Our Chief People Officer, Belinda Kyle, talks about the person who has most inspired her:

Melinda Webster has been a source of inspiration for me during my tenure at Biscuitville. I have watched Melinda go through a very challenging period in her life. At this time, she was able to focus on the needs of her family while also balancing work. For most, this would be very difficult, but Melinda is excellent at making herself available to others while balancing her personal life, which is essential.

What I've Learned
Melinda has shown me the importance of putting others first while keeping yourself whole. She has a positive attitude and looks for the silver lining in tough situations. Whenever I face a challenging issue at home or work, I think of Melinda and how she would tackle the situation. This helps me look at things from a different perspective and see how best we can put forth solutions instead of focusing on the problem.

How This Translates to My Work
Just as Melinda has inspired me, we can inspire other women to pursue success by ensuring an equal mix of genders and ethnicities is represented across the organization in different capacities. By training group leaders on how to facilitate properly, we also ensure that everyone is heard and feels safe to share ideas, which ultimately builds confidence.

What I'd Tell My Younger Self
Everyone has a seat at the table, and all of their perspectives will be different based on where they are seated. Everyone’s perspective matters, and by taking in each person’s perspective, you build a better, more inclusive outcome than if only one or two perspectives were considered.

How I’m Creating More Inclusive Spaces
I am creating a work environment where I help open people’s minds to think differently and encourage them to release any blinders prohibiting them from doing so.

Now, our Benefits and Compensation Manager, Melinda Webster, talks about how she feels we all can be an inspiration to others and what has inspired her the most:

Inspiring someone else is as simple as listening to them and learning more about what they are passionate about, their aspirations, and some of their concerns. These questions can spark something in them that they didn’t know existed.

I also firmly believe in encouraging individuals to participate and lead in ventures that impact their psyches and help them grow. I enjoy encouraging others by challenging them to help me in areas they were not expecting. Getting outside of our comfort zone helps to increase our growth. Within my career, there was a time when I encouraged one of my coworkers to come outside of her comfort zone and become more qualitative vs. quantitative. That has been a funny challenge for both of us—hiccups, learning, laughing, and enjoying the growth journey along the way.

By surrounding ourselves with others who are doing and not just thinking about doing, we tend to want to emulate that individual. Finding this example can be a game changer for growth.

The word inspiration is such an endearing word. We can inspire people to think more intently about the power of their spoken words, the results of their actions, or even the direction of their life goals. Encouraging someone to dream can change the trajectory of the path they are currently on. Finding that center is critical to how they show up on a daily basis.

What I've learned
Seek opportunities to be kind, show up for my team, pitch in and roll up my sleeves to help, and be a professional representative of Biscuitville.

How This Translates to My Work
Watching others who inspire, I can draw real parallels to our cultural values of gratitude and authenticity, our vision, and our growth plan.

What I'd Tell My Younger Self
Inclusiveness has no downside because the possibilities are limitless. Why would we ever want to push out the unknown? The unknown could ultimately be the WOW factor. People of all shapes, ages, ancestry, ideas, locations, colors, educational levels, and backgrounds can contribute in ways that often defy imagination and make you better than you can be alone.

As my late husband always said, everyone has a gift – even if it is whistling and being the best whistler on the team!

How I’m Creating More Inclusive Spaces
I am contributing to inclusivity by listening, encouraging, being flexible, learning, and growing along the way. We are all works in progress, and if we show up to be our very best, we encourage others to do the same. Inclusion is practiced and not just preached. I embrace difference and try not to shy away from it.

#inspireinclusion