Kendall Sadler
[00:00:00] Jolie Downs: Welcome to the Career Wanderlust podcast, your compass for new career horizons.
[00:00:06] Today we are talking with Kendall Sadler, an accomplished communications professional with a strength in the financial industry. Kendall started her career as an executive assistant before moving her way into the communications field. Kendall is now the director of communications with a thriving company, Remitly, and I'm really excited to learn more.
[00:00:26] Kendall, thank you for joining us on the Career Wanderlust podcast.
[00:00:29] Kendall Sadler: Oh yeah, it's such an honor. Thank you for having me.
[00:00:32] Jolie Downs: It's a pleasure to have you here. I would love if you could share with us what you feel has been some of your most important or favorite career advice and why. Yeah,
[00:00:42] Kendall Sadler: it's , hard to narrow it down.
[00:00:44] I think I've received an incredible amount of advice from so many people throughout my career. The things that stick out to me, , I think the first thing would be And I actually have gotten this advice from a few different people throughout my career, but they've kind of approached it from a slightly different angle.
[00:01:02] I did spend some time in the workforce solutions industry and the advice that I got at that time from a manager that I had was hire people who you expect to someday be your boss. , and on a similar, , on a similar theme, my first manager at remitly. , really encourages hiring people who really compliment your skill set because we obviously can't be good at all of the things.
[00:01:29] The reason that I appreciate this advice so much, I think, especially when folks are kind of coming up in their career and they're trying to make a name for themselves, , it can be really intimidating to hire talent that might outshine you, but the reality, there's two things that I think are important.
[00:01:46] One is. By hiring people who could potentially someday be your boss or who have skill sets that are different but complementary to yours, you can learn so much from other people. And so I think it's always important to not think of things necessarily in a hierarchy, but to really understand and stay open to what can I learn from anyone at any level, any job title, and really surround yourself with people who can teach you something.
[00:02:15] And then, you know, the other thing is as you evolve into a people manager, it can be hard to kind of shift. Your mindset from, , being graded on, , your outputs, , the accomplishments that the tasks that you do shifting from that mindset to really being evaluated. On the performance and strength of your team.
[00:02:37] And so I think when you have bright shining stars on your team, it really reflects on you as a people manager and a leader. And so I think that's one of the pieces of advice, , that really stand out to me. I have others. There's one other that I'd love to share time permitting, but yeah,
[00:02:55] Jolie Downs: I would love to hear, but really quick, I just want to say, this is a fantastic piece of advice.
[00:03:00] It is. So spot on because look, there are, I can, as a recruiter, I've come in, I've come into this. Okay. I can, I can tell you that this, this definitely happens a lot and, and people do get, , nervous about hiring someone that could potentially pass them. , but I a hundred percent believe that your advice is incredibly correct and helpful and will only expand not only the person's career themselves, but like you said, their team, the company, the culture.
[00:03:35] Everything elevates when you hire above rather than being scared or hiring with fear that you need to have this person below. So I applaud this. And if people could take this advice and run with it, I think we'll all be seeing much more elevated work situations and work cultures if you ask me. So. Yeah.
[00:03:58] Thank you. I'm curious now, have you used this, this advice yourself and how did it work
[00:04:02] Kendall Sadler: out for you? Yeah, absolutely. So, , I have a team member today when I interviewed her, I mean, you, you already kind of mentioned my sort of indirect or nonlinear path to communications. I am not, I did not go to school for PR.
[00:04:19] I have a finance degree. I worked in customer service and executive operations and all of these other. Fields before I ever even got to communications or to PR. And so, , one of the individuals that I hired on my team, she has potentially more years of, of traditional PR experience than I do. And I was blown away in my interview with her that she was bringing so much of this to the table.
[00:04:45] Additionally, she came from a much larger company with more product lines. And so she had been through navigated situations that I haven't. Navigate it as a communications professional, new product launches, things like that. And so, it was a bit intimidating to say, let's bring this person on. They might outshine me in terms of, you know, , PR credibility or, , these experiences, , at, at bigger tech companies.
