Stewarding Your Leadership Growth: Interview with Sarah Jackson

What comes to mind when you think about someone who is “talented”? If you’re like me, images of professional athletes, gifted musicians, and visionary leaders all come to mind—people whose incredible talents appear fully formed, always existent. However, Sarah Jackson, a talent management specialist at Compassion International, understands that when we view talent as something merely identified rather than developed and stewarded, we miss out on the intentional and ongoing process of growth God longs to do within us.

In this interview, Sarah provides wise insights and practical tips for first third leaders for who long to grow in their leadership now, but maybe don’t know the next doable steps. Read more to learn about the importance of finding and using your voice, what you can learn—and unlearn—about what it means to be a leader, and how to find joy in it all (yes, even in the boring stuff).

What is your current role in your organization, and how did God lead you into this work?

I work at Compassion International and currently serve in the role of Talent Management. I oversee our global performance management process for almost 4,000 employees globally. I also manage our succession planning process, which is the identification and development of high-potential talent throughout the organization to fill critical senior leadership roles so that we have strong bench strength for when leaders retire or get called elsewhere. We want to ensure we’re growing and developing our internal talent to effectively fulfill our mission.

That feeds into how God led me into this work. God really aligned my core values of authenticity and impact with my calling to work at a Christian faith-based organization to help identify and develop potential. I really dove into organizational leadership because I wanted to help organizations, especially nonprofits, know how to thrive and not just survive, and how to grow and develop the internal talent that God has given them to steward.

I started at Compassion in 2017 as an intern and experienced really growing and developing internally within an organization. I moved around several different teams: our learning team, our leadership development team, our talent management management team, and our organization development team. Through all of those different experiences, I can now look back and see God’s hand in guiding me through those different transitional periods so I could acquire different skills and perspectives.

As a talent management specialist, what do you find are some of the biggest growth edges for first third leaders? What kind of feedback or advice would you give to them?

When I look around within my organization, and also just within my group of friends or my peers, one of the biggest opportunities I see for growth is for people to learn to shift their mindsets from expecting development to happen to them to taking ownership of their own development. For example, I see a lot of first third, or early career leaders, expect their manager to own their growth and development, when the reality is that we each are responsible for stewarding our own growth.

For people who are really seeking to own their own development, I’d say to first and foremost seek out mentors. I have been mentored both personally and professionally—and that has really shaped the leader that I am today and who I continue to become. So, look for those individuals who are just a couple of steps ahead of you and are willing to be a sounding board as you’re trying to navigate your own career next steps and opportunities.

The second growth edge for first thirders is to seek feedback early and often. I am really curious, so I ask a lot of questions. But I’m also very growth mindset oriented, always thinking there’s something that I can improve. So I really embrace that by asking my leaders and the individuals that I work with, “Hey, what’s one thing that I could do better for next time?” And asking a simple question like that versus “How can I improve” makes it easier for individuals to identify one small or big thing that you could do that maybe you haven’t considered before.

Another growth edge would be not to wait for the perfect opportunity—because there’s never a perfect opportunity. I would say be courageous and be brave to raise your hand to say, “Hey, I would love to work on that project,” or “I’d love to facilitate this meeting.” We know that we don’t grow from places of comfort—it’s only when we step out of our comfort zones that we feel challenged and can learn new skills. So, don’t wait for someone to come and ask you to do something you really want to do.

We know that we don’t grow from places of comfort—it’s only when we step out of our comfort zones that we feel challenged and can learn new skills.

Finally, I would say be bold and vocal with your aspirations. When you share your career goals or areas you’re looking to grow and develop in yourself, you are then inviting other people to join you and to encourage you. They can look out for what could be a great project for you to be involved in. So don’t try to do it yourself—definitely invite your community around you to support you in that.

Our theme for this quarter is joy. What do you see as the biggest barriers to experiencing joy at work? How have you personally found joy in your work, even during tough or challenging times?

It’s so important to find joy in our work—and it’s easier in some than other seasons. When there’s change taking place and new things to be working on, that is when I thrive. So for me, one of the biggest barriers to joy is when I get lost in the mundane, business-as-usual (BAU) tasks that don’t feel inspiring in the moment. But I have learned that joy can re-emerge in my work—even in the work that I don’t love—when I reground myself in the “why” of what I’m doing.

For example, I can ask myself, “Why am I in this role?” Well, because I care about identifying and developing talent internally within an organization. I want people to be seen, valued, and feel pushed to the potential that God has given them. “Why am I working at Compassion?” Because I care deeply about God’s church and releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name, and I want to be a part of doing that. So, when I take a step back and look at why I’m doing what I’m doing, that helps me be a little bit more motivated, focused, and find some joy in the work I’m doing.

