Don't Wait for Someone Else to Fix It

CHAPTER EIGHTLet Go of What You Know

Darby Coleman began her career as an executive assistant to the CEO of a start‐up leadership development consulting firm that worked primarily with U.S. government agencies. By the time she left the company 10 years later, she was director of operations. Darby didn't just climb the ladder—she built it. Darby created every role she assumed as the firm grew. Darby successively developed the human resources, finance, operations, technology, and marketing functions for the company. Darby managed to accomplish all that without any formal training in those fields. In fact, Darby doesn't have a college degree in anything. What she did have was a thirst for learning and an openness to apply what she already knew to new and challenging situations.

Darby had dropped out of college when she found out she was expecting a child and became a mom at 20. When asked how she managed to accomplish so much so quickly in her professional life, Darby explains:

I was scrappy. I had to learn on my own. I remember the time my boss said, “I need someone to manage this $800K project” and even though I didn't have experience in project management, I jumped at the opportunity. The business didn't have a training budget, so whatever I needed to know, I would just figure it out. There was a lot of Googling and a lot of YouTubing involved in advancing my career. One way or another, I'd find the resources I needed to solve problems and expand my skills. I read a lot, I ...