[00:05:13] But at the end of the day, we're able to compliment each other so well. She brings an experience that I'm lacking, but I bring. several other things to the table, including tenure at the company and a lot of institutional knowledge, , and relationships. And so it's, it's worked out really well, , have a wonderful working relationship.
[00:05:36] And I think to your point about culture, I think. That's what's so important is if you can create this culture of I can learn from anyone, really empower people on your team and make them feel valued, and that results in stronger
[00:05:49] Jolie Downs: outcomes. Absolutely. It just sounds like the two of you kept making each other better, which is the goal, right?
[00:05:55] That's what we're looking for. Now, you mentioned that there was another piece of advice, though, that that you'd love to share. I'd love to hear it.
[00:06:01] Kendall Sadler: Yeah, for sure. So the other piece of advice that really stands out to me over my career, and I mean, who do I credit it to? I could credit it to,, my first manager at remitly.
[00:06:12] I could credit it to flight attendants, but the advice is actually this concept of. Putting on your air mask before you help someone else put on theirs. And I think the reason that this stands out to me, I'll give you a specific story. So Remitley went public in 2021 and for six plus years, I had just been sprinting.
[00:06:37] And I think one of the common themes that I've noticed within the tech industry is that. We tend to hire folks who are high achievers, who are very driven and who will at times kind of work themselves to the bone, right? And so it can result in, in complete burnout. And so for me, , Getting to the end of, you know, the IPO , and the end of being at the company for six, six and a half years, something like that, I hit a wall and I was burnt out and I thought the only option was to take a year and do nothing.
[00:07:13] And so I went to my leader at the time and I said, listen, I am burnt out. I don't think I can do this anymore. I need to take time off. , and his encouragement to me was like, don't, don't take a year. But let's figure out what it is that is going to get you healthy. And he consistently encouraged me, you need to be taking care of yourself.
[00:07:33] You need to identify those things that really bring you energy that, , really fill your tank. Because if you're not doing those things, it doesn't matter how many hours you work for the company, your outputs aren't going to be as strong as if you're taking care of yourself. And so I did end up taking some time off.
[00:07:51] And before I. you know, jumped back in, I actually sat down and drew out this quadrant and I wanted to make sure that I was thinking about what are the commitments that I would be making to myself coming back into the role? What is the support that I needed from my husband and my family? , what are the permissions that I felt like I needed from the company in order to keep create this balance and have, have these boundaries.
[00:08:18] And then finally, what are the things that I need to say no to at work to allow myself to prioritize? The things that weren't in my control and wouldn't have the greatest business impact. And so built out a quadrant, talk to all of the people who impacted those areas of my life and got some alignment.
[00:08:38] And I'm happy to say that today I am able to create really strong balance. I'm not perfect at it. Absolutely not. But I think the intentionality was really meaningful and really understanding that I need to know. What fills me up and energizes me, prioritize that, build that into my day, it may result in fewer working hours, but it ends up giving back more to the company and to my family and to myself than, than working 24 hours a day.
[00:09:07] So.
[00:09:07] Jolie Downs: Absolutely. . You set it up so that you are thriving in the very best way, not only for yourself with work, but in life. And this is the goal that we are all working towards. I love this story so much. It. is an example of how, how it is the best practice to go about when you hit that wall.
[00:09:28] Okay. You're absolutely right. I mean, we hit this wall, , this burnout mode. And when you hit that burnout mode, let's be honest, you're not always thinking clearly. Right. I mean, which is why you're like, I need a year. I just need, I need a year. And I love that. , That you went and talked to your boss. I mean, right there, it's like there were so many little pieces of advice within this story of advice, right?
[00:09:51] Like you went and you were honest with your boss and you had this conversation with them. You talked to them and you gave them the opportunity to work it out with you, which I love. So, and I love that your boss did that because I figure, you know what? Two things happen when you do that, right? If you, if you take the chance and you share what's going on with yourself, with your, with your boss, they're either going to A, hear you and work with you to make it better or they're not.
