Zonar’ has its very own women’s affinity group. Active, Supportive, Productive, Intentional, Respectful, Empowering (ASPIRE). The group was launched earlier this year with the intention of raising visibility of women and providing opportunities to develop leadership skills, inspire and build community.
ASPIRE recently organized a Zonar hosted event featuring Annette Sandberg, former Chief of Washington State Patrol and former Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association. Annette has a been a long-time consultant for and friend of Zonar, not only as our independent 3rd-party verifier of Zonar Logs (ELD) – but also over the past 10 years working with our compliance and product teams in the development of our safety innovations. After a recent consultative visit Annette gave a lunchtime talk to Zonar to share the tips she has learned on her way up the ladder to top leadership positions in male-dominated industries.
Here are Annette’s tips:
- Don’t let people set your limitations
- At 30 years old Annette was told she was too young to be the Chief of the Washington State Patrol. She did not listen to nay-sayers and applied anyway.
- Don’t burn any bridges
- Even though she didn’t get the job as chief the first time, a year later the governor called and asked her to fill the position. Annette was thankful she made a conscious decision not to say anything bad about the initial interview process after she was rejected, otherwise she might not have gotten the call.
- Always maintain your sense of humor
- Annette shared stories about how she was mistaken for someone’s wife and the secretary who was there to take notes at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference. She reiterated how maintaining perspective and a sense of humor is essential when facing such situations.
- Always look for an opportunity
- When a she saw a door open, Annette took the chance and pursued the opportunity. This is how she eventually was nominated by President Bush to serve as the Administrator of FMCSA.
- Every job has a shelf life
- Annette realized she needed to know the shelf life of any position, before she turned bitter, or someone else told her shelf life.
- Have fun
- Annette feels fortunate for every job she had (truck inspector, state trooper, government administrator, transportation consultant) because they were all so much fun. She is motivated by the thought that her work helps ensure the safety of everyone on the roads and around her.
