Messages to My Younger Self: 9 pieces of career wisdom

pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) is PepsiCo’s end-to-end sustainability initiative that’s transforming the business — from sourcing to selling — on a global scale. Among those leading this mission are several remarkable women who’ve overcome unique professional challenges. Now, they’re at the forefront of driving positive change for people and the planet.

Here, Roberta Barbieri, VP, Global Sustainability, Jenny Tsai, VP, Global Sustainable Packaging, and Anna Palazij, VP, ESG Reporting and Strategic Investments, share the advice they’d give to their younger selves, offering insights to help you own your career and achieve your potential.

1. Never stop advocating for yourself

Advocating for yourself can take practice — but practice makes perfect.

“I’ve gotten much better at this as my career has progressed,” Roberta says. “And if I was speaking to my younger self, I would encourage her to feel better about advocating for herself.”

Jenny says part of advocating for yourself is making it clear where you want to go and what you want to do. Part of her career advice is to “be vocal about the resources you need.”

2. Don’t let your job description limit you

Working in many different roles helped Anna realize that “your job is so much more than what’s in the job description.”

“You have the ability to put your own stamp on that role, make it into your own, and make yourself known for the work you’re doing,” she says. So go beyond the job description.

One of the most pivotal moments of Roberta’s career happened prior to her time at PepsiCo.

“I was the director of environmental health and safety, and I really wanted to move into this brand-new profession that was being called sustainability,” she says.

So, Roberta made a pitch to the company’s senior leaders to create their first full-time global environmental sustainability role — and they accepted it.

3. Get support from more than one mentor

When it comes to career advice, finding a good mentor can be a game-changer — and Anna says you shouldn’t stop at just one.

“Form your own board of directors,” she says. “Meaning: find a group of mentors from different backgrounds who are well-rounded and can give you a variety of advice and perspectives. This can help you make better decisions and drive you to be more successful.”

Roberta adds that the support of a mentor was critical to her creating that new role for herself. “I talked to her about this, and she encouraged me to do it. And then she helped champion the role because she was in a position to do that.”

4. Work on your EQ to be a good leader

“A high EQ (emotional intelligence) makes a good leader — not necessarily a high IQ,” Roberta says. Studies back this up, suggesting that those with high emotional intelligence are better suited for handling high-pressure situations and dealing with conflicts.

Jenny recalls a moment in her career when she found her own authentic leadership style, which also relies on her EQ.

“I was working as a night shift supervisor at a plant, where the leaders were almost 100% male,” she says. “I couldn’t emulate their style of leadership, so I discovered my own leadership style — which was servant leadership and the ability to be empathetic.”

5. Trust and believe in yourself

If she didn’t trust her gut, Anna says, she wouldn’t be where she is today.

“Early on, I remember a few folks trying to dissuade me from studying environmental engineering because it seemed like it might be a dead-end career,” she says. “But today, sustainability is on the leading edge. And because I’m in a line of work that I have passion for, I’ve been able to grow.”

Now, she’s proud of the work she and her team are doing through pep+, like embedding sustainability into internal finance programs and working on external partnerships to make sunstainable practices more cost-effective. So, her career advice includes believing in and staying true to yourself.

6. Assume that everyone wants you to succeed

“When you walk into a room, assume that everyone wants you to succeed,” Roberta says. This career advice involves a simple mental switch — but it can give you a confidence boost.

“I’ve leaned on this advice myself when delivering presentations to CEOs. Everyone in that room wanted me to be successful. No one was looking for me to fail.”

7. Focus on what’s good for the long term

Your career is going to be long — so make sure that you’re considering what is good for the long term, and invest in yourself, Anna says.

“One of the pivotal moments in my career was taking a step back and really thinking through where I wanted to be, and then making the investment in myself,” she says. “I left a good role at another company prior to PepsiCo and started an MBA because I knew that in 20, 30 years, that was going to be the edge that would make me the most successful.”

8. Speak up

“A top lesson that I have learned is, quite frankly, to speak up,” Jenny says. “Voice your opinion fearlessly, whether you’re in a meeting, in a conference, or an executive committee. You have a right to be there and your voice needs to be heard. Your opinions need to be shared.”

Jenny recalls a moment during a leadership meeting in one of her earlier roles at PepsiCo when she had to drum up the courage to share an idea.

“It turned into an initiative that I ended up spearheading, leading, and presenting to the CEO within a few months,” she says. “If you have an idea — especially if you know the space — speak up.”

Jenny says she can think of countless meetings where she didn’t speak up. Her career advice includes not letting imposter syndrome or a lack of confidence keep you from sharing what you have to say.

“As I grow in my career, I find that it’s so important to speak up. It’s so important to shape the agenda. It’s so important to voice your opinion — because it is valued, it is needed, and you are there for a reason.”

9. Build trusting, meaningful relationships

“It’s so critical to form relationships across the organization in order to drive the agenda,” Jenny says. “It’s important to get to know people and to build trust — across geographies, across levels, across your peer set — because that encourages the right types of conversations.”

These relationships can help you to unpack problems and work together to solve complex issues.

“As an example, when I started in one of my previous roles, people weren’t being open about a problem that needed to be solved,” Jenny says. “But building relationships and trust allowed us to be vulnerable and to have the right conversations so that we could solve it.”

If Roberta, Jenny, and Anna could travel back in time to share some of these messages with their younger selves, they would seize the opportunity. But you can take the career advice from these messages and apply them to your own professional journey now.

“For those who want to own their careers, it’s important to understand the vision of where you want to get to,” Anna says. “Plot your course. Navigate it. It’s your responsibility to be the leader on that journey.”

Because She Dared
This content series celebrates PepsiCo’s support of women and shares what’s possible when women lead and dare to make a lasting impact on their careers, their colleagues, and the world around them. Explore PepsiCo opportunities around the world to find your chance to make a lasting impact.