Meet the speakers at this year’s Continuity Insights Management Conference, then click here to learn more about the 2023 event.
Terri Greenberg
Securian Financial
When did you know you wanted this job?
I took an indirect route to my Business Resilience career, after realizing that my experience as a business and technology leader, and skills in business relationship management, project management, and process improvement were a good match. I have worked in a continuity role now for 12 years and a decade in resilience leadership.
How did your earlier career choices lead you to where you are now?
I have worked in non-profits, for-profits, healthcare, and insurance for most of my career. These industries are regulated, but each environment is different and challenging.
What career mistake has given you the biggest lesson?
My most significant lesson learned throughout my career in resilience has been the importance of monitoring the false feeling that we are in control and becoming complacent.
What research did you do to prepare for this role?
In my first role, it was all on the job training. I quickly learned that you have to be able to acknowledge that disasters and crisis can and do occur. It took time to develop the ability to envision potential scenarios and systemic impacts.
What was your first “win” that made you confident that you were doing the right thing?
The diligence and planning for Y2K was my first introduction to preparing for a what if… scenario.
How do you avoid being complacent in your role?
To avoid being complacent, I look at real life scenarios other organizations are experiencing and run through ‘what if this was my organization’ type analysis. Learning through others crisis is a great education.
What is the biggest risk that you’ve taken?
Taking a 6 month sabbatical between jobs to refresh and revitalize.
What did you do at work yesterday?
Incident management, 2023 forecasting and planning, participated in an exercise, finalized a contract for a SAAS service, work check-in with the team, team development, and developing messages for audiences across the organization.
How did you set yourself apart from others who wanted the same job?
By bringing a new perspectives, a unique blend of professional experiences, an understanding that resilience is not one size fits all, and a variety of incident response experiences.
What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
A colleague recommended that I decide ‘who’ you want to work for, then show them what you can do for them. This allowed me to focus my search on organizations and roles that aligned to my personal values.
What advice would you give to your younger self at the start of your career?
Spend more time networking and public speaking.
What impresses you the most when you are considering hiring someone?
Curiosity, creativity, and a strong internal compass.
How do you, your team or company define success?
Success is remaining focused on what is most important, investing in priorities, adapting to inevitable disruption, and a commitment to ongoing transformation.
What is the biggest challenge to achieving that success?
It is challenging to bring a diverse group together to achieve a common mission.
To learn more about Terri’s session and to view the full conference agenda, click here.
