Perficient encourages all colleagues to find their passion within the organization to grow both personally and professionally. Once a colleague recognizes their passion, Perficient supports them along their desired path within the organization, whenever possible. Jennifer Rostal, senior project manager in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a prime example of someone who found their passion within Perficient and fully immersed herself within it.
When Jennifer discovered her interest in Scrum, she sought out opportunities to grow her interest into a passion. Now, a Certified Team Coach through Scrum Alliance, Jennifer is dedicated to using her expertise to help other colleagues build their skills and find their passions. We want to tell the stories of our people who are growing alongside our organization, and below, Jennifer discusses her continued growth, the journey along the way, and elaborates on her passion for helping others to grow professionally.
What is your role? Describe a typical day in the life.
My days as a senior project manager vary quite a bit! I typically have two or three internal initiatives that I’m focused on, all while providing support for other teams. I field a lot of questions about our Delivery Excellence frameworks and Scrum at Perficient. I do a little internal consulting on the side, helping our teams best serve our clients.
How does your role support Perficient? How are you making an impact?
Photography by Jennifer Rostal
I’ve been privileged to work on a variety of initiatives, such as our project frameworks that help standardize how we execute projects at Perficient. They provide consistency, but also flexibility to give our teams and project leaders the best possible experience. I also have the opportunity to teach Scrum Foundations on a regular basis and lead the Perficient Agile Community, helping our team members build their skills and adopt an agile mindset.
What are your proudest accomplishments, personally and professionally?
Professionally, I’m very proud of becoming a Certified Team Coach through the Scrum Alliance last year. It was a long but rewarding journey, and I hope I was able to help many Perficient teams and colleagues along the way. I’m also proud to be a Scrum Foundations educator. Through Scrum Foundations, I’ve had the opportunity to share my love of Scrum with more than 700 Perficient colleagues and clients. I also received Perficient’s Soaring Eagle award, which recognizes a Perficient leader who soars to their own personal heights, and also inspires others to achieve their own personal goals. This was an incredible honor for me.
On the personal side, I am proud to be a Full Blue. I was on the varsity fencing team for the University of Cambridge during graduate school. I fenced epee as captain of the squad, and also sabre. We won both the varsity matches against our rival, University of Oxford, and the national championships that year, and I was awarded a Full Blue for my contribution. I guess you could say I’ve always had a passion for teams!
What has your experience at Perficient taught you?
Photography by Jennifer Rostal
Find what you love and pursue it. For me, it was Scrum. I was very vocal about my love of Scrum and worked with my managers and general manager to take advantage of opportunities that would allow me to grow and use my skills. It’s taken me off the beaten path, so to speak, and allowed me to be an Agile coach, a Scrum Foundations instructor, start the Agile Community at Perficient, and transition into Delivery Excellence. Perficient is incredibly supportive, but it’s up to you to find what you love.
What advice would you give to colleagues who are starting their career with Perficient?
Explore your opportunities and get involved. Get to know people in other areas of the company. Join a group like the Agile Community (shameless plug, I know!) or one of our Employee Resource Groups. Find what you’re passionate about and ask for opportunities that will help you grow in that area.
What motivates you in your daily work?
Long term, knowing the work I do will make a difference for our project leaders, our team members, and Perficient as a whole keeps me motivated. I really appreciate the opportunity to impact a broad group rather than only working with a single team.
What are you passionate about outside of work?
I enjoy reading, cooking and baking, photography, borrowing dogs to play with, and knitting. So far this winter, I’ve knit and donated 45 hats to those experiencing homelessness during our brutally cold St. Paul winter, with more on the way.
What goals do you have for personal and professional development?
I have many! I want to use my Certified Team Coach designation to coach individuals and teams within Perficient and with our clients. I hope to coach individuals to the advanced and professional levels of Scrum Alliance certifications, such as Advanced Certified ScrumMaster or Product Owner. I had amazing mentors throughout my journey, and I’d love to pass it on by mentoring a few individuals toward their own Certified Team Coach designations, and mentor several people to become Scrum Foundations Educators. I also personally aspire to become a Certified Scrum Trainer so I can teach CSM, CSPO, and more!
When it comes to personal development, I’d love to spend time refreshing my knowledge of other languages. They are all very rusty and I’d like to practice more. Better yet, I’d like to be able to travel and actually use them!
It’s no secret our success is because of our people. No matter the technology or time zone, our colleagues are committed to delivering innovative, end-to-end digital solutions for the world’s biggest brands, and we bring a collaborative spirit to every interaction. We’re always seeking the best and brightest to work with us. Join our team and experience a culture that challenges, champions, and celebrates our people.
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Great blog on a great person!