself.
I was like how could you dothis?
How could you let down thesepeople?
I was really excited.
We have many people inattendance and it was just
something.
And a colleague of mine waslike it's totally okay, like
(19:01):
mistakes happen, it's totallyhuman.
But like would you like giveyourself the same grace you
would if?
Like what if one of your teammembers was scheduling this
meeting and it was at acompletely different time?
Like would you be reprimandingthem like you are yourself?
I'm like no, no, I would not be.
(19:21):
I'd be like mistakes happen.
But I was totally taking itdown on myself because I'm my
worst critic, you know.
Sarah Caminiti (19:30):
Yeah, oh, that was such a perfect example.
And, holy cow, do I feel youwith the time zone stuff.
I do not know how to operate,understanding all of the time
zones.
And, yeah, it is a.
That is just a thing thatexists to torment me.
I swear I would have probablydone the exact same thing and
(19:52):
scheduled it at the wrong time,and I'm sure most of the people
that were in attendance havescheduled things at the wrong
time at some point and, uh, andthey didn't bat an eye.
But, um, I feel, ya, I feel, ya,I'm sure it was something that
you beat yourself up about forfor a long time.
And then, finally, I hope youwere able to see that, in the
(20:16):
grand scheme of things, it iswhat it is, it's done, yeah,
just, it's, it's how you, it'show you decide to move forward,
but then also, like, maybe youput in place like some sort of
preventative measure or policyfor future events, where you
have like a triple check on allof these things before you send
(20:38):
things out.
And no, it's those things thatyou never think are going to end
up causing a ripple in whatyou're trying to do, that force
you to make policies andprocedures and have those
conversations, but thoseconversations sometimes turn out
to be really cool when thosemistakes happen, because you're
able to be really analytical anduh and understand the root, the
(21:03):
root cause, which usually hasnothing to do with you, I mean
just life, humans.
Cheryl Spriggs (21:09):
Oh, totally, yeah, yeah.
So we'll see how the next eventplans out, but there will be
triple checking and time zonesand I think it's like
worldtimebuddycom I pull up allthe time to be scheduling things
with my.
I'm like what city are you in?
And like trying to match up thetimes that website is a gem.
Sarah Caminiti (21:33):
I need to find that website.
Usually I just I Google whattime is it in Madrid right now?
What time is it in blah, blah,blah right now?
And then I end up going down arabbit hole trying to do like
planning for like days inadvance, and then I just ended
up getting really confused andjust asking them to give me a
difference in times by hoursbetween me and them, and I'll
just keep going.
Cheryl Spriggs (21:51):
It's just terrible.
Don't even get me started onlike someone trying to say time
in UTC.
I'm like no, no, just give me,give me Eastern or something.
Sarah Caminiti (22:01):
I don't know, yeah, yeah, once you start
throwing those three lettersafter it that are not EST, mst
or PST, I'm gone, totally gone,same, same.
At least we're not alone, atleast we're not alone Now.
You touched upon this a littlebit earlier and it was something
that I really loved that yousaid and I wanted to ask you
(22:23):
about it.
But having to when you workedin startups, when many of us
have spent time in startups, youdo have to create policies and
really like impactful policieswhen they just show up like a
maternity leave and how.
(22:43):
That must have been for you asa woman who was in a leadership
position there now and it was anew.
I mean, you were, you soundlike you've been there for years
and years and years and yearsand years in a leadership
position and it was, if it was amale dominated space as well
like, how was it having to havethose kind of truly like in
(23:04):
intense discussions about therealities of maternity leave and
the policies and what that saysabout the company, with men?
Cheryl Spriggs (23:13):
Yeah.
So I think one of the biggestthings that I saw was actually
the return to work, and this wasbefore COVID.
So we were not a remote company.
We could work remote from homewhen it made sense, things like
(23:34):
that.
But it was definitely like acome to the office type of
workplace, to the office type ofworkplace.
And she wanted to, my employeewanted to come back part-time
(23:55):
and remote, and so there wasjust like this lack of trust
from the leaders.
Like the male leadership theywere like I've had a kid, like
you're not really going to beworking, Like, especially if
you're remote, like I, I don'tsee the productivity um being
(24:17):
the best use of time, Likeyou're not going to be able to
actually be at a hundred percentor whatever productivity.
So it was like reallydiscouraging to see, like the
lack of trust that they had inwomen returning to work and men
returning to work actually I didsee.
(24:39):
There was another colleague ofmine who was male and had a
child and like was expected tocome back in the office like two
weeks after I was born, and I'mpretty sure he lived so close
to our office too.
(25:00):
I was like why can't he justlike bounce between, like show
face, but be at home like bestof both worlds, anyways.
So there's just like this lackof trust, which is like the
number one essential thing youneed to have in your team is
trust and setting them up forsuccess, especially someone who
is a first-time parent, whichwas the case for both of my
(25:23):
colleagues.
And yeah, I mean, ultimately itled her to leaving the company
and going to another place thatprobably respected her time and
productivity and like respectedthat she was a parent and had
family responsibilities and thatlife is not just about showing
(25:45):
up to work.
So that was really hard tosupport and like having to like
I don't know, have these uhessentially had to allow her to
be like hourly instead of asalaried employee coming back
part-time.
So it was tough.
Sarah Caminiti (26:05):
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I wish I could say like that I'msurprised, like I've heard this
(27:12):
so many times and it's such a.
What's always the mostdisappointing for me when I
think about these things and I'dlove to hear your take on it
too is it's just like you hadthis really cool opportunity to,
to show your employees thatthis is a, this is a special
(27:32):
place, like we really do wantyou to be successful, and that
means we want you to besuccessful outside of work too
and and instead they decided togo with old school mentality,
lack of trust, without anyreceipts to back it up and
(27:53):
instead of like just beingexcited for this person that
working with you to help youbuild this company that you are
the founder of.
It's just such a missedopportunity and it's infuriating
.
How did it feel for you to haveto mentally really process what
(28:18):
this all meant and your placein it all?
Cheryl Spriggs (28:22):
like really process what this all meant and
your place in it all.
I think I was disappointedbecause I was really looking
forward to her contributing andlike feeling a part of like we
can continue being successful,but instead it was like all
right, I'm just clocking in myhours to get my work done.
(28:44):
Oh, and shortly after.
Covid happened, so we were allremote.
Anyways, it's the cherry on topof it, isn't?
Sarah Caminiti (28:52):
that fun, Amazing how that all works out
and, honestly, too, it's justlike.
So what if your employee is notgiving 100% right after they go
on leave, Like when they comeback from leave, like, did they
personally give 100% after theirfirst child was born?
(29:16):
Probably not born, Probably not, or they, you know it's.
It's, it's just like berealistic of who humans are and
how we operate and know that, uh, that we're all just doing our
best and can do what you have todo to support it.
It's just dang Um.
But that kind of leads me intothe next thing that I did want
to ask you about, which is aboutempowerment, I mean and we kind
(29:39):
of touched upon it earlier andand being in positions like that
and having to to be that thereality check, but also a human
to to make your, your, youremployees, feel supported.
And then in your new company,where you are now, it's happier,
like having to go through theserestructurings and and and
(30:00):
getting these differentopportunities and meeting new
people and leading new people,with everything that you've
learned throughout your career,and maybe even once you've had
the diagnosis of, with the ADHDand the anxiety too, like how
has that impacted how you leadand how you really focus on
empowerment.
Cheryl Spriggs (30:21):
Yeah, how you lead and how you really focus on
empowerment.
Yeah, so you kind of mentionedthe biggest thing that I think
I've experienced at Zapier andmy current company is that we've
gone through so much change,and this includes different
restructuring.
It was only one year into beingat Zapier where the team that I
(30:43):
was initially hired on to whichhad been dissolved.
However, they did give us anopportunity to laterally move to
other support teams or applyfor other internal positions at
the company too.
That's cool.
So there was only one personthat I think departed from the
(31:06):
restructuring.
Otherwise, everyone it was like20 something of us, I can't
remember the exact number wentto different support teams,
lateral positions or a coupleothers.
I think one person moved to ourlearning development team,
which is really awesome.
Someone became a trainer and,yeah, it was really nice that we
(31:28):
were able to create theseopportunities for people to go
into other roles.
