Today, we’re chatting with Kerri Jones, StorageMart’s Director, Asset Management. Whenever we’re in meetings together, I’m always impressed with her poise and intelligence. But, even so, there are many who work more closely with Kerri than I, so I turned to one of them – Global Director of Operations, Kathy Winkelman – for help writing Kerri’s introduction. Here’s what Kathy had to say: Kerri Jones is an invaluable member of my team who makes a huge difference to the success of the company. She has an incredible work ethic and whenever I ask her to do something, she always finds a way to get the job done exceptionally. She’s a great example to other employees and supervisors, and her kindness and professionalism are unparalleled.
What do you do at StorageMart?
My title is Director, Asset Management. The Asset Management Department is responsible for operational audits of store performance. We evaluate the business health of each store as well as the staff’s direct impact on the store’s performance. In order to review over 200 stores in three countries remotely, the Asset Management Department is also made up of the data analysis & reporting personnel who verify, query, and visualize output of all StorageMart data used across all departments.
How long have you been at StorageMart?
Four years.
Is there a particular turning point in your professional experience that helped define your career path?
At my second employee performance evaluation, Kathy Winkelman said she noticed a change in me as though I had really decided to make this my career. I hadn’t thought about it until then explicitly, but when she brought it to my attention, I was able to think back on all of the progress and projects and energy I felt coming to work each day – and she was right. I come to work each day planning what I get to do that will in some way, big or small, make a difference for the company, and it excites me… usually.
To what or whom have you turned to for inspiration throughout your career?
Working for my family in a family business means I have a lot of people surrounding me to look to for inspiration every day. They have built this company (and rebuilt it) and I am so proud of what they have accomplished. I don’t think our generation could start over again, so I am eternally grateful for them. Outside of my family, I would be remiss if I didn’t say my Catholic faith, and I would be happy to share more about it should anyone ask.
What are some qualities of strong leadership that have proved important but are often overlooked in a professional setting?
Listening is a huge skill that is so important and is so often overlooked. It validates people, can empower them and just makes them happier in the workplace in general. If there is a big decision to make, even if I’m leaning a certain way already, I might schedule an informal, brief brainstorming session to hash out the pros and cons so everyone feels a part of the decision-making process. This isn’t always feasible, but when it happens it definitely creates more buy-in.
Some things I need to work on that are important in leadership are “soft skills.” I tend to do things with purpose, and it’s hard for me to converse without a specific point in mind. But you will follow someone much more easily if you know who they are, what drives them, their background, and similarly if you feel like they know and care about you. Something a friend of mine suggested, who is also a female leader, is to regularly go on a “love tour” around the office– which is a silly way to say a leader should regularly leave the confines of their “open-door policy office” and meet employees in their own setting. They can talk about work or non-work things, but the boss making the effort to travel to where you are says a lot.
Based on your experience, what is one thing managers or execs could do better to support and encourage women in the workplace?
This is a difficult question because I don’t think women should be supported and encouraged more than men, but perhaps differently? But then every individual likes to be supported and encouraged in their own way, so it is not a gender-based issue. I think across the board managers and execs just need to give more feedback to everyone – positive and negative. Confrontation is hard, but delaying confrontation makes it 100 times more difficult, and I am guilty of this as well at times. On the flip side, some employees feel greatly undervalued because sometimes we are too busy to simply stop and say “good job.” As a company, we only require annual evaluations, and some employees only get feedback that often. Perhaps, we could require a minimum of x number of informal evaluations/notes per year as well?
What is one thing a leader has done to help promote women in the workplace — either organizationally or for you personally?
When Lise Nyrop joined StorageMart, there was a significant shift in the force for the better. We may occasionally give her a hard time, but she has shined a light on a few dark corners and we have improved as a company because of it.
Tell us a bit about what you do when you aren’t busy being a rock star at work.
When I’m not at work, I am a busy wife to Stephen, and mom and chauffeur to 4 kids: Colman-17, Dwyn-14, Fisher-10 and Serafina-6. I’m also caretaker to a hairless Terrier, Trebby, 2 cats, Christmas & George, and a Betta fish, Gerald. Before Covid I loved to sing in the Jefferson City Cantorum, and you can still find me every Saturday at my favorite YMCA cardio dance class.