Melissa Edwards on LinkedIn: #team #arcbestawesome #abtechawesome #abtech #teamappreciation… (2024)

Thanks for letting me share my journey through the real world, Bri! I had a blast and enjoyed getting to meet some new work “Barbies”. We’re fortunate to work alongside so many talented women with bright ideas and powerful attitudes. 💕I asked everyone to write down two sticky notes: one pink (duh) public thing they felt confident they could teach to others and one purple private thing they wanted to improve. We put the public stickies on the wall and used the opportunity to network on the private notes. Brianne C. made a great observation: It’s a lot easier to write down the stuff we think we’re not good at than it is give ourselves some credit where we excel! Why is that? (And does it have to be that way?)We’re all weird Barbies after all, but that’s what makes writing our own stories as women in STEM so unique and empowering. We all have a seat at the table with a council of others who can coach us to achieve our big goals (or support us when we learn that failing is a part of growth). For now - bye Barbies! 👋🏻I’ll be over here having a blowout party with planned choreography cheering you on. #womeninstem #womenintech#abtechawesome #techatarcbest#hibarbie

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Day 1 at #GartnerDW Digital Workplace Summit wrapped up this evening. Excited for Day 2 - and that’s no bull! 😉But “steer”-iously, what more could you ask for than beautiful Texas weather, passionate industry leaders, and candid conversations on the state of the digital workplace? A few takeaway ideas from sessions that earned a star in my notebook:• No technology is evergreen. • What IT workers want more than anything is respect for their time, inside and outside of work. • Teamwork is not an accident. How you work together (not just where) can make all the difference. • Feedback is a gift - don’t abuse or waste it when it’s given freely. You herd it here first. (Okay, I promise that’s the last one for today!)#techatarcbest #thoughtsoftheday

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What a year! 🥳As 2023 comes to a close, I'm taking some personal time off and reflecting on just how many amazing things I've been part of professionally:💙Celebrating ArcBest's 100th year in business👩💻Collaborating with passionate ABTech peers on technical recruiting strategy🧠 Raising over $60k to benefit #988lifeline with fellow Leadership Academy 2022 members🏆Cheering on my teams as they achieved our big goals🗣️Building meaningful connections with peer managers ☕Drinking copious amounts of Starbucks cold brew...and so much more!Saying 2023 has been a "busy" year is an understatement, but it's been impactful in so many ways. Leading into 2024, I'm trying to work on taking the space (and rest!) I need to stay focused while continuing to show appreciation for others around me. Thank you to my friends, peers, and mentors that supported me this year. It takes a village, and I'm glad you all are in my corner when I need you most. To 2024 - and beyond! 🚀#2024goals #reflections #yearinreview #techatarcbest #abtechawesome

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Crazy to reflect back that 13 years ago, I was a senior IS major at Arkansas Tech University who got the call of my first “real” job offer. Time really does fly. 🪽2010 Melissa would have never believed how much I’ve grown, changed, and learned at my time with ArcBest Technologies. Your first job is scary but thrilling. I’m glad I’m still here learning and growing every day. It takes courage to reflect on where you’ve come and where you are. To quote Nathan Mellor, EdD, PCC from today’s leadership class: “Courage is not accidental.” Here’s to the next 13 years of courage, and the next.

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Live at Arkansas Tech University #STEM Opportunity fair this afternoon with Kaitlyn Turner and Derrick Cox! Come find out how you can build the future of logistics tech as a career with some of the best around. #abtechawesome #arcbestawesome#stemcareer #internships #softwaredevelopment

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Without naming names, tell me a story about a time when you felt authentically supported by your leadership or coworkers and what it meant to you. I’ll go first. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I was only about a year into my job with my current company. I told my manager, in tears, that my parents wanted to take a last trip to the beach as a family. I didn’t have enough vacation to cover it, and I was worried about it negatively impacting my place at work. A fellow manager at the time overheard me, and took it upon himself to encourage my leader to let me go to the beach and figure out the rest later. He understood from his wife’s passing from cancer that the trips to MD Anderson meant we were closer to the end with my mom than I even realized. My manager agreed and worked with me to do what was what right for me as a person - not just a number or a warm seat. That trip was one of my last memories of my mom, wrapped up in blankets watching the sunset over the beach. It was hard, but it was necessary. And looking back now as a manager of my own team, I know that it wasn’t easy for my manager either. There was paperwork and conversations I never knew went on, because those leaders were willing to carry that weight when they recognized I couldn’t. So thank you, managers and leaders and co-workers alike, for being willing to carry the weight when your peers or employees need the extra strength to lean on. It means more than you know. #leadership #caringforpeople #personalstory

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