“To be successful, you’ve got to get comfortable with the discomfort of being uncomfortable. Hardly anything significant and sizeable has been accomplished from a place of ease and comfort.”
— Laquita Stribling
Her Story of Success…
Laquita Stribling knows the value of engaging in a wide variety of experiences. She works as senior vice president for Randstad USA, the number one staffing company in the world, and serves as a district governor for Rotary International in Tennessee. Laquita does all of this on top of being a mom, an active member of her community, a mentor, and a lifelong learner. In all of those roles, she strives to be a leader who opens doors for others.
Professionally, Laquita worked her way up over 22 years at Randstad, where she started as an entry level associate. She accomplished this by always being willing to tackle new challenges. That same attitude led her to engage with Rotary, starting out as a young woman in a club that was mostly made up of older white men. Rising to become the first African American district governor, she now uses her position to create greater diversity within the organization.
In this episode…
Laquita explains why she decided to stay at Randstad for so many years and how having a supportive boss has made a huge difference in her career (3:32). She also encourages listeners to be lifelong learners, a value which she learned from her family at a young age (6:56). As an experienced mentor, Laquita offers practical advice for finding a mentor or a mentee, saying no to opportunities that aren’t right for you, and getting the most out of your mentoring relationships (15:02). As she describes her experience with Rotary Club (21:40), Laquita also encourages listeners, especially women, to become more comfortable with being uncomfortable, a skill which she believes is essential for networking and finding new opportunities (32:42).
To close out the episode, Laquita talks about how she defines leadership and success (37:58). In both areas, she focuses primarily on how she can use her own skills, abilities and experiences to help others succeed. Whether it’s at her company, in her community or through raising her kids, Laquita embodies this type of servant leadership in everything she does.