So this was a really confusingtime in my life too, actually.
So this was about two years agonow, and not only were, our
(31:49):
whole team was like what job arewe going to be doing?
It was right before a companyretreat, the first one that was
happening since before COVID,since before COVID.
So like we all showed up to ourcompany retreat and I kept
saying, my badge should havesaid like hire me because I was
like I don't know what my nextrole is going to be here, and
(32:14):
also something I was personallygoing through was I was making
the move to Colorado.
So not only I didn't know whatmy job was going to be for like
a month, I also was like movingstates.
So there was just like I had nostability whatsoever and like
that was really tough.
(32:34):
So but my like one of the firstthings that I was just focusing
on was like ensuring my teammembers were able to find their
next new role, whether that waslike a lateral move or that they
were applying for otherinternal positions that were
open.
That was like the number oneimportant thing to me, and I was
(32:58):
like I'll figure out where I go, I don't know, even though that
was kind of stressful too.
But so I think the piece that Iwas really fighting for my team
and empowering them to makethese decisions based on what
was best for their careerdevelopment too, and one of the
(33:21):
things that happened with a teammember of mine she was going to
be applying for Premier Support.
That's the team I'm now on.
That's where I landed, buteveryone was a level above than
what she was, so they were justoffering her to laterally move.
But the entire rest of the teamwas operating at this level
(33:44):
three essentially and we werelike, all right, well, the most
fair way to assess a level islike can we re-interview you for
this position and determineyour skills and your level on
that?
So I feel like if it wasn't forus really advocating for that
(34:07):
like interview and reassessment,like they could have gone to
this team and maybe beenunderpaid for what they were
doing, so wouldn't have had thatopportunity, maybe like a year
into being in that new team.
So I was, I was making surethat they got through the finish
(34:27):
line for that and were able toall successfully level up and
come onto this team, so that wasgreat.
Sarah Caminiti (34:34):
Cheryl, holy cow , like hats off to you, because
not only is that something thatyou have to I mean, you have to
navigate those situations socarefully but a lot of people
just don't, and they tell themthat they'll just hope for the
best, or it is what it is, andthose sorts of things like money
(35:01):
.
I mean that's why we work Likethat truly is one of the number
one reasons why we're here.
And uh, and it's such a bummerwhen, when leadership doesn't
recognize that like this has tohappen this way.
You have to pay people equallyif they are doing the same job,
(35:27):
and the longer that you wait toaddress it, the bigger ethical
things creep up along the way,and also just like morale and
engagement, and usually peoplejust end up leaving because they
feel undervalued and moneyconversations suck and they are
(35:49):
hard and you have to approach itstrategically and having an
advocate is the best, best, bestthing that any employee can
have going into thoseconversations, because they know
that they're not alone in theirfeelings of their worth.
You are telling them you areworthy of this, you are capable
(36:13):
of this and you deserve this,and I feel like that has so much
weight and that kind of likelives with you, then for a while
.
Cheryl Spriggs (36:22):
Oh yeah, definitely, and like I was
really fortunate that thisindividual like got to stay with
me through this move too, andshe was probably the person
different team like great careerprogression for her.
(36:48):
So that was really awesome.
I loved the relationship we hadand the rapport we built.
But that's one awesomerelationship I've had.
But I've also had a lot ofother individuals I've managed,
maybe for a short period of timeor a longer period of time, but
(37:11):
it is pretty crazy.
I think I've probably managedaround 20 different people in
the span of just three years.
Wow, five different managerstoo, in three years.
So it's like a lot of change andlike I mean, there's only so
many months in those three years.
Like it takes I don't know goodtwo to three months to really
(37:35):
build some rapport with a newperson whether that's your new
manager or someone you'remanaging and like super crucial
to get to know them during thattime period and really
understand what they want so youcan help them be successful as
well.
Yeah, so that one individualwho we had a really great
(37:59):
conversation at the beginning ofthis year and was like hey, I
think you're kind of at yourlimit in this current role.
What do you want to startthinking about outside of this
role?
What is your dream job?
Does that exist here?
Could it exist here?
Could it exist elsewhere?
(38:19):
Really thinking outside the boxthere and like how to use her
skills and her strengths.
So I've loved seeing likeespecially the women I've
managed to like really blossomand grow and like go to these
different roles and departmentsand and it's it's been really
(38:41):
awesome to see that growth,awesome to see that growth Dang.
Sarah Caminiti (38:44):
I feel like so much of that has to do with you,
cheryl.
I mean, it is hard to find atrue leader that is your
advocate and is your cheerleaderand acknowledges when there are
opportunities for you to growoutside of where you are and
(39:08):
into different areas, or, ifthey bring something up, giving
them the tools that they need toexplore and question and
determine if it's right for them.
That doesn't happen very often,and the fact that you're giving
all of these people, in so manydifferent levels of change
around you, stability and andhope for what leaders could be
(39:32):
then like when, when it's theirturn, if they decide to go into
a path, that that is aleadership path.
You've set such a great examplefor them because they know that
it's possible and they feltyour warmth and your care and
your concern and yourappreciation along the way, so
that's awesome.
Cheryl Spriggs (40:03):
Oh well, thank you so much.
Yeah, and like some of them are, you know, have been like we
have similar situations and canrelate that way, and that's why
I think we've had like reallygood rapport as well.
Like people feel confident thatthey can come to me with like
(40:24):
their specific struggles,especially if they are
neurodivergent too.
Like I can relate to that andbe able to like come, like
approach their situation or thelike blocker that they have from
that perspective as well, whichis, I think, been truly like a
(40:45):
gift that I've been able torecognize those specific pieces
too, because even if one of myteam members is neurodivergent
as well, we're on completelydifferent journeys or pathways,
that maybe we're diagnosed atdifferent times in our lives and
are still trying to recognizewhat are the pieces that really
(41:06):
make us tick.
Sarah Caminiti (41:08):
Yeah, yeah, and I love that you said that they
feel confident enough to come toyou for these things, but also
they feel safe enough to come toyou for these things.
And confidence, I think, comesfrom a solid foundation, and
having those conversations aboutneurodiversity and in your
(41:29):
brain, needing somethingdifferent is such a vulnerable
thing to do and I just I'm justreally happy that you are
someone that decided to trustyourself and dive into this
leadership space, because it'sobvious that you are providing a
really incredible value tothese people throughout their
(41:53):
career journeys and lives.
So that's great.
Cheryl Spriggs (41:56):
Yeah, it's very rewarding and I'm super glad
that, like I can help peoplethrough like their six, like
their accomplishments and theirbattles too.
So that's been really great andthat's what feels like I.
(42:16):
I think one of the best thingsuh, a manager's asked me is,
like, at the end of the week,what is the one thing that you
just really enjoy, what's thebest thing you love about your
job?
And this is still true, myone-to-ones with my team members
(42:37):
are what I love the mostHearing about what's going well
for them, them being able tobring up the most important
topics to work through, likethey're why I want to keep
working and ensure that they areset up for success.
Sarah Caminiti (42:55):
So I love it, and now you're doing this with a
group of people You're the ERGprogram that you're a part of at
Zapier as well, so you're ableto spread this sort of like
leadership mentality evenfarther from your direct team.
Cheryl Spriggs (43:32):
Yeah, that's been really exciting.
So I kind of mentioned earliertoo, our Empower ERG for women
and allies at Zapier.
I've been I had been a member,I guess, most of the time that I
had been at Zapier, and at theend of last year they had like
applications open for committeemembers or like committee
leaders, and so I was, like youknow, I like being involved with
this group and I'd love toconnect with more people across
than just support, and so Iapplied for the events and
(43:55):
community lead and that leaderfor this current year, and so
it's been cool connecting withpeople outside of just support.
I would like to say, though,there are a couple of us on the
leadership team from support, sothat's been really awesome too,
and also the async discussionshave been good.
(44:19):
It's been really cool tocoordinate with our other ERGs
at Zapier as well.
We have Prism, which is ourlgbtq, plus um erg, and then
bipoc um, which is our, whichactually, right now I've I'm
collaborating with both theevents lead to have this like
(44:39):
intersectional uh event for allof our ergs.
that kind of touches on, likeeach different group.
Um, I think it's been reallycool to be a part of this, like
great diverse melting pot.
