Sharing Knowledge: Meet Shauna Fields
Originally published on GoDaddy Life
How do you keep yourself motivated and inspired in your work?
I entered the working world with undiagnosed ADHD and had to spend a lot of time figuring out ways to make my brain happy to avoid getting painfully and irritably bored from things I didn't enjoy at work. Leaning into what I enjoy at work has since had a huge influence on my career path.
Today, most of the work I do – writing, editing, strategizing, and organizing – is a flow activity of mine. It brings me joy and pride, and makes the hours pass quickly. When I am not actively in a flow state and need to find motivation, I lean on the happy chemicals (dopamine) I get from checking off on a to do list or focusing on the people I am helping by doing a task (serotonin).
What motivated you to join GD Next and what are some ways in which you participate in the ERG?
I was interested in the group when it originally formed as GD Grad but didn’t have the bandwidth to support it actively at the time. Recently, I volunteered as an Intern Buddy, supporting two folks as they navigate our unique organization. When the call for leaders went out, it felt like the right next step, but I am admittedly very new to things.
Recently, I learned the phrase “send the elevator back down.” It is a perfect metaphor for sharing knowledge and supporting people who are looking to grow in their career or facing challenges I’ve faced. This is one of my favorite ways to give back to the world, and my kids are not really the right audience. Yet.
What are the goals and values of GD Next and how do they align with your personal and professional aspirations?
I am very passionate about the work this ERG is doing in part because I struggled to find mentorship when I was earlier in my career. (Admittedly, I still do, but I’m always asking questions and learning from everyone around me). I was raised by my grandparents, and the insight they offered didn’t apply to the working world I had entered. I had to push through a lot of fear, anxiety, and bad habits to get to where I am today. If I can help anyone else avoid or expedite some of those struggles, I will. There is so much about the working world they don’t teach in school, even at the highest levels of academia.
What's the most challenging, yet rewarding thing that you've worked on at GoDaddy?
I’ve worked on several challenging projects in my time here. The most notable in my memory was developing a new approach for how developers communicate changes broadly to other developers. It was the first multi-year project I proposed and executed in my career. Supporting the global roll-out of our internal messaging platform and the migration from our old intranet were also rewarding. It’s a point of pride that everyone at our company has received something I wrote, whether they knew it was from me or not. I’m thinking the rest of my team probably feels the same.
What advice would you give other individuals, starting out at GoDaddy?
I’ll tell you what I told one of my GD Next Intern Buddies when they asked this question: Ask more questions. If you don’t ask a lot of questions, ask more. If you ask a lot questions, ask even more. There is so much tacit knowledge here and most information is learned through people and relationships, not documentation. There is always more to the story than it first appears, and I have yet to meet anyone at GoDaddy who is not interested in helping others by sharing what they know.
What is your experience and favorite part of working with GoDaddy interns?
I’ve been serving as an intern buddy this summer. Volunteers like myself are paired with an intern to help them build professional relationships outside of their immediate team/projects. It makes for a more well-rounded understanding of our company, gives them another person to cheer them on, and helps expands their professional network.
I’ve enjoyed being able to share the knowledge I needed at that phase of my career but had no idea I needed. Joining the working world is extremely complex.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family. I like reading, writing, and designing for fun, not just for work. We watch a lot of movies, put together puzzles, and play games. I play video games, but nothing stressful - Sims and Legend of Zelda are my all-time favorites. I recently took on our Girl Scout troop because volunteering for our troop was far more fun than expected. It’s another way to support my own kids as they grow and learn, and I get to help “send the elevator back down” by sharing or modeling what I’ve learned during troop activities.
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