Her Story
About SANDRA
Sandra Contreras has dedicated 27 years to the telecommunications industry with the same company, progressing from a customer service role to her current position in operations and people development. She began in frontline customer service for six years before moving into leadership of customer service operations and then into developing leaders through employee engagement initiatives. Her passion lies in helping individuals recognize their capabilities, strengthen their skills, and align personal growth with business performance, including creating leadership programs in Spanish to better connect with diverse teams. Sandra earned her bachelor's degree in liberal arts with a major in organizational leadership from OU in 2021, with focused studies in organizational leadership, organizational behavior, leadership development, team dynamics, conflict resolution, change management, strategic communication, employee motivation and engagement, and ethics in leadership. Within her company, she participated in LAND, a Latin community outreach initiative aimed at supporting Hispanic communities and encouraging continued education. She attributes her professional success to the company's culture of providing feedback with grace and empathy rather than judgment, which fosters confidence to learn and grow. The best career advice she received came from former CEO Jack Rooney, who encouraged paying attention to others' mistakes and asking successful people about their challenges and regrets to accelerate personal development. In her work, she navigates challenges such as leading external partners across different countries and aligning varying cultures to build relationships based on care and shared success. Sandra values respect and loyalty in both her personal life, where she instills these in her children, and her professional life, where they align with her company's emphasis on ethics, respect, pride, and empowerment.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with SANDRA
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the company culture that supports feedback delivered with grace and empathy along with suggestions and support, rather than judgment. This culture allows people to admit what they don't know, feel confident to learn, and grow without fear. The united front and shared values make a huge difference in enabling development and performance.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice came from CEO Jack Rooney: Pay attention to people's mistakes. When meeting successful people, don't ask the easy questions because everybody will tell you what's easy. Get curious about what was hard, what was challenging, and what they wish they knew before. Observing and getting curious helps you advance a lot faster by learning from their struggles and resources.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges are distance when leading external partners in different countries and aligning cultures across vendors and companies to find common ground without being seen as a threat. Building relationships from a place of care helps overcome distance and develop leaders despite cultural differences.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my personal life, respect and loyalty are key values that I try to instill in my children. In work, the company's values of ethics, respect, pride, and empowerment align closely with my own. I believe in continuing to be respectful and loyal even when others are not.
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