Ride With The Unexpected: grit can't be taught
Heather Bell talks burnout, finding the right room, and why her number one hiring criteria is grit. Because you can't teach it.
Heather grew up with blue collar parents, and their example of hard work is something she carries with her. She got into sales in a way that I find extremely practical. She was working in hotels and looked around to see who made the most money. It was the sales team. So that's what she did. She landed her first tech sales job and got laid off after three months. Her dad told her she would be fine, and three weeks later she was working at OpenTable, where she stayed for seven years.
A lot of our conversation was about being a woman in sales. In her last few roles, she was the only woman in the room. When she was looking for her most recent role, she made a list of non negotiables. A big one was that the team had to be at least 50 percent women. She also wanted to work somewhere with other parents, people in the same season of life who get it if she has to block her calendar for her daughter's kindergarten graduation.
We also talked about burnout, which she's felt a few times. Once was after her first kid was born, when she was a field rep driving a thousand miles a week and pumping in her car. Another time was in her last role, when she knew it was not the right room for her anymore. Her husband pointed out that she was not happy and that she had the power to change it. That all ties back to what she calls grit, which she says you cannot teach.
“Number one is grit, because you can't teach it.”
Notes
- She got into sales by looking at who made the most money at the hotel where she worked after college. It was the sales team.
- When searching for her new job, a non negotiable was that the leadership team had to be at least 50 percent women.
- She was laid off from her first tech sales job after three months, applied to OpenTable that same day, and started there three weeks later.
- She says the number one thing she looks for when hiring is grit, because it is something that cannot be taught.