Catching up with Gabrielle Brown
The time we spend at our desks can take up a lot of our time. And while what we do to make a living is important to our lives, it isn’t the full picture of who we are.
So we've set out to discover how our team spends their time during the work day and once they clock out.
Gabby Brown is TurnkeyZRG’s Director of Recruiting Operations. She supports the executive search team throughout the full life cycle recruiting process by overseeing the entire operations team and creating processes and procedures that allow for the TurnkeyZRG to be more efficient and strategic as they complete searches – while never compromising on quality.
Read on to learn more about Gabby.
Before I get out of bed, before I check my phone, before I get on Instagram, I always do a devotion and journal to set the tone for my day. My faith is really important to me, so I always make that a priority in the morning.
I love working out.
It's a good stress reliever and I love the feeling after finishing a hard workout, so I try to work out in the mornings. I usually ride the Peloton or go to the gym and lift some weights.
I've become more of a coffee girl in the last two years. When it is time to get the work day started, I typically check emails first to see if anything came through the night before that need to be handled first thing that day.
I love a to-do list and I am a huge process person.
I usually write out what I need to do the next day before I leave my desk that evening. So, I’ll look at that to start my day. Overseeing 6 people requires me to keep a clear agenda, so I am not only able to assist them to the best of my abilities, but also keep my own tasks moving forward.
My days are never the same. Some days, data analysis takes up a good bit of my time. Other days, billing is a huge portion. Then some days I get to have a good bit of strategic brainstorming time. Those days when I get to sit and strategize about new processes or procedures I can implement bring me a lot of joy, because I love figuring out how I can continue to make our team better.
That’s just half the battle. Once I figure out an area of growth, I have to think through the best way to implement it. Implementation is key, and if I am not effectively communicating the importance of the process or how it will be assessed, there’s a high chance it won’t be sustainable.
You can't put a new process in place if you haven't communicated why you're doing it.
I meet with people one-on-one because everybody on our team is different. I can't assume that everybody's going to receive or experience things the same way.
I actually make at least two to-do lists a day.
Like I mentioned before, I do one the night before and then around noon I rewrite a new list to see what priorities have shifted, what may have been added and what can I take off for the next day.
I'm somebody who needs to write things out. I do typically block off the calendar in my Outlook, and I also color code because it makes the day a little bit more fun, and it looks kind of cool honestly! I try to limit things to an hour because I can't let one task take me five hours if I have other things to get to.
My husband described me very well one day. He said, “You like order. You don't always like routine.”
That's a great way to describe me. I like things orderly, but I want things, like what I eat, to switch up. I usually can't eat the same thing two days in a row, but lunch is pretty consistent. It's usually a sandwich, and maybe something light on the side, like fruit. But for dinner, I can’t do the same thing.
I'm actually an introvert in terms of where I get my energy.
If I've talked a lot or had meetings all day long, I have to sit in silence for at least 15 minutes once the day is done. Then I’ll go with the dogs outside, let them walk around and I will sit outside with them and just get some fresh air. I am a big reality tv show fan, so I may catch up on some shows I like too.
I love to cook. I think cooking is really therapeutic, so I don't meal prep that much because cooking gives me an outlet during the week.
Avoiding burnout comes from setting boundaries and being comfortable having those boundaries.
You can set boundaries all day long, but the test is when your boundary is pushed. Do you keep it? Do you hold up your boundary?
I'm never going to serve the team well if I'm not taking care of me.
If I am not self-aware and taking care of myself mentally and physically, then I am failing the team when I get to work. Of course if someone needs something after hours or if there is a real fire, I will always hop on and help. But having boundaries helps me make sure I'm prioritizing what is important in my life, so that all parts of Gabby can thrive. Not just Gabby the employee, but Gabby the wife, the daughter, the sister, and the friend.
Gabby and her husband, Pat
Gabby’s dogs, Sky and Rocky
Gabby
You have to listen more than you talk.
When I have one-on-ones with members of my team, the whole meeting cannot be me talking. That doesn't make any sense. That's not a conversation, that's a presentation.
Creating psychological safety is key in conversations. Everyone needs something different from me in those spaces, but at the core of the conversations they all want to be heard.
I have people on my team who are quieter, and need more time to open up and there is nothing wrong with that. I also have people on my team who LOVE to talk and share. You want to make sure no matter who it is, people know that you are a safe space, that they can come talk to you honestly and openly, and that you're going to actually hear them and not just respond with what you think is best.
If all I am doing is projecting my thoughts and opinions onto them, they would never open up. Psychological safety is so critical, and a component some people often forget at work.
At the end of the day, I'm here to serve the team and be an authentic leader.
A huge part of that is daring to be vulnerable. Part of it is stepping FAR outside of your comfort zone and being comfortable with discomfort.
I have to speak up for what could be done better, or what maybe isn’t working if it is going to enhance the experience my team has at work. Even when I am having a hard day, I always convey that to the people on my team.
My goal in doing that is to remind them that no matter what title, we all have challenging days. Perfection is not the goal, and I always encourage them to approach their days with grace and kindness.
If you want to make change, you can't do what's already been done.
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ABOUT TURNKEYZRG
Founded in 1996, TurnkeyZRG is a highly specialized talent recruitment/executive search firm filling C-level, senior-level and mid-management level positions throughout sports, entertainment, music and media. Over the past 25 years, TurnkeyZRG has filled more than 1,400 positions throughout sports, entertainment and media. TurnkeyZRG helps teams, leagues, stadiums, arenas, theaters, college athletic departments, events, sponsors, agencies, media companies, private equity companies and other clients identify, recruit and hire the very best management talent. Turnkey now benefits from ZRG’s global footprint, full array of industry practice groups, data-driven, analytical search tools, and technology investment in changing the way executive search/talent recruiting is done. TurnkeyZRG becomes a tech-enabled disrupter of the prior executive search model.