As we welcome in the new year, we would like to take time to reflect on 2019 and see where we will go in 2020. To do so, we gathered a few North Highlanders to answer some questions about how they plan to make their mark in 2020!
Chloe Sanders, Academy Analyst – Charlotte
Amol Wani, Analyst – Philadelphia
Westley Dede, Facilities Coordinator – Atlanta
Scott Detweiler, Data Analyst – Atlanta
What is something you learned in 2019 and how do you plan on applying it in 2020?
Chloe: One of my biggest learnings from 2019 was how to be a more authentic collaborator. At North Highland, I realized that we collaborate in much deeper and in more transparent ways, which is very different from how I had approached teamwork before. I felt like my whole world opened up! I now have so many trusted colleagues in Academy and on my project, who provide incredible value with their input. I'm really looking forward to applying my growing collaboration toolkit in 2020 to be even more effective on our projects and for our firm.
Amol: North Highland gave me my first job out of school, and this was my first exposure to corporate world and consulting. I was still in the first 6 months of my job when 2019 started and I felt I held back on asking key questions to the client and raising issues. My coach helped me get better at it and I feel I am a lot more confident with the client and they appreciate my critical thinking and analysis. This is something I intend to apply going ahead as well and contribute to build on it.
Westley: The one thing that I have learned in 2019 is patience.
Scott: The importance of learning new skills and tools as a way of getting staffed on cool projects. For example, I taught myself how to do text analytics in March 2019 out of mere curiosity, and it led to a cascade of projects into the new year. I plan on continuing to follow my curiosity to gain more skills in 2020, which will further enhance my development and experience.
What advice would you like to give yourself as you begin the New Year?
Chloe: The biggest piece of advice that I have for myself is to be grateful. It's easy to get lost in the day-to-day and forget to recognize all that we have and all that we have the opportunity to work towards.
Amol: The one thing that I would really love to do starting this year is to understand the importance of work-life balance and how important it is to relax and get yourself involved in outdoor activities. I want to start ticking things off my bucket list like learning the Spanish language or going skydiving starting next year.
Westley: The one advice that I would like to give myself this year is that I am capable of doing anything.
Scott: Don’t take things too seriously.
What are you looking forward to the most in 2020 (professionally or personally)?
Chloe: I am looking forward to the launch of the US Behavioral Insights community. These meetings are open to anyone interested in learning more about behavioral science and applying it in consulting context. We've been doing work with behavioral science for some time in the UK and the time is right to begin building skills in our US consultants too.
Amol: I want to get certified in Google Cloud as that has been on my radar since a long time. On the personal front, I am looking forward to my parents coming to visit me from India as they haven’t been here in a long time and it is always great to have them around.
Westley: Since obtaining my college degree in December 2020, I am anticipating on a new role with the firm and seeing what my options are. I am excited about what lies ahead.
Scott: In 2020, I am most looking forward to growing into a happier and healthier person.
What is one new skill which you would like to learn in 2020?
Chloe: If I had to pick just one skill, I would say working on my Tableau skills. I've been interested in data analysis for some time now, and after getting my feet wet with some cool data visualization projects this year, I'm eager to develop more skills around data analysis and visualization.
Amol: Business development and how to build client relationships. This is something that I find interesting and I am very keen to learn more about it. Being an analyst, I usually work with the client’s business team or the technical team and I feel it is important to learn people skills and build relationships with your client as it goes a long way. It also helps to identify any new opportunities we could help our client with.
Westley: This year I want to become a better listener. In my role, I often try to anticipate the question and complete the task so I can assist the next individual. However, I am not always accurate in predicting the need and therefore would like to work on this skill.
Scott: More experience around forecasting and modelling, as well as becoming a more efficient data scientist.