"My job has changed every year that I have been here because my role has expanded and grown—but that has only been able to happen because my voice became clearer and stronger as I learned more and more about the brand."

For Jill, a key to her growth and longevity is the idea that she felt like she could express her views from the beginning. "It didn't take me long to realize that at Room & Board everyone's voice does count. What I love about our environment is that it is good smart people that want to do good smart work and not about whose idea something is. Everyone acknowledges that good ideas come from all levels of the organization because we are all focused on the same goal—creating exceptional customer experiences."

Fast forward eight years later to her role as the Brand Experience Creative Director and Jill naturally evolved from having no direct reports to leading a large team. "My focus has always been about getting the best ideas out of a team of people—not on the next title or the next level—in fact, with all of my advancements I would look around and I was already doing the job."

And now Jill encourages the same kind of growth and development for her team. "It is about being able to look at my team and saying, 'What would you do? Go make the best decision.' It is not about taking credit—or on the flip side, it is not about figuring out who made a mistake or who is to blame for a bad decision. This allows everyone to be vulnerable and lets everyone keep growing. That is really empowering—people want to stay because their opinion counts."