WAGS Work: Dana Angelo
The WAGS Work Series aims to show our readers that we are more than the stereotypes you might be familiar with--we're creative, hard-working, driven, and willing to do whatever it takes to make this lifestyle work. We also hope to inspire women in all walks of life to get creative and think outside the box when it comes to working and creating the lives of their dreams. Please reach out to the women featured in this series if you have questions or want to learn more about what they do.
TELL US WHO YOU ARE, HOW YOU GOT INTO THE BASEBALL WORLD, AND A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOU AND YOUR BOYFRIEND/FIANCÉ/HUSBAND.
Hi! I’m Dana. My husband is a coach in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. We met while he was living in New Zealand but was in my hometown coaching in an international baseball tournament. We dated long distance halfway around the world and then when he moved back to the States, we went all in on ‘us’ and here we are!
TELL US ALL ABOUT YOUR JOB, WHAT DO YOU DO, AND HOW LONG YOU’VE BEEN WERKIN’ IT.
I’m currently a Strategic Change Manager and have spent my career in the Talent Development space. I started with my company right out of college and spent over 12 years there (yes, I’m old) before I decided to take a break for myself. After a year break, they invited me back to work in Change Management and I’ve been doing that for two years.
During my time in Talent Development, I focused on a few areas:
Training recruiters on the fundamentals and advanced practices to excel at their job
Developing high potential individuals in leadership competencies (running the Leadership Development Program)
Creating and managing the talent assessment process for all employees (a fair and unbiased evaluation tool and process)
Partnering with company leadership to assess their talent and create a succession plan for leadership growth and promotions
*Talent Development is my favorite – it’s all about helping people become the best they can be/realizing their full potential! I love teaching about leadership and my husband will tell you I talk about this related to baseball…a lot
In Strategic Change Management, I work on a team that manages change for a technology platform that updates features for our internal people every month. My team focuses on stakeholder analysis, communication and training assets (videos, job aids, in-app help resources) for all operating companies that use the system.
*Basically I work for the parent company and all the children companies use the same technology so we have to help each child company manage the changes for their babies, aka users, who are all different.
HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU FIND THIS JOB?
I randomly found my company at a job fair back in 2000-something-or-other After I took a year off from my corporate life, a friend in the organization asked if I would come back and help the Change Management team.
WAS WORKING REMOTELY JUST PART OF THE JOB, OR DID YOU HAVE TO ASK FOR THAT? IF YOU DID HAVE YOU ASK – HOW’D YOU GO ABOUT DOING IT? WAS IT AN IMMEDIATE “YES” OR DID YOU HAVE TO KEEP ASKING? WERE YOU NERVOUS?
I got really lucky. Because of my history and reputation with the company, the leader that invited me back to the company knew my situation with my husband’s career and told me she’d work with whatever special circumstances I needed, knowing that meant being remote. So technically I didn’t have to ask, because it was offered, but I know it’s because of the quality of work I had done in previous years and my trustworthiness with getting work done. This is where my age serves me – I have years of experience and a proven track record so it was easy for them to know they could hire me remote and rely on me.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR WORK AND LIVING THE BASEBALL LIFE?
When I rejoined the organization remotely, I also asked to be part-time. Thankfully they were willing to work with that based on the internal team’s needs. Working part-time works best for me to balance my/our life – it allows me to manage my career, our almost-one-year-old, and all the family logistics that go into a baseball family’s life. Because let’s be real, being team captain of family logistics is a job in and of itself in the baseball world!
HOW DID FINDING THIS JOB IMPACT YOUR LIFE PERSONALLY, AND FOR THE TWO OF YOU?
When I found this job right out of college, it changed my life. This company is amazing with a culture of personal development and meaningful relationships and I can truly say I grew up there. So many mentors at this company shaped me into the woman I am. It also created financial stability and gave me the chance to travel all over, domestic and international. So much of my adult life experience was born from this company. It truly changed my life for the best! If I didn’t find this company out of college I have no idea where or who I’d be.
Since my husband and I have been together and I rejoined the company, it’s been a huge blessing for both of us – we have my income to help our family finances and my work family knows and loves my husband. He is a huge fan of what I do and my company because of the love I have for them and the benefits they provide me for our lifestyle.
WHAT’S A TYPICAL WORKDAY LIKE FOR YOU IN THE SEASON? IN THE OFF-SEASON?
I maintain the same schedule year-round, and thankfully I have flexibility – which means I don’t have a set schedule. I work about 4-5 hours a day, Monday-Friday. I plan my hours around work meetings I need to attend and the work I have to get done. The hours in between I get to be mommy and wife too. I know that this isn’t common for a lot of people so I am EXTREMELY grateful and I do not take it for granted.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER WAGS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR REMOTE WORK OR TRYING TO WORK UP THE COURAGE TO ASK TO GO REMOTE?
I can only speak from my experience of working with an existing company and then transitioning to remote work. If you’re going to ask to be remote, you have to have your sales pitch ready! Don’t talk just about what you WILL do if remote, but talk about what you HAVE done – how much you’ve managed, what you’ve accomplished, how you maintain business relationships from afar, etc.
If you’ve worked through Covid, you likely have a lot of examples of successfully completing work and maintaining relationships – use that to build your business case! Focus on your proven track record of success and dependability to get work done.
After you present your previous PROOF, then present your PLAN – HOW you plan to work remote. That can include details about your hours, any time zone adjustments, how you plan to overcome any barriers to not being in office, workarounds for any baseball-related ish etc.
WHAT’S THE HARDEST PART OF YOUR JOB? WHAT’S THE BEST?
Hardest part: Change is hard for people, so some of our internal customers are resistant to the changes that need to be implemented. We have to work extra hard to create buy-in and that makes the job hard at times.
Best part: The same as it’s been my entire career – the people. The culture and people are so special; it makes the work worth it.
WHAT’S ONE THING YOU WISH EVERYONE KNEW ABOUT BEING A WAG/BASEBALL LIFE?
It’s not all hot dogs and home runs! (i.e., rainbows and unicorns) It’s challenging, sometimes lonely, but overall awesome and really special. It’s something to be grateful to be a part of, for however long you are a part of it.
WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ONLINE / HOW CAN WE KEEP UP WITH YOU?
Instagram: skullet05
Facebook: Dana Angelo
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dana-angelo-05
