Building a career takes years, focused effort, and may well require a fair amount of corporate gymnastics. But for career salesman Moses Williams, the formula is simple: “If you are serious about personal and professional growth, you must be ambitious, commit to continued learning, and be prepared to take advantage of all the resources available to you.”

After more than a decade in the manufacturing industry, Williams will leave Jamaica in September to take up his second international assignment in a leadership role at Heineken as the EverGreen transformation manager for Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The multinational organisation conceptualised ‘EverGreen’ at the start of the pandemic to help drive sustainable business for Heineken amid new external dynamics.

As he prepared to begin his new responsibilities in Amsterdam at Heineken’s head office, Williams reflected on his 14-year journey which began as a sales representative at Red Stripe in 2006 and has since allowed him to travel the world to learn and lead in several capacities.

“Sales taught me how to build relationships. From there, I went on to business development, which taught me to operate in a space where you don’t have direct control over all the results. My next role was as the national sales manager for modern trade, where I led a team for the first time. After that I transitioned to senior management as head of sales, and from there I was assigned to Papua New Guinea as commercial manager,” Williams reflected, noting that his career allowed him to get exposure in markets like Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Suriname, Vietnam, among others.

At every stage Williams attributes the opportunities he’s received to his work ethic, a dogged determination to succeed and a passion for professional growth.

“One of the most important factors to growing in a role or organisation is first being clear about your deliverables and focused on achieving them. You must also be mindful of how you deliver them. Don’t be afraid to explore and drive your development agenda. Speak with your direct manager, ask questions about the knowledge and capacity you need to go further and seek mentorship,” urged Williams.

Commenting on how local companies can build internal talent to drive growth, Williams notes that creating opportunities for staff to build capacity and evolve is part of the key to retaining talent in any organisation. He further explained that sustainable talent development should be at the heart of planning by not only human resource departments but also line managers who directly manage employees.

“I am fortunate to work at a company that prioritises people development and understands that the success of the company depends greatly on the quality of our team members. It’s important to look at how talent is discussed in an organisation. Activities like capability road maps, performance evaluations, and development plans are essential to identifying and building talent. Training supervisors to manage talent; these factors are key to proper succession planning.”

He concluded with some advice for young professionals seeking to advance with the help of a mentor: “First, look at persons whom you admire inside or outside of your organisation, someone you believe is a people developer, and engage them in a conversation. A good mentor will not just tell you what you want to hear, but [will be] someone who challenges you. Ensure you have predetermined objectives to achieve from the relationship, and share that with your mentor so you are operating on the same page. It’s up to you to push yourself and your agenda and create opportunities for yourself.”