Thriving by Design: How to Find a Workplace Where You Can Truly Succeed

For many women in digital and technology, career advice tends to focus on external markers of success: get the promotion, grow your salary, build your skills, land the title.

But what if the better question is not just how do I get ahead?
What if it is how do I build a career in an environment where I can actually thrive? In fact, if I do this first, I set myself up for success.

That was the heart of a recent Women in Digital masterclass led by technology executive Dominique Powis, who shared a practical and deeply personal framework for understanding what makes work sustainable, fulfilling and energising.

Her message was clear: thriving at work is not accidental. It is something we can – and should – design for.

Why thriving matters

Too often, people stay in workplaces that drain them because they assume that discomfort is just part of having a career. But misalignment at work is not a small thing. It affects confidence, well-being, motivation and performance. When people are working in environments that align with their strengths, values, leadership needs and sense of purpose, they are more engaged, more resilient and more likely to do their best work. When those things are out of sync, even a “good job on paper” can feel exhausting.

The challenge is that many of us are taught to assess opportunities by looking outward first. Salary. Brand. Role. Perks. Prestige. Dominique argues that the process needs to start inward.

The Thrive by Design framework

At the centre of Dominique’s framework is one simple idea: before you can find the right workplace, you need to understand yourself.

Her model is built around four key pillars:

• your strengths
• your values and team alignment
• your leadership fit
• your sense of purpose and company alignment

Together, these create a practical filter for evaluating your current job, your next move, and even the type of team you want to build.

1. Know your strengths

One of the strongest themes in the session was the importance of spending more time in your strengths and less time forcing yourself into work that drains you. Dominique put it simply: if you are great at rugby and terrible at maths, do not hire a maths tutor. Get a rugby coach.

It is a reminder that career growth does not always come from fixing weaknesses. Often, the biggest gains come from doubling down on what already energises and differentiates you. If you have ever had that buzz at work where time disappears, you are fully engaged, and you feel sharp and effective, chances are you are working in your strengths. If a task leaves you depleted, frustrated or flat every single time, it may be sitting in an area that is not natural for you.

A useful starting point is to make two lists:

• What you love and are good at, and 
• What you dislike and struggle with. 

Over time, patterns emerge. Personality and strengths tools can help too. Whether it is Myers-Briggs, Gallup StrengthsFinder, DiSC or similar frameworks, these are not about boxing yourself in. They are about helping you build language that works best for you.

Once you know your strengths, you can start testing whether a role will actually allow you to use them. Instead of only asking what the job involves, ask:

1. What does high performance in this role look like?
2. What skills make someone successful here?
3. What does this role struggle with the most?

Those answers often reveal far more than the job ad ever will.

2. Be clear on your Values

If strengths help you perform, values help you stay. A role can look perfect from the outside, but if it conflicts with your core values, it will eventually wear you down. Dominique spoke candidly about this, sharing an early career experience in a workplace marked by sexism, bullying and disrespect. It was a painful chapter, but it also helped crystallise something essential: respect became her non-negotiable, #1 value.

That clarity matters.

When you know your number one value, you can spot misalignment much faster. You stop second-guessing yourself when something feels off. You understand why a role that seems fine on paper still feels wrong in your body. For some people, that number one value may be respect. For others, it may be fairness, honesty, autonomy, creativity, accountability or inclusion. Whatever it is, finding it gives you a powerful compass.

And once you know it, you can test for it.

Ask questions like:

1. How are values demonstrated day to day here?
2. What behaviours are rewarded on this team?
3. How are difficult conversations handled?
4. How does the company deal with poor behaviour?

Anyone can write values on a website. What matters is whether those values show up, especially when things get hard.

3. Pay attention to leadership

People often say employees do not leave companies; they leave managers. Dominique’s experience strongly supports that idea. Leadership is not just about capability. It is about trust and whether the people at the top create clarity, model accountability, communicate honestly and make you feel safe enough to contribute.

What stood out in the session was Dominique’s preference for executive chemistry over executive presence. Rather than focusing on hierarchy, image, or polished authority, she looks for authenticity, collaboration, and visible alignment among leaders.

A leadership team does not need to be perfect. But people want to see that leaders genuinely respect each other, can navigate hard times together, and lead with people in mind. During growth, change or uncertainty, that becomes even more important.

If you are assessing a company’s leadership, ask:

1. How are major decisions made and communicated?
2. How does leadership respond when things do not go to plan?
3. What behaviours from leaders make employees feel trusted and empowered?

These questions give you a better sense of how a company actually operates, especially under pressure.

4. Understand your Purpose

The final pillar is purpose. Purpose does not have to mean changing the world in a dramatic or public way. It simply means understanding what makes work meaningful for you.

For some people, purpose comes from impact. For others, it comes from problem-solving, building better systems, supporting communities, improving healthcare or creating opportunities for others. And for some, purpose may be more practical: earning well, creating security, funding a life they love outside work.

All of those are valid. The key is knowing what drives you, because when work gets hard, purpose is what gives you staying power. Dominique described the ideal workplace as the intersection of your strengths, your values, your impact and your energy. When those things line up, work feels less like survival and more like momentum.

That is also why purpose matters so much in team performance. People are more resilient when they understand not just what they are doing, but why it matters.

Building a more intentional career

One of the strongest takeaways from the session was that career decisions should be more intentional than reactive. Too many people scatter applications everywhere, chase roles they do not even really want, or ignore their gut because they feel pressure to just get something. But when you have a framework, you can move differently.

That self-awareness also changes how you show up in interviews. You become clearer, more grounded and more compelling because you understand what you bring and what environment brings out your best.