Uh, my company, which is alsolike a huge difference, and why
I wanted to be at the companyI'm at right now is because I
(45:02):
worked with these small startups.
They were 30 people or less,all based in Austin essentially,
and it's primarily white men,and now I work with a company of
like 800, 900 people, I think,and we're across 40 different
countries, which is awesome.
(45:22):
Wow, that's so awesome.
Yeah, I love being able to meeta lot of people from different
places and while we are remote.
I think that's why one of myfavorite things of being
involved in ERGs is because Iget to connect with other folks
that aren't on my team, that areacross the globe as well in
different departments, becauseotherwise sometimes you stay in
(45:44):
your own little bubble, in yourown silo.
Sarah Caminiti (45:47):
Yeah, and it's.
It's an easy track to fall intoand and the diversity aspect of
things I feel like for supportthat is such a crucial, crucial
component to to be in a spacethat is inclusive and to be in a
space where you're talking tofolks from from all different
backgrounds and places, becauseyour customers, your customers,
(46:10):
are probably also coming fromall different walks of life and
locations and time zones andlanguages, and you need to
embrace that because that's thereality.
Cheryl Spriggs (46:21):
Yes, yeah.
So actually our supportdepartment has really I
mentioned we've gone through alot of restructures or changes,
things like that, and also justlike bigger changes too.
We implemented live chat.
We started utilizing more oflike a schedule and a workforce
(46:42):
management tool that really kindof drilled down our specific
business needs and queue time,and so these were massive
changes that didn't just happenovernight, and so one of the
things that we kind of felt alittle disconnected on was
having these core principles forour support department.
(47:05):
So actually I was like anentire department, we came up
with our principles and ourvision together and they, like
have just only been solidifiedlike in the last month.
So that's been nice to havesomething to rally around and
actually.
So one of those is like one ofour principles is be human.
I'm like we we're not robots.
(47:29):
Granted, we work for anautomation company to build a
robot and to automate your work,but we're never wanting to like
replace the human touch.
Like we really want to be human, we want to show our
personalities, we want toconnect with our customers from
(47:49):
all around the world as well,and I think one of the best
things that did happen for oursupport department is having
this live chat channel where wecan even be more human.
We can be more conversational,we can ask how people's days are
going.
We can meet their level.
I've seen wonderfulconversations where gifts are
(48:11):
passed back and forth.
That is being human andconnecting with our customers.
And seeing the real resolutionin time has been awesome to see
happen and see how our customersare happy too.
Sarah Caminiti (48:28):
Yeah, and what?
Like an obvious value add thathas to the customer experience.
Like you are able to see realtime what is going on with the
customer's trajectory and howthey started, with the
conversation confused, and byjust having a regular
(48:50):
conversation with someone toconnect with them and meet them
where they are, it has such aprofound impact in how they
perceive the company, but alsojust in general.
I mean, there's nothing butpositive things that can come
out of those kind ofconversations, and it sounds
like you're really in a spacethat embraces that and
recognizes yeah, ai is here,yeah, automation is a great
(49:13):
thing, and it is a great thingbecause it makes you, as a human
, do what you need to do better,which is important.
One of the last things, though,that, cheryl, I did want to ask
you is, like you've gonethrough so many incredible
things that you are doing andworking on and involved in, and,
and the journey that you'vebeen on and uh and I think that
(49:37):
it's always important to kind ofrecognize how big these things
are that you are a part of Likethey're time consuming, they're
brain consuming too, and you'vegot a life outside of work, and
so how are you navigatingcommittees and your involvement
in support driven and theleadership aspect of things Like
(49:58):
how do you navigate that injust a regular day?
Cheryl Spriggs (50:02):
This is probably one of the hardest things,
because there is no perfectsolution to the madness in my
brain and I think each week isquite different, and I've really
seen that recently.
I've had weeks where I just Ican't cope with it and it's, you
(50:29):
know, I'm breaking down, cryingand things like that, and I'm
very stressed out.
And then there's some weekswhere I'm like I am so on top of
it.
What's next?
I have some downtime, like so.
And then there's the in themiddle where I'm just like busy,
busy, busy, busy, like so.
And then there's the in themiddle where I'm just like busy,
busy, busy, busy.
But yeah, I think one of thethings that I am really working
(50:53):
on is like taking pressure offmyself.
Yes, because I think the like Imean pressure and like a
pressure cooker, like if I keepputting all this pressure on me,
I'm going to like just explodeand that's what happens.
So like giving myself more of aspace to like make mistakes and
(51:30):
also recognizing that, like mywhole fear of failure, like if,
if something is a failure,something doesn't go the way I
hypothesize, maybe not seeingthat as a failure and seeing
that as like this was just theoutcome, but it was still a
success in the way that like ithappened, and now you get to
learn from it, so like shiftingthat mindset.
But I can't do it alone andthat's something that I really
need the support from my peers,from my leaders, from my
(51:57):
personal life, like my husband.
I need that support and thatconstant reminder of like and
that constant reminder of evenif something doesn't work out,
it's not a complete failure,it's not a mess up.
I have to tell myself constantlyI don't work in healthcare.
I'm not a brain surgeon, firstof all, I couldn't, even I can't
(52:24):
deal with blood.
I work in tech.
I work with automation andworkflows that really do power
people's businesses and can makethings you know, make or break.
However I am, I'm not a brainsurgeon, which.
I'm sorry to all you brainsurgeons out there.
Sarah Caminiti (52:45):
But you're one person, you are part of the
package.
It is not all on your shoulders.
And and you're right, I meanyou're we are our own worst
enemy in so many ways andputting that pressure and
responsibility of the success ofothers, which is kind of part
(53:06):
of support in itself, but uh,but on such like a a deeper
level where you don't really cancan take over um, but
recognizing it and using it as atool rather than um a detriment
to your success, I think alsoyour success, I think also one
(53:32):
of the things that I also amtrying to recognize more too is
that because I'm a leader andbecause I'm in support, I just
have this huge empathetic heartand I can't always have that
bursting at the seam.
Cheryl Spriggs (53:43):
I'll need to look at some things like
realistically, and just haverealistic expectations as well,
and like I can't do it all, likeI so, but as someone who has
empathy, I'm like I want to bethere for you, I want to do this
, but if I'm not taking care ofmyself too, like it's, it's not
going to be beneficial.
Sarah Caminiti (54:05):
Yes, oh my gosh, a thousand percent, a thousand
percent, and just acknowledgingit is truly like leaps and
bounds from where so many othersare and, uh, having it just in
the back of your mind I'm surehas made a huge impact on just
life.
Yes, so, cheryl, I do like toend.
(54:30):
Unfortunately, we are gettingto the end of it and I hate it
because it's been such a lovelyconversation and I want to keep
going, but I'll have you back orwe just can talk all the time
anyway.
But I like to end all of thesecalls with asking my guests to
think about what era they are inor what era they are entering.
And, cheryl, what's your era?
Cheryl Spriggs (54:51):
Yeah, I think, actually, a lot of things that
I've talked about today havereally and like the more
self-recognizable things thatI'm uh, you know, sharing and
pinpointing are, like it comesdown to, self-care, like that's
what I'm really trying to entermore of, and like giving myself
(55:15):
grace, um, giving myself timeoff, like to not have to be
productive all the time, to haverest and downtime.
So, yeah, self-care, steppingaway, like disconnecting from
what is stressing me out, goingfor that run or going out into
(55:40):
the mountains, things like that,like something that is just
going to like revitalize my souland like have that form of
self-care.
Yes.
Sarah Caminiti (55:48):
What an awesome, awesome, awesome era to be
entering, and well-deserved, andit's going to probably just
hopefully trickle into every erathat you enter for the rest of
your life, because you'recreating those resources and
foundations for it.
But for the rest of your lifebecause you're creating those
resources and foundations for it.
But, dang, yeah, I am excitedfor you to be able to just like,
(56:09):
be and not have to always havea purpose in every single action
that you make.
It's a personal problem formyself that my therapist is
trying to help me work through,so I feel you completely.
But that's so awesome.
I'm excited for you, yeah.
Cheryl Spriggs (56:30):
Well, thank you so much.
I appreciate it.
I really loved talking aboutall these different topics.
