10 lessons I learnt from my 8 years at Nike.

Nike is not just a great consumer brand. It has an incredible culture of development and growth that I personally think is unmatched.

As someone who was lucky enough to work there for 8 years, I wanted to share some of the big lessons I learnt in my time in their London Marketing team.

1. You’ll reach your potential quicker with the support of others

I’m an introvert. I get a lot of energy from being by myself and working alone. But despite this, it was incredibly clear to me that reaching my highest potential was only possible with the help of others.

And if you think are already achieving mad success on your own, I’m here to tell you - you are not at your highest potential, not even close. If you let people in and allowed them to help you, you’d be achieving even more.

2. Leadership is a privilege

Nike has an incredible culture for building leaders. I was very lucky that I only ever had one questionable boss in my 8 years.

You quickly realise that being someones ‘boss’ is a big deal and an absolute privilege. The way you show up everyday and how you support your team has the ability to transform not just their careers, but how much they enjoy the rest of their life. Never forget this.

3. Having a mentor will transform your career

I never would achieved what I did in my career without the support of people who mentored me. They didn’t have to do it. But they wanted to. 

Their support and guidance made me so much better at my job and allowed me to promote to the Senior Leadership Team at Nike London. Without them, this would not have happened.

4. Never be so focused on the internal world that you forget to look outside

Nike was an amazing place to work. But once you get a job there, it’s very easy to forget that a world exists outside of Nike. 

I spent most of my career focused on what was happening IN NIKE. But I definitely should have taken more time to build a career outside of it as well.

5. Business is a team sport

If you want to do well in business, you have to know how to be a team player. 

Build relationships, give people your time, be supportive. It’s a team sport and teams perform best when everyone is playing their role.

6. Its possible to really love what you do

99% of Mondays I woke up and was excited to go to work at Nike. I loved what I did and found joy in it - plus I was surrounded by some of the smartest and most inspiring people I have ever met. 

If you don’t feel this way about your work, make a plan to find a job where you love Mondays.

7. Feeling like an ‘Imposter’ is a good thing

I joined Nike a year after I arrived in the UK from New Zealand. I was definitely not ‘cool’ enough to work at Nike in London. The whole place intimidated the sh*t out of me! 

But I grew and I learnt and I built relationships. And I realised that being out of my comfort zone as an ‘imposter’ was the most magical place to be - because it meant I was growing.

8. You have to advocate for yourself - no one else will

In corporate jobs, it’s important to share your success and let people know where you want to go. You have to get comfortable with ‘self promotion’.

If you don’t advocate for yourself, you will find yourself missing out on opportunities to people that did. And it will f*cking hurt.

9. You need to have a plan - even if its a loose one

Staying in one job without a plan was one of the biggest mistakes I made when I worked for Nike. Without a plan, I missed opportunities to move forward because I was indecisive and could articulate what I was looking for.

You need to know where you want to go in your career - even if it’s just a rough plan. A man without a plan will stay in the same place, going around in circles.

10. It’s important to know when to quit

When I left Nike I said it was like breaking up with someone I still loved. I didn’t want to leave. But I knew it was time.

Leaving was so hard. But years that followed were the biggest years of growth I ever had. It was the right decision to leave and I need regretted it.