Author: E. Spielberg, Quantum Services
Today we get a status update from Quantum Services’ Andrea Mcmaster, Senior Operations Manager, and Rachell Bernhardt, Director of Human Resources, on the progress their power teams have made.
These women are part of a year-long journey working in power teams equally split between members from the retailer and supplier sides of the convenience store industry. Each group chooses their pathway to solve the problem assigned to their group in alignment with a theme of “shift”. Andrea and Rachell attended the C-Store Women’s (CSW) event last November in California where attendees were inspired to affect change for women leaders in the industry. Though regularly meeting with their individual teams, at four months in, they are each experiencing a delay in progress. Not to be deterred for long, they know that mitigating project delays is a leadership skill, and this project is an opportunity to practice. Here is what I learned from these extraordinary women and how they are working through the delay.
NARROWING THE SCOPE | ANDREA
There is not a lot that gets in Andrea’s way, truthfully. Being an active member of her team, she has been instrumental in helping move it forward, even if only at a slow pace. She is the ultimate problem-solver, which was obvious in hearing her talk about what the group discussions have been about recently. The team is focusing on career goals but has decided that it’s time to narrow the scope. Looking at gaps in data regarding women in leadership, as well as gaps in their financial earning capability, the power team feels there is a better chance of offering up a viable solution to closing the gaps. One of her teammates shared how she worked her way up throughout her career, overcoming obstacles to gain success. This cued the conversation: Can we tell this teammate’s story to share her positive results and itemize what lessons she discovered along the way? What tactical tools exist to help close these gaps that women experience? Who are the subject-matter experts that can mentor women in this industry? Her team keeps pushing on by delegating tasks and communicating with one another what direction to go. We’ll find out with the next update in July, until then, let’s see what Rachell’s team is working on.
CREATING A USEFUL TOOL | RACHELL
It’s easy to imagine how busy leaders in an organization can be, especially in the oil and convenience industry where changes and advancements are happening rapidly. For this reason, Spring has been a particularly difficult time for Rachell’s whole group to participate in conversation surrounding their topic. Her power team is focusing on how women can be competitive in the workplace. Rachell is looking at the aspect of competition between women within the same work environment. Ideally, she would like to produce a tool that can be useful to women as they prepare for a performance review, enabling a more objective evaluation of their accomplishments. Rachell will also be recording a podcast in July reflecting on being a leader in a family-run business in addition to the issue the team is tackling.
PUTTING THE PEDAL TO THE METAL
It is uplifting to see how Quantum Services’ own has been able to push ahead despite this lull in their journeys, another sign that leaders exhibit. Andrea’s and Rachell’s drive are evident, and I know that drive will help their teams move into full speed ahead. Until then, I enjoyed my catch-up with each of these women and look forward to the next update. Power on!
To follow Andrea and Rachell’s year-long journey in their CSW project, check out how their journey began here and their initial steps here. Quantum Services is proud to support their efforts and how they are shaping the landscape for women in the c-store industry.