Women at STIHL: Courtney Addison
ALWAYS ON MY TOES
Before joining STIHL in 2017, I worked at two universities in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Now I am part of talent development at STIHL, where every day is different. That’s one of the many things I love about my job. I have the opportunity to work with people from different areas of the company, including my colleagues around the world. Some days are packed with meetings, and on others I work on a variety of programs with school and university students. There are also times when I provide training to other STIHL employees. Every day is unique. My role keeps me on my toes and makes going to work every day something I look forward to. I love to help STIHL employees reach their potential and grow within the company. I also enjoy working with my team and Human Resources.
A FISH OUT OF WATER? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
As a female manager, sometimes I feel like a fish out of water, because I might be the only woman — and person of color — in the room. But I have learned to have faith in myself and be confident. After all, there was a reason I was recruited for this role. I have the knowledge, the skills, and the experience to do the job entrusted to me. I have also learned to surround myself with other strong female managers who have inspired me and continue to inspire me at STIHL.
There are two women who I would say stand out for me as role models: Melody Doleman, Executive Head of Human Resources, and Trasa Coffil, Group Leader in Spare Parts. In my eyes, Melody is the embodiment of everything a manager should be. She is modest, patient, ambitious, and strategic, while also genuinely caring about people and STIHL Inc. employees. Melody gives our team a direction and clarity, as well as praise and recognition for the work that we do, while at the same time driving us to continuously improve ourselves. Trasa inspires me because she exemplifies how important it is to trust your own skills and knowledge, pursue self-development and life-long learning, and take risks. She is confident and proud of her work and strives to make STIHL a better company, regardless of the role she has.
Outside STIHL, I also manage the mentoring program of the national Women in Manufacturing association. The group works to empower women in the manufacturing industry, teach them knowledge and leadership skills, and help them reach their full potential. As chair, I am responsible for raising awareness of the group, establishing mentoring partnerships, training and supporting mentors and mentees, and coordinating the closing events in the mentoring programs.
BETTER TOGETHER
I believe diversity is the key to innovation and growth for a business. Creating and internalizing diversity in teams helps us as a company to better recognize and address potential challenges, business strategies, and business opportunities. Diverse teams look at things from many different perspectives. That helps the creative process and so makes for better decisions and outcomes. It’s important that STIHL becomes more diverse as a whole in order that our company and our teams reflect the world we live in.
