Elisabeth Husband

Don't stop. Don't chase perfection. Perfect will never happen. Keep choosing progress, and if you see the progression, that means you're moving forward. There's no such thing as perfection. Keep working on the progress and moving forward, and look at the movement upwards. I think sometimes the world is easy for us to think if you don't have the perfect team or the perfect metrics or whatever it may be, but keep working on the progress. As we continue to grow and support each other as women in leadership roles, if you have other women that support you and genuinely say you're doing a great job and I see you doing well and I'm here to support you, that's such a big thing that we still sometimes miss in our day-to-day world. Genuinely women supporting each other is so important.

The geography of the location of where my store is located is a challenge. We're quite a ways away from some other stores, so to get hands-on and personal face-to-face time with other leaders in other stores is not easy. From a customer standpoint, the hardest part of my job is not always being taken seriously. I like to lead as someone who doesn't need to be the loudest in the room. I try to be very down-to-earth, and I'm on the sales floor, I'm present with the team, and I try to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and they're valued in their role. Oftentimes, customers don't believe or understand when I walk over and say, 'Hi, my name's Liz, I'm the general manager.' I just had a funny story last week where a customer had an install and asked to speak to the general manager. When I walked up to him and introduced myself, he looked at me and looked at my installer and said, 'No, no, I'm waiting for the store manager.' Because I try to be grounded and real with people, they don't always take me seriously, and I think that's the hardest part of my job.

Values for my work-life balance is making time for myself. It's easy to give so much of myself to my job and my employees and to the needs of the business, and it's just remembering to take time for myself. I have to make sure that I have that dedicated time where it's just my time to take care of what I need to take care of. In my work, I have a duty to help my team both personally and professionally. If I can make someone's day better, make them learn something, and take what they've learned to help them excel in their personal life, then I've done my job. I've helped them be a better human being. I focus on creating a huge team atmosphere where we work together, treat each other well, and make sure everyone feels comfortable and valued in their role. Health is also very important to me and my family, especially after my sister's heart attack. We've built a whole mindset around positivity and taking care of yourself and your health.