From Vice President to Intern with Eryn O’Brien

Shift Out Loud with Tracy Spears

Eryn O’Brien has a passion for implementing programs that unlock people’s full potential. Over the course of her career, she’s created big impact for companies such as American Express and Bristol Myers Squibb, and is now Vice President of Global Talent and Inclusion for Eastman Chemical Company.

When Eryn felt the need to boldly shift out loud in 2022, she didn’t seek out a new job. Instead, she took a journey of 8000 miles and discovered a wild new way to play bigger — one that taught her so much more about the world we live in.

Tune in to hear our candid discussion about the challenges of navigating new terrain and the game-changing lessons we can learn from surprising pivots.

Ready to play bigger? Listen now to discover:

• Why Eryn chose to take a 3-month wildlife conservation internship in South Africa — and what she learned from her time in the program
• The shifts in practice and perspective that her experience has inspired
• How reluctantly shifting to a new role after an acquisition opened up powerful growth opportunities

Guest bio: Eryn O’Brien is the VP of Global Talent and Inclusion for Eastman Chemical Company and leads a team of talent acquisition, talent management, organizational effectiveness, and inclusion and diversity professionals. She is a founding member of Acres of Hope - Uganda which provides financial, health, and educational support to orphans, on the Board of the United Way of Greater Kingsport, and Vice-Chair of their Human Resources Committee.

Timestamps:

01:42 Intro

02:45 Meet Eryn O’Brien

04:11 Unexpected shift to new role

07:34 Resiliency & trusting the process

10:06 Why Eryn loves her job

12:10 Bringing out the best in people

14:15 Pandemic shift

16:24 Driving interactions

19:54 Internship overview

27:14 Animal stories

34:42 Internship extension

37:37 GVI & sustainability

41:37 What’s next

Links:

Global Vision International

https://www.gviusa.com

Discover your tactical leadership toolkit: https://www.exceptionalleaderslab.com

Interested in working with me or having me speak at your event? Find more information at https://tracyspears.com

Want tools and insights that will help you play bigger in your life, at work, and in your community? Visit my resource library: https://tracyspears.com/blog

—

Connect with me:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracylspears

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TracySpearsSpeaker

Twitter: @tracylspears

Instagram: @tracylspears

If you love the podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review — this will help others discover how to play a bigger game and step into their fullest potential! Watch these episodes on Youtube! Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!