Patrice Hudson

I think it's because I'm forthright and I'm a hard worker. I don't mind getting my hands dirty. I've never been one of those people who says 'oh, I'm in management, I don't have to do that.' I take clients to the restroom, I do anything - I fill in where there's a vacancy. I work side by side with the staff. I'm able to get employees to do things that I need them to do, even things they didn't have to do, because I'm good working with people. I love people.

I remember a manager telling me that when you have employees, sometimes you have to think of them - and when I say as a baby, I don't mean as a child - but she said, don't throw the baby out with the bath water. So just because someone is lacking in a certain area does not mean you have to get rid of them. You have to pour into them, support them, and if that position just does not work for them, see if there's somewhere else in the organization that they would be better suited, rather than to just get rid of them, especially if they're a person that's trying and putting forth the effort. If there's something else we can have them do that's a little better suited, it'll enhance the organization and make you feel better about the job you have to do.

I would say, stand on your morals. As women, we have to learn to adapt in certain situations, but that does not have to mean that you should lessen your shine or shy away from the fight. Some things are just worth fighting for. So you just have to roll up your sleeves and do what you know is right.

I think that I'm not an outwardly forceful person, so I think a lot of times I'm overlooked because they don't see me as - I'm not cliquish. I sort of go to work and work with everybody, but once I go home, I'm focused on home. So because I'm not maybe as social as other people, sometimes I'm sort of passed by and overlooked, and I think that's a challenge for me - how to balance that without opening my personal life up to my career. When I worked in the prison system, they sort of called it pre-positioning - you weren't allowed to decide who you liked for the job and have them doing some of the tasks prior to interviewing them and hiring them for the job. And I noticed more in the private sector, they do a lot of practicing pre-positioning. But I've come to find out that the state doesn't allow it, but the private sector does. And at this point in my career, I don't know if it's worth the fight for me.

Being honest and transparent - that is key to me. I have this saying: as long as they're not handing out weapons, I can just tell the truth. Just tell the truth. We can figure it out. You can correct a mistake, but once you lie and I tried to go in the direction of your lie, now my integrity is in question and your integrity is in question. That's not what I want to even deal with. Just tell me the truth, and now we're going to figure it out.