On November 28th, ILead is hosting a Leadership Lab called Industry Panel: What Skills Matter? Over the course of November, we will feature interviews from the four panelists. This week we will hear from Emily Moore – Director of Water Technology at Hatch and Board of Advisor for ILead.
Who or what inspires you? What do you look forward to every morning when you wake up to go to work?
My colleagues. I love working as part of a smart, diverse team of specialists who constantly wow me with their knowledge and capabilities. I also love helping teams and individuals to grow.
What was your journey like to get where you are?
I started out in industrial R&D at Xerox – originally in the chemistry group but quickly realized that I liked the engineering aspects more than the straight chemistry – application has always been really important to me. After 11 years at Xerox I moved over to Hatch, an engineering consultancy, into their technology group. I learned a great deal about whole new fields (metallurgy, power engineering, water) and eventually took over the water business. I now manage a global business of about 300 people.
What is one thing that you’re really into outside of work? Or a little known interesting fact about you?
I have a passion for reading and literature – I actually am one course shy of a minor in English, and at one time hoped to be a science journalist.
What’s an area you have struggled with in your professional development since completing undergrad? What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a professional and leader?
As I have become more senior, it has been difficult to handle working on big, hairy, intractable problems – things that are often outside of my control and I must learn to work around. Some days it gets extremely frustrating and even depressing, but as a leader I need to be positive and optimistic. I find that talking through these challenges with mentors, peers, and even professional counsellors has been hugely helpful to me in working out how to tackle these problems, celebrate the small shoots of progress, and be forgiving of myself when I cannot wave a magic wand!
Join us on November 28th at 6 pm in GB202 for the Leadership Lab on Industry Panel: What Skills Matter?
-Namya Syal