Jody Hagedon

I attribute my success 100% to passion. If you're not passionate about yourself, your growth, and your development, you're not going to continue forward. I've also had some very influential leaders in my past that I've learned a lot from. I learned from leaders what I didn't want to take into my leadership, and I learned a lot that I wanted to take into my leadership. If you're passionate about what you're doing and your own success, and you have a lot of drive, you're going to take what you're learning from those that are teaching you and implement it into your own growth and development and move forward. My kids and my family inspire me to want to work hard and show up well for them. I think it's important that we have conversations together about the true value of working and what needs to go into being successful.

First and foremost, I make sure that they're open to hearing advice, because oftentimes we're giving advice that's unsolicited. I got to be a sounding board for my nieces as they continued their journey into adulthood and the work world. I got to influence their interview style and we would do mock interviews together. The biggest piece of advice I give is making sure that no matter what they're doing, they can make a change and continue to grow. We're going to make mistakes as we go, so learn from your mistakes, move on, move forward, and move upward. Don't ever feel stuck. There are many ways that you can feel stuck in a job, in a relationship, and a friendship. It's okay to have personal space and create boundaries. You can have boundaries in a personal relationship, a friendship, or a romantic relationship, and you can continue to grow yourself and create those boundaries through your growth. Whether it's in a personal relationship, a friendship, or a romantic relationship, you can control and continue to grow.

There are a lot of different challenges within retail right now. Retailers are really trying to understand what this generation of shopping is looking like, and it's been a bit of a cat chases mouse situation. Some retailers are doing a really nice job staying relevant and making sure they're understanding what this next generation shopper looks like, and some are having a little more challenges. The biggest challenge is that you see some of these retailers that are turning over and going bankrupt, and that can be scary. We also have AI and all the things happening within the technology world that can be replacing a lot of jobs. At the end of the day, no matter what, if you have a passion for what you're doing, you're going to see beyond all the challenges that are happening and still be innovative, think innovative, and control what you can control. The change in the landscape of the shopper has been challenging. Being a retail leader is very different nowadays with the generational change. Making sure that we're staying relevant with how our talent thinks and how they like to be engaged with has been something I'm really passionate about. Gone are the days where you're filling out an application with a pen and bringing it in face-to-face. They very much want to be engaged through technology and would prefer text message over a phone call, unfortunately. We need to make sure that we're staying engaged with the talent that we're leading the way that they want to be met.

My number one value is people and my family. As a family, our values start with God. We're a Christian-based family, and that shows up in everything that we choose to do as a family. We prioritize our time together, but first and foremost, we make sure that we're prioritizing God in the decisions that we're making as a family. We do a lot of family adventures and prioritize our time together. We believe if the sun's out year-round, we're putting in our health. We're very outdoors-focused. I also think it's important to take care of our community, which is why I'm passionate about volunteering with organizations like the Period Foundation.