As The Garage Group leans into its next phase of growth, we are thrilled to announce the promotion of Monica Dabecco to Director! We sat down with Monica to reflect on her last 3.5 years at TGG, and to learn what drives her conviction for the future.
Tell us about the past 3.5 years at The Garage Group. What have you learned? In what ways have you grown?
I love this question because I have learned so much about myself and the industries in which we work. First and foremost, I have learned that we are always evolving and growing as people and professionals. Upon starting at TGG, I read the book “Mindset” which really changed the game for me. I have a tendency to be my own worst critic, and flipping the script on what it means to stumble — reframing missteps as opportunities for growth, rather than a reflection of who I am as a person — truly changed my life!
Having a growth mindset has given me permission to expand and change, take risks, and push myself out of my comfort zone, rather than try to fit into the box of “what’s always been done”. Asking “what needs to be true to make this happen?” has been a game changer in my personal life, just as much as it is every day for our clients.
Professionally, I have learned the importance of collaboration and surrounding yourself with an incredible team with diverse strengths and experiences. I owe credit to my teammates for “upskilling” and building into me through all the shared knowledge, recommendations on books, articles, podcasts, white papers, new cool tools, etc. you can imagine. They continue to be my biggest source of information and encouragement, and I’ve learned how important it is to lean into working together to get the work done.
What does it mean to live out TGG’s mission and purpose every day?
TGG’s bread and butter is enabling our clients to navigate uncertainty with courage, and I think we can all agree there has never been a more uncertain time than today’s post-COVID environment.
To live out TGG’s purpose means constantly taking on new challenges and operating with a mentality of growth – meaning we are never done learning about new ways of working or searching for newer, cheaper, faster tools and partners that will enable us to navigate challenges in a more efficient way. We are committed to bringing battle-tested processes and methods as well as relentless drive and focus to each of our clients’ challenges, while every team is eager to get out ahead of market changes and new trends.
How has working at TGG shaped your understanding of what it means to operate with courage?
The biggest thing I’ve learned about courage since working at TGG is that it’s okay to not have all the answers. What is more important, is stepping into the arena and saying “I will go find them, and then I will take the next step”. It’s okay to admit when you’re wrong, it’s okay to admit when you don’t know, but then it’s important to commit to learning in order to make progress towards your goal.
I’ve also benefited personally from TGG’s mission to operate courageously. In the past 3.5 years, I’ve moved to a new state, started a side hustle, and achieved personal goals — none of which would have been possible without embracing our “Courageous Minds Only” mantra.
What are you looking forward to as a Director?
I think this promotion came at an incredible time in TGG’s story. Our new owners, Erin and Megan, have an incredible vision for where they want to take this company and this team, and I am SO excited to be an integral part of executing that vision. I know the Director role will challenge me in new and exciting ways, but it will also allow me to lean into the aspects of the work I love most — partnering with client teams to adopt new approaches, methods and mindsets that impact the work itself but also on how those teams operate. I look forward to building lasting relationships with my past, current, and future client partners and hope that I can instill courage to tackle new challenges head on. I can’t wait to get started!
If you need a partner to help you redefine the Jobs to be Done available for solving by your brand, category or portfolio, or need to rebuild your innovation pipeline in line with changing consumer behaviors, get in touch with The Garage Group. We help corporate leaders have the courage to uncertain strategy and innovation challenges via startup-inspired approaches. Get in touch with us >>>