[00:10:15] Then, you know, and then you know that you're yeah, and, and then you use that information to make your decisions. So, but either way, that's a win. , so I love that. And then, and then the fact that you made the quadrant, I mean, this is something that everyone should take away.
[00:10:31] I want everyone to hear this. Because what you did is you created, I mean, there's so many different words for it, you know, quadrant, , life book, vision, you know, you, you figured out what it is that you wanted and what you needed from all aspects of your career and your life for support and you went out and asked for it and, and, but the clarity going and sitting down and getting that clarity is, , one of those universal truths in life that you just, you can't be truly, you know, Truly successful until you are really clear on what it is that you want and need.
[00:11:04] Yeah. So I applaud you for that. And I hope everyone heard this and takes this advice and runs with it, to be honest with you. Oh, thank you. Thank you for saying that. I mean, when you came back, what was it like for you? Tell me about
[00:11:15] Kendall Sadler: that. Yeah. So I, I was at peace to be honest. I had set boundaries for myself and, and, and I brought myself to this comfort of I know that this is what I need and if this isn't right for the business, that's okay.
[00:11:37] That doesn't say anything about me. That doesn't say anything about the business. It just says there's a misalignment and that means there's another opportunity that's right. And so because I'd come to peace with this idea that I am going to give this everything that I can within these boundaries, , Yeah, it was just a sense of peace.
[00:11:58] And so I think I To this day and so this has been probably I don't know a year and a half or so That I've been doing this and I've been able to really stick to these boundaries and it turns out The story that I was telling myself before I took the time off and before I did the quadrant The story I was telling myself is if I back off if I don't give as much as I'm giving today It's I'm gonna get fired There's not going to be a place for me at this company and it was a fear I was I was working as a result of fear and so what I did when I came back and I just said I'm going to stick to these boundaries and see what happens.
[00:12:38] I'm thriving. I'm, I'm doing so much more and having so much more business impact and I'm at so much more peace and so much healthier than I was beforehand. And so, yeah, it's
[00:12:50] Jolie Downs: been wonderful. Yeah. Boundaries are really healthy. Boundaries are a wonderful thing for all of us. It's not only great for you, it's great for the other people too, because we all know what lines that we need to work within.
[00:13:01] I think it's, it's a great, great thing. So I mean, this was a great story. I mean, is there another story that you could share? Is there a, like, I think learning from other people's lessons just makes a really big impact and allows us to maybe not make some of those same mistakes. So sometimes just hearing other people's stories, it It can help us grow.
[00:13:23] , so I'm curious, have you ever, have you had any other impactful lessons or events that happened in your work that you really learned from and you felt like someone else might benefit from too?
[00:13:32] Kendall Sadler: Yeah, definitely. I, You know, and it's always hard to choose. Cause like I said, when you've kind of been working for a couple of decades, you look back and you're like, I've been surrounded by such amazing people.
[00:13:44] I've learned so much from everyone. So it's hard to pick just one. I think though, what I would focus on, and I actually haven't talked very openly about this, maybe confided in a few people, , on the topic, but what I would call out is in a prior role. Um, Prior company, I had a manager who ended up, you know, I don't know the right language to use, but making a pass at me, and, and speaking to me inappropriately in that way, , and, you know, I, in that role, I had felt.
[00:14:17] So proud of my work. I had got I had what I thought I had earned a promotion. I had gained a lot of respect from colleagues. I felt so good. And, you know, this is coming from someone who's I've had an imposter syndrome for as far back as I can remember. Most have. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So as someone who's constantly working on this, I felt like I'd come such a long way.
[00:14:43] And then I ended up in this situation. Where this happened and suddenly it was like a snowball of questioning. Did I earn that promotion? Am I actually good at my job? Like, and it really, it devastated me and it really kind of brought me back to all of the self doubt. And so, , I was speaking to an executive in another role, and we were having a pretty vulnerable conversation, and I was sharing that I had been through this experience, and that I was still kind of recovering and trying to like, believe that I had something meaningful to offer.
