How Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable Helped Advance My Career to Global Director

How Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable Helped Advance My Career to Global Director Dr. Deepali Palta knew as soon as she saw the job description that taking zu sich career to PepsiCo was a no-brainer. And yet, for at least a moment in time, she hesitated to apply for a reason many women will relate to she wasnt sure whether she was qualified.When I interviewed at PepsiCo, I was getting my PhD from Georgia Tech in Polymer and Material Science and had worked with similar processing technology, but for textile and materials, not food, Deepali explained. It took me some time to get out of my own way and say, okay, I should at least apply, even though I dont have the right degree. I kept looking at the job description and thinking, I can do that.Deepali knew that her experiencewasapplicable to the food industry, just not in the ways others expected. So, she developed her story, approached PepsiCos recruiters, and ultimately landed the job. Shes been part of the PepsiCo family ev er since.Given all of the career evolutions shes experienced in the past decade at PepsiCo, Deepali said shes ultimately gotten more and more comfortable in her own skin, in no small part because she hasnt taken a straight road. Challenging the traditional pathway of success may not have been easy, but its resulted in a unique perspective that she leverages in her current leadership role. And as PepsiCos Corporate Partnership Chair for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), its a perspective she uses to help up-and-coming women in STEM shed self-doubt and take risks, too.As women, we tend to not believe in our own abilities right away and stop ourselves two or three steps short before we should, she said. Ive seen junior women I mentor struggling with this, and lately Ive been challenging them to not be shy about having their points of view heard or being proud of their accomplishments.In buchung to help empower her mentees and the individuals on her team to confidently take ownershi p of their accomplishments, Deepali believes in creating a culture of trust, something shes seen demonstrated throughout her time at PepsiCo. One way of extending this trust as a leader, she added, is by not questioning employees when they need to make time for personal matters. (This same attitude is found throughout PepsiCo, as well women on Fairygodboss consistently rate it as a balance-friendly organization).As a leader, regardless of the timelines of projects, its about caring about the whole person, she said. If my team feels that Im authentically invested in their development and in their well-being, then everything else works itself out and I dont have to worry about timelines it will get done.By taking this approach, Deepali added, the end outcome is not only a culture where workers feel supported, but where theyre able to perform to a higher degree, too.I find that if I extend my trust to my team in the beginning, and say, Hey, I trust you, it just gives them more power a nd more lift, and makes them want to rise to meet that, she said.--Fairygodboss is proud to partner with PepsiCo. Find a job there today