From Challenges to Triumph: How Authenticity, Resilience, and Perseverance Have Fueled Career Success
Amanda Shear is no stranger to sales. Now the VP of Sales for Business & Consumer Services, she joined Zayo seven years ago as a sales rep with a healthcare hardware sales background. She credits, in part, her musical upbringing for her progression into sales management roles.
The Power of Practice
Shear, who did classical voice and opera training for seven years, is a proponent of practice — and not just in singing. She’s found the art of practicing equally applicable in sales.
“You’re going to rehearse a ton of times before you get out there and do the real thing,” Shear says. Even the most seasoned singer needs to warm up and practice before a performance. In sales, the “big stage” might be a customer demo instead of Madison Square Garden, but the principle is the same: “You still need to practice.” For Amanda, this includes role-playing, practicing her sales pitch and product messaging, running through mock customer meetings, and learning to handle common objections – all part of the art of sales. It’s a habit that has served her well.
Leading with Authenticity
In addition to practicing, Shear also emphasized the importance of authenticity in her work, whether it’s sharing that she’s interested in a leadership position or asking someone for advice.
I’ve really found the most success when I’ve been able to just be authentically me.
“I’ve really found the most success when I’ve been able to just be authentically me,” she says. Showing up authentically has opened up opportunities relevant to her interests. “For me showing up authentically involves being a team player,” says Amanda, “Being consistently present and approachable. Leading with transparency when it comes to shared goals, expectations, and challenges. Being willing to stay grounded in my core values and consistently modeling them. Most importantly, being willing to demonstrate that being a leader doesn’t mean being perfect, it means being committed.”
Remaining Resilient
Shear also advises not to be afraid to take action when those opportunities arise. Though things won’t always work out, she is a proponent of taking action and trying. She holds herself to a high standard of “never giving up and not getting defeated when somebody tells me no or something has gone wrong.”
Because things will go wrong.
And when they do, Shear draws on her resilience, perseverance, and faith to push through hardships and emerge stronger. These include work setbacks, such as losing a prime account the sales team has been working on for weeks. But more personally, it includes tragedies, such as the loss of her and stepfather, who played a significant role in raising her.
In these difficult moments and others, Shear reminds herself: “There’s a bigger story here.” She zooms out. Focusing on her own strength gives her perspective, which helps her move forward confidently.
At Zayo, Shear uses this perspective to tackle systemic issues such as negative self-talk and imposter syndrome, both of which affect women in corporate leadership roles. According to studies, imposter syndrome plagues 75% of female executives. To combat these, she cultivates a positive mindset within her team, encouraging everyone to focus on what they can manage instead of the myriad things they can’t.
“There’s going to be a ton of things that go wrong every day,” she says. “Let’s focus on the things that we can control and how we can help things go right.”