I have an engineering background. I love data, structure, and analytical thinking. Ask anyone who has worked with me, and they will tell you I like things clear-cut. So, it might surprise you to hear that the most important professional shift I’ve made recently has nothing to do with a new platform, a process improvement, or a technology upgrade. It has to do with people.

That realization didn’t come easily, and it didn’t come all at once.

Managing expectations in a world that won’t hold still

Anyone working in international logistics right now knows the industry is constantly changing. Geopolitical disruptions, port congestion, policy changes; there are so many variables, and they have a direct impact on our clients. One of the biggest day-to-day challenges I face is managing the gap between what our clients expect and what the industry can currently deliver.

Global accounts and individual customers alike come to us with timelines, expectations, and plans. When those plans run into real-world friction, it’s easy for communications to become transactional. Status updates. Delay notifications. Revised ETAs. The information is accurate, but it can feel cold.

My approach has been to anchor every interaction in something that’s easy to lose sight of when you’re managing multiple complex shipments: on the other side of every email and every phone call is a family going through one of the biggest transitions of their lives. That awareness doesn’t change the congestion at the port, but it changes how I communicate about it. Transparency with empathy isn’t just good customer service; it’s what keeps trust intact when things don’t go as planned.

Coming back changed

I recently returned from five months of maternity leave, stepping back in not just as a senior relocation coordinator but also as a team lead for the first time. I had to completely rethink how I manage my time, where I focus my energy, and, perhaps most importantly, how I lead.

This industry moves fast, and five months away means five months of change to absorb. What I’ve found is that acknowledging the learning curve openly, to my team and to myself, has actually made me more effective, not less. It’s not me versus them, trying to sort out who knows what. We’re all working toward the same goal: making these relocations better for the people we serve.

That shift from data manager to people leader is the new idea I’m trying to implement, starting with myself.

The skills that will actually matter

When I think about the next five to ten years in this industry, I do think technology and data will be the biggest forces shaping how we work. That’s not a controversial take. But I think the professionals who will have the most impact aren’t necessarily the ones who are best at using the tools. They’re the ones who can combine technical fluency with genuine human connection.

The leaders who will advance this industry are the ones who can read a spreadsheet, and read a room. They understand why a shipment is delayed and can explain it in a way that a stressed family actually hears. They can build strong vendor relationships not just through contracts and SLAs, but through consistent follow-through and real communication after the conference ends.

Each year at IAM, we are reminded of how much value exists in the connections we make in person. My focus now is making sure those connections don’t stop at the event. Reaching out afterward, strengthening our vendor network, building something lasting; that’s where true supply chain resilience comes from.

What young professionals bring

We grew up alongside technology. We understand it intuitively, and we’re not intimidated by how fast it’s changing. But I think our real advantage is something harder to quantify: we’re global citizens in a way that previous generations simply weren’t. Borders feel more porous to us. We’ve grown up following what’s happening on the other side of the world in real time.

That perspective matters in international relocation. It means we can question processes not out of arrogance, but out of genuine curiosity about whether there’s a better way. And I think there usually is.

My advice to other young professionals is simple: you don’t have to fit yourself into a corporate box to be effective. Bring your actual self to this work: to your clients, your colleagues, your vendors. The industry has the processes. What it needs from us is the humanity.