Epochal Growth | Empowering Leaders to Create Transformative Change
Welcome to Epochal Growth, the podcast dedicated to transforming the way we lead by embodying the change we seek. Embracing the belief that we are the leaders we’ve been waiting for, our mission is to empower leaders to create impactful and lasting transformations in their organizations.
Hosted by industry expert Sarah Caminiti, each episode brings together visionary leaders and change-makers to explore the profound impact of inclusive and intentional leadership. Through engaging conversations and insightful discussions, we reveal how these approaches can revolutionize businesses and drive innovation.
At Epochal Growth, we are passionate about showcasing the transformative power of intentional actions and inclusive practices. Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur, an aspiring leader, or someone passionate about business transformation, our podcast provides valuable insights and practical advice to help you lead differently and inspire growth.
Join us on this journey to unlock the potential for transformative business success. Tune in to Epochal Growth and start being the change you seek in leadership.
Epochal Growth | Empowering Leaders to Create Transformative Change
Creating Inclusive Workplaces and Supporting Teams with Cheryl Spriggs
Text me with feedback or questions!
Did you get your tickets to Elevate in London?
How does one transition from the fast-paced world of Austin startups to leading a remote-first team in Denver? Find out in our enlightening conversation with Cheryl Spriggs, the Manager of Premier Support at Zapier.
Cheryl opens up about her evolution from an individual contributor to a leadership role, offering candid insights into overcoming imposter syndrome and navigating the tech industry's male-dominated landscape. You'll hear stories of her pioneering efforts, like creating maternity leave policies in her former company, and how embracing neurodiversity has transformed her leadership style.
In this episode, we tackle the real-life challenges and opportunities Cheryl faced while managing high-stakes programs and global teams. Learn how she dealt with the fear of failure and leaned into self-validation, trusting that her colleagues and leaders believed in her capabilities. Cheryl also shares practical anecdotes about global time zone mishaps and the importance of extending grace to oneself during these professional hurdles. Her journey serves as a masterclass in employee empowerment, particularly in times of organizational changes and personal challenges, emphasizing mentorship and support.
Finally, we discuss the critical role of self-care in leadership. Cheryl shares her personal journey of reducing self-imposed pressure and redefining failure as a learning experience. She talks about the importance of having a supportive network of peers, leaders, and family to maintain a balanced perspective. Cheryl’s narrative is a testament to the power of empathetic and supportive leadership, showcasing how fostering growth and stability, especially among women, can significantly impact team morale and career progression. Join us for an episode filled with empowering lessons on leadership, growth, and self-belief.
Don't forget to check out The Support Human Podcast!
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
- Barack Obama
Hello, hello listeners, welcome back to Epochal Growth. I'm Sarah Caminiti and I am so happy that you're here. If you're new to Epochal Growth, this is a podcast where we dive into transformative stories and insightful conversations with leaders from all industries, and today I am thrilled to be joined by Cheryl Spriggs. Cheryl's the manager of premier support at Zapier. Cheryl's had an incredible journey from navigating startups to thriving in a remote-first environment. She's going to share her thoughts on leadership, overcoming imposter syndrome and how embracing neurodiversity has impacted her leadership style. Stay tuned for a conversation filled with powerful lessons on empowerment, growth and finding confidence in the face of challenges.
Sarah Caminiti:And before we dive into this episode, did you know that you're listening to one of the last five episodes of season one of Epochal Growth? It has been such an amazing journey and I want to thank you for being part of it. We're already gearing up for next season. It's going to be coming around Q2 of 2025. There's going to be some exciting changes and I am really, really excited to share them with you. The best way to be the first ones to know is to follow me on LinkedIn. You can easily find me by searching for Sarah Caminiti. You can also find me by searching for Sarah Caminiti. You can also find me in the Elevate CX Slack community. If you have any questions or comments or you just want to say hi, stay tuned and let's finish this season strong.
Cheryl Spriggs:Hi, I'm Cheryl Spriggs. I am based in Denver, colorado, so happy to be here today. My role currently is manager of premier support at Zapier, which is a no-code, low-code automation platform, and I've been there for just over three years now, which is super exciting. This job is all remote and allowed me to move from Austin, texas, to Denver, colorado, area, which is super awesome, to like kind of live my dreams out near the mountains, which I really love camping and hiking and just getting outdoors. I'm an avid runner. I picked up skiing this winter, which is super cool, so I'm just like fully immersed into living that Colorado lifestyle, which is super cool. But yeah, so, and you can usually find me at a local brewery, which there are a million here, so love craft beer.
Sarah Caminiti:That's awesome. Oh, my goodness, I didn't realize that you uh you just moved up to Denver. That is a totally different vibe, I'm sure, than Austin, but it sounds like it was exactly what you needed.
Cheryl Spriggs:Yeah, I mean we are spending thousands of dollars coming up here one to two times a year to come off-road and vacation, and now I can just pop off of work a little early on a Friday and go camping for the weekend, like in a really cool forest surrounded by mountains. So yeah, it's the dream.
Sarah Caminiti:Oh, I'm so glad, that's so awesome. That's so awesome. So, cheryl, one of the things I was super excited to talk to you about here is your career trajectory and earning like feeling like you've earned the right to really own your skills and everything that you've worked so hard for. And I know that. I mean, I know myself. It has been a journey to get to that point of like that empowered feeling of I know my stuff and I am proud and confident about this. But I know that, especially for women, it can be a struggle, and in tech too, it's a male dominated space and there's so many different big names that come into play and people and all sorts of different layers of things. So I'm really curious to hear about your career journey and your kind of journey to being so empowered with what you're great at.
Cheryl Spriggs:Yeah, I would say so a little bit about my background, probably about 10-ish years in customer support and definitely kicked off by working at startups in Austin. That was the whole reason why I moved there to begin with, because there was just so many different opportunities and I was just back in the day I was just a lowly little specialist at the Apple store, so that kind of got me into tech, which actually my degree is in theater, so nothing to do with what I'm doing now, but yeah, so I went to all these different startups around Austin where they were really small companies, smaller teams, and some of the teams that I worked on there was maybe me as the only woman, or there were a couple of us as women at these startups too. So very different navigating around the dynamics of these small teams. And I had always been an individual contributor until at my last company my previous manager left and I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to go into people management. So I kind of put like a pin in that but started acting as the interim customer support manager anyway.
Cheryl Spriggs:So I was like, all right, let's embrace this. I like mentoring and coaching people. So I became the head of support there and I was one of two female leaders at that company, so it felt like I had a seat at the big boys table kind of if that makes sense, because the rest of the leaders and the co-founders, they were all men and I was a little intimidated by that. And I remember actually one of my employees was the first woman at the company to go on maternity leave, so we had to create maternity leave policies and such, because no one else had had a child yet at this company. That wasn't the co-founders. I feel like they made up their own rules, potentially back when they had kids, when the company had first started up their own rules, potentially back when they had kids, when the company had first started.
Cheryl Spriggs:So, yeah, so that was very different to navigate through and actually be the person to manage and ensure that they were prepared to go on leave as well. Sure, yeah, so I feel like I've learned to really believe in myself, like kind of going back to that thing of like oh, I don't want to become the head of support here, like I don't think I could do a good job, like could I make these decisions, like I just had to jump into it and really believe in myself and try things out and see if it worked and learn along the way too, because I wasn't going to be perfect.
Cheryl Spriggs:So I think that's kind of what really got me going into being in leadership as well. But I feel like that took a completely different turn in how I recognized my work when I got diagnosed with like ADHD and anxiety too.
Sarah Caminiti:I bet. I bet it was. It must've been like one of those moments of true reflection and also connecting a lot of dots to how you approach things and feeling, maybe like you do it differently and and now you know why you do it differently and how you interact with people, and validating those feelings that maybe were really aiding that whole like imposter syndrome that was creeping up on you before when you were hesitant to take that leadership position.
Cheryl Spriggs:Yeah, totally. I mean I learned I think one of the biggest takeaways I learned from having ADHD as well as like why I procrastinate, why I work under deadlines and such like that Like I did that in school all the time. I mean I don't know how I did it and how I survived off little sleep and drank coffee at 10 PM and things like that, or I could drink coffee and then just go to bed. It just didn't make sense, but writing papers or studying for tests the day before they would do. And I mean I sometimes see that translate I mean more than sometimes see that translate in my professional career of like all right, the due date's tomorrow. I mean more than sometimes see that translate in my professional career of like all right, the due date's tomorrow, I'm going to finally have this done today or before tomorrow. So it just happens.
Sarah Caminiti:But also I recognize that that's just sometimes how I could get some best work done as well, depending on what the task is, though, yeah, no, I definitely understand what you're saying there, because there's a level of efficiency that you must have developed over the years in order to have survived and it is there's like a high that you kind of get out of that like last minute prep to like really crunch it out but make it as perfect as possible, because most of the time that stuff's living in your brain already because you've been thinking about it and it's been like weighing on you because you know that you have to do it. It's just a matter of throwing it all into something that is the actual product that you're supposed to be working on.
Cheryl Spriggs:Yeah, and that actually ties back to like my confidence too, of like perfecting a specific task or like a project is like. I definitely have that like perfectionism chain or personality, which sometimes I really have to like put the brakes on and like, all right, let's just ship this like first version or this draft and like be transparent about what I'm working on and like get help when I need it, instead of like hiding it and like waiting for it to be a hundred percent perfect. Um, that's something I've had to recognize and didn't realize that I was doing before. I like went down this like journey of ADHD as well. Then I was such a perfectionist.
