Why Jennifer Fields Creates Conflict on Purpose

Grace at work gets read as weakness, and Jennifer Fields makes the opposite case: extending it takes more courage than bringing the hammer down, and it serves the bottom line. Jennifer Fields is Chief Delivery Officer at Acklen Avenue, where she leads an international team. She started as a software developer after a computer science advisor, Barbara Doyle, talked her out of pre-med and into one class. She talks with Ashley Russo about building trust so people tell you the truth, rewarding dissent, and why the investment you make in people is the only thing that lasts. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to Ask Ashley 00:43 Meeting Jennifer Fields 01:21 From pre-med to software 04:07 Being the only woman in the room 06:15 Changing the dress code at 21 07:37 Building culture with trust and empathy 09:46 Bias, triggers and pushing past them 10:35 Rewarding dissent and divergent views 12:46 Creating conflict on purpose 15:12 Community without segmentation 20:17 Why grace serves the bottom line 22:15 Retention and people who come back 24:24 How Jennifer fills her own cup 26:53 Advice to her younger self 28:38 Valuing people over the profit they bring You can follow Jennifer Fields here: LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/jennifer-fields-0b40aa4 Learn more about Acklen Avenue: Website - https://acklenavenue.com