Brittiney C. Norman

I attribute my success to empowering my team and giving them ownership of their work. Seeing my team thrive and have ownership in the work has been huge for me - watching them take a company from $45 million up to $180 million in a year's time. I don't believe in silos or in limiting people to just one task. I expect my coders to be billers and vice versa, but at least to talk to each other and figure out what they found and how we can fix things moving forward. To me, that is a huge accomplishment - my team owning our work and being able to speak to our work. I realize my team isn't always going to be with me, but they will take the information and what I've taught them on to the next step. I've had some go on to be managers, some go on to be controllers. I never want someone to feel that my business is the final stop, that they can't do any better. It's all about making them feel that they can do much more and not be stuck.

My mother taught me that no matter what happens, your degree can get burned up, you can lose it, you can do whatever, but you still have the information, and we can still find records from the school and prove that you earned this. The degree is always mine - a piece of paper may or may not be here, but the fact of knowing and the research of finding the degree, if ever challenged, I can always get it. She also taught me that what happens is that no matter what you do, you still have that information and knowledge that can never be taken away from you.

You'll get a lot of no's, or they won't take you serious. But it comes down to your ability to do the work and show your worth. Never leave this earth with regrets of 'I wish I had' or 'I could have done.' That's what I truly believe. You have to come in and prove that you can do this - that you have the numbers, the facts, the figures, everything. When you stand in front of a board, in front of multiple men who try to challenge you and question you all at one time, you have to look back and think, 'You can do this. They brought you to the boardroom for a reason. They invited you and gave you a position at every meeting moving forward. You have a voice. Let your voice be heard.'

Being a female is the biggest challenge. I was told once that if you have manicured nails and a ponytail, you won't be taken serious - that surgeons and doctors will not take you serious. And that's true, it's very true, and it's very sad. You have to come in and prove that you can do this, that you have the numbers, the facts, the figures, everything. But then to stand in front of a board, in front of multiple men who try to challenge you and question you all at one time, it's overwhelming. My mind is thinking 'Help? Can somebody help me, please?' But I can't say that. I still have to look back and think, 'You can do this. They brought you to the boardroom for a reason. They invited you and gave you a position at every meeting moving forward. You have a voice, and let your voice be heard.'

Being a role model for my family and the teams that I oversee. Giving each person the tools they need to grow and be their best. Never having regret or a feeling of ‘I wish I had’ or wanting to see what could have been.