This wonderful conversation with Despina Karatzias unpacks her true passion for joy, helpfulness and contribution.

Early in her life, she had a dream to go into acting, but instead she briefly explored social work, only to realise it was not quite right for her. At age 18 her passion for small business and tourism started to form and this is still where she spends most of her professional focus and energy today.

Join us in this honest and eye opening conversations about the many career-defining moments that took her to the work she does these days!

Some of the things we cover:

·     Lessons of self-care and literally running a marathon during the pandemic.

·     Leaning into being different and exploring different things to find you path.

·     Starting your career out to learn as much as you can across the business

·     Where her love for small business began

·     Managing people and learning how to manage the conflicts that can come from this

·     Noticing a need for formal training and stepping up to put yourself through the (formal) learning that you need

·     Reflecting on the fact that “sometimes I am my own problem”, and taking ownership to unlock what’s next in your career

·     Creating healthy boundaries and learning the importance of emotional intelligence (sometimes, the hard way)

·     Working out how your role contributes to the bigger picture of the organisation and the community

·     Finding your voice and taking action when something is a clear ‘no’

·     Honestly look at what’s working and what’s not and make sure to get help to get out of that (all too common) funk

·     Don’t wait for someone to give you permission to grow, but take responsibility for your own learning.

Despina’s top career tips:

1.   Follow the fire in your belly, be in tune to what your reaction and follow that. Say ‘yes’ more and go out of your comfort zone weekly.

2.  Networks and get in the room with the right people. Actively lean in and step up.

3.  Get yourself out there, believe in something and use your voice to share it.

Resources:

- Feeling stuck on what’s next in your career? Start by downloading the free career checklist via https://www.thebridgecoaching.com.au or book a free chat with Emmy.

- Get in touch with Despina’s work: https://www.linkedin.com/in/despinakaratzias/ or https://www.navii.com.au/