I started my career while finishing studies at university. My first job was with a marketing firm in Memphis, TN on a small team who had worked together for years. Unlike when I started at new schools growing up, I couldn’t take the time to stand back and observe but had to jump in, learn and make mistakes along the way. I was literally the new kid, though they never made me feel that way – each patiently teaching me what they knew about the business.
When I moved to the Houston area, I began working for a family-owned publishing company – again with a small team who had worked together for years. I had the skills for the job and quickly found my place on the team. Our work in creating monthly magazines regularly involved stressful 80-hour workweeks and we used humor to get through those crazy weeks. We had a fabulous team who enjoyed working and playing together. I met my Texas Mom at this job – she has been an inspiration in my life since.
I left the magazine to join Southern National Bank of Texas (SNB) as the Director of Marketing and later joined the executive team as the Vice President of Human Resources. This was my first experience working on a dream team – incredible individuals who not only had exceptional skills but were also aligned with the company’s vision and values. We became cohesive fairly quickly – we understood our roles, contributed fully and trusted the team.
We had inspirational leaders – Harvey, Lisa and Stewart – who created an environment of open communication, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to success. We challenged each other constructively. Annually we worked together to create our strategic plan for that year and years to come. We launched initiatives that were successful and some that failed – but we failed fast. We embraced our mistakes early in the process, either learning from them and quickly adapting or, in some cases, canceling the initiative and moving on. We launched an IPO, taking the bank public in 2004 to obtain the capital needed to sustain our growth.
With our tremendous growth, I went from a one (wo)man show to a team of HR and training professionals. This is the first and only time in my career that I built my own team. I called us the A Team – Stacey, Amy, Stephanie, Zena and Audrey. We had a mix of skills, a passion for developing and engaging our employees, and an aligned purpose to achieve (and surpass) our defined goals. We added value and helped the business achieve our 10-year revenue targets in 5 years. We sold the bank in 2006. I am still proud of what we built each time I pull into the branch (now Prosperity) in Sugar Land or Uptown. And I am still dear friends with several of the team – Jenny, Vivian, Lisa Kay, Carl and others.
I left the bank and took several steps backwards on the career ladder to learn international HR at Veritas DGC (later CGG). I was amazed how I so quickly found my next dream team – in HR with Scott, Elspeth, Catherine, Mitzi, Lee Ann, Carol, Francois; in the business with Roy, Andy, Mike and on the larger team with Larry, Araceli, Liza, Daniela and so many others. I loved that we had people from all over the world – a diverse team of thought, background, and experience. Each member brought unique strengths in their approach to problem-solving and operational execution which leadership leveraged in our dynamic business environment.
After leaving CGG, my journey in international HR took a winding and rewarding path, filled with the opportunity to work alongside some amazing people. With lightning striking twice back-to-back, I was surprised that I didn’t find my next dream team for 10 years when I joined Seabed Geosolutions as the CHRO. When I started, we were a clunky executive team and quite large with 11 members from 5 countries. We had incredible people who worked hard to set aside egos and individual agendas in favor of collective success with focus on organizational reengineering and optimization.
We evolved to become a smaller team, more cohesive, leading to an aligned common vision (One Team, One Goal!). Leadership within the team of Stephan, Jeremie, Greg, Alan, Erwan, and Martin was not just about authority but about empowerment and fostering a culture of collaboration and learning. The HR team was spread out with me and Raquel in Houston, Alain, Lucille, and Sophie in Geneva and Melissa in Massy – but we were aligned in our goals and strategies. I brought in a couple of exceptional people I worked with on my journey to help the team with time sensitive initiatives. Former team members – now consultants – Cindi and Luis each helped provide expertise as the company was experiencing rapid growth, expanding its capabilities and workforce to meet increasing demand. At the same time, the company was undergoing strategic restructuring to align our operations, roles, and processes to our future goals. The HR team was focused on supporting employees and the business through these challenging times of restructuring.
Then Covid happened. The pandemic put all business contracts into force majeure – effectively crippling the company. We sold off our assets in 2021. While the executive team went our separate ways, we were successful in getting 98% of the employees hired on to the asset buyers. Like my other dream teams, I’m still close to most of these team members and, sometimes still wonder what could have been.
After the sale of Seabed, lightning struck again when I joined Stoller Agri where the CEO was consolidating a decentralized business model under a unified, central executive team. The shift was aimed at improving consistency within our business lines, reducing costs, and streamlining processes across global regions, while still allowing for some local flexibility as needed. The team was assembled with many who had worked at the company for years and were promoted into leadership roles. (I was one of two newbies.) This role was an exciting opportunity for me – to help build a great leadership team from this diverse group with varying expertise, personalities, and work styles. The global HR team including Chelsi, Sara, Luciana and Carina were focused on creating an environment under a harmonized approach where both individuals and the business could grow and thrive.
To my surprise, a couple months into my role and my primary objective changed – to help the CEO prepare the company for sale. With this high-potential team, we were just getting started on our journey together when the company sale happened. The opportunity to build something truly impactful was lost before it ever had the chance to fully take shape.
My journey thus far has been amazing because of the people I met and worked with along the way. Having worked on such talented teams, I truly find it hard to settle for less than great (or the potential for it). Through the years I have been told by team members that I am a good leader. I think this is because I am hyper focused on results through a foundation of trust, communication and transparency. I have also been told that I make the team better – which is probably my favorite compliment.
Last year I came to a crossroads and made the decision to take a pause to focus on what is important and enjoy life. Not sure when lightning would strike again – I launched my HR consulting business P3 HR Solutions.
Working apart from a team offers a unique sense of independence and flexibility, allowing for complete control over decisions, priorities, and workflows. Without the need for collaboration or consensus, I can execute ideas without external delays. While I am committed to taking full ownership of my successes and failures whether on a team or not, I have had to become intentional with managing my time and resources in all areas of business – business development, marketing, and finance. I now carry the full weight of decision-making, problem-solving, and execution.
I wholeheartedly admit that I miss working on a great team and the exposure to diverse ideas and collaboration, shared perspectives, feedback, and synergy that comes from a dynamic team environment. Building my business has been fulfilling and empowering, but I didn’t consider on a solo journey how I would stay engaged. Networking and collaboration on a project basis help bridge the gap somewhat. I am lucky to have some great clients!
A dear friend’s father recently passed away. He was a major league baseball player who lived an accomplished life (including a World Series win). He said, “Today it’s not the wins or losses that I remember, but it’s the people I played with and played against and the good times that we shared that I remember.” Well said, Carl.
His words resonate with me as I appreciate that when working on each of my dream teams, the journey and the people I worked with through the good times and bad became just as rewarding as the destination. As a fiercely results oriented person, I have grown to understand that success is not just about results – it’s about the people who you work hard with and play hard with that make all the difference.