When Bridget Martin started with Rockwell Automation, she had no idea she would spend over three years on an international assignment she would love so much that she now considers Singapore her home.
That feeling is the result of a combination of factors: the opportunities she’s been given, the work she’s doing, the amazing team she works with and the customers she serves.
“My work within the integrated supply chain has meaning and, most importantly, purpose,” said Bridget. “Our teams and our people are engaged and passionate because what we do is concretely tied to our customers and our strategy.”
Organizations with a clearly communicated, transcendent purpose are most capable of offering employees an international career opportunity like the one Bridget is experiencing.
New Culture, New Ideas
This was not the direction she saw her career taking, especially leaving her small-ish hometown in the U.S. When she was offered the opportunity to relocate, her manager, who relied on her in her current role, encouraged the move – knowing he’d have a role to backfill. His priority was Bridget and her career.
“I was moving into a country and a culture I knew little about,” Bridget said. “I wondered if my management and collaboration style would translate (and what I might need to learn or change). I questioned if I’d be effective.”
She continued, “I was able to make the leap because of the confidence I had built over time – I was empowered to learn, make decisions, take risks, make mistakes and try again. I was trusted with innovative work and high impact projects.”
Appreciating an Inclusive Culture
Earlier in her career, Bridget left Rockwell Automation for a stint with another company. That’s when she realized that a collaborative and inclusive company culture is not a given everywhere. Other workplaces did not put as much energy into the little things that add up.
“Here, I knew I could trust in the cultural promise extended beyond my familiar walls and that it was more than aspirational,” Bridget said. “This assignment was a stretch for me – I would not only have new, global responsibilities but I would do it in the most international atmosphere of my career.”
Bridget just embarked on a second role in this ex-pat assignment, as a senior manager for the Customer Care and Logistics organization, responsible for Southeast Asia and South Pacific countries. She took the role because she wanted a holistic view of integrated supply chain and continued exposure to Asian business customs.
Now, she is the intersection between businesses and customers. She breaks down silos to create a free flow between all elements of supply chain and infuse customer needs and expectations in all that Rockwell does.
As an ex-pat and a minority in her workplace, Bridget said, “I feel valued for my contributions. My voice is heard, my work respected. That’s crucial for a woman in an engineering company; especially a woman living outside of her home country amidst an unfamiliar culture and customs.”
Inclusion Training Creates Awareness
One of the reasons Bridget can thrive is the skill-building and training she’s received around listening and awareness. “We develop our people and teams to reflect all dimensions of diversity,” she said, “and we empower ourselves and our teams.”
In these last few years, Bridget said, “I’ve learned how strong I am, that the unknown is not as scary as I thought, and that challenges like moving across the world continue inspiring me to do things that I never thought possible.”
Learn more about Integrated Supply Chain career opportunities at Rockwell Automation.
