When we imagine a welcoming person, we likely envision a warm, inviting personality. These people are affable, approachable, and an automatic ally. Though Lisa certainly fits the bill, she also enlarges on the adjective in her approach to life—welcoming all good, all gain, and all growth into her story. If you’re fortunate enough to be penciled into this narrative, you’ll find a wonderful story with a bright protagonist.
Lisa: Let me try and keep it to a 30,000 ft. overview. So, a bit about my background: I graduated from Utah State in food science, chemistry and nutrition. In fact, one of my favorite parts about England is being on the wellness committee. Anyway, I started working for Smith’s Food and Drug centers in a distribution center. I did that for eight years, and then I did a lot of different things between then and now. Eventually, I was actually recruited through LinkedIn.
Logistics is something that people don’t really think about, like how we get the food that’s on our plate, or the furniture that’s in our homes and things.
EL: That’s wonderful. It’s always fascinating to hear the diversity of previous career experience from such talented individuals. Though there is some overlap between the logistics industry and nutrition industry, I’m curious to hear what specifically appealed to you, especially culturally, about England Logistics. What was it that really attracted you?
Lisa: Much like any other interview I’d prepare for, I pulled England Logistics up online and was scouring through the website. When I noticed the core values, I read about the importance of career, open communication, accountability, celebration, and hard work. All of these things really appealed to me. Also, I was reaching a point in my life where work–life balance was becoming very important. England was the whole package, but that in particular was really what drew me here. England Logistics really lives and breathes their core values, and that has really impressed me.
EL: Definitely. I mean, this interview in itself is a testament to what I’m about to say, but you are the epitome of those values. By grace of us being here is evidence of that. But for you now, given all that you’ve become and all that you are, what is important to you now? What are your priorities? If they have changed over time, why have they?
Lisa: I think one core value that’s the most important to me is accountability. And I think that having that as a part of our culture has impacted me personally.
Accountability is something that drives me because I am not just accountable to myself, but I’m also accountable to my team.
EL: I can empathize with many of the points you made, but I want to hone in on a few things. I love this idea that, if a culture is powerful enough, it can even permeate our personal life and our personal values. I also really love this idea that you were making at the conclusion of your answer, that the performance of our team can help us become better people. In corporate speak, we talk about synergy all the time, but synergy is nothing if it’s not backed by value.
Could you maybe think of a few examples of times when you’ve felt that kind of synergy?
Lisa: I feel like there are examples of that all the time daily. So, we have agents that are just one–man operations, and then we have agents that have twenty reps. I’m thinking of a person that started out as one person and has just slowly grown his team. That’s been inspirational to me. I wasn’t here when he started in England, but I’ve been able to watch his accomplishments.
We have all these resources here and the luxury of sharing those resources with our agents. As a result, I’ve really been able to see that success.
EL: I think that’s super noble. We’ve got a very unique cultural value of emphasizing relationships in the customer experience, and that makes things particularly rewarding for us. I think it’s probably one of the reasons why you’re so successful is that your motivation stems from the success that those that you associate with.
In fact, anybody that’s attained the level of success that you have must possess the sufficient level of motivation, right? It’s inevitable. And so what has been the fuel in your case besides client growth that’s helped you to continue on to make it to this point?
Lisa: I’m going to defer to my team again. Everybody on my team is so driven and they’re also so willing to help. Whenever I have a question, people are always willing to help, and if they don’t have the answer, they show me the way to get there.
Also, having our fearless leader, Ryan. He‘s kept the eye on the ball and continues to drive us forward. We take moments to celebrate our successes and get the validation of the job well done. He helps remind us that we can always do more for our customers.
I’ll be honest; accountability and all these things are sometimes not comfortable because you’re always pushed outside of your comfort level. But again, going back to improving myself, not just from a professional standpoint but from a personal standpoint, that has come in a faster amount of time than I have experienced in other places.
EL: I appreciate that there’s a lot of humility in your answer, with reference your team being a massive source of motivation or individuals under your stewardship or leaders helping you along the way. I have an appreciation for this idea that some of the cultural values are there to supplement our motivation as well.
Lisa: During the time when I was in a management position, that was probably one of the greatest learning experiences, because having to be in a leadership role, it’s just not just your normal job description responsibilities. You have to have that state of mind that you’re setting an example.
There’s a lot more to leadership than just the title.
great.” It’s definitely been one of the best decisions of my life. I owe a lot to England Logistics. England offers all the tools and there’s no ceiling. As long as you put in the hard work, there’s no cap to where you can end up.
EL: You know, in some of these interviews that I’ve conducted, these moments that are so defining are typically catalyzed by an element of uncertainty. Delving into the logistics industry and taking a risk that ultimately has dividends that you don’t know yet—I just offer my kudos, to you for not only taking the risk, but also capitalizing on the risk and cultivating the people that have been associated with that risk. I think therein lies the power of true leadership; not only making strategic decisions that have to do
with some of these elements of risk, but then also making people around you better along the way. And you’ve been a shining example of that.
Lisa: Thank you.
EL: And I want to ask you with that backdrop in mind, what’s next? Where do you want to go? Where do you want to be? Who do you want to help? And what would you like your future to look like?
But I also realize there’s so much to learn still.
I don’t think that no one ever totally perfects themselves, I don’t think that is something you can ever attain, but I think that striving to constantly be better is really what my focus is on right now, just because I know there’s still so much to learn. I have no doubt that I will get there because of my team. Everybody has been super willing to help, even though sometimes we’re in competition with each other. That’s kind of my focus right now is just to continually grow and be the best LC that I can be.
EL: That’s the vision! I think that the idea of, “I want to just be a better cultivator, a better coach”: That really propels some of the greatest leaders to be the best they can be. The focus is on the growth of everybody else. Then there is this beautiful, almost miraculous occurrence that happens: By helping others become the best version of themselves, almost inevitably as leaders, we become the best version of ourselves. And we often see them reflected in us.
Lisa: Yeah, absolutely. Whenever I’ve put in hard work and I have done the best that I can, sometimes opportunities just present themselves organically too, you know? I think maybe that’s not the path that everybody wants to take, but at this point in my life, I think that that is something I’m very content with. I know that, if I put in the hard work, sometimes opportunities just present themselves and I welcome those opportunities as I go along. But in the meantime, like I said, I’m super happy and content doing
what I’m doing and trying to be the best that I can be.
EL: Yeah, it does. It does seem the opportunities follow those that possess that sort of mindset. And I anticipate that that will always be the case for you, especially given how relentless your drive is to assist others. And I think as a sort of testimony to your ability to do so, I personally have felt fortunate to indirectly have been coached in this interview. I feel more motivated to go forward, and to do good. And so I just want to thank you, firstly, for taking the time, and to give us some of your history, but more so I want to thank you for giving us the history and the person that you’ve decided to be. Your wave of influence is large because you’ve chosen to be the best possible version of yourself. And so, Lisa, thanks again.
Lisa: I appreciate your time, EL. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed our conversation and I’m super flattered.