NATASHA ABULAFIA

Focus on your goals to achieve success

Natasha has been working at Sydney Water for over 15 years. She believes their support for her development and flexible working conditions have made it possible for her to realise her career aspirations.

In 2006 Natasha came to a crossroads, she had applied for another position internally but missed out. She needed some help to steer her in the right direction so that she could successfully move into a new role.

At that time Xplore were running the Career Resiliency Program in-house at Sydney Water. Natasha was put forward for the program and had no expectations of what she would get out of it. Until this point she had not really considered what she wanted to do and had always gone along with the motto, "wherever I land is fine", but this was about to change.

Setting smart goals particularly resonated with Natasha

Natasha started to learn how to focus on her goals. Setting SMART goals particularly resonated with her, as this not only encompassed a career perspective but a holistic approach to life. With a "vision for life" she had a clearer picture of what she needed to do to achieve these goals.

The program enabled Natasha to gain a greater level of self-awareness, which in turn led to a greater understanding of how she interacted with others. She learned that the old adage "treat people how you would want to be treated" is not necessarily the only way, and that by adopting the thought "speak to people how they want to be spoken to", she was able to communicate more effectively.

This was valuable advice for Natasha as she had always felt that she hadn't been particularly effective managing upwards. She had never 'put herself out there' as she sees it. Not that she had any trouble talking to people within the business, but it was just a matter of effectively honing her communication skills. She now uses the '30 second sound bite' concept when speaking to managers, which she finds a lot more effective.

When a maternity leave position became available for a role one level up from Natasha's, she set her sights on it and was determined to get it. And so she did! She set her goal and achieved it. As a team leader Natasha now had six people to manage, calling into action her enhanced communication skills.

Six months on, Natasha made another step up. - now managing 18 people in a management position. It seemed as though once she learned how to set and achieve her goals, her career had moved along more rapidly.

Natasha learned the importance of balancing her personal and professional life through the Xplore program

These promotions meant that Natasha went from working three days a week, to four days, to full time in her management position. It was important therefore, that she also learned the importance of balancing her personal and professional life through the program. With a 'female friendly' working environment, Sydney Water supports and encourages women with flexible arrangements and development programs so it was important to use these tools available.

Natasha also met new people within the business through the program. "It was a great chance to network professionally, gain insight into other parts of the business and make some new friends!" This will be valuable for Natasha as she identifies her next move within the business, which she knows will be her new goal in a few years from now.

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