We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alison Barlow a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alison, appreciate you joining us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?
My best boss was someone who pushed me out of my comfort zone with complete confidence in my abilities. He trusted me and saw the strength of my skills before I saw them in myself. I would doubt that I could do a task and he would remind me that I could. He consistently told me what I did well and provided suggestions for improvement. His style was to suggest something and leave it up to you to learn and incorporate. I’m not sure that if I didn’t pay attention to these “cues” from him, that I would be were I am today.
Alison, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
This is my third career. I started in the Hospitality field working in resort management (e.g., hotels, vacation homes) around Florida. I loved the work but wasn’t sure I wanted to be in the field for my entire career. I was interested in getting involved in technology related work so I went to graduate school in Washington DC for my MBA with a concentration in technology. I used that degree and internship experiences to start my second career as a technology consultant for the federal government. I did that work for over 15 years and then decided to return to my hometown in Florida. There were very limited jobs available in technology consulting so I pivoted again and began working economic development focused on cross-sector, cross-geography collaborations. I’ve found that there is something from each “career” that has been invaluable to the next “career”. For example, the customer service skills I learned in hospitality were incredibly helpful when I was dealing with diverse clients in consulting. The project management skills I built in consulting have been critical to my success in economic development.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I believe my reputation has been built through selfless collaboration. I will collaborate on a project when I know I will get nothing (e.g., revenue, clients) from the effort. My hope is that by helping someone out they will help me out in the future. I will often jokingly say “I’ll collect the favor someday.” It works because I gain a better understanding of their interests/challenges and they get to know my capabilities. It makes finding ways to work together in the future easier.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I have changed careers a few times and it isn’t always easily accepted. I’ve learned that I need to help people see how my experience is valuable and can be a benefit. For example, moving from hotel management to technology consulting seems on the surface to be very different. I knew the work was similar and would say so. But others are more straightforward (or literal) and couldn’t understand what I meant. I learned that I need to help connect the “dots” for people by talking about specific skills like customer service that I perfected in one field and how it will make me be a better in the next job. Understanding when you are not communicating effectively – especially if it is stopping you from being successful – and then changing how you tell the story is important.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stpeteinnovationdistrict.com/
- Instagram: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonbarlow/
Image Credits
St Pete Innovation District