Emily Hullderman, CPIM

I attribute my success to the people and managers who believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. They know who they are. I can think of two of them right off the top of my head to this day that believed in me, believed in my expertise, wanted to know my opinions, and let me go out and lead without holding me back. They allowed me to think for myself, they allowed me to fix problems without calling them, and they trusted in me. That's huge, and it takes you really far. They are the ones that stand up for you, they're the ones who will reach out when you need something job-wise, they're the ones there going, if you need anything, you just give me a call. Those managers is what makes people who they are, and that's why I take so much pride in helping people under me, because there's been people who take pride in managing myself. We lack that in business nowadays. We lack the leadership, and when people do do that, you can see people who want to grow significantly.

The best career advice I ever received was, first, don't wear your heart on your sleeve, because I would always originally take things personally, and you just can't do that in this business. But I also firmly believe in taking care of your employees, and you'll get it back tenfold. If you want to look at my LinkedIn, I'm extremely proud of the recommendations and the stuff at the very bottom. I've always loved having a team, and I've always created an environment where my team can come speak to me about anything. It's definitely one of the things that helped me grow, but I've also helped other people grow. I take pride in ensuring that the people who work for me actually enjoy working for me and enjoy their job. I think that is hardcore one of the things anyone, anywhere can do - if you ensure that your people feel like they are appreciated and needed, you're gonna get so much back out of them, more than money could ever buy.

When I entered the oil and gas industry, women were still a rarity in many operational leadership roles. I was fortunate to join Schlumberger at a time when the company was actively working to increase opportunities for women. In the region where I started in West Virginia, there were only about five women among hundreds of employees. It wasn't always easy, but it was rewarding to be part of that change.

My advice to other women is simple: keep your head up and keep moving forward. The challenges are real, and while we've made significant progress, some barriers still exist. Don't let those obstacles define you or discourage you. Continue proving your capabilities through your work, your leadership, and your perseverance.

At the end of the day, your work, your integrity, and your results will always speak louder than anyone else's opinion.

While significant progress has been made, I believe there is still work to do to ensure hiring and promotion decisions are based solely on capability and performance.

Another challenge is the changing dynamics of today's workforce. I've noticed a shift in employee ownership and accountability. Earlier in my career, many people treated their responsibilities as if they owned the business. They looked for ways to improve processes, volunteered solutions, and took initiative without waiting to be asked. Today, I more often see employees who are hesitant to act beyond their defined responsibilities or who wait for direction before addressing obvious issues.

I also believe organizations share some responsibility for this shift. Many companies have moved away from clearly defining expectations through comprehensive standard operating procedures and role clarity. When expectations aren't documented, employees are understandably reluctant to step outside their job descriptions. Developing clear processes while empowering employees to think critically and make informed decisions is essential to building engaged, high-performing teams.

The best teams I've led were built on trust, accountability, and empowerment. I encouraged employees to bring forward ideas, solve problems, and continuously improve our operations. When people know they have the support to think independently and contribute beyond the minimum expectations, both the employees and the organization benefit.

I definitely value the work-life balance that is starting to become more common, because when I worked in oil and gas, that didn't exist. You're on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I'm kind of still in that field, because you have to be - it runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, they've become more lenient on allowing you to work from home, work remotely, come into the office for other things, and that really helps inspire employees working at 2 AM. That completely changes things. Also, again, I value having good employees. I value the employees that work for me. I value their education. I value that they get promoted. Warren Whitlow, one of my managers at CPI, he texts me all the time and says, I'm so grateful for everything that you taught me. He now is a distribution manager for a pharmaceutical company. I take so much pride in that, more than I ever have in a job.