Dr Wheatley

A long time ago, when I was a college student, I worked with a company called Southwestern Publishing. We sold books door-to-door, but during the process of this sales work, it really expanded my mind about goal setting and accomplishing anything that you put your mind to. I did that program for about 5 years, and that was a self-developmental program more than an actual sales position, where I learned how to set goals and accomplish them. I learned about myself, how to sell my ideas, and I just learned who I was. It was a springboard for me going forward and keeping a positive mental attitude and working well with others, because in any career that you are in, the cornerstone is how you serve people and deal with people. That's what makes you effective in any kind of leadership position. Those were some fundamental lessons that I learned early on in my career when I was a college student.

Don't rest on your last accomplishment, because that's gone. Keep on pushing to break new barriers.

The field that I was in was mainly a male career. I just happened to work with a technology department at a university that had a lot of women in it. We were breaking barriers. You have to be, in my opinion, a lifelong learner. Keep your mind open to learning things, and take evaluations and performance objectives very seriously. Always try to improve, whether you agree or not, because until you can look at yourself and see what people see, sometimes we don't see what other people see. Those are the growth areas where you can grow. You always start with you. If there's an issue, there's a problem, when you start with yourself and looking at what you're doing and how you're contributing to it, instead of going after the other person, reflecting on you, that's always a good vantage point.

I was in the technology field from the 1990s, so I've had a field that has grown tremendously. I was in a field where I was growing, and I was growing as technology was emerging and becoming an everyday tool that people use. So the opportunity for me was to be a lifelong learner, because with technology, you have to be able to keep learning to keep up. Otherwise, you're not going to be relevant, because it's always changing. It's always constantly changing.

The values that are most important are showing up and being dedicated. You have to be able to ask questions if you don't understand. My goal is always to add value to the organization that I'm working in. If I can't add value, then I don't need to be there. Wellness and mindfulness, taking care of yourself, is also a part of being an effective leader, because you have to be well also. Minimizing stress, the stress that you have, the stress that you give others. I'm always re-evaluating processes and taking input from the people on the front line, because the people on the front line understand a whole lot more than you think, and they can help the operation to be a lot smoother. Not because they might not have a PhD, but they have some serious frontline knowledge. Re-evaluating your organization and getting everybody's input before you make decisions is always a healthy way to keep your organization healthy and keeping your people committed to accomplishing the goals that you have.