“The world needs to realize that happier teams are more productive.”
Katy Campbell’s role as a Manager at Porsche Digital is supporting the various founders at FWRD31 and mentoring their businesses throughout the partnership. By doing so, she highly advocates for mental health awareness in the workplace, inspiring her colleagues and business partners.
In your opinion: what is the most crucial skill for doing a great job at FWRD31?
That is a hard one! I want to say flexibility, as we are working with startups — which means things are constantly evolving. However, at the same time, I think it is so crucial to be as open-minded as possible. There is not only one way to build a startup, and sometimes I need to remind myself that the path to success looks different for everyone.
You have lived and worked in several countries such as the UK, the US and Germany. How important is said flexibility, intercultural competence and thinking globally for your job?
I do not think it is just important for my job, but for anyone working in the start-up world.
You have already worked for companies like Rocket Internet and Zalando — why did you decide to join Forward31 and Porsche Digital?
Christian (Knörle, Head of Company Building at Porsche Digital) was the reason. I have been very privileged over my career to have strong characters as managers who have always challenged the way I grow, think and express myself. The second I sat down with Christian, I knew I could have a unique learning experience, and I was not wrong.
Which project in your past was most challenging? What was the biggest learning for you?
It has to be the second start-up I built, as it was completely unlike the first. The first one was already at seed stage, meaning it was at a completely different pace. We already had a huge team, funding and a steady MRR (monthly recurring revenue). The second start-up was built from the ground up, and there were so many learnings. It was challenging in a positive way; I feel like it was a ten-month MBA (Master of Business Administration) that I had to do with some of the greatest humans out there.
My biggest learning was that just because there is a topic that I love — for example mental health — it does not mean that I have to turn it into a business. In addition, when you feel like you are drowning, your people are there for you to reach out to. Never forget that.
What does female empowerment mean to you and what does it mean for your work?
I do not know if I specifically think about female empowerment as a term, but more inclusive empowerment overall. Of course, it is different for everyone, but for me the feeling of empowerment is as simple as being given the chance to thrive and grow. It is about being surrounded by champions who raise you up, and showing up for the difficult conversations while having the safe space to be your true authentic self.
Looking back on your career: what was the hardest decision and what had the biggest impact for you on a professional and personal level so far?
Being open about my mental wellbeing. I feel like I grew up in the generation where talking about your mental health was something you kept in your personal life, something you would hide from colleagues and especially your boss. However, is there really that clear line between work and personal anymore? Even before Covid-19, I think there was a clear flow between the two, and so it should always be. You cannot shut off a part of yourself for eight to nine hours a day.
Nevertheless, there is still a stigma behind mental health and performance in the workplace. I am still waiting for the world to realize that happier teams are actually more productive.
When I joined the team, we had a team workshop quite early on. It was more of a get to know each other. Christian asked us to go around the room and just be as open as we were comfortable to talk about how we enjoy to work and how this might look like sometimes. He created an atmosphere where you knew it was a judgement-free zone. Therefore, I just spoke up about my wellbeing, how it affects my work in positive and negative ways.
Since then, I can just tell the team about bad days, and they all jump in to support. This is the kind of culture, we should all be striving for and I want to promote.
What advice would you give your younger self today when starting out in your career?
I have so many, but here are my top three:
- Spend less time in your head, you are your greatest cheerleader but also your greatest saboteur
- You are where you are because you earned it, don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise
- Don’t spend so much money on fancy office clothes, you can accomplish more than you think in sweatpants
In one word: how would you describe yourself?
Tenacious.
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