I’ve been at Domain for just over six years, in three different roles during a time of rapid transformation and growth, business acquisitions, and listing on the Australian Stock Exchange. 

We’ve built the brand and business from being a print and website property listings business to the property powerhouse marketplace it is today, with huge ambitions for the future.

Over the course of my six years, the business has faced different challenges at a macro level and also I’ve felt the pressure within my role as ongoing digital transformation brings increasing marketing complexity. 

The truth is that what is needed from my role continually evolves – which requires leaps of learning and a mindset of ‘reinvention’.

A favourite quote I keep front of mind is "What got you here, won’t get you there." To me, this means that all the skills I’ve built to get me to where I am today are not necessarily the ones that are going to be the ones I need in the future. 

I constantly question: How am I building the right skills to lead the team in a way that is best for them, myself and the business?

A little tip I learnt from Jane Huxley is to think of your skills as a toolbelt. Throughout your career, you pick up different tools that you pop in your belt. These can be a mixture of on the job learning, formalised training, absorbing wisdom through meeting new people, listening to podcasts and reading. Bettering yourself is not a linear process but rather a meandering path where you pick up different gems along the way – and it’s become a philosophy I also apply to my life.

So, how do you create a ‘reinvention mindset’?

1. Jump feet first at every new opportunity thrown your way

Are you a ‘yes’ person? Early in my career I made a rule with myself that I would say yes with enthusiasm for every opportunity that came my way. It can be scary at the beginning to be vulnerable and have the confidence to speak on panels, or at conferences, to be interviewed and write articles. That oh so familiar voice of imposter syndrome gets louder and louder, but it is so worth it to push yourself to go through the process and remember that only you have your unique perspective on a topic.

When I was nominated for The Marketing Academy, I thought to myself…  ‘I will never get onto the program… there are so many people better than me’. When I was awarded my place, I was so grateful to myself for pushing through those self-sabotaging thoughts and just saying a loud, self-assured yes. 

Perhaps it's time we reframe imposter syndrome. Instead of thinking of it as a sign we don’t belong or that we are out of our depth – we invite our imposter to sit alongside us as a sure fire sign we are pushing ourselves beyond our current boundaries and see it instead as an unpredictable friend that is going to help us stretch and grow.

2. Own your development, then own your success

No one is responsible for your career or development, other than you. Great leaders provide opportunities for their people, but it isn’t up to someone else to push you or your career forward.

Development for me has been seeking to learn more about things that light me up. I have always loved learning through experience and meeting people who have a totally different perspective on life to me. 

In 2019, I took three months off work and went to India solo to complete my yoga teacher training. Last year I completed a CPD accredited International Accelerator program to work with different people around the world to help save the Atlantic rainforest for not for profit Iracambi. Both have absolutely nothing to do with my ‘day job’, both totally outside of my comfort zone, but both invariably taught me how to communicate in new ways, skills in patience and listening, and overall made me a better person and leader.

Own your success. Life is short, take time to celebrate your success. Encourage others to do the same. Shout out their great work. It was so formative to my confidence in my early career to know I was on the right track. 

3. Set goals that scare you 

How often are you setting yourself a goal that you think is unachievable? I set myself yearly goals that I break down into weekly tasks to keep me on track.

I was terrified of ocean swimming this time last year, so I decided to set myself the goal of completing an ocean swim race and a triathlon. Fear riddled my thoughts at the beginning, but everytime I got in the ocean I would think not ‘what is the worst that could happen’ but instead ‘what is the best thing that could result from this experience’. This mindset flip empowered me to envisage myself at the finish line, feeling proud of myself.

I do this at work also. At Domain, we’re into our eighth year of sponsoring the #1 show on Nine, The Block. It is a big challenge to continue to bring a fresh mindset and reinvent this sponsorship each year and keep pushing boundaries of what is possible. We set some huge audacious goals this year, and as a result broke records of what we’ve achieved in the past (see for yourself here). 

Ultimately, reinvention is a mindset. It is crucial to take time out, step back and reevaluate to reinvent. Recognise and celebrate how far you’ve already come, then allow yourself to imagine the dizzying heights of what is possible, if you are just brave enough to believe it. 

Just remember: "Done is better than perfect", and; "What got you here, won’t get you there".