Title: People Science Team Lead, Scalable Solutions

Residence: Manhattan

Home town: Roslyn, New York

Work can be a whole lot more than just a chore, believes Melissa Barry, People Science Team Lead at Glint. “If done right, work can be a place for joy, meaningful connection, fun, learning about other perspectives, and fulfillment,” she says. 

Her own job creating new scalable services, tools, and product features to empower Glint customers fits that definition. “I think about Glint’s mission of creating a world where people can be happy and successful at work every single day,” she says.

Learn more about Melissa’s work and life:

Work

Can you share more about your specialty on the People Science Team? I lead our efforts around scaling People Science. I help customers do more on their own. I like to think of it almost as I am creating the materials for customers that function as a People Scientist sitting next to them coaching them on what they should do next on their People Success journey.

What got you interested in People Science? As a college student, I took classes all over campus, ranging from psychology to business to law. I wasn’t sure how any of those interests were going to connect or what sort of job I would look for until I fell into my first management course. It was taught by an adjunct professor who was also a management consultant—something I had never even heard of at the time. It felt like a secret career path that no one ever told me about! 

How did you get to Glint? I was a Glint customer before coming to Glint so I had known a bunch of the team members and knew how smart, kind, interesting, and fun they all were. 

Any career goals you’re working toward? I always want to be doing meaningful work that feels new, innovative, and even a bit scary and unknown. I get bored doing the same thing over and over again. On a more tactical level, I am trying to be more cognizant of my calendar and scheduling ‘focus time’ so I can give my full attention to the task at hand.

What has been a big learning moment in your career? Early in my career I was in a role where I was often the most junior person in a room full of senior leaders, and I felt like I always needed to have all the answers. My boss at the time, who was a great role model and an ongoing mentor of mine, taught me that being able to facilitate a conversation and ask thoughtful questions is a much more powerful skill than having all the answers. 

Life

What was your first job? My first paid job was a highly coveted position as a counselor at my school district’s summer camp. You would have thought I was interviewing for the role of CEO of LinkedIn with the number of interviews I had for that job.

How many cups of coffee do you drink per day? Zero. I hate coffee—I am on team tea.

What do you like to do outside of work? I recently moved, so these days I spend a lot of time exploring my new neighborhood and scouring the Internet for the perfect throw pillows and organizing bins. I also like to sketch with my Apple Pencil using Procreate. (This is not an ad, but I am obsessed with the Apple Pencil for the iPad.)

Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn.