While working for American Express in its Travel and Lifestyle Services team certainly involves a healthy amount of adventure and fun, Natasha Dear gets excited about getting the little things right, running good systems and leading her teams well. It’s a dedication she has honed over two decades with the company.
What is it that has kept her enthusiasm and commitment to her career and her employer all that time?
A solid career path
Natasha came from the UK to Australia and started as a contractor for American Express in the early 2000s, supporting the launch of Centurion Travel servicing in Australia.
While working as an external contractor, Natasha and American Express clearly hit it off and she was offered a permanent role and promoted to lead the servicing operations for Centurion & Platinum Travel & Lifestyle Services, including Business Transformation. Later, she took a lateral move to the commercial side of the business unit to lead the Planning Performance & Transformation team.
She was thoroughly enjoying it, but here’s the point where working for American Express started to stand out even more.
At some workplaces, when the idea of starting a family is factored into career progression, it can pose a problem. At American Express, this was far from the case.
“It was smooth and stress-free,” Natasha said.
“When I became pregnant after a few weeks of joining as a contractor, I approached my leader and she congratulated me. She told me that there would be a role for me when I was ready to return to work.”
Leaders in leadership
This example was a great lesson for Natasha on just how valuable American Express‘s leadership culture is.
Another career move later, and Natasha is currently the Senior Operations Manager of Premium Travel & Lifestyle at American Express. And she has never stopped trying to emulate that leadership style displayed by her own manager early on.
“It was clear to me straight away that this company is professional and well-structured and that it values career progression and development as a global organization,” Natasha said.
“I have been very fortunate. The leaders and mentors I have worked with over 20 years at American Express have recognised my potential over that time. I don’t know of another company where you can go in with one set of skills and attributes and have the opportunity to work in different roles and learn on the job to expand on those skills.”
That culture ensures that everyone can find their space and feel like they are backed, she adds.
“From a personal perspective, I have always felt supported when life has crossed over into work. I always give my best as the company has always been there for me.”
Development and learning opportunities
Natasha tells us American Express’s strength as an employer is the way they identify and nurture their employees’ attributes, character, and goals, to forge the kind of sensitive and able leaders the organization desires.
It’s something she consistently observes and she says the leadership is the reason she has stayed for two decades. And she must not be alone in that thinking, given the average tenure of American Express employees in Australia is more than 10 years.
“My team has amazing leaders! They are invested in developing and inspiring their teams to do a great job every day. We have a strong inclusive team that strive to deliver excellent service to our customers and contribute every day to continuous improvement,” Natasha said.
“My current leader is terrific, pragmatic and calm. I feel empowered and supported to bring to life the company vision and drive the strategic imperatives for the business. I work closely with my peers, and we share our approaches for doing things, which I always find engaging.”
Wondering if the American Express leadership and development culture could help you on your career path?
Natasha’s leadership path has given her a firm foundation to develop and upskill herself at American Express.
She says that soon after completing her parental leave period in 2012, she was supported to complete several training courses.
These courses, combined with hands-on opportunities and mentoring, allowed her to hone her new skills on the job and added to her growing experience base.
Fast track career development
As a highly trained and experienced member of American Express‘s global team, Natasha has responsibilities across the Australia and New Zealand region.
In recent years, she was central to a geographical expansion to the Philippines to set up new teams for American Express’s premium digital servicing operations.
Natasha’s recipe for success is being open to change, embracing feedback, taking on new challenges, and learning new ways of doing things while exceeding performance expectations in the role.
It all adds up to a quite outstanding 20 years for Natasha and American Express. As she looks back on that two-decade anniversary, it’s clear that Natasha’s American Express journey has been a successful partnership.
