In just one year, I have to pinch myself. Dossier has grown from just a company of one person to three additional employees! It’s certainly a cause of celebration considering that I started my first project under Dossier in June 2022.
Three is the Magic Number!
With a wealth of document control and project management experience, I couldn’t be prouder to have Darlene Pryor, Karen Crnich and Teresa Roberts come on board to Dossier. Hiring three employees came with a huge responsibility to ensuring that their needs were met. I wanted to make sure that I could sleep at night knowing that my team were well taken care of. When I had my first onboarding meeting with Darlene, Karen and Teresa, I remember them saying that they wanted to be a part of such an exciting opportunity to help Dossier grow and flourish. My eyes welled up at the thought that these three wonderful people were generous enough to want Dossier to be successful when really, all they should really want is to make sure that they are compensated well and taken care of. It said a lot about who they are and I’m grateful for them every day.
That first meeting really made me think about what type of leader I wanted to be. The word, “boss”, doesn’t sit well with me as it implies that one is bossy and I certainly don’t want to micromanage my employees. They are so good at what they do, that they make me want to strive to be better at my job too. However, being a leader should not be taken lightly. It should be about providing for your team, taking care of them, protecting them and ensuring that they are heard. Sometimes, when you are in a position of leadership, you may hear critique and it’s important to be humble about it. I don’t want to lead with my ego but rather with the approach that I can always do better. I hope I can.
This year, we have been fortunate to have many projects on the Dossier roster. I want to thank all my clients for reaching out and for believing in us. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to do this.
Connecting is so Important
Apart from the business side, I also enjoyed having some social time connecting with my employees and my clients. Earlier this year, I went to the WTS (Women Transportation Seminar) gala where Dossier became a sponsor for the first time. WTS is an incredible organization that supports women in the transportation industry. It was inspiring to hear the stories of the award recipients and catch up with fellow colleagues.
I also joined Forum which is a consortium of women business owners in the design industry. When I attended my first meeting, my brain was swarming with all the helpful information from the Forum members. These women are trailblazers! Forum is not only supportive in terms of business advice but the women also keep each other in mind for potential business opportunities. I feel so fortunate to be a part of this group of women who have managed to carve successful businesses in a male-dominated industry.
Later on this year, I met with the Sound Transit Stride BRT team for an Equity Team lunch in my neighborhood of Columbia City. It was such a delight to speak to my team, some of who I have known for over 10 years, and discuss ways of engaging the communities who live near Sound Transit’s bus and light rail stations. During the holiday season, I also met with my King County Metro South Annex Base Team, it was lovely to meet everyone in person and know that we all have the same goal, to make our project a success.
A Very Big Thank You!
I really love what I do. I love organizing files, submitting design packages and most of all engaging with the most incredible people. I am so passionate about the engineering, architecture and design industry. Everyone who works on these projects is changing our region for the better, ensuring that people have access to mass transit, decreasing traffic congestion and reducing fuel emissions for a cleaner environment.
I look forward to working on more projects and with the help of my team (Darlene, Karen and Teresa), continue to produce excellent work for our clients.
With that, I want to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a fruitful 2024!