Sarah Caminiti:Oh my gosh, I feel that so much I've realized with myself is I need to be confident that I'm making the right choice and research and research and research and research. And what has helped me because I mean I'm never going to be somebody that is okay with that like leaving something knowing that it's not complete or that it's not like thoroughly addressed complete or that it's not like thoroughly addressed and what has helped me has been having, just like you said, having that first iteration, that first draft go out, but then it's already a planned thing to move into the next round. Or you take like a two-week break and work on a couple of low-hanging fruit things, but you already have the plan to get another six weeks of time to really look into this other section that you discovered when you were digging into it. So acknowledging that this is phase one, using that as an opportunity to learn from phase one and then still give yourself that space and time and allowance, or your team that space, time and allowance to really commit to doing it well the first time.
Cheryl Spriggs:Totally Like. I think some of the pieces that come from that are like do I actually have this knowledge or can I actually do this? Like that real feeling of imposter syndrome. Do this Like that real feeling of imposter syndrome? I think it creeps up any time. You know you could be one week into a new role or you could be many years into an existing role and really like questioning can I actually do this?
Cheryl Spriggs:And like that little I don't know devil on your shoulder, saying like you can't, you can't, but then you really need to like get through that other side or lean on people you trust to tell you you can do this and get that validation. Um, there's something that I've recognized like I need in in work and in my personal life is like people to be that cheerleader for me.
Sarah Caminiti:Yes, yeah, I was actually just having a conversation with my husband about this the other day, because it's great to have a partner that is like a devil's advocate and ask those hard questions, but also acknowledge that I'm asking myself those hard questions and I'm obsessing over those hard questions like all the time, and it is like the all-consuming thing of what I'm thinking about for whatever the situation may be, and trying to come up with a strategy or a Venn diagram or a pro and con list in my head, and what I really need is someone to just keep snapping me out of that of being that cheerleader, to be like no, no, really, no, really. No, this is good, this is good. That's just a small thing, that's a small piece of a big puzzle, and that other, those other pieces are great, and I'm glad that you were able to recognize that too and and find a space where where you feel safe enough at work and in your personal life to acknowledge that and voice that, because sometimes that's half the battle.
Cheryl Spriggs:Oh yeah, totally. It comes in waves, you know, like, especially if you're handed something like right now I'm being handed, where, like, the expectation is for me, just take over this new program by the end of this quarter. And I'm a little new to it and it's a new program and I'm like, all right, how do I get started? They're trusting me to do this. Why, like what? Why Is there something that I brought to the table that they see that I could like change or improve, or I don't know? I'm like questioning, like why me Like? But I have to like think back of, like, oh well, this is a safe space to like innovate and like create new processes and be more creative as well. So I that's what I have to tell myself of like this is this is a cool opportunity to learn and grow, even if there are things that I'm going to learn along the way, like that's going to. That's going to be a big, great experience overall.
Sarah Caminiti:Yeah, congratulations. That's fantastic that they're trusting you with this new project and reminding yourself that they saw something that made them say like without a doubt, we know that Cheryl is capable of this, because when you work in a company that's as large, especially as the one that you work for, there are plenty of people that I'm sure that they considered or thought about or could have given this to, but they picked you and that's very validating and that's really exciting and a proud thing for you to kind of just sit with for a second. So that's awesome. I'm so happy for you, yeah.
Cheryl Spriggs:And thank you, it feels, it feels nice, like talking about it like and like, yeah, the validation piece, cause I think it has been stirring in my head um of like am I going to mess this up? Am I, am I going to be okay? I think that's something that I totally have. You know, this complete like fear of failure, and I think a lot of folks do, and giving people the space to make mistakes is like something I really treasure, like working with others and relationships too. Like you know, nothing's ever going to be perfect.
Sarah Caminiti:Definitely Do you find yourself being more of a uh. You create these incredible spaces for the people that are around you and then you don't allow yourself to enjoy them. Oh, 100%.
Cheryl Spriggs:Yes, I have a really good example of this that just happened recently that I just totally I did not give myself the grace that I thought like that I would actually give someone else. I did not put myself in like someone else's shoes. So one of the things about working at a global company is that there are just like time zones are my biggest enemy. Like I cannot figure out time zones for the life of me. I don't think I have.
Cheryl Spriggs:Like I don't know so anyways, I was putting on an event actually for the Empower Employee Resource Group that I'm a part of that I'll probably talk about later and this is like our Women of Zapier Employee Resource Group and I scheduled this event with an external speaker. An external speaker like a coach, a coaching session, and I had the event in Google Calendar. I was promoting it all these things with my other committee leads and we're all trying to get on the Zoom link or the attendance link and we're like why can't we join? Turns out. And we're like why can't we join?
