How failure is vital to success

“I have a slightly different background,” Abby Shardlow, now one of the most successful Area Managers working in Enterprise Wales, began by telling us.

“People have always encouraged me to talk about my story as a way of raising understanding for the challenges people can face from a very young age.”

Abby moved from Kent to Herefordshire when she was only seven years old to live with her grandmother, who became her primary caregiver. Just 10 years later, her younger brother and sister would come to live with her. She would play a part in helping to raise them while she continued her education and worked part time.

"I tell people Enterprise isn’t about car rental. We’re a progression company – how to move up to new career levels and as a person"

Like several Enterprise employees, Abby was the first person in her family to go to university.

“I worked at TopShop when I was at Cardiff University. The first time I took time off was when I took seven months to travel after I finished my degree. My mother had passed away when I was in my second year. It was a difficult time for our family.”

The Enterprise Management Training role was the first graduate programme that she applied for.

“I had to ask where people worked and what they earned when I signed customers up for our store card,” she explains. “When I met someone who was earning an impressive salary at Enterprise it made me curious about the opportunities, especially as I was on a lower hourly wage.”

Abby was also very aware of the importance of good mobility living in Herefordshire, which she describes as “pretty rural and not very accessible”, and she saved up money from her many jobs to buy herself a car.

“I had my first job when I was 13, and I worked through school and university. I always had a strong work ethic. I enjoy work friendships, being good at a job and working as part of a team where we are all helping each other to improve. I like being pushed out of my comfort zone.”

“After I got the job at Enterprise, the last 10 years is history,” she said reflecting on how quickly she rose through the ranks.

Abby was promoted to Assistant Manager within 12 months of joining Enterprise and became a Branch Manager another 12 months later.

"How do you lead a team when your back is up against the wall and the chips are down? No matter what level you’re at there are struggles"

She applied for her first Area Manager position after just four years and was promoted in 2017.

“I didn’t get the first Area Manager position I applied for. I remember the Group Rental Manager saying that I needed to show how I would cope with failure. I dug in and took my branch to number one in the UK. At my next interview I said, that’s how I deal with failure.”

Abby said that while she found it very hard to be resilient, she knows that she learns more from the setbacks and failures than the successes.

“How do you lead a team when your back is up against the wall and the chips are down? No matter what level you’re at there are struggles.”

She has developed a network of mentors, sponsors and champions to support her development and encourages others to do the same.

“There is always a challenge. I was promoted in the area where I was already working which meant I knew the people and the accounts and had played a part in developing almost everyone. The downside is I was now the direct line manager where before I had worked as a team mate. It was a transition.”

Looking to the future, Abby is developing the skills to apply for a Group Rental Manager position.

“I am now looking after the biggest area in Wales which includes an airport and out of hours hub, because I know this is the experience that I need. I love my job as an Area Manager – I’m still learning every day but I’m also looking forward to the future.”

Abby comes back to her unusual family background as a defining aspect of her approach to work.

“I think my family background made me who I am. It’s driven me and has been a lot of my motivation to be a role model to others. It’s made me realise that success and failure are not written in the stars from day dot.”

It took a long time for Abby to talk about her background and share her story because she didn’t want it to label her.

Then she met someone who changed her mind and opened her to a new opportunity.

“I met the Managing Director of the Care Leavers Covenant, who was an Enterprise customer. He convinced me that my experience could be valuable for others to hear about.”

Abby became an ambassador for the charity, which helps young people who have been in care to live independently, presenting at events for the government’s Department of Work and Pensions.

“A lot of people don’t know what they want to do,” she explains. “I tell people Enterprise isn’t about car rental. Renting cars is the process. We’re a progression company – how to move up to new career levels and as a person. You develop leadership and conflict handling skills, and you learn to stand in front of hundreds of people and inspire them.

She concludes by saying it’s important to know where you want to go, especially as it’s easy to fall victim of imposter syndrome.

“You may not want to step forward, and at Enterprise, there will always be people who will push you. I’m grateful to everyone who has encouraged me to lean in – if they hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here today.”

If you are interested in a career with Enterprise, please visit our recruitment website at careers.enterprise.co.uk