Working Women Wednesday
Women Working Wednesday is a trend that you will find on many social media platforms. It is a day we acknowledge women for making it happen in their respective industries. By Design Consulting is supporting this trend by featuring a different woman every other Wednesday on our blog site.
Two weeks ago we featured Donnay (DJ) Williams. This week’s feature is Tamera Gethers. Tamera like the other women I have interviewed is a ray of sunshine. Her positive spirit shines through when you are around her. I hope you all enjoy her interview.
Tamera’s Profile
Industry: Human Resources/Supply Chain
Position: HR Manager
Location: Greensboro/High Point Area
Favorite Quote: This Too Shall Pass
BDC: Hi Tamera! Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me. I know you have been busy.
TG: No problem, I am happy to be able to support you.
BDC: Great let’s jump right in. As you know this blog started with women in leadership specifically, which is why I selected you. I think you are an awesome leader and your industry is actually an interest of mine.
TG: Ok, I am ready.
BDC: Tamera, tell the BDC readers a little bit about yourself. Be sure to include how you relax.
TG: I am a mother of two amazing children and an avid Cowboy fan! I attended Guilford College and received my bachelors degree in Business Management with concentrations in HR Management and International Business. I also received my associates in Paralegal Technology which has really helped me in my current career. As far as relaxing I love the beach that is my happy place when I have been having a tough week, month or whatever that is where I can go to get some peace. I also enjoy spending time with my family and friends, listening to NPR and meditating. I am a true introvert so I need me time and reflection time to help myself re-energize.
BDC: You and my last feature are both avid beach lovers. Since me time and reflection are ways that you re-energize how do you balance your work and home life?
TG: I think this is important and critical to your success in your personal and work life. I do believe that everyone needs to take the appropriate time for themselves with their family. You have to give as much to ourselves and family as we do to our career. I feel that for many that is out of balance, we give our best to our work and not our personal lives.
BDC: Yes, I agree that there must be some type of balance between your career and your life. From my perspective, it is all about choices and what you are willing to sacrifice for the other. Transitioning a little, COVID-19 has hit many in different ways. How has COVID-19 impacted you?
TG: It really has impacted me quite a bit, it sent me into a depression. I will say that it was really a combination of COVID19 and the civil unrest. I have a diverse background; my mom is white and Cherokee Indian and my dad is black. In situations such as these I always find myself in the middle. In addition to managing my feelings around that I also needed that interaction outside of my home which I was unable to have due to COVID and ultimately this impacted my mental health. Luckily, I was able to find my way out of that situation through various methods. I studied COVID to better understand its impact and found ways to connect with others. As time progressed, I made myself get out and go to lunch while working from home because now my home and work life were blended and sometimes work can be stressful.
BDC: COVID has definitely impacted us all in different ways, I learn that the more I talk with people about. Combining that with the civil unrest definitely can have an impact on your mental state especially as a person of color. Especially when you consider the work environment and having to continue with business as usual as if nothing else is going on in the outside world. I do want to transition into your work and learn a little more about that. What is the industry you work in and what exactly do you do?
TG: I work in the Supply Chain/Logistics industry. I am a HR business partner and support headquarters for one of five divisions. I am the HR manager for the support staff for the company. I am also responsible for employee relations, talent management, succession planning, employee development, promotions, employee investigations and complaints, and performance improvement and management. I also support initiatives for employee engagement and responsible for the full lifecycle of the employee from onboarding to offboarding. I report to the Director of HR but have a dotted line to the Senior Vice President. I am also the contact person for foreign nationals and work visas for our company.
BDC: That is a lot of responsibility. With all those responsibilities what keeps you up at night?
TG: The number one thing would be my to-do list, with all of those things the to-do list can get long. Somedays I feel like I do not have enough of myself to give to everybody that I serve. I feel like I can do more but have to do the bare minimum to get them to their next step. I am big on the employee and have a strong employee focus. Sometimes I feel as if I am not giving them the customer service they deserve as an employee. Don’t get me wrong I support them fully but I want to do more and that isn’t always a possibility.
BDC: I think we all struggle with that in our leadership roles. Sometimes the job allows us to go the extra mile and in other moments it does not and we have to figure out that balance. What would you say are your top three challenges?
TG: Yes, I strive to be an authentic and dynamic leader, who cultivates change while developing and empowering employees to be successful and in the moments I don’t feel like I am going the extra mile I think back to the type of leader I strive to be. As it relates to my challenges, I would say the industry I work in overall is still a very white male totalitarian environment. The other challenge is that the majority of the promotions that occur within this industry are based on who you know.
