Emerson Electric Co.
Patricia Hernandez — Director Organization
Development
Patricia (Teesha) Hernandez is director organization development for Emerson,
a global technology and engineering solutions and services company headquartered in St. Louis and founded in 1890. She moved to St. Louis in 1994 to
join Emerson as manager corporate insurance. After three years she moved
into her current role. Her responsibilities include MBA hiring, assisting division
presidents and vice presidents in preparing for meetings with the CEO on organizational issues, tracking and monitoring high potential employees and working with the vice president of organization planning to fill officer openings.
Prior to Emerson, Ms. Hernandez spent six years in consulting with J & H
Marsh & McLennan for Fortune 500 clients. She is currently on the board of
directors for Youth-in-Need and the St. Louis Black Repertory Company. She
is also an advisory board member for the Consortium for Graduate Study in
Management. Additionally, Ms. Hernandez is a member of the Friends Council
for the Humane Society and on the Ronald McDonald House Charities Grant
Committee. Other activities include the National Black MBA Association and
the National Association for African-Americans in Human Resources.
Ms. Hernandez has a BS degree in quantitative analysis and managerial accounting from Fordham University in
New York City and an MBA in risk management from University of Wisconsin—Madison. She holds an SPHR,
CPCU and ARM certification.
Q&A with Patricia Hernandez
What is your role within your company and what are some steps that you
took to get to the position that you are in now?
I would break it down into three principle areas, and the gist of it is succession planning. It’s identifying the MBA candidates
that we use as backfill for the succession planning process, it’s identifying the candidates internally for the correct jobs when
we have opportunities available—we do about 85 percent of our fills internally—and the third part would be the organization
review process, which is really where our division presidents come in to meet with the CEO to talk about their organizational
issues. We’re also involved in leadership training, and that’s becoming a larger and larger component of what we do.
Getting my MBA aided me in getting where I am. Building interpersonal skills is also another area that was instrumental, and
then also building relationships internally and externally. But I never had a plan, or knew that organization development was
an area that I wanted to enter into. That really wasn’t the case.
What was your original plan?
I’m actually on my third career. I thought I was going to be an actuary, and I went into the actuarial profession. I then became
an insurance broker focusing on Fortune 500 accounts, which led me to Emerson. Once within Emerson, I was led to the organization development area. So it’s just different stepping stones along the way.
172
CAREER
LIBRARY
© 2007 Vault, Inc.
View from the Top: Advice from Top Minority Executives
Emerson Electric Co.
What are some things that you learned on the job and not in the classroom?
The people side of the business. You can’t teach personalities, you can’t teach corporate culture out of a textbook. Every
organization has a different look and feel, and every organization has different personalities that drive that company. And the
people side of a business is such a large and important part, that you only learn it by being in it and by working with different
people, learning the personalities and the internal politics and dynamics of an organization.
What are some steps that you took to maneuver through that?
Having a mentor is important. Someone inside an organization that knows the different personality types, that can pull you
aside if you need to be pulled aside, or that can help you and direct you when needed. That’s probably the biggest thing that
you can do in terms of helping yourself to learn what’s happening within an organization. I would say interpersonal skills,
again. Working with people, learning to know people, learning to work with all different types of personalities, which can be
a challenge.
Do you think there is a glass ceiling in your industry? If so, how can minorities avoid hitting that glass ceiling?
I think that the glass ceiling is broader than ethnicity. Let’s say you have an international company, a company that is headquartered in Japan that has U.S. operations. There are sometimes obstacles or a glass ceiling if you will, in reaching the top in
that organization because they may want someone from Japan to actually lead that company. It goes back to the culture of the
organization, and in terms of overcoming it, look for an organization that is going to be more open-minded. Look for a mentor, both inside and outside, that can teach you the unwritten rules and the things you have to overcome. And I would also say
that one should not have an “us versus them” type attitude. It is a natural tendency for like to tend toward like. If you’re in a
group of people and there are only two women, the two women tend to pair up. If you’re in a group of people and there are
two African-Americans, those two African-Americans tend to pair up. But don’t let that be a limiting factor in how you interact with people. You have to be inclusive and broaden your scope, broaden what you do and what you say, broaden how you
approach people to include everybody. And I think that’s one of the ways to help overcome that glass ceiling limitation. I do
think it exists, and I do think it will continue to exist, probably for quite a while, but there are ways to get as high as you can
within an organization.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your career? What would you most
like to change?
I keep going back to the people. To me, what I enjoy doing is hiring the MBAs, actively speaking to them, and finding out
where they’re best suited within the organization. Once they come onboard, you also wind up having a vested interest in them,
in their career, in their development, in their families. The dynamic culture and environment of Emerson is probably what has
helped to keep things exciting. This organization is constantly changing and reinventing itself, and that’s been important to
me. As far as what I would like to change, I think that we tend to do more with less, in terms of manpower. I think it’s unrealistic, but it really would be nice to have speeds other than fast and faster.