[00:15:23] And because in my mind, I thought, you know what, what if everything that I've done has been because Someone liked me, , you know, some, because I'm, I have one of my skills that I am now proud of, but used to feel insecure about is, I do have a pretty easy time connecting with people. I can connect with people and understand people pretty well, , but to me that seemed like this soft, squishy skill that really wasn't super valuable, and so I took that situation and said, oh, I think like maybe that's why I ended up where I ended up.
[00:15:58] , and why I was recognized, not for my work, but because someone liked me or I was
[00:16:04] Jolie Downs: likable. And just, just, I just want to break in because that's a superpower, you know, being able to connect with people and, and, and, and I'm sure that that did help you grow. Not that that's what it was, but because that is a superpower and that is absolutely impactful to most positions.
[00:16:21] Um, so, so I say yay to that. And that actually probably helped benefit you in so many ways, but go ahead.
[00:16:30] Kendall Sadler: Yeah, no, that's exactly right. And so this conversation I was mentioning that I had this pretty vulnerable conversation that I was having with an executive, , kind of sharing this story. He looked up in my eyes and said, that pisses me off because it's not true that you don't have, you don't belong in the room or that you don't deserve a seat at the table.
[00:16:54] It's not true. And it really. Made me sit and reflect and I realized like a lot of the insecurity comes from Maybe I can't keep up with all these technical conversations. I'm not an engineer I'm not you know I I don't have an mba and a lot of the people that I work with do All of these insecurities about well, maybe I don't deserve in this room to be in this room And I really paused and I said No, but I have exactly what you were saying, Jolie.
[00:17:20] Like I have this skill of being able to connect with people and as invaluable as I've made myself believe that that is, it's actually really valuable. Not everyone has that. And so the lesson that I learned is. And maybe this is a very simple lesson, but it took me going through this to get here, but everyone has a superpower that is differentiated from everyone else.
[00:17:48] And you don't need to be everyone else. You're the only you that there is. And so if you can lean into that, then you You can add value and contribute in a very unique way, as soft as the skill may seem, you know? Oh, I love it. It
[00:18:04] Jolie Downs: gave me a little chills. I love it so much. This is such an important message.
[00:18:10] It is a hundred percent true. And I love this conversation and the imposter syndrome, because Most people do experience imposter syndrome and and it's not always talked about and I think The biggest non truth in an imposter syndrome situation is is that negative the negative talk that you are accepting Internally and thinking that it's right Yeah, it's absolutely not right.
[00:18:35] It's just normal and that's that's the secret imposter syndrome is normal We all have it. Those thoughts come in because we have been naturally programmed that way. I mean, really, our brains are naturally programmed that way. You actually have to actively work at reprogramming your brain in a different way.
[00:18:52] , so just realizing that and being like, Oh, normal, not right. Yeah. And then moving forward anyway is kind of the key here, right? Absolutely. Absolutely.
[00:19:03] Kendall Sadler: And it's really amazing when you start. Being open with other people about your feelings, your imposter syndrome. You will find every person, like you said, everyone experiences this.
[00:19:17] Nobody really, I shouldn't say no one, but I think increasingly people are talking about it. But a lot of times people keep it to themselves because it just outs you even more if you talk about it openly. And so I think normalizing it and really talking about it. And learning from how others deal with it, , and have overcome some of those feelings and actively managed it like you talked about.
[00:19:43] I think it's, it's such a win if we can all start talking about it more.
[00:19:46] Jolie Downs: Absolutely. Yeah, it was a, it was a game changer when I realized that the majority of people out there were just faking it till they made it. You know, I mean, it was, it was just like, wow. So it's not just me that's not getting things.
