Angie Anania

What’s your favorite thing about what you do?

My favorite thing about my career is feeling like I make a difference every day.

What a piece of advice you’d give your pre-career 20 something self?

Don’t worry so much. Believe in yourself, work hard, and everything will work out.

If you have a bucket list, what’s your favorite thing you’ve checked off?

Travel. I’ve just started really traveling in the last ten years, and I’m so thankful I’m able to do it. I’ve been to places I read about as a kid, like Greece, Italy, Spain, and France. I dreamed about what it would be like to walk the streets of communities created thousands of years ago. We have to learn from our history, and I’m blessed to have the opportunity to experience and grow from traveling to places I only dreamed about as a child.

What gets you up in the morning?

What motivates me is the opportunity to make a difference and positively impact the people around me, whether my colleagues, friends, or family.

When in your life have you felt most confident and why?

I honestly feel most confident right now. I’m 30 years into my career, and I’ve learned a lot, but I still make sure I’m learning something new every day.

What is your favorite trait about yourself?

My favorite trait about myself is the ability to connect with people and listen to their stories. Everyone has a story to tell. I want them to know their story is important to me and the world.

What lessons did you learn from the challenges created by the pandemic?

The lessons I learned from the pandemic are twofold. First, my career lesson was to pivot and pivot quickly. We can’t control these exterior forces, but we can adapt and come out the other side stronger and even more successful if we’re willing to change direction quickly. The second lesson from my personal life was to slow down. Even though work and career were speeding up, I needed to take a breath personally and take time for self-care, family, and friends.

What have you learned about leadership that doesn’t get taught in schools?

What doesn’t get taught in school is the importance of relationships. Textbooks don’t teach us how to interact with colleagues and clients to help build trust. Experience teaches us how to build solid relationships and the importance of nurturing those relationships.

What’s been the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best career advice I’ve ever received was to run at a problem. It’s easy to do the opposite, but that won’t get you to your goal. Running at a problem and working through the problem, no matter how big or small, makes me feel accomplished and proud.

Do you have a favorite quote related to business?

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: We did it ourselves.” -Lao-Tzu

Angie Anania is a marketing and communications executive in the healthcare space.