Kimberly Parks

My kids are my biggest motivation and inspiration, especially my baby boy. I had a very hard pregnancy with him, and we both actually died during childbirth. He has challenges with comprehension and is on an IEP at school, which frustrates him, but he's my motivation. I wanted him to see me graduate, so I not only graduated and got my bachelor's degree, but I graduated magna cum laude with a 3.89 GPA. I'm very focused and determined because I have to help him, and I believe that when he's home, I have to learn how to teach him another way than the school system does. I worked two or three jobs and went to school at the same time. My kids are my inspiration and motivation. Every morning when I wake up, it's for my kids. When they see their mom doing it, they live by the example, so I want them to do the same. My oldest son just graduated from college in Boston, and I told him I want him to live his life, see different countries, different cultures, and live his dreams. I live my dreams so they can see that and do the same.

The best advice I ever received was from an older lady at my company who told me to take my time, don't rush it, just trust the process, and take it one day at a time. She said to just breathe. I think women have this time frame where we feel like, okay, I'm this age so I have to do this, or I'm in my 40s and oh my god. I had to stop doing that because I was going to drive myself up a wall, trying to follow the plan that I mentally have for myself versus my reality. Ever since she told me that, I've been taking it one day at a time, literally. Slow and steady, one day at a time. That has been the best advice I have ever received.

Do your homework and make sure you research. Make sure you understand and make sure this is exactly what you want to do, because a lot of people say they want to do things, but if you wake up every day and have the same dream, the same drive, then that's how you know it's your purpose to do it. Make sure that you are very professional everywhere you go. Your first interaction with somebody is your last, so make sure you're always on time with meetings, interviews, and potential clients. Make sure that you represent yourself well. Image in this industry is everything, so make sure you have your face card and you're very professional. Walk in the room and make people want to know who you are. The loudest person in the room is the weakest person in the room, so you don't always have to be the loudest. Just go in there, introduce yourself, let them know who you are, and make sure you know what you're talking about. Talk your talk, be very confident, be bold, be you, but do it in a way that's very feminine. I'm big on femininity because a woman's power is just being feminine. I understand it's a male-dominated world, but it wouldn't be a male-dominated world without a woman. When a woman understands her power in being a woman and how she can control any room she walks in, you have to understand that. Understand your power first, understand who you are, and then walk in that room and take control of the room. Whatever you want, go get it.

The opportunities now are that I have my degree, so I can go where I want to go. I can focus more on going to director or executive level, and I can even go into HR. Those are the positives. The negative and biggest obstacle is that a lot of these companies and departments have their favorites. Sometimes it could be a delay, and it's very hard these days to get jobs, so you want to be very strategic about your connections and your network. When you decide to move to different departments, really understand it, because it's kind of hard. Once you take that jump, there's no coming back, and it might not be that opportunity again. I don't play favoritism and I try to be very open and transparent, but you can only do what you can do. Sometimes in the field, people have their picks or their favorites, and sometimes it becomes difficult to even try to transfer or get out of it. Sometimes you become stagnant, and you don't want to do that. I'm at that point now where I'm ready to be a consultant, ready to travel to different hospitals and different states, do consulting and community service events with healthcare. I'm ready to be that face-to-face, out-in-the-streets type person, but I know that takes time and waiting on that perfect opportunity, so I'm very patient.

Trust, communication, and transparency are the most important values to me. I'm very big on communication, not only in business but in personal life. I continue to stay open and transparent because you can never learn enough. Every day in the healthcare business and healthcare field, everything changes, so I want to make sure that I'm aware and on top of things so I could be not only a better leader but a better mentor as well. For me, it has to be transparency, it has to be trust, and it has to be communication.