[00:20:01] It's that I was letting those thoughts get in my way and stop me. Yes. No longer. Yes. So thank, thank you for sharing. That's fantastic. Now remitley is a really interesting company. Could you tell us a little bit more about remitley? What do, what do they
[00:20:14] Kendall Sadler: do? Well, yeah, absolutely. I'll start with, we're a fintech company. Based in Seattle, , core product is a remittance product. So the customers that we serve typically have a need to send money cross border. So perhaps they've moved from a, from their home country to a new country. pursuing economic opportunities so that they can send money back home to their family and loved ones to support them financially in that way.
[00:20:44] Um, and you know, our, our, our vision is, is much larger than just a remittance product. We want to be able to serve customers financial lives more holistically. So there's a lot of opportunity ahead. And I think what we do well, honestly, is culture. I think what's really interesting. about the company is, you know, a lot of companies talk about culture and they might say that they do culture really well.
[00:21:09] And you might get into the company and realize, wow, that was just a lot of words. Like, I don't notice anything different about this culture. I believe that culture is alive and well at remitly, and it really starts from the top. So when our co founders, , started the company before they did anything else, they really sat down and they white boarded and they didn't say, like, what are we going to build?
[00:21:29] And so when they asked us, any of that, they said, how are we going to approach our work? What is the type of environment that we want to work in? What would make us excited to show up to work every day? And they really like whiteboarded out, what are our values? And they've taken a very unique approach, I think, to values and because it matters so much from the very top, it really is infused into the day to day.
[00:21:51] And so from what do we do well, one caring so deeply about our customers and to really , being committed to having a culture that Gets things done and that prioritizes
[00:22:07] Jolie Downs: customer and people. Amazing. I love the company mission. I think it's fantastic. And I'm curious because there's a lot of people out there that I'm sure are looking to make a leap, right, from what they're doing.
[00:22:19] And you've, you've done so. And I'm curious if there's anything that you found really helped you make the leap from, from one position from executive assistant into moving into a different role, communications.
[00:22:30] Kendall Sadler: Yeah, I think it's just a It's a combination of two things one if you are interviewing at a company or if you're considering a new job opportunity Really understand who you are going to be reporting to.
[00:22:45] Who is your manager? You need to look for someone who is invested in your career growth and development and really sees you. So. My manager before I made the the shift from kind of executive operations into formally into communications It was really my manager who said oh, wow. I noticed that you have this strength.
[00:23:07] Let's explore that more. It wasn't me Yeah, and I just if there were more people like that in the world the world would be a better place but seriously Yeah, and I think the other thing is just like stay curious stay open If you have the luxury of being at a company where they're supportive of you kind of reaching outside of your formal scope and Taking on different projects really look for opportunities.
[00:23:34] So even though I was hired to support our executive team I was able to really lean into drafting communication. So from the very beginning I was doing internal communications off the side of my desk. And so I continued to grow in that area because the need as the business grew, that need continued to grow.
[00:23:54] And it got to a tipping point where it was like, I can't do both jobs. So where do you want me? Do you want me to continue doing this or do you want me to do communications? And so I was able to shift into that communications role. And I had another leader who oversaw, , PR at the time who said, you're going into communications anyway, we have a gap in PR.
[00:24:14] Do you want to take on PR as well? And so it was maybe right place, right time. But my advice to people is really look for managers who are going to support your career growth and don't be afraid to get your hands dirty and something. That you've never done before. That just, you know, take every opportunity that you can to learn and lean in and try new
[00:24:34] Jolie Downs: things.
[00:24:35] Yes. So this has been a fantastic conversation.
[00:24:38] I mean, before you go, I'd love to know if there's anything, , just because I believe in feeding the mind. So if there's any content that you've either read, watched, or listened to that had a positive impact on you, , that you think could help others, is there something that you would share?
[00:24:56] Kendall Sadler: I, I totally agree with you.
[00:24:58] I think feeding the mind is important. So important. I would always encourage people to use, you know, reading as a form of escape as well to let your mind rest and just enjoy something totally different. But in terms of things that I, I find are so meaningful and applicable to my life.
