Want Success? ‘Know Who You Are’ & Find Friends Along the Way - Vanessa G. Hall
“Relationships matter” is a tried-and-true business adage for good reason, and just about any professional will tell you that they owe at least some of their success to the relationships they built along the way.
Today we are in conversation with Dr. Vanessa G. Hall, a business owner and leader in the field of Information Technology. Dr. Hall’s distinctive leadership style stems from her decades of professional experience, as well as the obstacles she had to overcome along the way. Now, Dr. Hall’s passion is giving young people support and guidance to achieve similar success.
Vanessa, your personal and professional journey is so impressive. Can you tell us how you got to where you are today? What obstacles did you face and how did you overcome them?
“Well, there have been a fair amount of them! But I always say I wouldn’t trade any of it, not the good or the bad, because the bad always helped me be better. Early on, I went to Southern University, an HBCU, for my Mechanical Engineering degree, but dropped out for a year. I had lost confidence. If you hear enough that ‘you can’t’, then you start to believe it. But one day, I woke up, I looked in the mirror, and I knew this wasn’t who I was supposed to be. So, with some help from my mom, I got myself back on campus, I got my scholarships back, and everything took off from there.
Along the way it’s always been about relationships. At my first job in college, my manager saw something in me and put in a good word for me at the Blue Cross Blue Shield in Texas. After a year in the correspondence department, I joined an entry level data processing class–and that’s where my career started.
Even there though, the teacher came to me on the second day, and said he didn’t think I’d be able to keep up, that all the other students in the class had computer science degrees. That really took all the air out of me, and I went home so deflated. But I picked myself up and decided I was going to show him. I worked day and night and graduated at the top of my class. I stayed at Blue Cross Blue Shield for more than four years.
After that, each job just led to the next one. It’s all relationships. I tell that to my mentees all the time. It’s about networking, and it’s about relationships. I’ve worked in leadership and consulting at JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, PNC, Bank of America… And I started my own company 15 years ago.”
Looking back, what would you want your younger self to know?
Thirty years ago, I walked into a conference room as an African American female, and everybody was looking at me, like ‘she’s here to take notes’. But I was there to lead, and that’s been my story from the start.
I would tell my younger self, ‘Know who you are, and what you bring to the table. Don’t let anybody write your narrative. It’s your story.”
What a joy it’s been to hear your story, Vanessa. Thank you so much!
More about Vanessa: Dr. Vanessa G. Hall is an accomplished Information Technology (IT) professional with more than 24 years of experience worldwide. She is the owner of Crossroads Information Technology Group (ITG), and also currently serves as the Strategic Initiatives IT Project Manager for PNC. Dr. Hall has a proven ability to implement change while building productive and trust-based relationships.
Connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn.