During Women’s History Month, we reflect on and revere the achievements, contributions, and resilience of women that helped pave a path for us. We use this month to also celebrate the progress made (PANTS!) and look for ways to further foster equality and equity in the future.

This month, Kipsu is celebrating an additional achievement in the hiring of our new Senior Vice President of Revenue, Kelly Eisele. The addition of Kelly makes our executive team 42% female, the highest so far in Kipsu history. More than that, the makeup of women on our executive team is 17% higher than the national average of 25% of female representation in executive tech leadership.

That high percentage of women on Kipsu’s executive team stood out to Kelly, who has spent a majority of her career as one of few women at the table (if not the only one). It even came up during her interview with CEO Chris Smith.

“I’ve never worked at a company that had this many female executives. My question was if that was intentional. Clearly that is something unique to Kipsu based on my personal experience. And we had a really great conversation about it…it was less about the intentionality of them being female, but who is best suited for the role and it just so happened that the people for the job happened to be female. It was interesting to hear his take on it. I saw that vein living throughout and it just builds trust.”

Kelly credits athletics being the genesis of her “leadership journey” (my words, not hers), specifically her high school volleyball team. She had two coaches who owned VERY different leadership styles, Julie VanEpps and Cathy Bramlett. What this illustrated to Kelly was that leadership can come in many forms and, based on both coaches’ records for leading State Championship teams, can achieve success, even if on separate paths. She learned a lot about leadership from them, and eventually earned the captain position, her first official leadership position. “I’m someone who just really wants to do a good job, so expectations are set. I want to meet or exceed them. Leading by example is the first way I do that.” 

This led to other leadership opportunities like coaching, which is where she found her passion as she entered her professional career. What I loved about coaching was seeing the development of the players and how that led to us achieving our goals. My leadership style today is still a derivative of that philosophy. 

As Kelly’s career progressed, she found her coaching skills served her well as she moved up the ranks to Sales Manager and beyond. As she continued working toward bigger goals, she recognized the value of being coached herself, and set out to find a mentor. At the time, of the approximately 200 directors at Aerotek, fewer than ten were female, but she was able to connect with one of those ten women, Jodi Nuttall, who made a significant impact on her. “She is someone you could look up to. She really understood her role and she understood her position. Some people can get there and think, ‘I had to fight to get here, why shouldn’t they?’ or its unwanted competition and not lifting others up. She was someone I saw in a totally different light and wrapping her arms around the women especially, to take them with her.”

Kelly took those nuggets of “leadership best practices” with her as she herself became a mentor to new hires in the company. “Having mentors is so critical. I think for women, often we think we need female mentors. Although I think that’s important to have female relationships, I think it’s equally important to have male ones. When you look at the table and who has a seat there, men still make up a lot of that. In order for change to happen, men have to be a part of the change, and I think there are many men who really want to be a part of that. It should be people uplifting people.”

The female workforce is growing: Women are earning more degrees than men, parental leave has empowered families to grow without sacrificing careers, and flexible schedules help parents, particularly mothers, stay in the workforce. And having women at the table is important.

“I think that different experiences and having representation at the table matters. Whether that’s women, men, we are more than just a gender too, but having that representation and diversity of thought lifts EVERYONE, whether you are male or female. So in my mind, not only is it being a good person, but it’s also just good business. Because 51% of the population is female, you're missing an entire talent pool if you don’t consider how that particular demographic can contribute to your business.”

For those looking for growth or leadership opportunities, Kelly’s first piece of free mentorship: “You have to keep track of your own accomplishments. Write your own brag sheet.”

She continues, “I think it's really about helping people see what they are doing, but also how to communicate it. Self-advocacy is hard, but it’s learning how to do it in a way that is authentic to who you are and shows the impact that you’re making. No one else is going to make that list for you. What are you doing that you are meeting and exceeding expectations in your role, how are you gaining new skills and how are you communicating and sharing that?” Get ready to toot your own horn, everyone.

Kipsu remains dedicated to hiring the right, qualified people for the role, regardless of gender. We understand that embracing diverse perspectives from a variety of backgrounds not only enriches Kipsu’s culture, but also inspires innovation and creativity that helps us grow and succeed as a company. Kelly, as well as every hire we make, contributes to that goal.