Her Story
About Alexzandria
From a very young age, I've always known that I love to serve other people, and I think that's what has helped me get to where I am today. There's no greater life lesson than taking out time to serve somebody else and hearing their story. I think oftentimes we forget that life is so much bigger than us, so I just take out the time to listen to other people and experience them in real time. That has truly been my biggest blessing. That's why I did recruiting, because you just meet people of all walks and of all ages. Experiencing other people and gaining wisdom from them, whether they're older than me or younger than me, has truly been my biggest lesson. I started in recruiting over a decade ago, and in 2019, I worked for who is now my current COO. I worked for him for four years, then left to do government recruiting, but he stayed in touch with me. Right time, right place, he came over to Hayes, and I came on as their recruiting manager. But I made it very clear when I came here that I did not want to stay in recruiting. I would come, build it out, and then elevate to something different. I'm not one to be placed into a box. I like to talk to several different types of people in a day. So recruiting took off, and then I was able to become the CEO's executive assistant, and from there, I was promoted to Chief of Staff. In my current role, I start by being the CEO's shadow and identifying his key items for the day. Then we go into strategy and operations, where I meet with high executives within the company, making sure they are executing the CEO's vision and that they are in alignment. If they need any sounding boards or strategy tips, I pull out my marker, head to the whiteboard, and start building out workflows or mind frames to help them execute their ideas. My leadership style is very collaborative. I give people space to be themselves and create a safe space, because when you allow people to be themselves and that space is safe for them to open up and be vulnerable, they thrive. I teach them that yes, I am your leader, I am not your boss, so feedback goes both ways. It's a mixture between mentorship and leadership.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Alexzandria
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to God, 100%. When I look back at my life and where I am compared to where I started, there's no other reason but God. All the glory goes to Him. I truly believe that God has blessed me with a mind of vision, and the things that He downloads in me, I just want to execute immediately. When you know God, you know yourself. When you know yourself, you exude a certain different type of confidence, and you know that what's for you is for you. I've found that when you know God and you know God's character, and you know what God says about you, then you know how to think and how to carry yourself, and that develops a different type of mentality.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice I've ever received is simply to be you. Just be yourself. In a world that tries to shape you, it's hard not to want to conform just for the sake of fitting in or being liked. But when we try to change ourselves, we go against the design that God has for us, and that's a disrespect to Him, because He designed all of us in these different kinds of ways. So we need to lean on that and just be ourselves. I think in a world full of people trying to be something they're not, being authentic is everything.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would give them the coaching plan. First, know who you belong to, which is God. When you know God, you know yourself. When you know yourself, you exude a certain different type of confidence, and you know that what's for you is for you. Keep your head down and work hard, and God will open up the doors that are meant for you. When you know God's character and you know what God says about you, then you know how to think and how to carry yourself, and that develops a different type of mentality. Always be kind, because you never know what that person is going through. Always give grace, because God gives you grace. Show up for other people, because when you show up for other people, that's a form of showing up for yourself.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In electrical construction, the biggest challenge is labor. The demand is high, and the supply is low. We have a lot of data centers going up, partners going up, and everywhere you can blink there are more projects, but not enough labor. We're working to differentiate ourselves from our competitors so it's not going to only be about just the dollar. We're looking at training and development, because we want people to grow and not just chase a dollar. Obviously, a dollar helps, but we want to offer apprenticeship programs, schooling programs, and continuing education. That's our way of trying to outbeat the labor shortage. In my coaching business, the challenge is that when you talk about God and you put a dollar on it, people run. I'm not selling God - He's already here. The challenge is trying to push a subject that the world freely knows, but in our industry, everybody wants to coach. Not everybody is meant to coach, so it's really just trying to brand it and market it in a way that's still honoring God, but also bringing you that group of people that God is calling you to lead. The biggest opportunity in coaching is to identify women in leadership who are struggling and coach them up to give them that confidence, so they can walk into these Fortune 500s and these big, massive corporations knowing exactly who they are. All it takes is just one person to identify that target group, bring them up, and then they go off and they spread the gospel. That person touches 50 people, and that person touches 200. It just takes form.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say treating everybody how you would want to be treated, though I probably shouldn't even say that because some people don't treat themselves well. I think the most important thing is to always be kind. I think one of the main reasons I have my role and promotions is because I have a good heart. I always lead with the mindset that you never know what that person is going through, so be kind. Always give grace, because God gives you grace. Give back and be someone with a good moral code and moral ethics. I don't tolerate any form of bullying. My team knows it, my family knows it. Showing up for other people is important to me, and I think when you show up for other people, that's a form of showing up for yourself.
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