Cheryl Spriggs:Turns out, I scheduled it for the wrong time I scheduled it for like 3 pm Mountain and I go back to the original messaging with the facilitator and it was like 4 pm Pacific and I was like that is 5 pm Mountain, not 3 pm Mountain time and I just absolutely was so angry at myself. I was like how could you do this? How could you let down these people? I was really excited. We have many people in attendance and it was just something. And a colleague of mine was like it's totally okay, like mistakes happen, it's totally human. But like would you like give yourself the same grace you would if? Like what if one of your team members was scheduling this meeting and it was at a completely different time? Like would you be reprimanding them like you are yourself? I'm like no, no, I would not be. I'd be like mistakes happen. But I was totally taking it down on myself because I'm my worst critic, you know.
Sarah Caminiti:Yeah, oh, that was such a perfect example. And, holy cow, do I feel you with the time zone stuff. I do not know how to operate, understanding all of the time zones. And, yeah, it is a. That is just a thing that exists to torment me.
Sarah Caminiti:I swear I would have probably done the exact same thing and scheduled it at the wrong time, and I'm sure most of the people that were in attendance have scheduled things at the wrong time at some point and, uh, and they didn't bat an eye.
Sarah Caminiti:But, um, I feel, ya, I feel, ya, I'm sure it was something that you beat yourself up about for for a long time. And then, finally, I hope you were able to see that, in the grand scheme of things, it is what it is, it's done, yeah, just, it's, it's how you, it's how you decide to move forward, but then also, like, maybe you put in place like some sort of preventative measure or policy for future events, where you have like a triple check on all of these things before you send things out. And no, it's those things that you never think are going to end up causing a ripple in what you're trying to do, that force you to make policies and procedures and have those conversations, but those conversations sometimes turn out to be really cool when those mistakes happen, because you're able to be really analytical and uh and understand the root, the root cause, which usually has nothing to do with you, I mean just life, humans.
Cheryl Spriggs:Oh, totally, yeah, yeah. So we'll see how the next event plans out, but there will be triple checking and time zones and I think it's like worldtimebuddycom I pull up all the time to be scheduling things with my. I'm like what city are you in? And like trying to match up the times that website is a gem.
Sarah Caminiti:I need to find that website. Usually I just I Google what time is it in Madrid right now? What time is it in blah, blah, blah right now? And then I end up going down a rabbit hole trying to do like planning for like days in advance, and then I just ended up getting really confused and just asking them to give me a difference in times by hours between me and them, and I'll just keep going.
Cheryl Spriggs:It's just terrible. Don't even get me started on like someone trying to say time in UTC. I'm like no, no, just give me, give me Eastern or something.
Sarah Caminiti:I don't know, yeah, yeah, once you start throwing those three letters after it that are not EST, mst or PST, I'm gone, totally gone, same, same. At least we're not alone, at least we're not alone Now. You touched upon this a little bit earlier and it was something that I really loved that you said and I wanted to ask you about it. But having to when you worked in startups, when many of us have spent time in startups, you do have to create policies and really like impactful policies when they just show up like a maternity leave and how. That must have been for you as a woman who was in a leadership position there now and it was a new. I mean, you were, you sound like you've been there for years and years and years and years and years in a leadership position and it was, if it was a male dominated space as well like, how was it having to have those kind of truly like in intense discussions about the realities of maternity leave and the policies and what that says about the company, with men?
Cheryl Spriggs:Yeah. So I think one of the biggest things that I saw was actually the return to work, and this was before COVID. So we were not a remote company. We could work remote from home when it made sense, things like that. But it was definitely like a come to the office type of workplace, to the office type of workplace. And she wanted to, my employee wanted to come back part-time and remote, and so there was just like this lack of trust from the leaders. Like the male leadership they were like I've had a kid, like you're not really going to be working, Like, especially if you're remote, like I, I don't see the productivity um being the best use of time, Like you're not going to be able to actually be at a hundred percent or whatever productivity. So it was like really discouraging to see, like the lack of trust that they had in women returning to work and men returning to work actually I did see.
Cheryl Spriggs:There was another colleague of mine who was male and had a child and like was expected to come back in the office like two weeks after I was born, and I'm pretty sure he lived so close to our office too. I was like why can't he just like bounce between, like show face, but be at home like best of both worlds, anyways. So there's just like this lack of trust, which is like the number one essential thing you need to have in your team is trust and setting them up for success, especially someone who is a first-time parent, which was the case for both of my colleagues. And yeah, I mean, ultimately it led her to leaving the company and going to another place that probably respected her time and productivity and like respected that she was a parent and had family responsibilities and that life is not just about showing up to work. So that was really hard to support and like having to like I don't know, have these uh essentially had to allow her to be like hourly instead of a salaried employee coming back part-time. So it was tough.
