The power of a quiet leader: Alexa’s story of trust, growth, and impact
“I’ve had leaders who have trusted me to take on challenges and then continued to inspire me to work through them myself.”
From a quiet Associate to a dynamic leader overseeing teams across the US, Alexa's career journey is a masterclass in intentional leadership. She has built her career not by being the loudest person in the room, but by listening, observing, and earning the trust of her clients and her team.
Alexa joined Third Bridge in 2020 as an Associate in New York. As a lover of the arts, after graduating, she found herself working at an art PR/Communications firm and although she enjoyed the project management and client servicing aspects of her role, she was looking for a more dynamic environment to accelerate her career growth. This search led her to Third Bridge, where she was drawn to the daily exposure to different projects and the opportunity for new challenges.
Alexa’s appetite for delivering excellence in client servicing saw her progress quickly and within two years she’d been promoted several times to achieve Manager level. After becoming a Project Manager in New York, Alexa presented “a crazy idea” to take on an account that was underperforming. She saw this as a significant challenge and a new opportunity for growth. "I think that that's something that is a consistent theme throughout my career journey, I'm always seeking a challenge and open to seeing where it takes me," she reflects.
She worked from the ground up, focusing on the fundamentals of good client servicing and getting her team "bought in" on the process. Her efforts resulted in a transformative account turnaround, taking it to a market-leading position and earning her a promotion to Associate Vice President in May 2024, overseeing teams in Dallas and LA.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, when a new AVP role opened in Dallas, Alexa was first to throw her hat in the ring. “That was a bit kismet,” she reflects "because Dallas was another area we really needed to focus on growing, and hiring and developing new talent.”
For Alexa, one of the most impactful Third Bridge programs for her career has been the secondment she undertook as a Senior Associate. Prior to her secondment, she had worked with the same team in New York and had worked hard to get to a place where she was comfortable and confident in her role. The secondment, however, forced her to put on a leadership hat and step outside of her comfort zone. “I think secondments are so, so impactful because it drops you into a completely new environment,” she reflects.
The experience was a pivotal moment for Alexa, where the pieces clicked into place, and she realized her potential as a leader, seeing an immediate, short-term challenge that fueled her appetite for accelerated growth. “I think that was the point where I connected all the dots and thought, I actually do want more of a challenge,” she recounts. “The secondment program helped me find a lot more clarity in my career path. Originally, I thought it would just be good to have a few weeks in another office, but actually being there and being able to have an impact, that gave me real confidence as well.”
For Alexa, the most fulfilling part of her role is playing a part in the development of her team members. Despite being a natural introvert, she finds motivation in coaching and development. "What I feel most grateful for in my career is that I get to play a part in someone's development," she explains.
Throughout her career, Alexa has embraced her style of leadership. “I find my motivation through people who understand my leadership style,” she comments. “They know that I might not always be the loudest person in the room, I might just be listening. But they trust that I have a plan and I'm going to bring it forward.” Instilling a quiet confidence in her team members is something Alexa is passionate about paying forward today. She believes that when a team is motivated and bought in, they naturally perform and succeed.
Alexa's leadership philosophy is rooted in trust. She credits her own mentors for the leadership style she has honed today. “I think the biggest thing has been the people who have helped coach and develop me, and saw something in me even at the time of being an Associate and the newest hire.” This foundational trust from her mentors inspired her to take on the challenges of her career transitions and she applies this same principle to her teams.
Alexa is deeply motivated by seeing her team members grow and sees her role as primarily centered on coaching and development. Her personal coaching style has been shaped by the teachable moments she’s experienced throughout her own career. One of Alexa's most significant learning moments came when she was on the West Coast accounts. Despite her team performing well and doing everything she had trained them to do, the behaviour wasn’t translating into results. Her manager delivered some hard feedback “It can’t always be formulaic,” she remembers being told “sometimes you have to take risks or think outside the box.” As someone used to being praised for her leadership, initially, Alexa felt deflated. However, taking a step back gave her the clarity she needed. “I realised I needed to think of a different creative solution. That’s what my manager was telling me. They weren’t telling me I was doing something wrong, but coaching me to realise that the same process wasn’t going to work for everything.”
Why was this such a critical moment in Alexa’s development? “My manager could have easily told me the answer,” she says, “But I don’t think I would have learned much from that versus coming to the solution on my own.” To Alexa, coaching isn’t being prescriptive with solutions, it’s empowering people to try things on their own, giving them the confidence to trust their judgement, and always being a listening ear when they need a sounding board. She credits the majority of her learning to being in the deep end, while knowing a coach always has her back, and it’s those lessons and teaching moments she aspires to provide for her team.
As someone who has grown from an Associate to a leader, you might consider Alexa’s journey a blueprint for success. But at each twist and turn, she’s had to evolve her skillset.
While technical abilities can be practiced and perfected, Alexa believes that a truly great Associate is defined by their qualities and approach to learning. Instead of focusing on specific hard skills, she looks for people who are proactive, driven, and solution-oriented. “I use the phrase “being a sponge” because I look for someone who wants to learn,” she notes. At Third Bridge, the best Associates are the ones who embrace every opportunity to learn, viewing mistakes not as failures, but as valuable coaching moments. This resilience and genuine desire to learn allows Associates to go the extra mile for clients, a quality that can't be taught.
As a leader, Alexa's philosophy is simple yet powerful: never stop learning. “I think the most important thing for my current role is to never not be sharp on how to service clients, as I’m the one coaching Managers and helping to hold teams accountable,” she stresses. Even with her years of experience, she makes an effort to learn from her team. “I think that’s a pretty unique thing about Third Bridge, no two people are going to do the job in the exact same way,” she comments. “It’s really important to identify what people bring to the table and their strengths because you can probably learn from them, even if they were hired last month.”. This dedication to continuous learning and understanding different approaches is essential for being an effective coach and guides Alexa in her leadership practices today.
Alexa's advice to anyone starting at Third Bridge? Be prepared to embrace every opportunity to learn, even if that means taking on risks and making mistakes. These can become valuable teaching opportunities. Most importantly, acknowledge that your unique qualities are your strengths. Alexa notes that when she started at Third Bridge, her manager "really worked to pull me out of my shell and helped me find my voice". This built her confidence to seek out challenges and helped her discover that being quiet doesn't mean you can’t be an impactful leader.
As an ambitious graduate, Alexa realised that Third Bridge was a place where you don’t sit and wait. “If you want something and you’re motivated towards it, go out and start working on it - do something about it!” This mantra has served her well in her tenure so far, and it's only the beginning.
