Candace Scaggs

I attribute my success to my work ethic first and foremost. I'm very driven and determined to be the best at whatever it is I'm doing. I don't really second-guess myself a lot because I know if I continue with consistency, show up to work, learn the processes, and implement the right things in the right ways, I'm going to be successful. I just have an individual motivation in myself to prove that I am worthy of the positions I'm in and the knowledge that I need to have. I stay consistent and keep working and growing in my field.

The best career advice I ever received came from one of my mechanics here. He told me to slow down and don't get overwhelmed. He said to learn it and take it one day at a time. When I first started this job and moved to Florida, this facility is very complex - the machines are complex, the processes are complex, the people are complex. It got really overwhelming, especially because I came in not knowing anything about what I was getting into with this place, manufacturing batteries, and not being familiar with the machines. It was very intimidating. He had been here 2 or 3 years at that time, so he told me what he had to tell himself. He said everything's going to work out, take it slow every day, learn it, and you're not expected to know everything at once. That really helped me.

I would tell her nothing is impossible, and we can do anything we put our minds to. No matter what challenges, or what your outside appearance looks like, what your background looks like, you have to just set your own goal and believe in yourself that you can do it. Stay consistent and work towards it, and you'll be able to do it.

The biggest challenge for me, especially since I'm a woman, is being a woman in a field that's predominantly men. There are no women, mostly, in maintenance. So you get the stereotype of 'she doesn't know what she's doing, she can't really do these things.' In this particular position, being a maintenance supervisor supervising men, that's a big challenge because of pushback and people second-guessing you all the time. That's the main challenge in my opinion.

The main values that are most important to me are accountability and integrity. I believe in being accountable for the work you do, the things you say, and how you treat people. I treat people with respect and take accountability for what I am accountable for and what I contribute to. Basically, I need to be the solution of whatever problems are going on, trying to be a positive solution and not a finger pointer or a blamer. I take accountability for what I can do to help. Being in a supervisor role, you're mostly doing that - you're trying to make sure your mechanics are good, you keep the shift running, production needs to lean on you for whatever they're asking, and you're always solution-based and focused on helping everyone succeed. Because if they succeed, then you succeed. My results come from everyone else succeeding. In this particular role, my mechanics succeeding is a reflection on me, and my shift running well is a reflection on me, so I try to remember that every day while trying to keep a level head when you're dealing with so much pressure and many things happening at once.