In an ideal scenario, discussions around career growth and professional development would happen regularly in an individual’s career. But in between other priorities taking center stage, lack of surrounding resources, or other factors, that talk can sometimes materialize rarely or sporadically.
According to Director, Enterprise Accounts and Client Strategy Megan Wolfe, though, in her experience as a team member at Modernize Home Services, professional progress has been a focal point of her experience.
“Conversations about advancing my career at Modernize were ongoing and ever-present and were mostly championed by my manager,” Wolfe said. “Looking back, I don’t think a week has gone by where career development and growth wasn’t a topic of conversation in some way.”
That much seems illustrated by her path at the Austin-based company, which she first joined as an individual contributor on the enterprise account management team. Now she helps lead the big-impact team whose accounts Wolfe said contribute to around 70 percent of the company’s revenue.
According to Wolfe, the propelling force behind her growth arc has been a combination of a few essentials.
“I moved up at Modernize through proactive communication with my manager about my career goals along with guided improvement of specific skills so that I was prepared to take on new roles and responsibilities,” Wolfe said.
Now, she finds herself in the “incredibly rewarding” position of leading and managing other team members. Below, Wolfe laid out how she advanced within the organization and how she found a supportive atmosphere nurturing career goals.
What has your career journey looked like at Modernize Home Services?
In two words: fast-paced and dynamic. In some ways my career journey has followed a typical advancement path from individual contributor to leadership. But I’ve also had opportunities to stretch myself both creatively and professionally along the way.
What was your previous title and how did you go about moving up?
I started at Modernize as an individual contributor as an enterprise account manager on our enterprise accounts team. Throughout my tenure in this role, my manager proactively walked me through options for career advancement.
Career growth was an ongoing topic of conversation during one-on-ones and more formal performance reviews. The options for growth at Modernize were, and still are, effectively limitless. Within my first year at the company, I saw my colleagues move to different departments and get promoted to more senior roles and leadership positions within our team. After I had a year of experience under my belt and ongoing conversations with management about my career goals, I decided that I wanted to pursue a promotion to senior enterprise account manager. After I decided on my goal, I worked with my manager to develop milestones that I had to achieve to secure the promotion.
After a few months of working toward these milestones, I was promoted to the role in April 2020. In this capacity, I was responsible for managing some of the largest accounts within the business and took on additional responsibility as a leader and mentor. After about a year in this role, I started to take on more creative and strategic responsibilities that further stretched my leadership and business development skills. This resulted in a title change to manager of enterprise client strategy where, in addition to managing some of our top accounts, I was also involved in more strategic revenue-driving initiatives.
After getting this additional experience under my belt, I had a conversation with my manager that my next goal was to take on direct reports and manage a team. A few months after this conversation, I was promoted to my current role.
There is an enormous amount of potential to move up at Modernize.”
Describe any professional development opportunities or training programs that you’ve been involved in at Modernize Home Services. How did they impact your career?
In addition to development opportunities and training programs focused on my role, the company actively provides resources for personal development on top of professional development.
Every other Friday, one of the co-founders of Modernize hosts a personal development session called “The Standard” where we focus on how we can be the best versions of ourselves both inside and outside of work. In these sessions we’ve covered topics such as communication, goal setting and how to relax and unwind.
It’s been hugely impactful for my career to work for a company that understands that being the best and healthiest version of ourselves outside of work will help us bring our best selves to the workplace. I think the company’s focus on personal development and work-life balance has been one of the most important factors of building a successful and sustainable career.
How has your work changed in your new role, and in what ways has it remained the same?
My passion and focus for helping our team and our customers has stayed the same. The part of my work that feels the most different after moving to a management role is shifting nearly all of my focus to developing the skills of our team. It’s incredibly rewarding to take what I’ve learned from my supportive, caring and challenging-in-a-good way managers and hopefully develop my team in the same way.
How would you characterize the potential for moving up at Modernize Home Services?
There is an enormous amount of potential to move up at Modernize. The company is growing and we’re also in the process of developing new products and business segments, which naturally unlocks major potential for new roles and responsibilities. Modernize also takes a tailored approach to moving up. In addition to more linear career paths, I’ve watched many colleagues transition between departments, which allows so much room for self-discovery along the way.
