They started as newbies, and now they are leaders and tribe masters. They have held many different positions, developing their technical knowledge and leadership competencies. Here are the inspiring and motivating stories of Ola Kurzeja, Aleksandra Kieleczawa, and Marek Borzecki — people who decided to work with passion for Divante for many years.
Ola Kurzeja: the bumpy road from tester to Triber Master of the most important product
Ola Kurzeja is currently the Tribe Master of the Vue Storefront tribe. She has been working in Divante for over five years.
Before she joined Divante, she gained experience in the technical support department in an eCommerce company cooperating with Divante. This was her first contact with the IT world. At some point, she decided to move on to Divante itself.
Ola’s career path in Divante is very interesting. At the beginning of her career, she worked as a tester. But after three to four months, her assignment changed and she began to take care of some maintenance projects. This is how Ola’s one and a half year history as a Project Manager began.
At the moment when I was to receive my first implementation project, I became a mom. I disappeared from Divante for a year. After returning to the same position, I received my project and happily managed to implement it successfully.
Ola Kurzeja, Tribe Master at Divante
After this project, there was a need for Ola to take care of the testers’ department. And so the hero of this article became the director of the testers’ department. After only a quarter, Ola again changed her assignment. She became the tribe master of her first tribe, “Undefined”.
It was a completely atypical tribe, for Divante. The other tribes were working in core projects such as Magento or Pimcore. Our tribe was responsible for all other, different projects. Our name was “Undefined” because we didn’t have a core technology we were dealing with. After some time, we took care of the first product that was created in Divante, Open Loyalty. I was able to focus on it for two years.
Ola Kurzeja
Ola reached the moment when she managed to stabilize the team. She adapted it to the needs of the market and made it work efficiently, even when she was not around. It was the moment to help somewhere else. Ola received a proposal to move to the Vue Storefront tribe. She agreed and became the Tribe Master. This is her biggest professional challenge. Why?
First of all, Vue Storefront is the apple of Divante’s eye – the most dynamically developing product. There are 30 people in the tribe. Also, there was no Tribe Master here before. Ola’s role is not only to manage current projects, but also to build structures within the tribe. The product is only two years old, and the main team has been working together for barely a year. It is natural that in such an environment there is a lot to be done to make the product grow even faster than now.
The large number of different roles Ola has had at Divante could be shared by at least a few people. How does Ola feel about all these changes? Wouldn’t she prefer to work on one project for five years?
Great! By nature, I am a person who likes to enter places that need to be organized well, places where there are a lot of problems I have to solve. It is of course very stressful and not always easy and pleasant, but it gives me a lot of satisfaction. I prefer such tasks to looking after already stabilized processes. I prefer a start-up environment where a lot is going on. Decisions have to be made quickly, and sometimes very quickly. That’s why I moved from the already well-organized Open Loyalty tribe to the fresh Vue Storefront project. Divante gave me trust. I am glad that I can constantly, and intensively, develop myself here, follow my passions, achieve goals and take great joy from that.
Ola Kurzeja
When asked about what she has learned in Divante, Ola first of all mentioned peace of mind when there are problems. Naturally, sometimes stressful situations occur. Then you need to fix something, change, stabilize. Ola specializes in this. The calmness that she has developed within herself allows her to come out in front of the team and show that a given problem can be fixed.
Also, over these five years, Ola was able to get to know herself well. She knows what she is good at, what she likes, what she finds herself in. As she says, “I can work effectively as a Project Manager, but I already know that this is not what I want to do”.
I have been working here for so long that I have Divante in my DNA. It’s like my second home. Despite that, I still have a long way to go as a manager. I know that I can learn a lot in Divante.
Ola Kurzeja
Aleksandra Kieleczawa: her first and best job
Aleksandra Kieleczawa has been working in Divante for five years. Currently, she is a Senior HR Specialist. This is her first serious job in life. This smiling and positive person is engaged in recruitment, onboarding, and employer branding. She handles all employee events, conferences and prepares welcome packs for new people.
