Natalie Bellis is the CEO of The Seventy Ninth Group.
Starting a new job can be daunting, especially when you may not be well-versed in the industry. This is how I felt when I became CEO of my company.
Coming from a corporate compliance background, the industries I previously worked in had been diverse, ranging from retail to automotive, but I had never experienced such a professional challenge as I did with the natural resources sector. I won’t pretend that I wasn’t a “fish out of water” at the beginning, but I’ve always had a willingness to roll up my sleeves and get to know every element, no matter the sector. If you’re in a similar situation, here are some of my tips for learning a new industry from the ground up:
Look for overlap with your existing knowledge.
Whether you are two years or 20 years into your career, you should never stop learning. When I joined my company as head of compliance, I had experience in regulatory compliance, business development and mergers and acquisitions. But when my role eventually transitioned to CEO, it was easy to feel out of my depth. You can start by looking for the common ground.
Real estate and natural resources may seem like two completely different industries—and it felt that way at the beginning. But how I explain it to people now is that we target undervalued assets, whether it be bricks and mortar in real estate or minerals in the ground. Real estate may be more tangible as you can physically see the assets, but we operate with the same principle in both industries, which is to buy low, add value and sell high. Applying this principle made my transition into the natural resources sector easier.
Be honest about where you’re at.
That’s not to say I haven’t made some mistakes on my learning journey! For example, when I was relatively new to the company, I kept hearing the term “Japan Mining.” Given all of our projects up to that point were in Africa, I couldn’t understand why we were mining in Japan. I even looked at maps to provide more guidance, only to realize that the name of the project in Africa was Japan Mining. Needless to say, it then became a running joke in the office!
Being honest about your limited knowledge is also key. I remember our chairman asking me if I’d ever worked in the industry before. When I replied that I hadn’t but enjoyed learning, he replied, “Look after the business and see what you can do with it.” And the rest is history!
Take a hands-on approach.
At my company, we definitely have a very hands-on approach, and this has been incredibly useful in learning. Seeing projects from start to finish has been rewarding, and it’s enabled me to become completely immersed in what we are doing as a company.
Just recently, some of our team based in the United Kingdom traveled to both the Republic of Guinea and Canada to look at our respective projects. This was a great way for our teams to come together, and the value of on-the-ground teamwork should never be underestimated.
Surround yourself with a good team.
Our employees all have years of experience in the exploration sector, and our in-country team based in the Republic of Guinea brings their local expertise to our operations, which is imperative to our success in the industry. They provide us with insights into the local communities and geology and help to strengthen our relationship with the local government. I am happy to be surrounded by such knowledge, as I acknowledge that I don’t know it all, and that’s OK. It’s important to recognize your weaknesses and bring in expertise to support this. Moreover, having different perspectives on a team is key. Not everyone is going to see things the same, and that’s the beauty of different opinions, viewpoints and experiences.
As I look to the new year, I realize it is an incredibly exciting time in my company’s story. The significant progress we have made in the last few years has been driven by our hands-on approach and, ultimately, our openness to learning. Surrounding yourself with a good team is half the battle, so I’m fortunate to have built a great one. I can’t wait for us to continue on this trajectory, but I also recognize that I would have benefitted considerably from having others to speak to in my early days as CEO who understood what I was going through. I only hope that I can offer that to other people looking for inspiration and guidance in the sector in the future.
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