00:00:00Linda Farris, transcript, December 3, 2017
Kelsey: What part of your personal biography/ background led you to working here
at La Casa?
Linda: Absolutely nothing about my personal history led me to working at La
Casa. I like to challenge myself, I like to step outside the box. I was given an
opportunity, when I landed this job, I had 5 jobs to choose from that I was
given, and I had to pick one. The other four were things that I was familiar
with and La Casa was the one thing that was completely different for me. So I
decided to do it, because it was a challenge, it was different.
Kelsey: What cultural identities and experiences are most salient for you?
Linda: I think, the experiences that I've had here are the most important. I've
picked up the knowledge of a culture that I didn't know, a language that I
didn't speak before. And an understanding about a different group of people that
I've never worked with before, or had a chance to be this closely tied to.
Kelsey: What experiences have most shaped you as a leader?
Linda: Probably my early jobs when I was younger. Working at different
restaurants, those jobs always put me in a position to have to be a leader and
it fit, it worked. Everywhere I've ever gone, I've started at the bottom, and my
goal has always been to get to the top as fast as possible.
Kelsey: were you called into leadership or did you seek it?
Linda: I was totally suckerpunched into this, I didn't know it was going to
happen. I had been working in the kitchen and when we moved to this new location
and the restaurant grew, I thought I was going to get a new kitchen and instead
I got an entire new restaurant that I had to run.
Kelsey: How have you learned from obstacles and challenges you've faced?
Linda: So much has been taught to me through this, and the obstacles I've faced
have been pretty paramount. Language barriers that I had never experienced
before, I've had customers that didn't speak English, but never before have I
had an entire crew that doesn't. And I didn't speak a lick of Spanish
originally. So those were some huge challenges that I had to overcome, and did,
I now speak Spanish to be in this position.
Kelsey: What is leadership mean to you?
Linda: Leadership means to me being able to head a group of people that you've
put together yourself that carry the same sort of qualities and identifying
traits, and being able to take them into a hectic situation and see them through
it, guide them through it. And allow them to grow while they're there, giving
them enough room to grow, but enough leadership to keep them in line
Kelsey: How would you characterize your leadership style?
Linda: I'm pretty laid back, I operate a lot on common sense. I don't like to
browbeat, I don't like to have to micromanage, I like to let people have their
freedom. I like to hire people who will be able to manage themselves.
Kelsey: What are your professional strengths and weaknesses?
Linda: I think my strengths are that I am strong, I'm not intimidated easily, I
don't step down from controversy, I don't back down whatsoever from anything
that is challenging. I think my weaknesses are that because I am sort of laid
back, sometimes in certain situations I can be taken advantage of. But again,
it's all about hiring people who won't do that in the first place. People who
understand that their job is their job to do. I'm just simply here to make sure
that it's all done at the end of the day.
Kelsey: What/ who has been your greatest influence?
Linda : Some of my greatest influencers are just strong women. Women in history
that have stood up for things that they believe in. My father was a good
influence for me as far as work ethic goes. He was in the military as a drill
sergeant, and did almost 20 years as a field artillery guy. And he had a very
strong work ethic. My mother, who was a stay at home mom had incredibly work
ethic for someone who didn't earn a paycheck. Both of them taught me the value
of hard work and dedication.
Kelsey: Leaders help to turn ideas into action an empower others. How do you
accomplish this?
Linda: Like I said, allowing people to have enough space to grow on their own. I
like individuals to shine, I like to see their differences, I like to showcase
that. The easiest way for that to happen is to not micromanage people and allow
them room to express themselves, and freedom to be who they are
Kelsey: How do you measure success, and how do you learn from failure?
Linda: I think I measure success in the success of the people that I am
managing. If they're successful, I am. And learning from failure is more
important than learning from success. You need to fall down as many times as
possible, and get up every single time. And you have to learn something from
that, or you're just repeating the same mistakes over and over
Kelsey: What advice do you have for building relationships and trust in an organization?
Linda: Keeping everything honest, making sure everybody is on the same page. No
gossip, backtalk, and degrading one another. And being supportive of individuals
and their individuality. Allowing other people to be who they are, and accepting
them for who they are, and guiding them through their job as individuals. I
don't like to manage collectively, I like to manage individually, that way
everybody has a chance to shine in their own way.
Kelsey: What do you want your legacy to be?
Linda: I hope that as far as my position here, as far as management goes, as far
as my job, I hope that when I leave this place that I leave it and that people
remember me fondly. That they remember me as a good manager and that I was a
fair person. That they remember that I gave my all to the job, to the employee,
and to the customer.