Aleksandra completed her studies in Ukrainian philology. In the beginning, after Euro 2012, she thought that there would be a great need for people who spoke the Ukrainian language. The later war and political turmoil in Ukraine completely changed this situation. After completing her studies, she decided to go on postgraduate studies in human resources management. Soon after, she applied to Divante.
I joined Divante in November 2014. In the beginning, it was an internship. Natalia Urbańska and I were recruiting employees. After two weeks, I received another job offer. More specialized, for better money, abroad. I talked to Natalia and told her what the situation was. I think I somehow convinced her because she canceled my internship and offered me a junior position. Of course, I stayed.
Aleksandra Kieleczawa, Senior HR Specialist at Divante
Looking back, what was her biggest challenge while working at Divante?
Employee events. It may sound trivial, but such events must be organized at a very high level, and cause the wow effect. You have to find the right place that meets the right criteria. You have to be close to the city centre, not outside the city limits,, you have to to accommodate the right number of people, to have a proper standard. Finding such a place is a challenge when you do it once. I have been organizing this event for five years now, every time in different locations. Besides this, the challenge is to learn how to delegate tasks. I am already at such a stage that nobody has to invent tasks for me because they appear naturally. I have learned how to work in a team, but also be independent. What is more, the bigger my team is, the harder it is to keep the old atmosphere. Of all the tasks I have had the opportunity to do, recruitment for my department is the most difficult.
Aleksandra Kieleczawa
The main motivator of Aleksandra’s development was the large dose of independence she got. There is no room for micromanagement — her superior does not look into every task. Ola gets the task and has to plan and execute it. She can, of course, count on the support of the team and her supervisor, but has a lot of freedom.
Aleksandra’s working time is currently divided into recruitment and employer branding. With time, however, she would like to focus only on employer branding, which gives her a lot of satisfaction.
Marek Borzęcki: a seven-year journey into himself
Seven years in the IT industry is an era. Seven years is also the period for which Marek Borzęcki has been working at Divante. He is currently Team Leader in the Magento tribe but started as a developer in 2012. In time, he was promoted to senior developer. For a while, he was Deputy Director of the programming department. Finally, for two years, he managed 120 programmers in Divante as a director. Today, he uses his experience to work more closely to projects and more with programming. And he loves it.
Marek took part in a great and successful change in Divante – the transition to a tribal system. At that time, our hero was also able to think about what role he feels best in. He looked at himself and understood that work close to projects and people gives him the most joy.
In his everyday work, Marek gives the technological direction to the tribe. He determines where they go, what they want to achieve. He is responsible for the implementation of current projects and programming, but also for gaining new customers and creating new projects’ architecture.
What made Marek stay with Divante for so long?
I have a great influence on the direction in which I am going professionally in Divante. At each stage of my career at Divante, I gained varied and valuable experience. I learned a lot and shared this knowledge with others. I was able to see what the work of a director looks like. With time, I realized that my heart is closer to programming. For almost two years, I have been working as a Team Leader in the tribe and I still feel fresh in what I do. I do not feel limited here.
Marek Borzęcki, Tribe Team Leader at Divante
Asked about what he learned while working in Divante for seven years, he mentions the two most important things. The first is working with large projects. Projects where there is a fast pace, and big technological challenges. The second thing is learning about many technological aspects of such projects. He also underlines the importance and benefits of the tribal system.
I was the director of a team of 120 people. At that time, I was not able to be close to all the people I managed. It was not possible to get to know their needs, personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, or help with everyday development. In the tribal system, all this is possible, but not for one person. I have seen what it used to be like, and what it is like now. I can compare it. Changing to a tribal system was a great idea in every respect, and it worked — both for company and employees.
Marek Borzęcki
What is Marek’s advice for people who are just starting their careers in the IT world?
Think about whether what you are doing makes you happy. It’s great working with people who love what they do. Money is not their only motivation. It is worth looking for joy in what you do. It gives a lot of benefits to everyone. Once you find your way, take the time to learn a lot and become a professional in what you do. I enjoy working with such people in Divante every day.
Marek Borzęcki
More inspiring career stories to come
Divante is looking for more people like the heroes of this article. Want to be one of them? Check out our open positions and drop us a message.
from Divante.com Blog https://ift.tt/2DGucuh via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment