Time and time again, we know this to be true for any organization: it is critical to have the right person in the right seat. But often this doesn’t happen. Or, as a company evolves, sometimes the right person was in the right seat but may not be the case anymore.

At CultureShoc, our long-time Integrator, Pete, also heads our Compete on Culture programs. As the company grew, so did the demands of managing those programs and being the Integrator. While Pete embodies our Core Values, he had less and less time to do his obligations as Integrator because the number of facilitation engagements dramatically increased. He simply did not have the bandwidth to be in both seats anymore. Something had to change.

At the same time, my role as Administrative Specialist was no longer at capacity because of the systems we developed and put in place. I was effectively doing my job and was hungry to do more for CultureShoc.

The dilemma about Pete as Integrator was brought up in a Quarterly meeting and a team member mentioned that I was a good fit for the job – and everyone agreed. Until that moment, I never fully saw myself in a leadership role. I was a stay at home mom for two years before joining CultureShoc. It was a great transition after being an event coordinator for eight years prior to having twins. I have always loved managing the details behind all the decisions but I never thought of being a driving force behind a company.

It was decided in the meeting that I needed to fully investigate what being an Integrator meant and take the Kolbe B profile to see if I, in fact, was a right fit. After reading Rocket Fuel, I gained clarity about what this all meant. I may have never had the title before, but I loved doing everything an Integrator is responsible for doing and the Kolbe results showed that I was the perfect fit for our company as the Integrator.

My advice to everyone – always be open to evolving and growing, not only as an organization, but as an individual too. I ended up being the right fit for a seat I never thought about filling. Sometimes what you least expect ends up being the right thing for you as well as your company. As Sara Blakely, Founder & CEO of Spanx states “Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.”