But outside of tasks, it’s the people that make work joyful: the coworkers, the managers I’ve had over my years, trusted colleagues, mentors, and other peers. When I’m working with other people who share that commitment to make the world a better place, to honor God, to support and develop people, I find a lot of joy in them and in accomplishing the actual objective of what we’re partnering together to achieve.

How do you “lead up” at Compassion as a first third leader? What encouragement would you give to other emerging leaders who want to influence their organization but don’t know how?

The way that I love to lead up is first and foremost by asking good questions. Since leading up sometimes can feel a bit intimidating, positioning yourself as someone who’s curious, who’s eager to learn more, and who wants to contribute can give you a boost of confidence. Through question asking, you can help your leaders identify potential gaps in some of the thinking that is taking place, or offer a potential solution. You’ll get to collaborate and really lead up by asking strategic questions and influencing the direction of that conversation. Because when you show curiosity, leaders do notice. Leaders appreciate someone coming to the table saying, “I’ve been thinking about this,” or “I have some questions.”

Since leading up sometimes can feel a bit intimidating, positioning yourself as someone who’s curious, who’s eager to learn more, and who wants to contribute can give you a boost of confidence.

Another way that I try to lead up is by offering solutions instead of just identifying problems. When I see a problem taking place within my organization, I often will spend some time thinking about what the root cause might be and identifying a couple of actions we could take. Then, I’ll bring that to my manager, who either says, “That’s actually not yours to own,” or “I appreciate you identifying that gap and being willing to step in.”

Another thing that I often see first third leaders struggle with is their voice. This can be challenging to be successful in the workplace, especially for women who might have a quieter voice or a “softer” leadership approach. So I really encourage first third leaders to know their core values, know their voice, and then leverage that voice. I firmly believe God has given all of us unique passions, skills, values, and experiences. When we withhold our voice from the conversation, we’re actually not allowing good work to take place. We’re not honoring God because we’re removing ourselves from the situation. You want to steward the experiences, the skills, the perspectives that God has gifted you, even when you don’t sit at the top of the org chart.

In our research, we have found that flourishing leaders are those who attend to their ongoing growth and development. As someone responsible for helping others flourish, how do you attend to your personal growth and development?

I’m really passionate about personal and professional growth and development as a way to flourish. At Compassion, we intentionally set aside 40 hours a year for employees to engage in growth and development opportunities. I’m someone who definitely spends all 40 hours of that time because I’m so passionate about growth and development.

Here are a few examples: I just recently joined a leadership cohort here in Colorado Springs. It’s a 10-month cohort program where we’re engaging in leadership development and community impact. I’ve also owned my own growth and development by joining different conference committees. I’ve helped plan them and been a speaker at different professional development conferences. It’s always scary to do it for your first time. So, just go into it knowing you’re not going to do it perfectly, but you’re going to learn a lot and grow a lot through that experience. I’ve also been engaged in different networking opportunities in a professional development context which has gotten me connected with other organizations or individuals doing the same work at a different organization. This is great because we get to compare notes and tackle problems we all share.

On more of a spiritual level, I’m privileged to have a rhythm where two to three times a year I step away from my house and my job and head to the mountains. I spend a good 12 hours in there by myself—unplugged and disconnected from the world. I also typically fast. And I just spend time with God. Because if I don’t physically remove myself from my surroundings, I know that my task list and other people’s expectations of me will influence how I’m spending my time.

This helps me get regrounded and re-centered on questions like, “What is God calling me to do in this season?” “How am I feeling about my life?” And, “How is my career going?” Spending time reflecting, journaling, and reading Scripture has been so life-giving for me over the years.

What’s something you once believed about leadership that you’ve since changed your mind about—something you’ve “unlearned”?

Early on in my career, I thought that there was one right way to lead. But after having eight different managers over a seven-and-a-half-year period, and in even my own graduate studies, where I studied leadership development, I’ve realized that leadership is a lot more nuanced. There are so many different effective ways to approach leadership, and each leader brings their unique self to that position, which is what is so critical.

I often see leadership less as a specific formula or set of behaviors, and more as a posture. So what I try to aspire to in my own leadership is a blend of servant leadership, situational leadership, and authentic leadership. I want to leverage all of those different leadership frameworks to be able to serve the individuals that I’m stewarding or the work that I’m stewarding in that season. And I have found that that particular approach really helps me achieve outcomes and the results I want to achieve, while honoring, caring for, and equipping the people who are joining me to do that really good work. So while there’s no one right way to lead, I would say living into your core values and caring about the outcomes and the people that you’re responsible for really makes a difference.

While there’s no one right way to lead, I would say living into your core values and caring about the outcomes and the people that you’re responsible for really makes a difference.

What public voices have most deeply shaped your leadership?

• Brené Brown, researcher, author, and storyteller studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy.
• Adam Grant, organizational psychologist, researcher, and author.
• Michelle Obama, former first lady, author, and activist.
• Melinda Gates, philanthropist, author, and activist.