Sarah Caminiti:Hey, listeners, are you looking for fresh insights on the latest in tech and customer experience? Then I have the best podcast for you. Tune in to Support Human, the podcast hosted by Steph Lundberg. Yes, the art of being dead inside Steph Lundberg, a seasoned support leader, a writer and a very, very dear friend. Each episode dives into tech, accountability, cx trends and even features bad job bingo, the only game where companies hope to lose. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or just curious, support Human keeps you informed with wit and wisdom. Check it out at supporthumancx and stay ahead of the curve. You can listen to Support Human the podcast wherever you get your podcasts, but also make sure you're checking out supporthumancx to find more information about Steph, the newsletter, bad Job Bingo and awesome content that she creates. Don't sit on this. Stay ahead of the curve. Follow Support Human.
Sarah Caminiti:I wish I could say like that I'm surprised, like I've heard this so many times and it's such a. What's always the most disappointing for me when I think about these things and I'd love to hear your take on it too is it's just like you had this really cool opportunity to, to show your employees that this is a, this is a special place, like we really do want you to be successful, and that means we want you to be successful outside of work too and and instead they decided to go with old school mentality, lack of trust, without any receipts to back it up and instead of like just being excited for this person that working with you to help you build this company that you are the founder of. It's just such a missed opportunity and it's infuriating. How did it feel for you to have to mentally really process what this all meant and your place in it all?
Cheryl Spriggs:like really process what this all meant and your place in it all. I think I was disappointed because I was really looking forward to her contributing and like feeling a part of like we can continue being successful, but instead it was like all right, I'm just clocking in my hours to get my work done. Oh, and shortly after. Covid happened, so we were all remote. Anyways, it's the cherry on top of it, isn't?
Sarah Caminiti:that fun, Amazing how that all works out and, honestly, too, it's just like. So what if your employee is not giving 100% right after they go on leave, Like when they come back from leave, like, did they personally give 100% after their first child was born? Probably not born, Probably not, or they, you know it's. It's, it's just like be realistic of who humans are and how we operate and know that, uh, that we're all just doing our best and can do what you have to do to support it. It's just dang Um.
Sarah Caminiti:But that kind of leads me into the next thing that I did want to ask you about, which is about empowerment, I mean and we kind of touched upon it earlier and and being in positions like that and having to to be that the reality check, but also a human to to make your, your, your employees, feel supported. And then in your new company, where you are now, it's happier, like having to go through these restructurings and and and getting these different opportunities and meeting new people and leading new people, with everything that you've learned throughout your career, and maybe even once you've had the diagnosis of, with the ADHD and the anxiety too, like how has that impacted how you lead and how you really focus on empowerment.
Cheryl Spriggs:Yeah, how you lead and how you really focus on empowerment. Yeah, so you kind of mentioned the biggest thing that I think I've experienced at Zapier and my current company is that we've gone through so much change, and this includes different restructuring. It was only one year into being at Zapier where the team that I was initially hired on to which had been dissolved. However, they did give us an opportunity to laterally move to other support teams or apply for other internal positions at the company too. That's cool. So there was only one person that I think departed from the restructuring.
Cheryl Spriggs:Otherwise, everyone it was like 20 something of us, I can't remember the exact number went to different support teams, lateral positions or a couple others. I think one person moved to our learning development team, which is really awesome. Someone became a trainer and, yeah, it was really nice that we were able to create these opportunities for people to go into other roles. So this was a really confusing time in my life too, actually. So this was about two years ago now, and not only were, our whole team was like what job are we going to be doing? It was right before a company retreat, the first one that was happening since before COVID, since before COVID.
Cheryl Spriggs:So like we all showed up to our company retreat and I kept saying, my badge should have said like hire me because I was like I don't know what my next role is going to be here, and also something I was personally going through was I was making the move to Colorado. So not only I didn't know what my job was going to be for like a month, I also was like moving states. So there was just like I had no stability whatsoever and like that was really tough. So but my like one of the first things that I was just focusing on was like ensuring my team members were able to find their next new role, whether that was like a lateral move or that they were applying for other internal positions that were open. That was like the number one important thing to me, and I was like I'll figure out where I go, I don't know, even though that was kind of stressful too. But so I think the piece that I was really fighting for my team and empowering them to make these decisions based on what was best for their career development too, and one of the things that happened with a team member of mine she was going to be applying for Premier Support. That's the team I'm now on.