I feel like I could just keepgoing on and on as well.
Sarah Caminiti (56:39):
Same same same.
No, cheryl, truly this has beena pleasure and I'm so excited
to have met you and I'm pumpedto just keep talking to you and
I hope that you have the bestlong weekend, thank you.
Cheryl Spriggs (56:51):
I appreciate it and can't wait to hear more of
your podcast as well.
Sarah Caminiti (56:55):
Thank you very much, cheryl.
Well, we'll be in touch soon,and thank you again, truly, all
right.
Thanks, sarah, Bye, bye.
Thank you so much for tuninginto this episode of Epochal
Growth.
Cheryl's journey is a powerfulreminder of how self-care and
personal empowerment go hand inhand with effective leadership.
Her insights on navigatingneurodiversity, building trust
(57:17):
and advocating for her teamoffer valuable lessons for
anyone looking to grow.
If today's conversationinspired you, be sure to
subscribe, leave us a review andshare this episode with your
network.
Until next time, and rememberwe can't wait around to see
change happen.
When you feel it in yourselfthat a better way exists, you
(57:38):
owe it to yourself and thosearound you to try, because great
things happen when you do.
I'll see you next week.
I'm Sarah.
You next week, I'm SarahCaminiti.
This is Epochal Growth.
Have a great day.
Hello, hello listeners, welcome back to
Epochal Growth.
I'm Sarah Caminiti and I am sohappy that you're here.
If you're new to Epochal Growth, this is a podcast where we
dive into transformative storiesand insightful conversations
with leaders from all industries, and today I am thrilled to be
joined by Cheryl Spriggs.
Cheryl's the manager of premiersupport at Zapier.
(00:30):
Cheryl's had an incrediblejourney from navigating startups
to thriving in a remote-firstenvironment.
She's going to share herthoughts on leadership,
overcoming imposter syndrome andhow embracing neurodiversity
has impacted her leadershipstyle.
Stay tuned for a conversationfilled with powerful lessons on
empowerment, growth and findingconfidence in the face of
(00:52):
challenges.
And before we dive into thisepisode, did you know that
you're listening to one of thelast five episodes of season one
of Epochal Growth?
It has been such an amazingjourney and I want to thank you
for being part of it.
We're already gearing up fornext season.
It's going to be coming aroundQ2 of 2025.
There's going to be someexciting changes and I am really
(01:15):
, really excited to share themwith you.
The best way to be the firstones to know is to follow me on
LinkedIn.
You can easily find me bysearching for Sarah Caminiti.
You can also find me bysearching for Sarah Caminiti.
You can also find me in theElevate CX Slack community.
If you have any questions orcomments or you just want to say
hi, stay tuned and let's finishthis season strong.
Cheryl Spriggs (01:36):
Hi, I'm Cheryl Spriggs.
I am based in Denver, colorado,so happy to be here today.
My role currently is manager ofpremier support at Zapier,
which is a no-code, low-codeautomation platform, and I've
been there for just over threeyears now, which is super
(01:58):
exciting.
This job is all remote andallowed me to move from Austin,
texas, to Denver, colorado, area, which is super awesome, to
like kind of live my dreams outnear the mountains, which I
really love camping and hikingand just getting outdoors.
I'm an avid runner.
(02:18):
I picked up skiing this winter,which is super cool, so I'm
just like fully immersed intoliving that Colorado lifestyle,
which is super cool.
But yeah, so, and you canusually find me at a local
brewery, which there are amillion here, so love craft beer
.
Sarah Caminiti (02:38):
That's awesome.
Oh, my goodness, I didn'trealize that you uh you just
moved up to Denver.
That is a totally differentvibe, I'm sure, than Austin, but
it sounds like it was exactlywhat you needed.
Cheryl Spriggs (02:57):
Yeah, I mean we are spending thousands of
dollars coming up here one totwo times a year to come
off-road and vacation, and now Ican just pop off of work a
little early on a Friday and gocamping for the weekend, like in
a really cool forest surroundedby mountains.
So yeah, it's the dream.
Sarah Caminiti (03:17):
Oh, I'm so glad, that's so awesome.
That's so awesome.
So, cheryl, one of the things Iwas super excited to talk to
you about here is your careertrajectory and earning like
feeling like you've earned theright to really own your skills
and everything that you'veworked so hard for.
And I know that.
I mean, I know myself.
It has been a journey to get tothat point of like that
(03:38):
empowered feeling of I know mystuff and I am proud and
confident about this.
But I know that, especially forwomen, it can be a struggle,
and in tech too, it's a maledominated space and there's so
many different big names thatcome into play and people and
all sorts of different layers ofthings.
(04:00):
So I'm really curious to hearabout your career journey and
your kind of journey to being soempowered with what you're
great at.
Cheryl Spriggs (04:12):
Yeah, I would say so a little bit about my
background, probably about10-ish years in customer support
and definitely kicked off byworking at startups in Austin.
That was the whole reason why Imoved there to begin with,
(04:33):
because there was just so manydifferent opportunities and I
was just back in the day I wasjust a lowly little specialist
at the Apple store, so that kindof got me into tech, which
actually my degree is in theater, so nothing to do with what I'm
doing now, but yeah, so I wentto all these different startups
(04:55):
around Austin where they werereally small companies, smaller
teams, and some of the teamsthat I worked on there was maybe
me as the only woman, or therewere a couple of us as women at
these startups too.
So very different navigatingaround the dynamics of these
(05:19):
small teams.
And I had always been anindividual contributor until at
my last company my previousmanager left and I wasn't quite
sure if I wanted to go intopeople management.
So I kind of put like a pin inthat but started acting as the
interim customer support manageranyway.
(05:40):
So I was like, all right, let'sembrace this.
I like mentoring and coachingpeople.
So I became the head of supportthere and I was one of two
female leaders at that company,so it felt like I had a seat at
(06:03):
the big boys table kind of ifthat makes sense, because the
rest of the leaders and theco-founders, they were all men
and I was a little intimidatedby that.
And I remember actually one ofmy employees was the first woman
at the company to go onmaternity leave, so we had to
(06:27):
create maternity leave policiesand such, because no one else
had had a child yet at thiscompany.
That wasn't the co-founders.
I feel like they made up theirown rules, potentially back when
they had kids, when the companyhad first started up their own
rules, potentially back whenthey had kids, when the company
(06:47):
had first started.
So, yeah, so that was verydifferent to navigate through
and actually be the person tomanage and ensure that they were
prepared to go on leave as well.
Sure, yeah, so I feel like I'velearned to really believe in
myself, like kind of going backto that thing of like oh, I
(07:08):
don't want to become the head ofsupport here, like I don't
think I could do a good job,like could I make these
decisions, like I just had tojump into it and really believe
in myself and try things out andsee if it worked and learn
along the way too, because Iwasn't going to be perfect.
(07:29):
So I think that's kind of whatreally got me going into being
in leadership as well.
But I feel like that took acompletely different turn in how
I recognized my work when I gotdiagnosed with like ADHD and
anxiety too.
Sarah Caminiti (07:49):
I bet.
I bet it was.
It must've been like one ofthose moments of true reflection
and also connecting a lot ofdots to how you approach things
and feeling, maybe like you doit differently and and now you
know why you do it differentlyand how you interact with people
, and validating those feelingsthat maybe were really aiding
(08:14):
that whole like impostersyndrome that was creeping up on
you before when you werehesitant to take that leadership
position.
Cheryl Spriggs (08:23):
Yeah, totally.
I mean I learned I think one ofthe biggest takeaways I learned
from having ADHD as well aslike why I procrastinate, why I
work under deadlines and suchlike that Like I did that in
school all the time.
I mean I don't know how I didit and how I survived off little
(08:44):
sleep and drank coffee at 10 PMand things like that, or I
could drink coffee and then justgo to bed.
It just didn't make sense, butwriting papers or studying for
tests the day before they woulddo.
And I mean I sometimes see thattranslate I mean more than
sometimes see that translate inmy professional career of like
(09:04):
all right, the due date'stomorrow.
I mean more than sometimes seethat translate in my
professional career of like allright, the due date's tomorrow,
I'm going to finally have thisdone today or before tomorrow.
So it just happens.
