The people of Greenhouse: Meet Meghan
6 mins, 6 secs read time
What does it mean to be a company that truly values their employees? It’s so much more than hosting a virtual happy hour or providing a branded T-shirt. It’s rooted in helping your employees feel valued, appreciated and heard. It’s about letting them be their true, authentic selves and then also giving them the space to do so proudly and loudly.
In this installment of The People of Greenhouse series, we’d like to highlight and introduce you to Meghan Lewis, our incredible Manager, SMB Account Management. Learn about what being adaptable means to her – from her desk to the football field – and what it means to have a collective inclusive mindset in the workplace.
Greenhouse: How would you describe yourself to someone you just met?
Meghan: This question is my worst nightmare and why I hate dating apps. Anyway, nice to meet you – my name is Meghan. I’m that friend you call when you want to go on a road trip, and the one that’s calling you with a new reality show to watch. I’m always looking for new hobbies to try. Not because I’ve mastered them, but because my attention span won’t ever stick around long enough to.
I’m a massive over-thinker. You can always catch me laughing, even though realistically it’s more like a loud cackle. I love R&B music, and 9 times out of 10 I have a snack in my hand. Lastly, I like to play sports way more than I like to watch them and I rarely root for the underdog – because while I do love a good fairytale, I definitely like winning even more.
Greenhouse: What are the main ingredients of your “best self” or “true self”?
Meghan:
1) Frequent and honest self-reflection, especially when it feels uncomfortable.
2) Recognizing I won’t please everyone, but knowing I won’t intentionally hurt anyone.
3) Always keeping an open mind.
4) Also Garlic Parmesan wings. I always feel my best when I have a plate of those.
Greenhouse: What does being adaptable mean to you and why is it important?
Meghan: To me, being adaptable means developing an ability to respond to life’s unpredictable changes with an open mind. You can waste a lot of life (and develop even more wrinkles) trying to fight what is inevitably going to change. Or you can just expect it and prepare for it.
As the 21st century philosophers Outkast once said, 'You can plan a pretty picnic, but you can’t predict the weather.' This mindset is important because it allows me to navigate life’s challenges without ultimately losing sight of myself.
Greenhouse: How do you define personal growth and work to achieve the goals you set out for yourself?
Meghan: To me, personal growth is looking at every single success and every single failure as a learning opportunity.
Any goal I’m looking to achieve always starts out with a game plan (sports again, oops) and action items. The term “action items” is typically associated with work, but I’m always incorporating it into my daily life. From my workouts all the way to resolving arguments, I’m always looking for something tangible to do that will get me or us to the next goal. Most of these goals are only achieved with incremental steps and frequent adjustments. Most importantly, my goals have to include a timeline or end date, so I know exactly when to hold myself accountable. #growth
Greenhouse: What do you do to overcome obstacles to achieving your goals?
Meghan: It may sound silly, but the first thing I do is stop and treat my inner self with a bit of kindness. We are always our biggest critic and long before a person or circumstance tells us “no”, the voice inside our head already has. It’s a work in progress that I’m still trying to master, but when you learn to stop being so hard on yourself, you spend a lot less time wondering what could’ve happened and instead spend that time making it happen.
You’re not going to hit every goal you set and that’s okay.
When you miss the mark for the 1st, 2nd or 100th time, you have to stop. Show yourself some kindness. Then either re-attempt the game plan as is or re-adjust it to something more realistic and manageable. After the 100th time though I’d definitely recommend a re-adjustment – but hey, that’s just me.
Greenhouse: Why do you think respect in the workplace is important? How do you work to respect your coworkers even if you don’t get along with them right away or have different opinions?
Meghan: Respect is important everywhere, but especially in the workplace because of how much time we spend there. I think the statistic is that around a third of your life will be spent working. When people feel respected, they are more productive, less stressed and more inclined to collaborate. These are all things that bubble up and benefit the whole team, me included. Differing opinions are inevitable, but a difference in opinion shouldn’t negate the basic need to give respect.
I think the pandemic created additional challenges because oftentimes you are interacting with coworkers you’ve never actually met in person. This extends beyond just tone and includes the avenues in which we communicate at work. So elements like being more aware of my virtual body language and how my sarcastic humor probably doesn’t land the same over Slack are little things I try to keep top of mind. At the end of the day, we all have a job to do and a paycheck to make, so having mutual respect and not making the workload harder is really just asking the bare minimum.
Greenhouse: How do you work to ensure there is a sense of belonging at Greenhouse?
Meghan: While I definitely do all I can to instill a sense of belonging, it really takes a collective group of people, not just a single individual. From the moment I joined Greenhouse, I was immediately welcomed with such genuine warmth. We must have a good vetting system – maybe it’s the software? Either way, since day one it’s felt like this “pass it down” mentality in regard to belonging.
Fast-forward to today, and I’m now a proud member of our Black, Queer and also Women’s ERGs. When I think back to how joining these different groups and attending the various company events made me feel, I just naturally want to pass that feeling on to the next group of new hires.
Another really important aspect of belonging which I think is not as obvious is feedback. Both accepting it and giving it. If you aren’t creating a space for your employees to have transparent and open dialogue, then you never truly know how someone is feeling about their place at work. Cultivating safe avenues for feedback – whether in 1:1s or anonymously at company AMAs – is a crucial component and I think Greenhouse does a great job of that!
Interested in a career with us at Greenhouse? Check out our careers page.