“Put yourself out there,” Kiran Smith from Norwegian Cruise Line

Meet Kiran Smith, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Norwegian Cruise Line, where her twenty years of retail brand development and multi-channel marketing experience help her to oversee all digital marketing, e-commerce, consumer insights, promotional efforts, earned media, marketing analytics, partnerships, and brand initiatives. Her leadership style is rooted in insight-driven storytelling, where brand positioning, guest engagement, and sustained performance open the door to new cruise audiences and loyal customers. 

Kiran sat down with Morgan James, Content Marketing Specialist at SiriusXM Media to discuss what it’s like to take a leap into a new industry, the importance of learning, and the strength that your squad can bring. 

Check out her full interview below, then listen to some highlights from the conversation. 

Get in the driver’s seat.

Highlight: “If you have a passion for learning about something, whether it's a new industry, a new product, a new capability, you have to be the one in the driver's seat. There are going to be a lot of people that are open and excited to have those conversations with you. Put yourself out there. I know it's not easy. I know, it's so easy to get caught up in our day-to-day and our routines, but making that a priority is something that will pay off tenfold.” - Kiran Smith

Carve out time to grow.

Highlight: “It really comes down to networking… Sometimes we get so stuck in our day-to-day routines that we don't carve out the time to grow, grow our networks, and grow our knowledge of other industries. That's really important to prioritize. But if you do that, I think people would find that people are really responsive because they want to pass on what they learned. If they're passionate about it, they want someone else to also share that passion.” - Kiran Smith

Make time to learn.

Highlight: “When you go from one role to the next, you probably have 80% of the knowledge you need, and you just have to learn that last 20%. So, in terms of when you can make an impact, you can add impact almost from the beginning, because you're bringing such a wealth of experience and knowledge. And your job then is to work with your teammates, your peers, your manager, and learn that last 20… I think about being able to contribute from day one, but also making the time to do that learning.” - Kiran Smith

Choose your words carefully.

Highlight: “We have to be really careful with our words. Whether it's as you give feedback, it is how people internalize that and understand the power that your words have in terms of how they make someone feel… That's probably one of the most important lessons I've learned is not only giving feedback, but understanding how someone wants to receive it because the impact it could have if it's done poorly is significant.” - Kiran Smith

Find your squad.

Highlight: “As you think about it, the higher up we get in an organization, the more busy we get with other interests, family, work, all those. It's really hard to let those relationships go. We put ourselves last. We oftentimes put our network, our squad, second to last. And I have to be really intentional about investing the time in creating those moments for us to spend together and to connect… You have to be intentional. You have to schedule the once-a-month gatherings.” - Kiran Smith 

Take charge of your career by building strong connections, constantly looking for ways to grow, and learning how to speak to your team with intention. For more inspiring content like this, check out the Pass the Mic page. 

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