Joining Jonathan Goldhill in this episode of the Disruptive Successor Podcast is Hillary McPartlon, educator and administrator in New Mexico public schools, CEO of Brian McPartlon Roofing, LLC, and a champion for women in roofing. Hillary, a third-generation leader in her family’s roofing business, is well-known in her field as the face of change for women in roofing. She talks about how, as a child, she fell in love with the family business and how she became in charge of the operation after her father passed it down to her. She talks about the struggles and realities of women in the roofing industry as women only make up 1% of this field. Her movement has made women more visible and has given voice to women who want to enter this profession. She also talks about how to handle family-owned businesses and how to navigate it with as much finesse as possible.
HIGHLIGHTS
02:51 Hillary's family background and how her grandfather started the roofing business for the entire family
08:22 Leadership of high school students vs leadership of people in paid jobs
13:59 Inspirations and motivations to keep going and improving
21:26 Hillary's different take of running the family business compared to her father
25:27 Women in the roofing industry and why Hillary is taking the lead on this movement
32:07 Difficult conversations on passing the mantle of leadership from father to daughter
33:59 Hillary's advice for others in the same business on letting people go
38:17 Final thoughts
QUOTES
09:37 ""It wasn't about my individual contribution to the team, it was about how we help each other. And I think that finding those niches, like who are the right people, what do they bring to the table and how do we motivate and bring them up versus letting them flail."
13:48 "Everything that I read was what I was going through ... I have to really remember what my purpose is and to walk through the door that I'm in a business and I'm not walking into my house. Like family is family but business is business and you gotta remember that. It's not always the same."
17:33 "It's so important that we look for people who can be teachers, mentors, leaders, crew leaders, people that we respect, it makes all the difference in our lives, in our careers. Not so easy when they're assigned to a crew leader that they don't really admire."
24:30 "It's almost like we're in little league and we're trying to learn the rules of the game. And I've got a bunch of players who aren't in the little league anymore but they're outgrowing their uniforms and still don't know a lot of the rules."
27:43 "What is it like to be a woman in roofing and it's not easy. You gotta make sure that you have a seat at the table and, if you don't, you gotta get a chair and bring it over."
34:30 "If you're going to be the next generation, you have to be able to take over at some point. And if you don't take the reigns then you're gonna be out of control. I have to remind myself of that all the time."
36:35 "As we think about our visions for our lives and our businesses, we should start with a vision for our life first because if we create this giant vision for our business, we will crowd out any kind of vision we might have for our lives and our businesses should support our lives. Not the other way around."
To learn more about Hillary, you can check out the links below.
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