Why Listen: Finding your way when advised to Specialize AND Generalize.
We get conflicting advice all the time, we actually seek it out. Kristy Hissa, Operations Executive and General Manager of Kairos shares how she navigated seemingly conflicting advice from her mentors – “Fewer Deeper, don’t try to do it all” and “Unleash your Operational skills”. Kristy realized that she is both, a specialized generalist, and used that perspective to find levers for operations success…repeatedly.
Conversation Highlights
- Generalist Role: Kristy and Julie discussed the importance of the generalist role in navigating contradictory advice and leveraging diverse experiences to drive operations and change management effectively. Kristy emphasized the value of listening to various perspectives to unlock one’s full potential.
- Giving Back: Kristy expressed a desire to contribute to the community and future generalists by sharing her experiences and insights, highlighting the importance of resources like the podcast for those navigating their career paths.
- Operations and Strategy: Kristy shared her journey from sales to operations, illustrating how operational roles are critical for business success and can lead to significant impact within an organization. She debunked the myth that operations roles are secondary to sales, advocating for the strategic importance of operations.
- Mentorship: Kristy and Julie discussed the significance of mentorship in career development, emphasizing the need for a personal connection and alignment of values and goals between the mentor and mentee. Kristy shared her experiences with mentors who provided invaluable advice and support, shaping her career trajectory.
- Women in Leadership: Kristy highlighted the emerging role of Chief of Staff as an opportunity for women to rise in leadership positions, reflecting on her own experiences and the supportive environment created by male mentors throughout her career.
Kristy Hissa has successfully operated and exited B2B SaaS startups. She started as the only woman on the sales team working her way up to earning a seat at the executive table within a private equity-owned board. She is passionate about enabling talent and building systems that support rapid growth. After her last exit, she joined early-stage startup Kairos as General Manager, taking the product designed to level up corporate meeting leaders to market to help organizational leaders solve the post-pandemic workforce puzzle and drive change across the organization. In her various roles, she has managed up to six departments simultaneously and continued to spearhead organizational strategy.
Examples of her achievements include increasing the number of client launches per month by 3X after being the 6th implementation leader in 2 years. Overseeing product, her team drove 1.5X higher product adoption while cutting time-to-adopt by 50%. This fall, she is launching the Ottawa chapter of Women In Tech (https://thewitnetwork.com/), which will bring seasoned and emerging leaders together to discuss top of mind challenges and build support in the local community.
LinkedIn: Kristy Hissa
Website: Kairos