My Jepson Story: Suezy Keller, '06

My Jepson Story: Suezy Keller, '06

October 23, 2012
Jepson prepared me to be a servant leader in my role as a consultant for the federal goverment
*One of a collection of stories written by alumni for the Jepson School's 20th Anniversary


As a consultant for the federal government, my job is to work for the success of someone or something else. On a daily basis, this work conjures up the very definition of servant leadership.

Regardless of the project or client need, ultimately my job is to make other people successful and often at the critical times when they need it the most. Consultants are often brought in when organizations are failing, about to navigate a daunting change or when they need certain skills that they don't have. And if you do your job right, the best reward is the success and praise of someone else. While our job as consultants is to support the goals and requirements of others, we are also in a profession that is driven by the bottom line. I can say that many, many people still put the client's success before the profit margin, but I can also say that not everyone does.

My Jepson experience has given me a strong respect for what it means to be a servant leader regardless of the outside pressures or situation. As Jepson students, we are challenged to think about leadership through many lenses - ethics, change, human impact and politics - before we encounter them. I can't count the number of times I have used my Jepson experience--to stand firmly for what is right for the client in the face of pressure, to motivate a team to support the seemingly unimportant tasks that are critical to the success of others or to lead from behind as a client navigates a difficult yet critical problem. I will admit that I have, on more than one occasion, carried my Leaders Companion (by Dr. Tom Wren) into a meeting where I knew I would need to reference it. As Jepson students, we enter the world understanding the multiple facets of leadership and the many ways it can manifest itself in our daily life.

--Suezy Keller