Cheryl Spriggs:That's where I landed, but everyone was a level above than what she was, so they were just offering her to laterally move. But the entire rest of the team was operating at this level three essentially and we were like, all right, well, the most fair way to assess a level is like can we re-interview you for this position and determine your skills and your level on that? So I feel like if it wasn't for us really advocating for that like interview and reassessment, like they could have gone to this team and maybe been underpaid for what they were doing, so wouldn't have had that opportunity, maybe like a year into being in that new team. So I was, I was making sure that they got through the finish line for that and were able to all successfully level up and come onto this team, so that was great.
Sarah Caminiti:Cheryl, holy cow, like hats off to you, because not only is that something that you have to I mean, you have to navigate those situations so carefully but a lot of people just don't, and they tell them that they'll just hope for the best, or it is what it is, and those sorts of things like money.
Sarah Caminiti:I mean that's why we work Like that truly is one of the number one reasons why we're here. And uh, and it's such a bummer when, when leadership doesn't recognize that like this has to happen this way. You have to pay people equally if they are doing the same job, and the longer that you wait to address it, the bigger ethical things creep up along the way, and also just like morale and engagement, and usually people just end up leaving because they feel undervalued and money conversations suck and they are hard and you have to approach it strategically and having an advocate is the best, best, best thing that any employee can have going into those conversations, because they know that they're not alone in their feelings of their worth. You are telling them you are worthy of this, you are capable of this and you deserve this, and I feel like that has so much weight and that kind of like lives with you, then for a while.
Cheryl Spriggs:Oh yeah, definitely, and like I was really fortunate that this individual like got to stay with me through this move too, and she was probably the person different team like great career progression for her.
Cheryl Spriggs:So that was really awesome. I loved the relationship we had and the rapport we built. But that's one awesome relationship I've had. But I've also had a lot of other individuals I've managed, maybe for a short period of time or a longer period of time, but it is pretty crazy. I think I've probably managed around 20 different people in the span of just three years. Wow, five different managers too, in three years.
Cheryl Spriggs:So it's like a lot of change and like I mean, there's only so many months in those three years. Like it takes I don't know good two to three months to really build some rapport with a new person whether that's your new manager or someone you're managing and like super crucial to get to know them during that time period and really understand what they want so you can help them be successful as well. Yeah, so that one individual who we had a really great conversation at the beginning of this year and was like hey, I think you're kind of at your limit in this current role. What do you want to start thinking about outside of this role? What is your dream job? Does that exist here? Could it exist here? Could it exist elsewhere? Really thinking outside the box there and like how to use her skills and her strengths. So I've loved seeing like especially the women I've managed to like really blossom and grow and like go to these different roles and departments and and it's it's been really awesome to see that growth, awesome to see that growth Dang.
Sarah Caminiti:I feel like so much of that has to do with you, cheryl. I mean, it is hard to find a true leader that is your advocate and is your cheerleader and acknowledges when there are opportunities for you to grow outside of where you are and into different areas, or, if they bring something up, giving them the tools that they need to explore and question and determine if it's right for them. That doesn't happen very often, and the fact that you're giving all of these people, in so many different levels of change around you, stability and and hope for what leaders could be then like when, when it's their turn, if they decide to go into a path, that that is a leadership path. You've set such a great example for them because they know that it's possible and they felt your warmth and your care and your concern and your appreciation along the way, so that's awesome.
Cheryl Spriggs:Oh well, thank you so much. Yeah, and like some of them are, you know, have been like we have similar situations and can relate that way, and that's why I think we've had like really good rapport as well. Like people feel confident that they can come to me with like their specific struggles, especially if they are neurodivergent too. Like I can relate to that and be able to like come, like approach their situation or the like blocker that they have from that perspective as well, which is, I think, been truly like a gift that I've been able to recognize those specific pieces too, because even if one of my team members is neurodivergent as well, we're on completely different journeys or pathways, that maybe we're diagnosed at different times in our lives and are still trying to recognize what are the pieces that really make us tick.
Sarah Caminiti:Yeah, yeah, and I love that you said that they feel confident enough to come to you for these things, but also they feel safe enough to come to you for these things. And confidence, I think, comes from a solid foundation, and having those conversations about neurodiversity and in your brain, needing something different is such a vulnerable thing to do and I just I'm just really happy that you are someone that decided to trust yourself and dive into this leadership space, because it's obvious that you are providing a really incredible value to these people throughout their career journeys and lives. So that's great.
Cheryl Spriggs:Yeah, it's very rewarding and I'm super glad that, like I can help people through like their six, like their accomplishments and their battles too. So that's been really great and that's what feels like I. I think one of the best things uh, a manager's asked me is, like, at the end of the week, what is the one thing that you just really enjoy, what's the best thing you love about your job? And this is still true, my one-to-ones with my team members are what I love the most Hearing about what's going well for them, them being able to bring up the most important topics to work through, like they're why I want to keep working and ensure that they are set up for success.
