Her Story
About Samantha
Samantha Hartman-Lott serves as Territory Manager, leading 50 employees across Central Florida including Orlando, Daytona, Rockledge, Mims, and the East Coast. In this role she manages driver and route issues, logistical challenges, P and L reporting, bill payments, and process improvements to boost efficiency and effectiveness. Prior to her civilian career she completed 15 years of service in the United States Marine Corps, including six years in senior leadership. After transitioning she pursued an associate's degree in diagnostic medical sonography using her Montgomery GI Bill but found it was not the right fit, then joined her current company as a logistics coordinator and advanced to her present position. She also holds an associate's degree in general arts. Her notable achievements include improving her territory's regional ranking from number 10 to number 1 through enhanced processes and efficiency gains.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Samantha
01What do you attribute your success to?
A supportive husband. My husband supports me, and, you know, even though he doesn't, necessarily agree with some things that, that, like, in some of the paths I've taken, he was 100% supportive.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
It's okay to fail as long as you get up, brush yourself off, try again, and learn, to never make the same mistake twice, because if you make it twice, then you didn't learn anything. If you made a mistake without malice intent, or, as long as it's not a habit, that's how you grow, but if you make the same mistake over and over and over again, and it's just negligence.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
At some point, they're going to feel intimidated, but they need to take that intimidation and use it as fuel to grow and learn.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I work in a male-dominated organization. I work with a bunch of truck drivers, and even my peers, they're males, and they've been in the industry for so long, for 20, 30, 40 years. The challenges that I have had, it's much like being in the military. Getting the respect of your male counterparts, because I feel like women have to prove themselves and work so much harder to gain the respect, and to learn such a robust industry in such a short amount of time was extremely challenging.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity is number one. And passion.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.