Sarah Caminiti (09:12):
But also I recognize that that's just
sometimes how I could get somebest work done as well,
depending on what the task is,though, yeah, no, I definitely
understand what you're sayingthere, because there's a level
of efficiency that you must havedeveloped over the years in
order to have survived and it isthere's like a high that you
(09:35):
kind of get out of that likelast minute prep to like really
crunch it out but make it asperfect as possible, because
most of the time that stuff'sliving in your brain already
because you've been thinkingabout it and it's been like
weighing on you because you knowthat you have to do it.
It's just a matter of throwingit all into something that is
(09:58):
the actual product that you'resupposed to be working on.
Cheryl Spriggs (10:01):
Yeah, and that actually ties back to like my
confidence too, of likeperfecting a specific task or
like a project is like.
I definitely have that likeperfectionism chain or
personality, which sometimes Ireally have to like put the
brakes on and like, all right,let's just ship this like first
(10:24):
version or this draft and likebe transparent about what I'm
working on and like get helpwhen I need it, instead of like
hiding it and like waiting forit to be a hundred percent
perfect.
Um, that's something I've hadto recognize and didn't realize
that I was doing before.
(10:44):
I like went down this likejourney of ADHD as well.
Then I was such a perfectionist.
Sarah Caminiti (10:51):
Oh my gosh, I feel that so much I've realized
with myself is I need to beconfident that I'm making the
right choice and research andresearch and research and
research.
And what has helped me becauseI mean I'm never going to be
somebody that is okay with thatlike leaving something knowing
(11:18):
that it's not complete or thatit's not like thoroughly
addressed complete or that it'snot like thoroughly addressed
and what has helped me has beenhaving, just like you said,
having that first iteration,that first draft go out, but
then it's already a plannedthing to move into the next
round.
Or you take like a two-weekbreak and work on a couple of
(11:41):
low-hanging fruit things, butyou already have the plan to get
another six weeks of time toreally look into this other
section that you discovered whenyou were digging into it.
So acknowledging that this isphase one, using that as an
opportunity to learn from phaseone and then still give yourself
(12:01):
that space and time andallowance, or your team that
space, time and allowance toreally commit to doing it well
the first time.
Cheryl Spriggs (12:08):
Totally Like.
I think some of the pieces thatcome from that are like do I
actually have this knowledge orcan I actually do this?
Like that real feeling ofimposter syndrome.
Do this Like that real feelingof imposter syndrome?
I think it creeps up any time.
You know you could be one weekinto a new role or you could be
(12:34):
many years into an existing roleand really like questioning can
I actually do this?
And like that little I don'tknow devil on your shoulder,
saying like you can't, you can't, but then you really need to
like get through that other sideor lean on people you trust to
tell you you can do this and getthat validation.
Um, there's something that I'verecognized like I need in in
(13:00):
work and in my personal life islike people to be that
cheerleader for me.
Sarah Caminiti (13:08):
Yes, yeah, I was actually just having a
conversation with my husbandabout this the other day,
because it's great to have apartner that is like a devil's
advocate and ask those hardquestions, but also acknowledge
that I'm asking myself thosehard questions and I'm obsessing
over those hard questions likeall the time, and it is like the
all-consuming thing of what I'mthinking about for whatever the
(13:31):
situation may be, and trying tocome up with a strategy or a
Venn diagram or a pro and conlist in my head, and what I
really need is someone to justkeep snapping me out of that of
being that cheerleader, to belike no, no, really, no, really.
No, this is good, this is good.
That's just a small thing,that's a small piece of a big
(13:52):
puzzle, and that other, thoseother pieces are great, and I'm
glad that you were able torecognize that too and and find
a space where where you feelsafe enough at work and in your
personal life to acknowledgethat and voice that, because
sometimes that's half the battle.
Cheryl Spriggs (14:11):
Oh yeah, totally .
It comes in waves, you know,like, especially if you're
handed something like right nowI'm being handed, where, like,
the expectation is for me, justtake over this new program by
the end of this quarter.
And I'm a little new to it andit's a new program and I'm like,
(14:35):
all right, how do I get started?
They're trusting me to do this.
Why, like what?
Why Is there something that Ibrought to the table that they
see that I could like change orimprove, or I don't know?
I'm like questioning, like whyme Like?
But I have to like think backof, like, oh well, this is a
(14:58):
safe space to like innovate andlike create new processes and be
more creative as well.
So I that's what I have to tellmyself of like this is this is
a cool opportunity to learn andgrow, even if there are things
that I'm going to learn alongthe way, like that's going to.
(15:19):
That's going to be a big, greatexperience overall.
Sarah Caminiti (15:22):
Yeah, congratulations.
That's fantastic that they'retrusting you with this new
project and reminding yourselfthat they saw something that
made them say like without adoubt, we know that Cheryl is
capable of this, because whenyou work in a company that's as
(15:42):
large, especially as the onethat you work for, there are
plenty of people that I'm surethat they considered or thought
about or could have given thisto, but they picked you and
that's very validating andthat's really exciting and a
proud thing for you to kind ofjust sit with for a second.
(16:04):
So that's awesome.
I'm so happy for you, yeah.
Cheryl Spriggs (16:08):
And thank you, it feels, it feels nice, like
talking about it like and like,yeah, the validation piece,
cause I think it has beenstirring in my head um of like
am I going to mess this up?
Am I, am I going to be okay?
I think that's something that Itotally have.
You know, this complete likefear of failure, and I think a
lot of folks do, and givingpeople the space to make
(16:34):
mistakes is like something Ireally treasure, like working
with others and relationshipstoo.
Like you know, nothing's evergoing to be perfect.
Sarah Caminiti (16:47):
Definitely Do you find yourself being more of
a uh.
You create these incrediblespaces for the people that are
around you and then you don'tallow yourself to enjoy them.
Oh, 100%.
Cheryl Spriggs (17:05):
Yes, I have a really good example of this that
just happened recently that Ijust totally I did not give
myself the grace that I thoughtlike that I would actually give
someone else.
I did not put myself in likesomeone else's shoes.
So one of the things aboutworking at a global company is
(17:27):
that there are just like timezones are my biggest enemy.
Like I cannot figure out timezones for the life of me.
I don't think I have.
Like I don't know so anyways, Iwas putting on an event actually
for the Empower EmployeeResource Group that I'm a part
(17:47):
of that I'll probably talk aboutlater and this is like our
Women of Zapier EmployeeResource Group and I scheduled
this event with an externalspeaker.
An external speaker like acoach, a coaching session, and I
had the event in GoogleCalendar.
I was promoting it all thesethings with my other committee
(18:15):
leads and we're all trying toget on the Zoom link or the
attendance link and we're likewhy can't we join?
Turns out.
And we're like why can't wejoin?
Turns out, I scheduled it forthe wrong time I scheduled it
for like 3 pm Mountain and I goback to the original messaging
with the facilitator and it waslike 4 pm Pacific and I was like
that is 5 pm Mountain, not 3 pmMountain time and I just
(18:39):
absolutely was so angry atmyself.
I was like how could you dothis?
How could you let down thesepeople?
I was really excited.
We have many people inattendance and it was just
something.
And a colleague of mine waslike it's totally okay, like
(19:01):
mistakes happen, it's totallyhuman.
But like would you like giveyourself the same grace you
would if?
Like what if one of your teammembers was scheduling this
meeting and it was at acompletely different time?
Like would you be reprimandingthem like you are yourself?
I'm like no, no, I would not be.
(19:21):
I'd be like mistakes happen.
But I was totally taking itdown on myself because I'm my
worst critic, you know.
Sarah Caminiti (19:30):
Yeah, oh, that was such a perfect example.
And, holy cow, do I feel youwith the time zone stuff.
I do not know how to operate,understanding all of the time
zones.
And, yeah, it is a.
That is just a thing thatexists to torment me.
I swear I would have probablydone the exact same thing and
(19:52):
scheduled it at the wrong time,and I'm sure most of the people
that were in attendance havescheduled things at the wrong
time at some point and, uh, andthey didn't bat an eye.
But, um, I feel, ya, I feel, ya,I'm sure it was something that
you beat yourself up about forfor a long time.
