Ebony Patterson

I attribute my success to stewardship and how well I steward all that's been given to me, all that's been placed in my hands. I am a woman of faith, and if there were one word to describe me, it's how well I steward everything from roles and responsibilities to people, relationships, and tasks, and how I'm leading others well. It goes from everything from the car and cleaning out the backseat to laundry and taking good care of whatever we have, to relationships and friendships. I also believe that life moves at the speed of relationships. I've learned so much from my extensive travels around the world, which afforded me the opportunity to see that things could be done different ways, and that's okay. I've learned to be far less judgmental because we have so much to learn from one another and from different cultures. Our way isn't necessarily the better way, it's just the way that we've seen people do it more often than not, but on the opposite side of the world they may be doing something completely different and it may make sense. I've also had incredible mentors who believed in me and taught me valuable lessons, like focusing on my strengths instead of my weaknesses, and saying yes to challenges and responsibilities instead of shrinking back. I didn't get here alone. I have a village of support around me, and I have two amazing daughters who teach me every day. Parenting is really a spiritual journey where I am learning just as much from them, if not more than they're learning from me.

The best career advice I've ever received came from two incredible mentors. Chris McCullough, who I worked with for over 9 years at Bureau Veritas, taught me that instead of focusing on my weaknesses, which I think so many women do, I should focus on my strengths and really capitalize and hone in and sharpen those. He said instead of working to improve your weaknesses, you can do that, but spend more time sharpening your strengths. Play to your strengths and capitalize on those because you have great strengths. Another mentor, Tita M. Simmons, who I worked with at Incisive Pharmaceuticals, told me something that changed my career trajectory. She said a lot of people will say no, I don't know, I need to research, I need to go get the certifications and all of these things, and then try to do the work. But you can learn as you go. It's okay to say I'm finding out right now, I'm looking it up, I'm learning as I go, and say yes to the responsibility. Instead of shrinking back, say yes to the challenge and believe in yourself enough and empower yourself, utilize me as a resource, and then you can do it. The sky is the limit. It meant the world to me to have someone that looked like me as an African-American female that believed in me, to say hey, if I can do it, you can do it.

The value most important to me is stewardship. I am a woman of faith, and if there were one word to describe me, it's how well I steward all that's been given, all that's been placed in my hands, whether it's roles, responsibilities, people, relationships, or tasks, and how I'm leading others well. That goes from everything from the car and cleaning out the backseat to laundry and taking good care of whatever we have, to relationships and friendships. After losing my dad, I had a paradigm shift where I decided that more than the titles and the money, what I really valued most was time spent with family and loved ones. I wanted to be called mom and do the driving and drop-offs to all of the volleyball tournaments and practices. I didn't want to miss the small days and the small things, the birthday parties, the Monday moments in the everyday activities. The things I treasure most about my dad weren't necessarily the big trips, but the small moments, the Monday moments in the everyday activities, and I decided I wanted to be present for that. I also value being present and fully engaged. I've been reading books like The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle about being fully present. I value learning and growth, constantly taking courses on emotional intelligence, communication, and relationships, because I really think that life moves at the speed of relationships. I've learned to be less judgmental and more open through my travels, recognizing that there are multiple ways to do things and our way isn't necessarily the better way.