Becoming the Journey: Erin Crossley

Erin Crossley (She/Her)

Design Director, Cadillac Interiors

“In the end, she became

more than what she expected.

She became the journey,

and like all journeys,

she did not end, she just

simply changed directions and kept going.”

— r.m. drake

When preparing for a fireside chat on leadership last year, I came upon the above quote. A lightbulb went off. I’d never really been able to put my finger on it, but this quote summarized it for me perfectly.

Although I’ve always been ambitious in the sense that I’ve always wanted to be successful, I’ve never been in a hurry to get someplace specific. In the more than 20 years I’ve been with GM Design, I’ve held several roles — some I’ve loved more than others, some I’ve felt completely unprepared for but took on anyway.

Some of that may be due to never imagining I’d even end up at GM Design in the first place. I’ve always wanted to work in automotive design but after changed my major from industrial design to surface pattern design, I figured it was no longer a possibility.

I interviewed with GM in my final year at Syracuse University on a whim because I figured I had nothing to lose. That’s probably the point where I started letting my journey just happen — although I didn’t know it at the time.

It was at the interview where I learned about automotive color and trim — an area of design that you really couldn’t go to school for at the time and one I was apparently quite well-suited for. Pursing that interview is where the GM journey began.

Embarking on a career you didn’t technically go to school for and know very little about with the goal of achieving is an interesting scenario I’d recommend. In many ways, it freed me from any expectations for the company to deliver my journey to me and drove me to hold myself accountable instead. It made me take responsibility for my journey and allowed me to “become” that journey.

I had no timeline I was holding myself to, no roles or positions I needed to reach by a certain time to feel successful. Every role I’ve had is one that I simply wanted to be successful in. I was enjoying the journey, not focusing on a particular destination. My efforts and successes were recognized, and I was presented with new challenges and opportunities.

Many of those challenges and opportunities were ones I felt I was not yet prepared or “ready” for — but I was open to allowing that journey to develop organically. Fortunately, I had champions and leaders who believed in me and my ability to navigate the journey.

For the first 20 years or so of my journey, I was navigating different roles and challenges in Color and Trim Design. Some of them felt like natural progressions while some felt like steps back — but they were all a necessary part of the journey that taught me and helped shape who I am as a leader today.

In 2020, I came to a very unexpected fork in the road on my journey. I was presented with an opportunity to transition from Color and Trim Design to Studio Design. I had not seen this coming or even considered it as a place I would be interested to take my journey to. I was nervous and unprepared but also excited and curious. So, I took a deep breath, changed direction and let the journey continue.

I’ve become far more than I expected and continue to work hard to be successful in the role I have, in anticipation of what comes next. The best journeys have twists, turns and unexpected stops. Be ambitious and think about the possibilities for your journey — but don’t be in a such a hurry to arrive at a destination that you close yourself off to opportunity and discovery.