And then, finally, I hope youwere able to see that, in the
(20:16):
grand scheme of things, it iswhat it is, it's done, yeah,
just, it's, it's how you, it'show you decide to move forward,
but then also, like, maybe youput in place like some sort of
preventative measure or policyfor future events, where you
have like a triple check on allof these things before you send
(20:38):
things out.
And no, it's those things thatyou never think are going to end
up causing a ripple in whatyou're trying to do, that force
you to make policies andprocedures and have those
conversations, but thoseconversations sometimes turn out
to be really cool when thosemistakes happen, because you're
able to be really analytical anduh and understand the root, the
(21:03):
root cause, which usually hasnothing to do with you, I mean
just life, humans.
Cheryl Spriggs (21:09):
Oh, totally, yeah, yeah.
So we'll see how the next eventplans out, but there will be
triple checking and time zonesand I think it's like
worldtimebuddycom I pull up allthe time to be scheduling things
with my.
I'm like what city are you in?
And like trying to match up thetimes that website is a gem.
Sarah Caminiti (21:33):
I need to find that website.
Usually I just I Google whattime is it in Madrid right now?
What time is it in blah, blah,blah right now?
And then I end up going down arabbit hole trying to do like
planning for like days inadvance, and then I just ended
up getting really confused andjust asking them to give me a
difference in times by hoursbetween me and them, and I'll
just keep going.
Cheryl Spriggs (21:51):
It's just terrible.
Don't even get me started onlike someone trying to say time
in UTC.
I'm like no, no, just give me,give me Eastern or something.
Sarah Caminiti (22:01):
I don't know, yeah, yeah, once you start
throwing those three lettersafter it that are not EST, mst
or PST, I'm gone, totally gone,same, same.
At least we're not alone, atleast we're not alone Now.
You touched upon this a littlebit earlier and it was something
that I really loved that yousaid and I wanted to ask you
(22:23):
about it.
But having to when you workedin startups, when many of us
have spent time in startups, youdo have to create policies and
really like impactful policieswhen they just show up like a
maternity leave and how.
(22:43):
That must have been for you asa woman who was in a leadership
position there now and it was anew.
I mean, you were, you soundlike you've been there for years
and years and years and yearsand years in a leadership
position and it was, if it was amale dominated space as well
like, how was it having to havethose kind of truly like in
(23:04):
intense discussions about therealities of maternity leave and
the policies and what that saysabout the company, with men?
Cheryl Spriggs (23:13):
Yeah.
So I think one of the biggestthings that I saw was actually
the return to work, and this wasbefore COVID.
So we were not a remote company.
We could work remote from homewhen it made sense, things like
(23:34):
that.
But it was definitely like acome to the office type of
workplace, to the office type ofworkplace.
And she wanted to, my employeewanted to come back part-time
(23:55):
and remote, and so there wasjust like this lack of trust
from the leaders.
Like the male leadership theywere like I've had a kid, like
you're not really going to beworking, Like, especially if
you're remote, like I, I don'tsee the productivity um being
(24:17):
the best use of time, Likeyou're not going to be able to
actually be at a hundred percentor whatever productivity.
So it was like reallydiscouraging to see, like the
lack of trust that they had inwomen returning to work and men
returning to work actually I didsee.
(24:39):
There was another colleague ofmine who was male and had a
child and like was expected tocome back in the office like two
weeks after I was born, and I'mpretty sure he lived so close
to our office too.
(25:00):
I was like why can't he justlike bounce between, like show
face, but be at home like bestof both worlds, anyways.
So there's just like this lackof trust, which is like the
number one essential thing youneed to have in your team is
trust and setting them up forsuccess, especially someone who
is a first-time parent, whichwas the case for both of my
(25:23):
colleagues.
And yeah, I mean, ultimately itled her to leaving the company
and going to another place thatprobably respected her time and
productivity and like respectedthat she was a parent and had
family responsibilities and thatlife is not just about showing
(25:45):
up to work.
So that was really hard tosupport and like having to like
I don't know, have these uhessentially had to allow her to
be like hourly instead of asalaried employee coming back
part-time.
So it was tough.
Sarah Caminiti (26:05):
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I wish I could say like that I'msurprised, like I've heard this
(27:12):
so many times and it's such a.
What's always the mostdisappointing for me when I
think about these things and I'dlove to hear your take on it
too is it's just like you hadthis really cool opportunity to,
to show your employees thatthis is a, this is a special
(27:32):
place, like we really do wantyou to be successful, and that
means we want you to besuccessful outside of work too
and and instead they decided togo with old school mentality,
lack of trust, without anyreceipts to back it up and
(27:53):
instead of like just beingexcited for this person that
working with you to help youbuild this company that you are
the founder of.
It's just such a missedopportunity and it's infuriating
.
How did it feel for you to haveto mentally really process what
(28:18):
this all meant and your placein it all?
Cheryl Spriggs (28:22):
like really process what this all meant and
your place in it all.
I think I was disappointedbecause I was really looking
forward to her contributing andlike feeling a part of like we
can continue being successful,but instead it was like all
right, I'm just clocking in myhours to get my work done.
(28:44):
Oh, and shortly after.
Covid happened, so we were allremote.
Anyways, it's the cherry on topof it, isn't?
Sarah Caminiti (28:52):
that fun, Amazing how that all works out
and, honestly, too, it's justlike.
So what if your employee is notgiving 100% right after they go
on leave, Like when they comeback from leave, like, did they
personally give 100% after theirfirst child was born?
(29:16):
Probably not born, Probably not, or they, you know it's.
It's, it's just like berealistic of who humans are and
how we operate and know that, uh, that we're all just doing our
best and can do what you have todo to support it.
It's just dang Um.
But that kind of leads me intothe next thing that I did want
to ask you about, which is aboutempowerment, I mean and we kind
(29:39):
of touched upon it earlier andand being in positions like that
and having to to be that thereality check, but also a human
to to make your, your, youremployees, feel supported.
And then in your new company,where you are now, it's happier,
like having to go through theserestructurings and and and
(30:00):
getting these differentopportunities and meeting new
people and leading new people,with everything that you've
learned throughout your career,and maybe even once you've had
the diagnosis of, with the ADHDand the anxiety too, like how
has that impacted how you leadand how you really focus on
empowerment.
Cheryl Spriggs (30:21):
Yeah, how you lead and how you really focus on
empowerment.
Yeah, so you kind of mentionedthe biggest thing that I think
I've experienced at Zapier andmy current company is that we've
gone through so much change,and this includes different
restructuring.
It was only one year into beingat Zapier where the team that I
(30:43):
was initially hired on to whichhad been dissolved.
However, they did give us anopportunity to laterally move to
other support teams or applyfor other internal positions at
the company too.
That's cool.
So there was only one personthat I think departed from the
(31:06):
restructuring.
Otherwise, everyone it was like20 something of us, I can't
remember the exact number wentto different support teams,
lateral positions or a coupleothers.
I think one person moved to ourlearning development team,
which is really awesome.
Someone became a trainer and,yeah, it was really nice that we
(31:28):
were able to create theseopportunities for people to go
into other roles.
So this was a really confusingtime in my life too, actually.
So this was about two years agonow, and not only were, our
(31:49):
whole team was like what job arewe going to be doing?
It was right before a companyretreat, the first one that was
happening since before COVID,since before COVID.
So like we all showed up to ourcompany retreat and I kept
saying, my badge should havesaid like hire me because I was
like I don't know what my nextrole is going to be here, and
(32:14):
also something I was personallygoing through was I was making
the move to Colorado.
So not only I didn't know whatmy job was going to be for like
a month, I also was like movingstates.
So there was just like I had nostability whatsoever and like
that was really tough.
(32:34):
So but my like one of the firstthings that I was just focusing
on was like ensuring my teammembers were able to find their
next new role, whether that waslike a lateral move or that they
were applying for otherinternal positions that were
open.
That was like the number oneimportant thing to me, and I was
(32:58):
like I'll figure out where I go, I don't know, even though that
was kind of stressful too.
But so I think the piece that Iwas really fighting for my team
and empowering them to makethese decisions based on what
was best for their careerdevelopment too, and one of the
(33:21):
things that happened with a teammember of mine she was going to
be applying for Premier Support.
That's the team I'm now on.
That's where I landed, buteveryone was a level above than
what she was, so they were justoffering her to laterally move.
