Women’s History Month Blog Series: Meet Kimberly Schaffer
In honor of Women’s History Month, we’d like to introduce you to some exceptional women leaders.
Meet Kimberly Schaffer, Senior Director of Service Delivery
What is your role at Milestone?
As the Senior Director of Service Delivery, I am focused on ensuring customer success for our projects and managed services engagements. I manage a cross-functional team of ServiceNow experts in the areas of Solutions Architecture, Technical Consulting/Development and Engagement Management. I also manage our Managed Services teams and own our project delivery methodology.
A woman who inspires me is ……
My grandmother was the most inspirational woman in my life. A survivor of the war, she came to this country as an orphaned immigrant in 1949 at the age of 19 with nothing but the clothes on her back. Despite the hardships she had endured and the ones yet to come, she always managed to find the good in everyone and make the best out of every situation. She lived life to the fullest and didn’t take a single moment for granted.
What is the greatest lesson you have learned in business?
Building strong, trusted relationships is a key to success. You can be the smartest person in the room, but if you don’t take the time to understand the people around you and what matters to them you have really lost an opportunity to maximize productivity and job satisfaction.
If you could give young women one piece of advice, what would it be?
Do the things that take you out of your comfort zone. Take risks, accept feedback and learn from your mistakes. While doing these things can sometimes be uncomfortable, these are exactly the kind of things that help you to grow and learn.
Biggest challenge?
Finding that sweet spot in work-life balance! My husband and I have 6 amazing children together. As moms we feel like we need to do it all, and not only that, we need to do it all well. When you put in the extra hours at work, you feel guilty about not spending that time with your family. When you put in the extra time with your family, you feel you aren’t doing as much as you can at work. The struggle is real and unfortunately there is no right answer. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I can’t do it all, nor should I. I just have to be the best I can at whatever I choose to do and that is enough.
Greatest accomplishment?
That’s easy: My family!
Favorite inspirational quote:
Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. – Dolly Parton