[00:25:16] One, a book that I recently read, that I would recommend to anyone, , who is looking to improve themselves or improve their lives is The Chimp Paradox. It's by Professor Steve Peters. Have you heard of this? No. Okay. So it's basically, he does a beautiful job of making neuroscience and psychology very accessible to anyone.
[00:25:43] Oh, it's brilliant. And he really kind of, Takes it down to, and he admits he's oversimplified things, but you have to when you're speaking to like such a broad audience and you want to resonate with so many people, but he breaks it down where , he explains the human mind in three parts and he calls them the chimp, the human, and the machine, and the idea is if you were to sit down with a blank piece of paper and think about who it is that you want to be, And who, like, who, who are you?
[00:26:16] What do you want to be? Yes. And write that down on a piece of paper. Put aside any, like, societal influence, like, pressure. You feel like you have to see. Full
[00:26:26] Jolie Downs: fantasy, yes. Who are
[00:26:27] Kendall Sadler: you? Who do you want to be? And his, what he believes is, That is who you truly are, and the reason that you might not live in alignment with that 100 percent of the time is because you have these other parts of your brain, the chimp, and the machine, that are, that are, that are controlling you, and you need to get in control of those parts of your brain so that you can live in closer alignment To who you really want to be and who you actually are.
[00:26:57] So, that one blew my mind. It truly was a game changer for me. So, I
[00:27:02] Jolie Downs: completely believe in this, by the way. A hundred percent. I believe everything that you just said there.
[00:27:07] Kendall Sadler: Yeah. It was such a good perspective and it was all rooted in science. So, I absolutely love that one. And then the other one, I'll just mention one more.
[00:27:14] It's one that I'm actually reading currently and it's called Indestructible. And it's by Nir Eyal. Have you heard of this one?
[00:27:23] Jolie Downs: I actually, uh, took his
[00:27:24] Kendall Sadler: class. Oh, he did. Okay. So, please
[00:27:29] Jolie Downs: share.
[00:27:29] Kendall Sadler: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. No, I think for me, I, , one of the things that I've, one of the things that I've identified in my own life and something that I've been kind of obsessed with for several years now is I realized that My inability to focus has caused me so much grief, and I won't go into the whole backstory of it because it would take too long, but I think I, I came to the realization, and what I, this is my own belief, but I believe that so much of anxiety and depression that exists in the world today is because people don't know how to focus, they've lost the ability to focus, and so I really, I, Eat up any content that I can find that helps me learn more about this idea and helps me learn how to kind of reprogram my mind, how to focus, how to have that control.
[00:28:24] And so Indistractable, I think is a really great book that really helps you understand what are the. Triggers that cause you to be distracted that are that are leading to distraction. Why are we choosing to be distracted? What are we trying to let what kind of comfort are we trying to bring to ourselves by distracting ourselves?
[00:28:41] So anyway, I certainly encourage that one as well. Really? I
[00:28:44] Jolie Downs: mean the information is incredibly valuable to Improving your life and improving your productivity and overall, , of all things, because I completely agree with you as well. I think we have lost our focus in a very big way and it, and it leads to, , angst, if you will, , in different ways.
[00:29:00] So, well, I mean, I'm definitely reading that Chimp book. Indestructible, I, I highly suggest as well. I mean, I've put a lot of those into my own, , into use in my own life as well. And it's been incredibly beneficial. So really great suggestions. Thank you so much, Kendall. I love this conversation. Thank you for joining us on the Career Wanderlust
[00:29:20] Kendall Sadler: podcast.
[00:29:20] Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much again for having me. It's been a pleasure.
[00:29:25] Jolie Downs: Thank you for joining us on the Career Wanderlust Podcast. If you find value in learning from others, give us a like and subscribe. If you're looking to grow your communications, marketing, public relations, or sales and biz dev team with the best talent and quickly, check us out at ParadigmStaffing. com and submit a request.
[00:29:49] We are wishing you a most successful and fulfilling career. Until next time.