But the entire rest of the teamwas operating at this level
(33:44):
three essentially and we werelike, all right, well, the most
fair way to assess a level islike can we re-interview you for
this position and determineyour skills and your level on
that?
So I feel like if it wasn't forus really advocating for that
(34:07):
like interview and reassessment,like they could have gone to
this team and maybe beenunderpaid for what they were
doing, so wouldn't have had thatopportunity, maybe like a year
into being in that new team.
So I was, I was making surethat they got through the finish
(34:27):
line for that and were able toall successfully level up and
come onto this team, so that wasgreat.
Sarah Caminiti (34:34):
Cheryl, holy cow , like hats off to you, because
not only is that something thatyou have to I mean, you have to
navigate those situations socarefully but a lot of people
just don't, and they tell themthat they'll just hope for the
best, or it is what it is, andthose sorts of things like money
(35:01):
.
I mean that's why we work Likethat truly is one of the number
one reasons why we're here.
And uh, and it's such a bummerwhen, when leadership doesn't
recognize that like this has tohappen this way.
You have to pay people equallyif they are doing the same job,
(35:27):
and the longer that you wait toaddress it, the bigger ethical
things creep up along the way,and also just like morale and
engagement, and usually peoplejust end up leaving because they
feel undervalued and moneyconversations suck and they are
(35:49):
hard and you have to approach itstrategically and having an
advocate is the best, best, bestthing that any employee can
have going into thoseconversations, because they know
that they're not alone in theirfeelings of their worth.
You are telling them you areworthy of this, you are capable
(36:13):
of this and you deserve this,and I feel like that has so much
weight and that kind of likelives with you, then for a while
.
Cheryl Spriggs (36:22):
Oh yeah, definitely, and like I was
really fortunate that thisindividual like got to stay with
me through this move too, andshe was probably the person
different team like great careerprogression for her.
(36:48):
So that was really awesome.
I loved the relationship we hadand the rapport we built.
But that's one awesomerelationship I've had.
But I've also had a lot ofother individuals I've managed,
maybe for a short period of timeor a longer period of time, but
(37:11):
it is pretty crazy.
I think I've probably managedaround 20 different people in
the span of just three years.
Wow, five different managerstoo, in three years.
So it's like a lot of change andlike I mean, there's only so
many months in those three years.
Like it takes I don't know goodtwo to three months to really
(37:35):
build some rapport with a newperson whether that's your new
manager or someone you'remanaging and like super crucial
to get to know them during thattime period and really
understand what they want so youcan help them be successful as
well.
Yeah, so that one individualwho we had a really great
(37:59):
conversation at the beginning ofthis year and was like hey, I
think you're kind of at yourlimit in this current role.
What do you want to startthinking about outside of this
role?
What is your dream job?
Does that exist here?
Could it exist here?
Could it exist elsewhere?
(38:19):
Really thinking outside the boxthere and like how to use her
skills and her strengths.
So I've loved seeing likeespecially the women I've
managed to like really blossomand grow and like go to these
different roles and departmentsand and it's it's been really
(38:41):
awesome to see that growth,awesome to see that growth Dang.
Sarah Caminiti (38:44):
I feel like so much of that has to do with you,
cheryl.
I mean, it is hard to find atrue leader that is your
advocate and is your cheerleaderand acknowledges when there are
opportunities for you to growoutside of where you are and
(39:08):
into different areas, or, ifthey bring something up, giving
them the tools that they need toexplore and question and
determine if it's right for them.
That doesn't happen very often,and the fact that you're giving
all of these people, in so manydifferent levels of change
around you, stability and andhope for what leaders could be
(39:32):
then like when, when it's theirturn, if they decide to go into
a path, that that is aleadership path.
You've set such a great examplefor them because they know that
it's possible and they feltyour warmth and your care and
your concern and yourappreciation along the way, so
that's awesome.
Cheryl Spriggs (40:03):
Oh well, thank you so much.
Yeah, and like some of them are, you know, have been like we
have similar situations and canrelate that way, and that's why
I think we've had like reallygood rapport as well.
Like people feel confident thatthey can come to me with like
(40:24):
their specific struggles,especially if they are
neurodivergent too.
Like I can relate to that andbe able to like come, like
approach their situation or thelike blocker that they have from
that perspective as well, whichis, I think, been truly like a
(40:45):
gift that I've been able torecognize those specific pieces
too, because even if one of myteam members is neurodivergent
as well, we're on completelydifferent journeys or pathways,
that maybe we're diagnosed atdifferent times in our lives and
are still trying to recognizewhat are the pieces that really
(41:06):
make us tick.
Sarah Caminiti (41:08):
Yeah, yeah, and I love that you said that they
feel confident enough to come toyou for these things, but also
they feel safe enough to come toyou for these things.
And confidence, I think, comesfrom a solid foundation, and
having those conversations aboutneurodiversity and in your
(41:29):
brain, needing somethingdifferent is such a vulnerable
thing to do and I just I'm justreally happy that you are
someone that decided to trustyourself and dive into this
leadership space, because it'sobvious that you are providing a
really incredible value tothese people throughout their
(41:53):
career journeys and lives.
So that's great.
Cheryl Spriggs (41:56):
Yeah, it's very rewarding and I'm super glad
that, like I can help peoplethrough like their six, like
their accomplishments and theirbattles too.
So that's been really great andthat's what feels like I.
(42:16):
I think one of the best thingsuh, a manager's asked me is,
like, at the end of the week,what is the one thing that you
just really enjoy, what's thebest thing you love about your
job?
And this is still true, myone-to-ones with my team members
(42:37):
are what I love the mostHearing about what's going well
for them, them being able tobring up the most important
topics to work through, likethey're why I want to keep
working and ensure that they areset up for success.
Sarah Caminiti (42:55):
So I love it, and now you're doing this with a
group of people You're the ERGprogram that you're a part of at
Zapier as well, so you're ableto spread this sort of like
leadership mentality evenfarther from your direct team.
Cheryl Spriggs (43:32):
Yeah, that's been really exciting.
So I kind of mentioned earliertoo, our Empower ERG for women
and allies at Zapier.
I've been I had been a member,I guess, most of the time that I
had been at Zapier, and at theend of last year they had like
applications open for committeemembers or like committee
leaders, and so I was, like youknow, I like being involved with
this group and I'd love toconnect with more people across
than just support, and so Iapplied for the events and
(43:55):
community lead and that leaderfor this current year, and so
it's been cool connecting withpeople outside of just support.
I would like to say, though,there are a couple of us on the
leadership team from support, sothat's been really awesome too,
and also the async discussionshave been good.
(44:19):
It's been really cool tocoordinate with our other ERGs
at Zapier as well.
We have Prism, which is ourlgbtq, plus um erg, and then
bipoc um, which is our, whichactually, right now I've I'm
collaborating with both theevents lead to have this like
(44:39):
intersectional uh event for allof our ergs.
that kind of touches on, likeeach different group.
Um, I think it's been reallycool to be a part of this, like
great diverse melting pot.
Uh, my company, which is alsolike a huge difference, and why
I wanted to be at the companyI'm at right now is because I
(45:02):
worked with these small startups.
They were 30 people or less,all based in Austin essentially,
and it's primarily white men,and now I work with a company of
like 800, 900 people, I think,and we're across 40 different
countries, which is awesome.
(45:22):
Wow, that's so awesome.
Yeah, I love being able to meeta lot of people from different
places and while we are remote.
I think that's why one of myfavorite things of being
involved in ERGs is because Iget to connect with other folks
that aren't on my team, that areacross the globe as well in
different departments, becauseotherwise sometimes you stay in
(45:44):
your own little bubble, in yourown silo.
Sarah Caminiti (45:47):
Yeah, and it's.
It's an easy track to fall intoand and the diversity aspect of
things I feel like for supportthat is such a crucial, crucial
component to to be in a spacethat is inclusive and to be in a
space where you're talking tofolks from from all different
backgrounds and places, becauseyour customers, your customers,
(46:10):
are probably also coming fromall different walks of life and
locations and time zones andlanguages, and you need to
embrace that because that's thereality.
Cheryl Spriggs (46:21):
Yes, yeah.
So actually our supportdepartment has really I
mentioned we've gone through alot of restructures or changes,
things like that, and also justlike bigger changes too.
