Being Thrown in the Deep End Was the Best for Me
My first role as a sales leader was a wild ride to say the least. But reflecting back on it, throwing me into the deep end was the best thing for me. It made me learn howto swim.
I was waaaaay too early in my tenure in sales to lead a team, but the leadership team at this startup insisted I lead a team of SDRs. Remotely.
“What am I getting myself into?” I thought.
You see, my prior experience had been being the #1 SDR at a small startup local to me in Raleigh, NC, and this new startup I was joining was headquartered in Indianapolis, IN. Not close to Raleigh at all. And bonus, the only leadership skills I had was leading a team meeting every once in awhile if our Director of Sales was out of the office.
This new startup wanted me to build an SDR team and lead revenue operations. Revenue operations? I’m sorry, what? Yes, they made me an admin in Salesforce and wished me the best.
I know what you’re thinking – “what were they thinking?” – I hear you loud and clear – but hear me out: it was the best thing for me.
I failed a lot. I had never interviewed anyone in my life, and here I am “interviewing” folks, and micromanaging the crap out of the ones who I hired. I was definitely a manager, not a leader.
I screwed up Salesforce so many times but I am so grateful for having that experience. Because of that experience, I can now work in revenue operations and know what I’m talking about. It’s kinda cool – it’s my “secret superpower” if you will. It’s a double-edged sword though – once people find out that I’m a wizard in Salesforce, the workflow piles up, but I’m so forever grateful to have the skills that I have in Salesforce.
Looking back, I would have done a lot of things differently, but at the end of the day, I learned from them. I still keep in touch with some of the SDRs that I had hired at the time, and they’ve gone on to do great things. I love getting a text saying, “guess what? I’m now a <insert role> at <insert company> and thriving!” – I live for those kind of texts.
The moral of the story is that sometimes it’s best to just learn as you go. I try not to bring an environment like that to folks that work on my team, but for me getting the opportunity to have a leadership role meant everything to me. I learned more in this role about what not to do, than what actually to do.
I will always look back and cringe on some memories, but it’s made me the person I am today, and for that, I am eternally grateful.
This is such a powerful reflection on the realities of leadership growth! It’s incredible how the most challenging (and sometimes chaotic) experiences can become the foundation of our biggest strengths. Being thrown into the deep end forces adaptability, and while it can be overwhelming in the moment, the long-term benefits—like developing resilience, strategic thinking, and technical skills—are undeniable.
I love the part where you acknowledge that you were “a manager, not a leader” at first. That level of self-awareness is key to growth. The best leaders are the ones who have stumbled, learned, and evolved, rather than those who had a perfect trajectory from day one.
Also, the Salesforce “secret superpower” struggle is real! Once people know you’re good at it, the requests never stop. 😆
Kudos to you for embracing the lessons, and I have no doubt that your leadership today reflects the hard-earned wisdom from those early days. Thanks for sharing this!