LEAD Awards 2018: Interview with Jenny Loney, Blackhawk Specialty Tools, LLC
I Focus on the Bigger Picture
Posted on 04-25-2018, Read Time: Min
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Category: Top Future Leader (35 & Under)
Rank: 1
Name: Jenny Loney
Title: Director, Human Resources
Company: Blackhawk Specialty Tools, LLC
Number of people you lead: 3
I Focus on the Bigger Picture
Our editorial team interviewed Jenny Loney from Blackhawk Specialty Tools, LLC at the LEAD2018 Awards this past February. Here are some excerpts from the exclusive interview.
What is your strongest characteristic you think has made you a great leader?
My ability to see the bigger picture for the organization is what makes me a great leader. With an understanding of the business, I can recognize where in the organization we may have additional needs from a new strategy or a change in one department that may have an unrealized effect on another area of the business. I take cues from various situations and information I receive to understand areas where we may need to devote attention to coaching and mentoring our leaders or reminding employees and leaders of our culture and how they contribute to our mission.
I have developed these traits to view the organizational needs by learning about our business and our employees. Recognizing how each position contributes to the overall products and services we deliver help me to better grow our leaders and our employees. Understanding the strategies of our continued growth for the company has assisted me in knowing what the needs are for our leaders. You can’t lead unless you know who you are leading and what you are leading them toward.
Tell us a story of something you have done as a leader that had impacted or inspired others.
As an HR professional in the oil & gas industry, it is understood that the industry can be very cyclical with more extreme upturns and downturns than many other industries. Our industry has been in a downturn since 2015 causing many businesses in this industry to cut costs in a variety of ways to sustain the business. As part of these cost cutting exercises I have conducted with our leaders, I have experienced the most unexpected impact in my professional career. In a time when we were expecting to have difficulty developing our leaders, I have been able to teach my managers and leaders more about having difficult conversations, building better teams, and managing morale than I ever could have anticipated. I am proud to have continued to grow my leaders during a time when we couldn’t spend extra money on training programs and had to learn to do more with less. I led by example walking through the steps, the emotions, and the ways to be a positive leader in a difficult time.
Several managers talked with me about notes they made when having difficult conversations by observing me having those conversations with employees. They began to understand that even the simple things like tone of voice and body language can completely set the tone and change the tone of the conversation. These observations and learning experiences have changed the way these leaders confront and manage difficult conversations and situations.
The lessons you’ve learned this year from your leadership experiences.
My leadership experiences this year have taught me that I must focus my leadership on leading with the business. Acting as a partner for the organization and focusing leadership on areas that are in line with the strategies of the organization are the best ways to realize success for myself and the other leaders of the company. My company has experienced a lot of change over the last year, changing the strategy and focus for the company as a whole.
To continue to have an engaged workforce in times of change, each employee needs to fully understand how they are contributing to the organization’s strategies even as those are continuously changing. Employees and leaders want to be part of the conversations and have information on the future of their company. Information and communication are at the heart of all aspects of leadership, and we must use both to properly lead.
One tip or word of wisdom you can share on what made you a great leader and can help others.
Lead with passion and understanding. People will listen if you have a passion and believe in what you are doing. People will follow if they truly understand how they can contribute to the goal.
In your personal view, what has been your greatest leadership accomplishment?
My greatest leadership accomplishment is building a company with a leadership focus. As an organization, we devote a great deal of time to growing our leaders. We have developed a culture of promoting from within and developing our future leaders. I have championed several initiatives in our organization to promote continued development of our leaders and managers, and we as an organization put effort into New Manager Training programs and Leadership Programs each year.
With these development programs, our leaders have learned to appreciate the importance of coaching and mentoring to advance the knowledge and expertise of their employees. These leaders understand that the successes of their employees are their own successes as well. The programs and initiatives provide opportunities for employees to learn and grow, which for me, is a continued focus for the current and future leaders within our company.
What is your strongest characteristic you think has made you a great leader?
My ability to see the bigger picture for the organization is what makes me a great leader. With an understanding of the business, I can recognize where in the organization we may have additional needs from a new strategy or a change in one department that may have an unrealized effect on another area of the business. I take cues from various situations and information I receive to understand areas where we may need to devote attention to coaching and mentoring our leaders or reminding employees and leaders of our culture and how they contribute to our mission.
I have developed these traits to view the organizational needs by learning about our business and our employees. Recognizing how each position contributes to the overall products and services we deliver help me to better grow our leaders and our employees. Understanding the strategies of our continued growth for the company has assisted me in knowing what the needs are for our leaders. You can’t lead unless you know who you are leading and what you are leading them toward.
Tell us a story of something you have done as a leader that had impacted or inspired others.
As an HR professional in the oil & gas industry, it is understood that the industry can be very cyclical with more extreme upturns and downturns than many other industries. Our industry has been in a downturn since 2015 causing many businesses in this industry to cut costs in a variety of ways to sustain the business. As part of these cost cutting exercises I have conducted with our leaders, I have experienced the most unexpected impact in my professional career. In a time when we were expecting to have difficulty developing our leaders, I have been able to teach my managers and leaders more about having difficult conversations, building better teams, and managing morale than I ever could have anticipated. I am proud to have continued to grow my leaders during a time when we couldn’t spend extra money on training programs and had to learn to do more with less. I led by example walking through the steps, the emotions, and the ways to be a positive leader in a difficult time.
Several managers talked with me about notes they made when having difficult conversations by observing me having those conversations with employees. They began to understand that even the simple things like tone of voice and body language can completely set the tone and change the tone of the conversation. These observations and learning experiences have changed the way these leaders confront and manage difficult conversations and situations.
The lessons you’ve learned this year from your leadership experiences.
My leadership experiences this year have taught me that I must focus my leadership on leading with the business. Acting as a partner for the organization and focusing leadership on areas that are in line with the strategies of the organization are the best ways to realize success for myself and the other leaders of the company. My company has experienced a lot of change over the last year, changing the strategy and focus for the company as a whole.
To continue to have an engaged workforce in times of change, each employee needs to fully understand how they are contributing to the organization’s strategies even as those are continuously changing. Employees and leaders want to be part of the conversations and have information on the future of their company. Information and communication are at the heart of all aspects of leadership, and we must use both to properly lead.
One tip or word of wisdom you can share on what made you a great leader and can help others.
Lead with passion and understanding. People will listen if you have a passion and believe in what you are doing. People will follow if they truly understand how they can contribute to the goal.
In your personal view, what has been your greatest leadership accomplishment?
My greatest leadership accomplishment is building a company with a leadership focus. As an organization, we devote a great deal of time to growing our leaders. We have developed a culture of promoting from within and developing our future leaders. I have championed several initiatives in our organization to promote continued development of our leaders and managers, and we as an organization put effort into New Manager Training programs and Leadership Programs each year.
With these development programs, our leaders have learned to appreciate the importance of coaching and mentoring to advance the knowledge and expertise of their employees. These leaders understand that the successes of their employees are their own successes as well. The programs and initiatives provide opportunities for employees to learn and grow, which for me, is a continued focus for the current and future leaders within our company.
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