Jonathan Mayes — Life Skills and Leadership

The Person:

Jonathan constantly established goals and made sure he was affecting people positively with every career change. Starting out at a credit firm before transitioning to corporate law, he continued to evaluate his impact and pursue his passions. He eventually transitioned from the realm of corporate law into management, working with diversity, sustainability, and government relations on his way to becoming Senior Vice President of Albertsons Companies.

Building a Network:

1. Treat People Well — It seems simple and fairly obvious. But it is much harder in execution. Little frustrations and annoyances can often lead to shortness with other people, even if you don’t intend to be negative or rude. However, you never know when a positive affect on someone else can reward you down the line. By being courteous, professional, and respectful even of rivals or opponents, it will build a positive reputation that will certainly pay off and help build a network of people that think highly of you.
2. Have a Personal Board — Create a board of people to help you in making big decisions. These people should tell you what they honestly think, rather than what you want to hear. They should come from different backgrounds and companies, in order to bring new perspectives to your questions, and they should have experience working with you in the past so they are aware of your passions and personality. This board will help throughout your career and will provide the outside input every successful person needs.

Leadership Skills:

1. Humility — One of the greatest pitfalls of a leader is thinking that they have all of the answers. One of the greatest qualities in a leader is the awareness that they do not know it all, and that great ideas and solutions can come from anywhere. This open-mindedness leads to a better work environment and greater managerial success.
2. Perseverance — Constantly be putting in the effort to learn more. There is no position you can reach where there is not more to learn and improve on. Perseverance means being willing to pursue that every day and not be satisfied with what you already know or the position you already have.
3. Curiosity — Curiosity is often the best motivator for perseverance. Find a place that stimulates you, whether the problems lie in solving issues within your team or in the execution of a new, high impact project. As long as the challenges you face are interesting to you, the energy and perseverance that leads to constant advancement will be much easier.

Interview Tips:

It is difficult to single out a few things interviewers look for. But the most important takeaway is that interviewers always look beyond technical proficiencies. It is important for a candidate to be honest and hard working, with the right mixture of hard and soft skills that makes them an asset to the company and a positive influence on the people around them. It is also good to have a balance of contentedness and ambition, to be happy where you are but not satisfied.

Diversity and Opportunity:

Diversity of thought and background is proven to be a factor in the best companies. It improves the quality of decision making and creativity, which leads to new ideas and adaptive solutions. However, unconscious bias is an impediment that is extremely hard to get around. At Albertsons Companies, they are making a strong effort to reduce this bias and constantly move towards an open and diverse culture, aligning with their goal to be the best company they can possibly be. With this in mind, there are opportunities across all fields in Albertsons Companies, not just in manufacture or marketing but in IT, sustainability, and foundation work.