Sarah Caminiti:So I love it, and now you're doing this with a group of people You're the ERG program that you're a part of at Zapier as well, so you're able to spread this sort of like leadership mentality even farther from your direct team.
Cheryl Spriggs:Yeah, that's been really exciting.
Cheryl Spriggs:So I kind of mentioned earlier too, our Empower ERG for women and allies at Zapier. I've been I had been a member, I guess, most of the time that I had been at Zapier, and at the end of last year they had like applications open for committee members or like committee leaders, and so I was, like you know, I like being involved with this group and I'd love to connect with more people across than just support, and so I applied for the events and community lead and that leader for this current year, and so it's been cool connecting with people outside of just support. I would like to say, though, there are a couple of us on the leadership team from support, so that's been really awesome too, and also the async discussions have been good. It's been really cool to coordinate with our other ERGs at Zapier as well. We have Prism, which is our lgbtq, plus um erg, and then bipoc um, which is our, which actually, right now I've I'm collaborating with both the events lead to have this like intersectional uh event for all of our ergs.
Cheryl Spriggs:that kind of touches on, like each different group. Um, I think it's been really cool to be a part of this, like great diverse melting pot. Uh, my company, which is also like a huge difference, and why I wanted to be at the company I'm at right now is because I worked with these small startups. They were 30 people or less, all based in Austin essentially, and it's primarily white men, and now I work with a company of like 800, 900 people, I think, and we're across 40 different countries, which is awesome. Wow, that's so awesome. Yeah, I love being able to meet a lot of people from different places and while we are remote. I think that's why one of my favorite things of being involved in ERGs is because I get to connect with other folks that aren't on my team, that are across the globe as well in different departments, because otherwise sometimes you stay in your own little bubble, in your own silo.
Sarah Caminiti:Yeah, and it's. It's an easy track to fall into and and the diversity aspect of things I feel like for support that is such a crucial, crucial component to to be in a space that is inclusive and to be in a space where you're talking to folks from from all different backgrounds and places, because your customers, your customers, are probably also coming from all different walks of life and locations and time zones and languages, and you need to embrace that because that's the reality.
Cheryl Spriggs:Yes, yeah. So actually our support department has really I mentioned we've gone through a lot of restructures or changes, things like that, and also just like bigger changes too. We implemented live chat. We started utilizing more of like a schedule and a workforce management tool that really kind of drilled down our specific business needs and queue time, and so these were massive changes that didn't just happen overnight, and so one of the things that we kind of felt a little disconnected on was having these core principles for our support department. So actually I was like an entire department, we came up with our principles and our vision together and they, like have just only been solidified like in the last month.
Cheryl Spriggs:So that's been nice to have something to rally around and actually. So one of those is like one of our principles is be human. I'm like we we're not robots. Granted, we work for an automation company to build a robot and to automate your work, but we're never wanting to like replace the human touch. Like we really want to be human, we want to show our personalities, we want to connect with our customers from all around the world as well, and I think one of the best things that did happen for our support department is having this live chat channel where we can even be more human. We can be more conversational, we can ask how people's days are going. We can meet their level. I've seen wonderful conversations where gifts are passed back and forth. That is being human and connecting with our customers. And seeing the real resolution in time has been awesome to see happen and see how our customers are happy too.
Sarah Caminiti:Yeah, and what?
Sarah Caminiti:Like an obvious value add that has to the customer experience.
Sarah Caminiti:Like you are able to see real time what is going on with the customer's trajectory and how they started, with the conversation confused, and by just having a regular conversation with someone to connect with them and meet them where they are, it has such a profound impact in how they perceive the company, but also just in general.
Sarah Caminiti:I mean, there's nothing but positive things that can come out of those kind of conversations, and it sounds like you're really in a space that embraces that and recognizes yeah, ai is here, yeah, automation is a great thing, and it is a great thing because it makes you, as a human, do what you need to do better, which is important. One of the last things, though, that, cheryl, I did want to ask you is, like you've gone through so many incredible things that you are doing and working on and involved in, and, and the journey that you've been on and uh and I think that it's always important to kind of recognize how big these things are that you are a part of Like they're time consuming, they're brain consuming too, and you've got a life outside of work, and so how are you navigating committees and your involvement in support driven and the leadership aspect of things Like how do you navigate that in just a regular day?
Cheryl Spriggs:This is probably one of the hardest things, because there is no perfect solution to the madness in my brain and I think each week is quite different, and I've really seen that recently. I've had weeks where I just I can't cope with it and it's, you know, I'm breaking down, crying and things like that, and I'm very stressed out. And then there's some weeks where I'm like I am so on top of it. What's next? I have some downtime, like so. And then there's the in the middle where I'm just like busy, busy, busy, busy, like so. And then there's the in the middle where I'm just like busy, busy, busy, busy.
