Leadership Insights: Reflecting on My First Year at TECO

By: Kimberla Lawson

My first year at TECO has been an insightful and rewarding experience. When I joined the organization last May, I was immediately struck by one thing: Our mission was something each employee referenced daily. They truly believe in this mission and live it.

Before TECO, I worked primarily in engineering, construction, and industrial industries, which overlap with our core work but overall, they are different kinds of businesses. The opportunity to engage in a new industry drew me to this position, but like my colleagues, the mission of providing reliable and efficient services to our customers in the Texas Medical Center sealed the deal.

Finance is finance. The core focus may shift, but its function is similar at most companies. Regardless, I was taking on a new type of role, which can be daunting for any industry. My team at TECO immediately embraced me and helped set me (and the entire organization) up for success.

I’m fortunate to work with a dedicated group of professionals who succeed individually and as a team. They are experts in their singular roles, but we work cohesively as a team and have advanced important areas of the organization through our shared knowledge. As a non-profit, our focus is not on EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) or earnings per share. Rather, the priority is to maintain financial stability to allow TECO to provide an economically sound rate while continuing to deliver a consistent level of service, reliability, and redundancy to our customers.

The same sentiment applies to our senior leadership team. Whether in engineering, maintenance, operations, or human resources, each department leader has been open in sharing information and helping me see how all the pieces of TECO fit together.

Another challenge that interested me in this position is that I wear many different hats, which enables me to view our work holistically. From treasury to risk management to accounting, I am empowered to use my expertise and my team’s insight to impact the decisions of our leadership team.

Reflecting on my first year, it’s been extremely valuable to be part of the leadership team and learn from our experts in other departments. I can challenge what has previously been done and ask about new methods or inform of other processes I’ve seen in my past. At the end of the day, it's refreshing that each leader understands that all the pieces must fit together — from engineering to human resources — to continue TECO’s success.