Project Manager, Mergers & Acquisitions at Lightspeed HQ
Your strengths/skills/superpowers:
Earlier this year, I finally started my own side-hustle as a trainer. As an exercise to better understand what I’m really good at, I sent out a survey to friends and coworkers, asking about my superpowers. I recommend everyone to do this exercise once every couple of years, it’s always inspiring!
The two strengths that came up most often, were social skills & enthusiasm (Extrovert? Me? Oh yeah!) I get my energy from spending time with people and I enjoy getting to know new people. Needless to say that I miss real-life human interaction and travelling these days. But the fact that I’m a naturally enthusiastic person, helps to put this in perspective. There’s this quote that says:
“Don’t adapt to the energy in the room, influence the energy in the room”.
I take that pretty seriously, as I believe that you can really change someone’s day for the better, just with your energy.
Another superpower that came up often, was my organizing skills. It’s a natural urge of mine to bring order in chaos, I would not be able to function without a proper overview of what’s going on, whether that’s at work, at home, in my business, personal finances, wardrobe,... Just my sock drawer, that’s a mess. Balance, right?
How do your strengths play into the work you do?
In my work at Lightspeed, I help to integrate acquired companies into our sales-structure.
I compare how they work today with how we work today and together with the teams, we identify synergies and come up with a plan to become “one” Lightspeed as we call it.
In my role, I meet a lot of new people on a regular basis, I need my energy at all hours of the day as sometimes our meetings are in different timezones and in order to plan for the integration of about 8 different departments, you better be organized. I wouldn’t recommend someone who goes: “Oh, the plan is always in my head!”, to take on this role.
Imagine your best hospitality / hotel experience – what does it look like?
Oh, it’s the perfect combination of an amazing restaurant with a luxurious hotel! Where you can enjoy a great meal and can be the closest to “snapping your fingers and being in bed”.
I came the closest at the Strandhotel in Cadzand, Netherlands, where there’s the exquisite Michelin-star restaurant called Pure C. It’s a beautiful hotel located in the dunes with a view at the North Sea. I’d love to have this experience again but at a more exotic destination!
What brings you the greatest joy at work?
Sharing knowledge! I love that we have this in our culture at Lightspeed and in the teams that I work with. When someone learns something new (about a tool we’re using, a process, a productivity hack,..), it’s usually shared with the people that might be interested. We’re not afraid to change our processes, to innovate, to learn from the past - and we learn from each other, that’s something that I value a lot.
My advice for women in hospitality and travel-tech:
This is such an exciting industry to be a part of - one with lots of opportunities and innovation. Never be afraid to ask questions! Either when you don’t understand something very well or when you want to know more about a possible opportunity. There’s a Dutch expression that goes: “You have a “no”, but you can get a “yes””. Go get it!
Connect with Katia Martens and other members on our WHTT Community Group on LinkedIn!
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