Cheryl Spriggs:But yeah, I think one of the things that I am really working on is like taking pressure off myself. Yes, because I think the like I mean pressure and like a pressure cooker, like if I keep putting all this pressure on me, I'm going to like just explode and that's what happens. So like giving myself more of a space to like make mistakes and also recognizing that, like my whole fear of failure, like if, if something is a failure, something doesn't go the way I hypothesize, maybe not seeing that as a failure and seeing that as like this was just the outcome, but it was still a success in the way that like it happened, and now you get to learn from it, so like shifting that mindset. But I can't do it alone and that's something that I really need the support from my peers, from my leaders, from my personal life, like my husband. I need that support and that constant reminder of like and that constant reminder of even if something doesn't work out, it's not a complete failure, it's not a mess up.
Cheryl Spriggs:I have to tell myself constantly I don't work in healthcare. I'm not a brain surgeon, first of all, I couldn't, even I can't deal with blood. I work in tech. I work with automation and workflows that really do power people's businesses and can make things you know, make or break. However I am, I'm not a brain surgeon, which. I'm sorry to all you brain surgeons out there.
Sarah Caminiti:But you're one person, you are part of the package. It is not all on your shoulders. And and you're right, I mean you're we are our own worst enemy in so many ways and putting that pressure and responsibility of the success of others, which is kind of part of support in itself, but uh, but on such like a a deeper level where you don't really can can take over um, but recognizing it and using it as a tool rather than um a detriment to your success, I think also your success, I think also one of the things that I also am trying to recognize more too is that because I'm a leader and because I'm in support, I just have this huge empathetic heart and I can't always have that bursting at the seam.
Cheryl Spriggs:I'll need to look at some things like realistically, and just have realistic expectations as well, and like I can't do it all, like I so, but as someone who has empathy, I'm like I want to be there for you, I want to do this, but if I'm not taking care of myself too, like it's, it's not going to be beneficial.
Sarah Caminiti:Yes, oh my gosh, a thousand percent, a thousand percent, and just acknowledging it is truly like leaps and bounds from where so many others are and, uh, having it just in the back of your mind I'm sure has made a huge impact on just life. Yes, so, cheryl, I do like to end. Unfortunately, we are getting to the end of it and I hate it because it's been such a lovely conversation and I want to keep going, but I'll have you back or we just can talk all the time anyway. But I like to end all of these calls with asking my guests to think about what era they are in or what era they are entering. And, cheryl, what's your era?
Cheryl Spriggs:Yeah, I think, actually, a lot of things that I've talked about today have really and like the more self-recognizable things that I'm uh, you know, sharing and pinpointing are, like it comes down to, self-care, like that's what I'm really trying to enter more of, and like giving myself grace, um, giving myself time off, like to not have to be productive all the time, to have rest and downtime. So, yeah, self-care, stepping away, like disconnecting from what is stressing me out, going for that run or going out into the mountains, things like that, like something that is just going to like revitalize my soul and like have that form of self-care. Yes.
Sarah Caminiti:What an awesome, awesome, awesome era to be entering, and well-deserved, and it's going to probably just hopefully trickle into every era that you enter for the rest of your life, because you're creating those resources and foundations for it. But for the rest of your life because you're creating those resources and foundations for it. But, dang, yeah, I am excited for you to be able to just like, be and not have to always have a purpose in every single action that you make. It's a personal problem for myself that my therapist is trying to help me work through, so I feel you completely. But that's so awesome. I'm excited for you, yeah.
Cheryl Spriggs:Well, thank you so much. I appreciate it. I really loved talking about all these different topics. I feel like I could just keep going on and on as well.
Sarah Caminiti:Same same same. No, cheryl, truly this has been a pleasure and I'm so excited to have met you and I'm pumped to just keep talking to you and I hope that you have the best long weekend, thank you.
Cheryl Spriggs:I appreciate it and can't wait to hear more of your podcast as well.
Sarah Caminiti:Thank you very much, cheryl. Well, we'll be in touch soon, and thank you again, truly, all right. Thanks, sarah, Bye, bye. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of Epochal Growth. Cheryl's journey is a powerful reminder of how self-care and personal empowerment go hand in hand with effective leadership. Her insights on navigating neurodiversity, building trust and advocating for her team offer valuable lessons for anyone looking to grow. If today's conversation inspired you, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review and share this episode with your network. Until next time, and remember we can't wait around to see change happen. When you feel it in yourself that a better way exists, you owe it to yourself and those around you to try, because great things happen when you do. I'll see you next week. I'm Sarah. You next week, I'm Sarah Caminiti. This is Epochal Growth. Have a great day.
