If you walked into the headquarters of Florida Power & Light Company — the third-largest electric utility company in the U.S. – during its storm dry run, you would think there was a hurricane barreling toward you. And if you followed each storm team across the different departments, you’d think you were in the middle of a military operation.
At the same time, it’s very much like a team, and that’s exactly how the head of one of the units, Vice President of External Affairs and Economic Development Pam Rauch, wants it to feel. She learned about preparedness not on the frontline of storm recovery but on the backline of countless tennis courts, where her father coached her to see how sports could teach you important lessons.
“My dad believed that sports created artificial obstacles that taught you how to handle obstacles in life,” remarked Pam. “His goal wasn’t to train future professional tennis players, but to prepare his three daughters to navigate life.”
Pam navigated the tennis court well enough to captain her University of North Carolina Women’s Team, and she navigated her career well enough to spend ten years practicing law in Palm Beach County before joining FPL, where she has climbed the corporate ladder in her 23 years with the company. Thanks to her experiences and leadership, the good citizens of Florida have been better off despite enduring some of the worst storms in recent decades. Of the more than two million FPL customers who recently lost power during Hurricane Ian, for example, 50 percent were back up within 24 hours.
Listeners to the podcast will learn how Pam taught herself – and trained her team – to prepare for disaster while keeping themselves mentally flexible enough to handle problems as shifty and unpredictable as hurricanes that “change course at the last second.”
You will learn:
- 4:30 How to balance preparation and adapting.
- 10:00 How to optimize your own leadership skills.
- 11:00 How to optimize your team’s leadership skills.
- 17:30 Why you need to create “artificial obstacles” to reach your full potential.
- 18:45 What it was like to be in class at UNC with Michael Jordan.
- 26:00 How to reinvent your job to play to your strengths.
- 29:00 Step-by-step process to foster innovation using everyone’s ideas.
Resources:
- Connect with Pam Rauch on LinkedIn.
- Site Selection Magazine just named Florida Power & Light Company one of its top utilities in economic development for 2022.
- FPL Care To Share® helps families in hardship keep their lights on. Learn more!
- Pam with her first responders team:
Never Miss An Episode
You will receive a FREE chapter from Don’s best-selling book on GREAT TEAMS when you subscribe.
Bonus Resource
Search episodes
Recommended For You
Love This Podcast?
We would be so grateful if you left us a rating and review!
Greg Brenneman
“Don, you have mastered the skill of interviewing and asking great questions. That is a great skill all leaders need in order to understand their team members’ thought processes.”
John C. Maxwell
“I am a subscriber because you are one of the greatest teachers, one of the best storytellers I have ever met, and I know you will maximize the people you have on the podcast. I’m telling everyone because when you find gold you point everyone to it.”
Simon Sinek
“Don is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever met. I’ve known him for a long time and every time we talk I walk away wiser and more inspired. He is the best in the business at teaching you a skill – storytelling – that will last you a lifetime.”
Beth Brooke
“The ability for athletes to get hired is carried on through you because you are putting out the message that lessons learned from sports are important in life. It is embedded in this podcast, what you’re doing is significant.”
Rick Hendrick
“We speak the same language. I am inspired by the stories you tell, the people you have met, and the things you’ve done. Those of us that are competitors like to follow others that have been down that journey, so it is always fun talking to you!”
Bill George
“Many of the leaders I have worked with were excellent athletes, and I think there is a direct correlation. You’re one of the few people that really has pursued this study, Don. Keep up the great work. What you are doing really makes a difference.”
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts!
Step 1: Open the Apple Podcasts App.
Step 2: Search Corporate Competitor Podcast and click the episode art.
Step 3: Scroll to the bottom of the page and leave a rating and review.
BONUS Screenshot your review, and send to corporate.competitor@greatnessinc.com for a free gift!