Change is inevitable, but growth is optional.
This mantra holds true for individuals and organizations alike, and in the ever-changing tech world, adaptability is not just a virtue but a necessity.
Since 2019, Sierra Serrette had been excelling as a customer experience representative at TextUs, and at the beginning of 2023, she began a new adventure at the company — transitioning to an associate product manager position. However, it wasn’t just her role that underwent transformation; TextUs experienced a series of changes, too, as leaders took on additional responsibilities and stepped into secondary roles.
Over the course of a transformative year, the product team was reshaped with reallocated swimlanes and new roles. Navigating such a dynamic environment required adaptability and a collective sense of responsibility from the product team. Serrette saw leaders offer meaningful support to herself and her colleagues, resulting in unparalleled personal and team growth.
“Thanks to that investment, I have found myself more excited about investing in TextUs and our product,” she said.
Built In sat down with Serrette to hear more about the power of adaptability and embracing change and how leaders support her as she continues to thrive at TextUs.
LESSONS LEARNED
Sierra Serrette credits leaders at TextUs with teaching her three crucial messages this year, each of which she puts to work in her role each day.
1. “Say no to valueless meetings and busy work, but remain a strong team player.”
2. “Be patient and flexible during a product’s build phase. My voice is valuable in a room.”
3. “Use setbacks, feedback and pain points as motivators for better product, communication, documentation and process. Question assumptions by doing more competitive research.”
TextUs is the only fully integrated text-powered sales acceleration tool for Salesforce users.
How has TextUs experienced change over the past year, and how has this affected you or your team?
At the beginning of last year, I became an associate product manager, which was a large change after spending the last three years in customer service. This large personal change also came coupled with a lot of changes within our company, which included our CEO stepping in as an interim product department head. We also saw our CTO step in to fill an engineering manager vacancy. So there I was, making the largest personal career move and reporting into a structure that was completely different from my first 90 days on the job.
Our product swimlane allocation was also redistributed, and then we focused on hiring an instructional designer and QA engineer — two brand new roles for TextUs as a whole. Throughout these changes, the product team found a deep sense of responsibility and collective motivation.
How have your leaders helped you stay engaged and motivated?
I was fortunate enough to have three leaders who helped me buckle down during these seasons of change.
Our CEO turned our weekly one-on-one meetings into deeper coaching sessions focused on investing in me as a PM. Those hours have proven invaluable and pushed me to question my assumptions, double down on research and continue to dream big on the future of our integration capability.
Those one-on-ones pushed me to question my assumptions, double down on research and continue to dream big.”
Our CTO stepped in as my interim engineering manager while we switched our deployment process, updated product swimlanes and shuffled developer assignments among squads. Even with his busy schedule, he never shied away from taking time to connect with me personally and professionally. He constantly reminded me that product development is flexible, forgiving and forward-thinking.
Last, I benefited from working with our product marketing manager. While she is not my direct manager, her leadership is far-reaching. Her thoughtful feedback and constructive criticism are always encouraging. I know when I felt frustrated or a lack of direction, she helped me boil down the problem statements and set me back in the right direction.
