Before Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, there were no female sheriffs in Monmouth County. Not because of a lack of skill, but because the equipment wasn’t made for her.
“The barrel on the Smith & Wesson was so long that you could not pull it out and pass the test,” she said at the New Jersey Business & Industry Association‘s annual Women Business Leaders Forum.
Failing the test didn’t deter her. Instead, Guadagno set out to level the playing field.
“When I flunked out of training, I asked the warden to find me $50,000 ‘cause I was buying the boys all new guns,” she said. “I had one condition. And that is that when we bought the guns, we had three different grips. So women my size, or Hispanic women… anything, had the opportunity to become a sheriff’s officer because they could now take their guns out of their pocket.”
A small change with a big impact, Guadagno’s story is the perfect example of the ripple effect. For the leaders speaking at the New Jersey Business & Industry Association’s panel, a small act can change an organization’s culture.
RWJ Barnabas Health CEO Deanna Sperling took to the microphone to discuss creating a more understanding culture in healthcare. “There’s a saying, if you don’t cry once a day… you’re not doing your job. The people that you serve have heartbreaking stories. You have to listen to them and you have to understand them.”
A humanistic approach to healthcare, this emotion-forward method is a far departure from past mindsets. “Many times, women have been stigmatized for being emotional or leading decisions with ‘I feel,’” said Nathalie Colόn, Marotta’s Human Resources Vice President. “I work in Human Resources, which is the most sensitive part of an organization… and I’ve challenged myself and the leaders around me that human resources is not a support function.”
Prioritizing emotional response was a common theme for these business leaders. “My personal mantra is lead by empathy, but rationalize with data,” Prager Metis CEO Lori Roth said.
While their accomplishments were all impressive, listeners were left with one final question: how can we as workers create our own ripple effects?
Guadagno returned with one last piece of wisdom. “The answer is truly listening.”
