Since moving to Charlotte in 2000 as the first woman to head BellSouth Corp.'s North Carolina operations, Krista Tillman has multi-tasked with the best of them.
She has led the local phone company as it faces unprecedented competition for business and residential customers. She's been involved in countless civic affairs, including chairing Charlotte Center City Partners. And she and her husband, Paul, have raised their son, Garrett, 17, as he prepares to head for college next year. She also helps care for two dogs and two cats.
A Kansas native, Tillman grew up in Atlanta and attended school there, earning a bachelor's degree in mathematics at Georgia State University and a master's in science and applied statistics at Georgia Tech University.
She's worked for BellSouth for more than 25 years with stints in New Jersey and Atlanta before coming to Charlotte. Her leadership has earned widespread kudos, most recently as this year's winner of the Excellence in Management Award, sponsored by The Rotary Club of Charlotte, the Charlotte Chamber and the Charlotte Business Journal. Past award recipients include Tony Zeiss, John Belk, Michael Marsicano and Hugh McColl Jr. Tillman is the second woman to earn the award, which was established in 1988.
She recently spoke with the Charlotte Business Journal about her perspective on leadership. Following are excerpts.
What do you think is the key to management success?
I really think it's about the people, getting the right people in the right job, doing the right thing. Folks around here have been through a lot and the industry has been through a lot. That can make some people very nervous. But if you are comfortable with what you are doing and your skill set and your expectations, then you can work through the changes.
Did you have a vision to be a manager?
I don't know that I ever planned it that way. I started as a teacher and went back to school to get my master's degree. I took the job with Southern Bell that was closest to my thesis.
BellSouth has been fabulous to me. In 25 years, I bet I've had 15 to 20 jobs. That's what a large corporation affords people. I've been in many different disciplines. I've been in the engineering side, the network side, development of new services, a lot of small businesses that we bought. I also worked on large operations in both the wholesale and retail sides of the business. One of my most fun assignments was in strategy.
I think you set your sights to do something really interesting and work with great people. That's what I've had the opportunity to do.
Have you gained skills as a manager?
One of my favorite things to do is watch other people in action, especially people in well-respected leadership positions, whether they are in BellSouth or in the community. That's how I learn. Others learn by reading or by doing things. I learn by observing.
I've seen some wonderful leadership traits in how people run a meeting or how they move people to consensus. I think it's always interesting to see the different styles.
Are there people in Charlotte who have influenced you?
There have been many. I think Peter Pappas is doing a tremendous job as president of the Charlotte Chamber this year. He has a great hands-on style. Vicki Wilson-McElreath (of PricewaterhouseCoopers) is so down to earth and practical, which I guess you would expect from a CPA. I admire (Queens University of Charlotte President) Pamela Lewis for her drive, her vision, her interest to bring partners together to make that vision happen.
(Retired banker) Jim Palermo is just so dogmatic. He finds something he's doing to drive and, by golly, he drives that thing. And it happens. That's what it takes.
I love to be around (Duke Power Co. President) Ruth Shaw and listen to her talk. The way she can bring people together and bring out ideas that may be sitting in your mind. She can articulate them and you say, "Yeah."
Charlotte is fortunate to have so many of those folks.
Is managing different than when you entered Southern Bell?
Probably because the business has changed so much. Managing in a heavily regulated business under rate-of-return guidelines and lots of structure and no competitors creates a very different kind of leader. Would someone very successful in that regime be successful in this environment? Probably so, but they would have to pull on different ways of doing things.
Back then, we had Bell System Practices, which told us how to do things. Now we have our processes, but we also encourage innovation. If something doesn't work, we find another way to do it. We have some employees who've been here 40 years, and they've gone through the transition. It's challenging to make sure you can go through that.
How have you motivated long-term employees?
The most successful situation is when we can pair the more experienced employee with newer employees. It's great to see the camaraderie and teaching and process transfer.
If you go back 10 years and compare the tools that technicians carry on their trucks with what they carry today, it is amazing. Ten years ago, it was mostly hammers and screwdrivers and a test set. Now it's primarily electronics and very expensive test sets, so you really need to be a data technician to handle the work. The folks who are really successful can take the computer skills and merge that with the experience and foundation of our customer service.
Customer service is a key focus at BellSouth, it seems.
In a world where competitors can buy everything we have except for our brand name, how do you make your mark known? The only way is with the service you deliver to your customer.
We are in a recurring relationship with our customers. The only way we can be successful next year and the year after that is how we serve our customers. Our employees really understand that. I think the spirit of service is something our long-term employees transfer very well to our newer employees. You can't buy that.
What is your main approach to managing?
That sign sums it up. (She points to a sign in her office asking, "What do you recommend?")
In my book, my job is to set the vision and describe the goal -- what are we trying to do? But it is not in any specific way to chart the course. There are usually two or three ways to skin the cat. Let's hear what's best for the people who need to do the work.
Is managing younger workers particularly challenging?
You aren't seeing as much loyalty. But I think that's OK. You get some stability with long-term workers, but you also can get a little too comfortable in expecting the job. I think it's great to have different experiences. I think you can be as loyal at five years as at 25 years.
Are you optimistic Charlotte can attract smart folks in their 20s and 30s vs. losing them to Atlanta and other big cities?
There are some things we need to continue to do to make it a great place. The park and greenway system is very important because that's really what the younger crowd is looking for. It's not just the bars. It's the quality of life.
I think what Charlotte offers is what Atlanta is about to lose: quality of life. The traffic is so bad there, and you have to live so far out to be able to afford living there. Because of that, you are looking at losing an hour to 90 minutes a day commuting. That is very hard on families.
But you can have a balance of work and family in Charlotte. And we have a good climate, and we are close to the beach and the mountains.
Krista Tillman is the Queens University of Charlotte Sports Complex Campaign Co-Chair. She was also the 2003 Charlotte BusinessWoman of the Year.
