Kaylie Fisher
Kaylie F. is a strategic customer experience leader and communication professional currently serving as Customer Service Supervisor (B2C) at Kohler Co.. She began her career in the restaurant industry, where she discovered her passion for delivering meaningful brand experiences and ensuring customers receive the service they expect and deserve. That early foundation inspired her to pursue both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Communication with the goal of working in corporate internal communications. When she transitioned into the corporate environment, customer experience became her entry point—an avenue that seamlessly combined her passion for external brand experience with internal associate engagement.
Over the past eight years with the same global manufacturing organization, Kaylie has grown into a trusted and people-centered leader. She currently oversees a team of approximately 20 professionals, dedicating her time to ensuring they are equipped to succeed both emotionally and operationally. In addition to leading her team, she manages self-service tools that support external customers working with tactical products, continuously improving processes to enhance accessibility and efficiency. This past year has been especially exciting as she and her team began exploring artificial intelligence and generative content to modernize communication and customer support strategies.
Kaylie is deeply committed to continuous growth and intentional leadership. By actively seeking feedback, investing in emotional intelligence development, and reading extensively on leadership effectiveness, she has strengthened the way she shows up for her team. Her efforts resulted in a 10-point increase in engagement scores year over year—placing her team eight points above the company average. Inspired by her father, who worked his way up to plant manager without a formal degree, Kaylie’s leadership philosophy centers on balancing strength with kindness and grounding every interaction in mutual respect.
• American University School of Communication - MA in Strat Comm
• University of Wisconsin-Green Bay - BA in Comm
• Culver's VIP Foundation Scholarship Recipient
• Craig A. Mueller Communication Scholarship
• Sheboygan Co 4-H Dog Project Scholarship Recipient
• Dean's List
• UW- Green Bay Future Alumni Association
• Circle K
• Sheboygan County 4-H Dog Project
• Share the Spirit Foundation
• Reins Inc.
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to growth - a lot of personal growth and self-evaluation. It's about seeking out feedback from other people and really listening to your peers, observing how they're handling situations, and trying to identify what opportunities you have. I struggled a lot in the beginning with managing the emotional needs of my associates because I'm a very practical person, so managing that aspect of a human being is more delicate and intricate. I knew that was a shortcoming of my own, and being honest with yourself and saying it's okay that I struggle in this aspect, but don't allow that to hold you back. I had initially been declined for a role that I had applied for, and that was the feedback I received. So I took that feedback and took emotional intelligence classes, read books, and really educated myself on how I could show up as a better leader for the people that I intend to lead. It's about continuing to work on those things and not letting setbacks become permanent barriers.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received is that timing matters, and just because it's a no for now doesn't mean it's a no forever. When I had been declined for a role, it was disheartening and disengaging, but it wasn't a deterrent for me. The advice I received at the time was to continue to work on yourself and continue to build those skills in the areas that you need to work on. Sometimes you need to take a step back - I actually took a different role for a couple of months, and that different role really taught me a lot about what areas I still had work to do in. When we work in the same place doing the same thing for months or years on end, we kind of lose some of that perspective. So just remember that you can take a step back and evaluate yourself, and a no for now doesn't mean a no forever.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would advise somebody entering into leadership in this industry to be authentic and be true to yourself. It's really difficult trying to be something that you're not as a leader. If you're being asked to be one thing and that doesn't match your leadership style, it's difficult to be satisfied and be successful in your role. I would continue to encourage women to be authentic to themselves, no matter what their leadership style looks like. Don't allow somebody to tell you that's not a good way to lead, or that's not going to fit within an organization, because I don't think that's true at all. It may not be right for that organization or for that role, but continuing to be authentic and lead the way that feels natural to you is how you can be as successful as you can be in your role.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think customer experience tends to be a women-dominated field - most of whom I work with are women, and a lot of my peers are women. However, in any corporate setting, on average only 20-25% of corporate leadership is women, so there's always going to be a challenge in breaking into that and breaking that glass ceiling a bit. The biggest challenge is still the perceived differences between a male leader and a female leader, and closing that gap. Women tend to have different motives in meetings than men do, and that leadership style tends to look different. Depending on what the organization is looking for, they have a different perception of that leadership style. So I think that continues to be the biggest obstacle for women in any industry - how our leadership style is perceived differently and working to close that gap.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I value respect most of all, and I don't mean people respect me only - it's a mutual respect. I came into a highly emotional team that had been through a lot and didn't really know who I was, so I had to earn their trust and earn their respect, just as they had to earn mine. I value that so much because I don't think we could succeed without that. We have been successful because we have that mutual trust in those relationships, and I value that from both a work and personal perspective. Something else that I value is open and honest conversations. I do have to have difficult conversations regularly with my team and peers, but it's always in their best interest. I expect the same from them as well - I can't do anything about it if I don't know. So I really value that in both my professional and personal life, having that open, honest communication and being able to maintain that respect while we have more difficult conversations.