On paper, Sylvie Lohier has achieved remarkable growth at Elastic, the leading platform for search-powered solutions. In four years, she’s grown from consulting manager to consulting practice director for the Asia Pacific and Japan region — via four promotions.
However, her story is defined by something other than new job titles or raises.
“Achieving a promotion is not an end goal,” says Sylvie. “It’s your mindset and attitude to work that are key to driving your growth.”
With each new responsibility handed her way, Sylvie leaned into how she could create the biggest impact and further Elastic’s mission, all while enjoying the process. We asked her to share more about how this mindset has guided her growth — and kept her sights on a fulfilling career.
A natural evolution with Elastic
From the jump, Sylvie was drawn to Elastic’s mission and culture — not just her job title.
“My primary goal was to flourish in the role I had been hired for and make a positive impact on people’s lives and the company's business, using my previous experiences,” she says.
As someone who loves both technology and people, Sylvie found a natural fit as a technical manager. She was resolute about not setting concrete career goals, allowing herself space to explore various areas of the business, and staying open to change.
From consulting manager to director, Sylvie prioritized “loving her role, working hard, thriving in excellence, over-achieving, and never giving up.” She was guided by managers who coached her and believed in her progress, helping her to trust herself and transform problems into opportunities.
“My journey has been a rewarding continuous adjustment of roles to help the business grow while developing my career.”
Defining success
As you reflect on your personal growth, Sylvie challenges you to think differently about your end goal.
“By this I mean: what does success mean for you?” she says. “I’ve met many people with big titles and promotions as their goal. Many of them managed to achieve these goals. They became CTOs and CEOs with high pay and prestige. Some of them came to me and admitted that those titles or roles, while making great money, actually made them miserable and depressed.”
Rather than limit yourself to a linear growth path, Sylvie encourages you to consider what roles and responsibilities will fulfill you.
“Everyone is different.”
Follow the ADOPT model.
Sylvie recently embraced a learning model at Elastic that can help you understand yourself before deciding on the best career path. It’s called the ADOPT model — aspiration, develop, opportunities, passion, and talent.
Sylvie walks us through the five steps in order of implementation.
- Aspiration. “Success means different things for different people. Imagine yourself as a grandparent, talking to your grandchild and explaining what you have achieved in your career that you are proud of. Dream big.” This step also involves reflecting on where you see yourself in five years and pinpointing a short-term target to help you achieve that goal.
- Passion. “You're spending the majority of your time at work, and you want to have joy, fulfillment, and fun while growing and achieving your career dreams.”
- Talent. Take a moment to consider your natural strengths. “You’ll distinguish yourself from others and thrive in a career where your talents are used at their best.”
- Opportunity. “You don’t necessarily have to change roles, jobs, or companies, but always look at opportunities to learn and grow that are in line with your career vision. If nothing jumps out at you, create your opportunities.”
- Develop. “No one is perfect. Be humble, know your weaknesses, welcome and ask for constructive feedback, make a plan to develop, learn from others, and follow through.” Sylvie suggests resources like personality assessment tools, mentors, and regular check-ins to track your progress.
While this methodology provides a helpful structure, building a fulfilling career path takes time and thoughtful consideration. Rewind to her very first job, and Sylvie would remind herself to “learn always, be patient, and enjoy the process” — enjoy being the keyword.
Interested in building a fulfilling career alongside Elastic? Explore their career opportunities here.
