“Find your fit,” Robin Triplett from The Coca-Cola Company

Meet Robin Triplett. She leads the End to End Connections & Media team at The Coca-Cola Company in North America. And she was recently named one of the 40 under 40 by AdAge. Robin’s amazing 17-year career started on the agency side, and then she found a home at The Coca-Cola Company where she’s been for the last 11 years. Robin brings subject matter expertise as well as a commitment to leadership and people development to her role—and yeah, some jazz hands, too.

She sat down with Deirdre Locksley, Senior Manager, Content Marketing for a Pass the Mic interview. We asked Robin to think about the defining moments in her career and share her advice with rising stars—and wow, did she deliver! We encourage you to listen to the full recording of her amazing talk.

You can also go through some of the highlights below. We promise it will be time well spent!

Show up as your authentic self.

“Who we are at work are also who we are outside of work and showing up as that authentic self isn't built within the four walls of your job. It's built within every day that you show up to those around you, whether that be your team, your friends, or your family. And so, I even think personally that my friends and family have given me the confidence to show up as my authentic self. That's a really important thing—to know who you are deeply and ensure that regardless of the room, you're showing up as who you are. And really only wanting to be in the rooms that support who you are as your true self.” – Robin Triplett

Find ways to achieve.

“As an adult, you don't really get the opportunity to succeed in the same ways as you did as a kid… There's something in my personal life that I like to talk a little bit about that has nothing to do with my career but has everything to do with defining moments and everything to do with potential—and that is running. I'm an avid runner. I'm a pretty terrible runner. It's something I do in my everyday life that humbles me greatly because I'm not a natural athlete at all, but running has shown me a potential I never knew existed. And it's something that I would say is a defining moment for me because when you see potential in yourself, through whatever that might be, you start to see possibility and you start to want to push.” – Robin Triplett

Unlock the power of potential.

“When I found my passion for running… It was my first real understanding as an adult of how one can develop into their potential. The harder I worked, the better I saw the potential in myself. And I parlayed that into my work and into my career anytime an opportunity came up… I remembered what I learned from this journey of learning how to run, and I kind of forced myself to unlock that potential in my career… 

The power of potential is to never underestimate yourself, and this will allow you to grow in competence and stretch into things that you never imagined doing. And I think as a woman in a career environment, confidence, experience, and potential—and really knowing yourself—is something that will propel you to places and spaces that you never even knew were imaginable.” – Robin Triplett

Be a doorman for others.

A valuable lesson that I learned [at The Coca-Cola Company] was about being a doorman. Reflecting on my career journey and reflecting on those moments early on in my career, I realized that all of those mentors, all of those leaders that I had the benefit of working for or who were supporting me were all doormen… They opened the door for me to walk through it…

Whether you are the doorman, or whether you're someone who is walking through a door that someone opened for you, this is an opportunity to gain broader experience and broader exposure. And so, really take the accountability to walk through that door yourself or hold it for someone else… The lesson I'll share is to just be a doorman for others to drive the next generation of future leaders.” – Robin Triplett

Write your own playbook.

“Anytime you get that big promotion, any time you take a new role, it's really easy to look around and start kind of pulling pages from a playbook of those who came before you… Don’t do this. Don't plagiarize. Don't pull pages from other people's playbook… You got the big job because of what you bring to the table… your unique style is really what's going to get you to succeed… Ultimately, it's not always about fitting in, but rather finding your fit. And the best lessons really are what you're going to learn in the role and learning from others, but not plagiarizing and not pulling those playbooks from those who came before you.” – Robin Triplett

Name your self-doubt, then shut it up.

“Some people call it impostor syndrome; I call it Ugly Robin. I give Ugly Robin a name because Ugly Robin is that voice in my head that is the voice of doubt... Ugly Robin is only there to show you the very honest truth that, yeah, we all have doubts, and we're all learning everything as we go. But there's no one better suited to do the job that you've been asked to do than you… And so, I would encourage you to recognize that voice, I would encourage you maybe to even give it a name because when you hear it, and you give it a name, you're more apt to recognize it… So, that lesson is really, shut that voice up, shut that Ugly Robin voice up, and be confident in what you bring to the table.” – Robin Triplett

Put people in the path of praise.

“I'd like to share another kind of golden principle of leadership… something that one of my dear coworkers has come up with. And I just love it because I think it's a really wonderful way to frame our jobs as leader in general—and that's putting people in the path of praise. As leaders, we coach, we mentor, we sponsor others to unlock potential in people that they never knew existed. If I think about putting people in the path of praise, not only am I being a doorman and opening doors for others to walk through, I'm also coaching and ensuring that people are properly supported to show up to drive their own competence and put them in the path of praise.” – Robin Triplett

When Robin isn’t leading her team and inspiring others, she’s listening to leadership and personal development podcasts and audio books to unwind. They provide opportunities for her to take a moment for herself and reframe her thoughts.

Are you feeling as motivated as we are? Keep the inspiration coming with more Pass the Mic content.