Tiffany Berg

I attribute my success to my dad. He instilled a very good work ethic in me. I've been working since I was young, back when you had to get work permits, cutting grass, and I've had 2 or 3 jobs at a time. My dad was someone I could trust completely - he took secrets to the grave, things I wouldn't even tell my mom. I lost him in 23 to ALS, but the work ethic and values he gave me have shaped everything I've accomplished.

The best career advice I ever received came from my manager at the finance company. Even though I know I irritated him every time I did it, he told me never to stop asking questions, whether it was questioning a decision so that I can see it from all angles or just questioning it for learning. Because of this, I love to play devil's advocate so that people can see all sides of the situation. Some people think of it as pushback, like I don't follow commands and listen, but I really want to see their perspective. I want to understand why they see it one way and I don't - what are they looking at that I'm not looking at?

I would tell them to not back down. Be the devil's advocate. But also, lead with compassion and the ability to get dirty yourself. You can't manage a team from the top of the hill and expect everything to go right. You need to be down at the bottom doing the work as well. I came into my accounting position green, and I was a supervisor, so the very first question they asked me was, how can you lead a team and you know nothing about this job? I did it by getting in there with them, and I feel that makes people respect you more. I'm not above cleaning toilets all the way to welcoming people and stepping in wherever needed, because at the end of the day, no matter the company, you're still one goal, one team, whether that's profits or customer service. Everybody should chip in.

The challenges are streamlining and embracing technology and AI while still having the people over the business. I mean, you can only trust technology so far, you still have to have eyes on it. Our opportunities are almost in the same vein. We can streamline our contracts and get the most out of them by using these platforms that take out obligations and terms, then just make everything better for the enterprise. We don't have to dig in people's emails, or on people's calendars, or in file cabinets, because we can have everything in one common place. They told me that they had lost a whole filing cabinet of contracts, which is just crazy to think about.

I would have to say integrity and trust. I mean, both of those, you have to build. I came into that accounting position green, and I was a supervisor, so the very first question they asked me was, how can you lead a team and you know nothing about this job? I did it by getting in there with them, and I feel that makes people respect you more. I'm not above cleaning toilets all the way to welcoming people and stepping in wherever needed, because at the end of the day, no matter the company, you're still one goal, one team, whether that's profits or customer service. Everybody should chip in.