What impact has your career had on your personal and family life? Do you
have any special techniques, methods and philosophies that help you maintain a work/life balance and be a successful professional?
I’m single, so it’s a lot easier for me to spend a lot more time working than an individual that has a family that they’re going
home to. So the impact on my personal life probably is not that great. I do hear from my friends, from time to time, “You’re
going into the office again?” Just like everybody else, I do need to be reminded that I need to have a work/life balance. Special
techniques are just trying to be well rounded, making sure that you do things personally. Make sure that you take care of yourself physically. Make sure that you’re grounded with your faith. Make sure that you spend some time at work and some time
Visit the Vault Diversity Channel for diversity program profiles of 100s of top employers, insider advice
from executives about workplace diversity and more. Go to www.vault.com/diversity
CAREER
LIBRARY
173
View from the Top: Advice from Top Minority Executives
Emerson Electric Co.
on your own, just for you. I think of it as a wagon wheel, and if you have spokes going out, if any one of those spokes is broken, your wheel is really not going to roll as it should.
Is that something you knew going into the industry, or is that something
that, over time, you realized?
I think it’s something I just learned over time. As I’ve gotten older, I think I tend to look more at what is more important to
me in life. And I think that there are more things outside of work that are important to me than there were when I started my
career.
Who is/was the most inspiring person to you in your career path?
I would say David Farr. He has made me feel as if I’m a part of his team and that I add value to the organization.
Who else have you looked up to?
The first person that comes to mind is my mother, who is not in corporate America, and has never been in corporate America,
but has the traits that I admire, in terms of what I see as a successful person. And that also goes back to the people side.
There was also a speaker at the National Black MBA conference that I attended several years ago, and I remember his pride,
and just the energy that he had, and I thought that the traits that he exhibited really led me to believe that, as an AfricanAmerican, you can be successful in this world and you need to persevere. And it left an impression on me.
What advice do you have for a young person considering a career within
your company/industry?
Ask questions, first and foremost. I think that people don’t speak up enough about what’s on their mind. I think you need to
jump right in; you need to ask questions, you need to apply yourself. And I can’t state enough, build the relationships with the
people that can help and can make a difference in your life.
Have you ever been mentored, or mentored others?
find a mentor within their company/industry?
How can someone
The way you find a mentor is by not being afraid to ask someone. People have a tendency to have a reservation, thinking someone doesn’t want to give them the time, or because they are an executive. But you’ll find that most people are willing to do it,
if they’re asked. I mentor a lot of the MBAs that I hire into the organization. Part of that is just being vested in them as individuals, wanting to make sure that they are going to be successful in our culture and our environment. They quite often come
in and just sit down to talk about what’s on their mind in a given point in time, so a lot of my mentoring is on an informal basis,
although I’ve also been a formal mentor for a number of individuals. I have been mentored by several people on an informal
basis rather than participating and being part of a formal mentoring program.
If you were not in your current position, what would your dream career be?
I have a passion for the nonprofit sector and for the arts, and I could very easily see myself running a nonprofit organization
in the arts, or a nonprofit organization whose mission is dedicated to education. I also have a passion for real estate when I
think about things that I do outside of corporate America. So I can very easily see myself involved in either one of those.
Any particular type of art?
I’m very big on theater. Particularly if it involves African-American productions. I think that there are not enough venues, or
not enough opportunities for African-American artists to actually display or portray their creativity in terms of works that they
have developed. I think part of that stems from my involvement with the St. Louis Black Repertory Company, which is actually one of the largest black theater companies in the country, and it happens to be in St. Louis. I’m on the board, and I’m also
the chair of the development committee. I’ve been involved in a number of ways over the years.
174
CAREER
LIBRARY
© 2007 Vault, Inc.
View from the Top: Advice from Top Minority Executives
Emerson Electric Co.
What are some of the steps you took to get involved with being on a board,
being a chairperson for a particular organization?
One of the things is to let the organization know that you’re interested and where your interest lies. Many organizations have
committees that allow you an opportunity to assist the organization and from there, as your relationship grows and develops,
and you let them know you’re interested in joining the board, they will ultimately invite you to join the board if you could be
a contributing individual over time. But lots of organizations need help.
Any particular avenue of education?
My focus tends more on secondary education. We’ve got a lot of young adults that don’t go on to college, and don’t know
enough about how they can pursue education or about the financial resources available to them, that can make a greater contribution to society as a whole if they do enter a secondary education institution.
Visit the Vault Diversity Channel for diversity program profiles of 100s of top employers, insider advice
from executives about workplace diversity and more. Go to www.vault.com/diversity
CAREER
LIBRARY
175