BDC: In a white male totalitarian environment, what would you say are challenges you face as a woman in leadership in this industry?
TG: In HR I don’t think there are many barriers for women but I do think men face some barriers in this particular role. The HR role is looked at as the “woman” taking care of everything. I think the view of the role is diminished because it is traditionally a role held by women. Folks have tunnel vision that there is not a lot of knowledge needed to do this role but there is a significant amount of knowledge needed to do this role well and effectively.
BDC: Interesting that you said that all of the jobs that I have the HR person has been a woman. When you think about those barriers do you think they are the same or different or are there more not mentioned when thinking about women of color?
TG: I believe that my field is diverse but I do think that the women of color who do get these roles have different struggles. The “strong” black women personality is feared in this industry. White women can present an idea that isn’t status quo and it is accepted and a black woman can present that exact same idea to the same people about the same situation and she is asked “what is your problem today” as if because she asked the questions or challenged the status quo something is wrong. That could be a struggle for someone in any role but especially when you are working in HR because there may be times you have to challenge the status quo when dealing with employee situations. There aren’t many women of color in upper level administrative roles and for the ones who are in the roles it is almost like there is a model of a perfect black woman and if you don’t fit that you won’t get the position. I think women of color in HR roles spend a lot of time overcompensating and explaining that nothing is wrong when dealing with situations.
BDC: I have interviewed several women in leadership and all are women of color and the unfortunate thing is regardless of the industry they are all facing many of the same struggles as it relates to trying to lead as a black woman in any industry.
TG: I think my industry is evolving but there is always more work to do in any industry. I would like to see more women of color in SVP roles in this industry.
BDC: See that is another common theme as well, women of color can get Director level jobs and other roles in leadership but moving up that chain is very difficult in most industries. I have noticed with all of this civil unrest a lot of companies are implementing new roles in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion. I hope this changes. Well Ms. Tamera I do not have many questions left. As someone who works in HR you are probably the best person to ask this question, why do people leave jobs?
TG: Yep I would agree because my role is all about people coming and going may it be voluntary or not. I think people leave jobs because they are not happy with their role, their direct manager, or they were hired for one job and they have tons of other tasks unrelated to the job with no additional compensation. When I think about exit interviews I have done over the years the individuals leaving have not left behind pay; it has been the culture of the company that has been the top driver as to why people leave.
BDC: Interesting that you say culture. Everyone has responded that they think people leave bosses or supervisors but not culture. I do believe that is a driver as well. We have to be mindful of the environments and culture we create in our organizations and who’s standards that culture was created. As you think about your career journey and all the accomplishments you have made, What woman inspired you and why?, What would you tell a younger you trying to get where you are today?, and What would you tell someone trying to get into this industry?
TG: My mother inspires me. She inspires me because she is not afraid to take a risk. That has been key to my development as a person and a woman from school age to now. She is very honest and intentional about all of her interactions with people. She always raised me to know, regardless of what is going on that I have everything I need inside of myself no matter what. She was not always a positive person but she is a risk-taker. She gave me what I needed.
BDC: Got to love our moms! Now what would I tell a younger Tamera?
TG: I would tell a younger me to believe that education and work experience are both vital but in the world we live in you definitely need to get your education. I would tell a younger me to build a network to help groom me professionally and seek feedback on myself and then apply it. Lastly, don’t be afraid of change.
BDC: Those are good things! If we could only go back in time and tell our younger selves so much but hey we are where we are because of our experiences, good and bad.
TG: Yes ma’am. Now finally the advice I would give women trying to get into this field. Be a lifelong learner and be willing to always learn because this field changes constantly and knowing the latest updates can make or break you in your role. HR is now employee driven so you have to have a passion for people and seeing them succeed. Lastly, learn how to balance what is good for the company and the employee because you are in the middle. You always want to find an outcome that is the best for both parties and that can be hard.
BDC: Well Tamera that is all I have! Thank you so much for sharing with us! Good luck in all your future endeavors.
I hope you all enjoyed learning more about Ms Tamera Gethers. December 30th we will be highlighting our next woman, Mrs. Cristen Jones another woman in leadership in Higher Education. Our Working Women Wednesday blog series has moved to bi-weekly instead of weekly. Please share with a friend or if you are interested in being featured please contact us.
XOXO,
Keisha J.
