When Darlene Grimes decided she was ready for a career pivot, she enrolled in a business development representative boot camp. Upon graduating, she was inundated with interviews and offers.
“I joke that I should have always been in sales,” she says with a smile. “I love talking to people.”
One of those offers came from Aurora Solar, the world’s top solar design software company. As someone who’s passionate about saving the Earth, Darlene says the role clicked. But even more, she recognized that she could thrive in the fast-paced nature of the solar industry, which is growing more than 30% year-over-year.
Managing multiple projects simultaneously also came naturally for Darlene. And since accepting her offer with Helioscope, a division of Aurora Solar, she’s been leaning into this skill set to both expand Helioscope’s reach and grow her own career. (Darlene was recently promoted from senior business development representative to account executive.)
We sat down with Darlene to hear how she’s managed multiple projects with competing deadlines throughout her career, along with her best tips for how others can do the same.
Eagerness to help from the outset
Darlene’s first corporate role was as a receptionist, and since those early days in her career, she’s been volunteering to take on additional projects.
“I would see my colleagues working really hard. So when the phones were slow, I asked to learn what they were doing in an effort to help,” she says.
Within a year, Darlene was implementing processes and procedures from the CEO's office. She credits her ability to manage multiple projects with ease to this innate curiosity, desire to learn, and love of structure.
Finding success in the fast pace of solar
When Darlene joined the Helioscope sales team, she continued to harness her go-getter mindset and structured tendencies to keep up with the growth of the organization.
“My strategy starts with a good digital planner,” she says. “I am a ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ nut, so I start with a list of what must be done, analyze the prioritization of the tasks on the list, and remember that I must be ready to change the priorities without much of a fuss.” She adds that it’s helpful to prioritize tasks by day, week, month, quarter, and year.
Darlene has also learned that being direct is the key to efficiency, and avoiding difficult conversations only leads to delays. Occasionally, this means delegating tasks to teammates who may be better equipped to deliver on them.
“Over the years, I have learned to ask myself, and if necessary leadership, if I am the right person for a task. If I am not, the goal is to determine who is as quickly as possible,” Darlene explains.
She highlights the importance of maintaining impeccable time management skills, including tracking her progress via forecasting — a method that analyzes past situations and resources in order to efficiently deliver a current project.
“I must do all of this while being ready to respond to my customers’ issues, needs, and concerns,” she says. And while some of this balancing comes naturally, Darlene also points to Aurora Solar’s management as an integral part of her success.
“My managers have sat in my role and are very well-informed on the highs and lows that come with it. Every one-on-one has a roadblock on the agenda, and I am coached through what to do,” she says. “I have been working for a long time; this is the first time I have encountered such a supportive and well-informed leadership team.”
3 habits to help manage multiple projects
“I am lucky enough to be able to lean on my strengths as I navigate the solar industry and the growth within,” Darlene says.
Part of this growth can be attributed to her innate organizational mindset; however, she also swears by a set of three habits that she encourages everyone to implement when managing multiple projects:
- Breathe. “Not the shallow breathing we do on a daily basis just to get by. Instead, a deep breathing series that helps usher more oxygen to the part of your brain that allows you to think clearly,” Darlene says.
- Recalibrate. After taking a deep breath, Darlenes says to look at your to-do list. “What were the priorities initially? How have they changed? How will you change your approach now that you have determined the ebb of your workflow?”
- Be vocal. “People do not like to talk about what they see as failure. Many suffer in silence. By vocalizing your difficulties, you have the potential to learn from a colleague who has encountered the same issues,” Darlene says. This includes vocalizing your bandwidth to your manager so they know how to assist you and are aware of your deadlines.
Darlene recognizes that her methods for balancing work will continue to adapt with time, so she stays open to growth opportunities. “My strategies will always be developing because the key to my success is the desire to learn how to be the best me possible,” she says.
Interested in joining a fast-growing industry with the world’s top solar design software company? Check out opportunities with Aurora Solar here.