We implemented live chat.
We started utilizing more oflike a schedule and a workforce
(46:42):
management tool that really kindof drilled down our specific
business needs and queue time,and so these were massive
changes that didn't just happenovernight, and so one of the
things that we kind of felt alittle disconnected on was
having these core principles forour support department.
(47:05):
So actually I was like anentire department, we came up
with our principles and ourvision together and they, like
have just only been solidifiedlike in the last month.
So that's been nice to havesomething to rally around and
actually.
So one of those is like one ofour principles is be human.
I'm like we we're not robots.
(47:29):
Granted, we work for anautomation company to build a
robot and to automate your work,but we're never wanting to like
replace the human touch.
Like we really want to be human, we want to show our
personalities, we want toconnect with our customers from
(47:49):
all around the world as well,and I think one of the best
things that did happen for oursupport department is having
this live chat channel where wecan even be more human.
We can be more conversational,we can ask how people's days are
going.
We can meet their level.
I've seen wonderfulconversations where gifts are
(48:11):
passed back and forth.
That is being human andconnecting with our customers.
And seeing the real resolutionin time has been awesome to see
happen and see how our customersare happy too.
Sarah Caminiti (48:28):
Yeah, and what?
Like an obvious value add thathas to the customer experience.
Like you are able to see realtime what is going on with the
customer's trajectory and howthey started, with the
conversation confused, and byjust having a regular
(48:50):
conversation with someone toconnect with them and meet them
where they are, it has such aprofound impact in how they
perceive the company, but alsojust in general.
I mean, there's nothing butpositive things that can come
out of those kind ofconversations, and it sounds
like you're really in a spacethat embraces that and
recognizes yeah, ai is here,yeah, automation is a great
(49:13):
thing, and it is a great thingbecause it makes you, as a human
, do what you need to do better,which is important.
One of the last things, though,that, cheryl, I did want to ask
you is, like you've gonethrough so many incredible
things that you are doing andworking on and involved in, and,
and the journey that you'vebeen on and uh and I think that
(49:37):
it's always important to kind ofrecognize how big these things
are that you are a part of Likethey're time consuming, they're
brain consuming too, and you'vegot a life outside of work, and
so how are you navigatingcommittees and your involvement
in support driven and theleadership aspect of things Like
(49:58):
how do you navigate that injust a regular day?
Cheryl Spriggs (50:02):
This is probably one of the hardest things,
because there is no perfectsolution to the madness in my
brain and I think each week isquite different, and I've really
seen that recently.
I've had weeks where I just Ican't cope with it and it's, you
(50:29):
know, I'm breaking down, cryingand things like that, and I'm
very stressed out.
And then there's some weekswhere I'm like I am so on top of
it.
What's next?
I have some downtime, like so.
And then there's the in themiddle where I'm just like busy,
busy, busy, busy, like so.
And then there's the in themiddle where I'm just like busy,
busy, busy, busy.
But yeah, I think one of thethings that I am really working
(50:53):
on is like taking pressure offmyself.
Yes, because I think the like Imean pressure and like a
pressure cooker, like if I keepputting all this pressure on me,
I'm going to like just explodeand that's what happens.
So like giving myself more of aspace to like make mistakes and
(51:30):
also recognizing that, like mywhole fear of failure, like if,
if something is a failure,something doesn't go the way I
hypothesize, maybe not seeingthat as a failure and seeing
that as like this was just theoutcome, but it was still a
success in the way that like ithappened, and now you get to
learn from it, so like shiftingthat mindset.
But I can't do it alone andthat's something that I really
need the support from my peers,from my leaders, from my
(51:57):
personal life, like my husband.
I need that support and thatconstant reminder of like and
that constant reminder of evenif something doesn't work out,
it's not a complete failure,it's not a mess up.
I have to tell myself constantlyI don't work in healthcare.
I'm not a brain surgeon, firstof all, I couldn't, even I can't
(52:24):
deal with blood.
I work in tech.
I work with automation andworkflows that really do power
people's businesses and can makethings you know, make or break.
However I am, I'm not a brainsurgeon, which.
I'm sorry to all you brainsurgeons out there.
Sarah Caminiti (52:45):
But you're one person, you are part of the
package.
It is not all on your shoulders.
And and you're right, I meanyou're we are our own worst
enemy in so many ways andputting that pressure and
responsibility of the success ofothers, which is kind of part
(53:06):
of support in itself, but uh,but on such like a a deeper
level where you don't really cancan take over um, but
recognizing it and using it as atool rather than um a detriment
to your success, I think alsoyour success, I think also one
(53:32):
of the things that I also amtrying to recognize more too is
that because I'm a leader andbecause I'm in support, I just
have this huge empathetic heartand I can't always have that
bursting at the seam.
Cheryl Spriggs (53:43):
I'll need to look at some things like
realistically, and just haverealistic expectations as well,
and like I can't do it all, likeI so, but as someone who has
empathy, I'm like I want to bethere for you, I want to do this
, but if I'm not taking care ofmyself too, like it's, it's not
going to be beneficial.
Sarah Caminiti (54:05):
Yes, oh my gosh, a thousand percent, a thousand
percent, and just acknowledgingit is truly like leaps and
bounds from where so many othersare and, uh, having it just in
the back of your mind I'm surehas made a huge impact on just
life.
Yes, so, cheryl, I do like toend.
(54:30):
Unfortunately, we are gettingto the end of it and I hate it
because it's been such a lovelyconversation and I want to keep
going, but I'll have you back orwe just can talk all the time
anyway.
But I like to end all of thesecalls with asking my guests to
think about what era they are inor what era they are entering.
And, cheryl, what's your era?
Cheryl Spriggs (54:51):
Yeah, I think, actually, a lot of things that
I've talked about today havereally and like the more
self-recognizable things thatI'm uh, you know, sharing and
pinpointing are, like it comesdown to, self-care, like that's
what I'm really trying to entermore of, and like giving myself
(55:15):
grace, um, giving myself timeoff, like to not have to be
productive all the time, to haverest and downtime.
So, yeah, self-care, steppingaway, like disconnecting from
what is stressing me out, goingfor that run or going out into
(55:40):
the mountains, things like that,like something that is just
going to like revitalize my souland like have that form of
self-care.
Yes.
Sarah Caminiti (55:48):
What an awesome, awesome, awesome era to be
entering, and well-deserved, andit's going to probably just
hopefully trickle into every erathat you enter for the rest of
your life, because you'recreating those resources and
foundations for it.
But for the rest of your lifebecause you're creating those
resources and foundations for it.
But, dang, yeah, I am excitedfor you to be able to just like,
(56:09):
be and not have to always havea purpose in every single action
that you make.
It's a personal problem formyself that my therapist is
trying to help me work through,so I feel you completely.
But that's so awesome.
I'm excited for you, yeah.
Cheryl Spriggs (56:30):
Well, thank you so much.
I appreciate it.
I really loved talking aboutall these different topics.
I feel like I could just keepgoing on and on as well.
Sarah Caminiti (56:39):
Same same same.
No, cheryl, truly this has beena pleasure and I'm so excited
to have met you and I'm pumpedto just keep talking to you and
I hope that you have the bestlong weekend, thank you.
Cheryl Spriggs (56:51):
I appreciate it and can't wait to hear more of
your podcast as well.
Sarah Caminiti (56:55):
Thank you very much, cheryl.
Well, we'll be in touch soon,and thank you again, truly, all
right.
Thanks, sarah, Bye, bye.
Thank you so much for tuninginto this episode of Epochal
Growth.
Cheryl's journey is a powerfulreminder of how self-care and
personal empowerment go hand inhand with effective leadership.
Her insights on navigatingneurodiversity, building trust
(57:17):
and advocating for her teamoffer valuable lessons for
anyone looking to grow.
If today's conversationinspired you, be sure to
subscribe, leave us a review andshare this episode with your
network.
Until next time, and rememberwe can't wait around to see
change happen.
When you feel it in yourselfthat a better way exists, you
(57:38):
owe it to yourself and thosearound you to try, because great
things happen when you do.
I'll see you next week.
I'm Sarah.
You next week, I'm SarahCaminiti.
This is Epochal Growth.
Have a great day.
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