SPOTLIGHT

TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM

Company teamwork and values are what have kept Jamie Morehouse going at RC for almost 11 years.

BY KAREN BLISS

Jamie Morehouse is undeniably busy, and he’s been busy at RC for almost 11 years. Why has he stuck around this long? It's simple; he loves the job.

Being passionate about the job and being committed to the personal development of his team members, is what drives Jamie. As the Regional Director of Sales for Florida, Georgia and Alabama, his main job is to motivate his team, which means Jamie’s passion and his day-to-day job overlap.

If you ask Jamie, he’ll tell you his region is one of the larger markets for Russell Cellular. He oversees 70 stores, 275 team members and nine District Sales Managers. Imagine how many emails he must get in a single day.

Jamie joined RC as a manager, through a small-company acquisition based out of Florida. That will be 11 years ago this February, and Jamie has stayed with the company ever since. He says there is often “a lot to be said” about any company that a person sticks with for more than 10 years. “I am very thankful for the core values that Jeff and Kym Russell provide and their commitment to translate those values into the three pillars, ‘opportunity, value and team,’” he says. “They lead with their heart, and I really appreciate that. They understand the importance of the team experience. If they are providing that, we are going to translate that into a good customer experience.”

Jamie’s job duties include staffing, training, coaching and helping team members A DECADE PLUS

Jamie Morehouse is about to celebrate 11 years with Russell Cellular.

and District Sales Managers stay accountable in their day-to-day jobs, but he says it is so much more than that. “I am ensuring the District Sales Managers are doing their part and leading by example and giving their team what they need,” he says. “There are the day-to-day duties of the job, but then we don’t lead cell phones; we lead people. I am committed to the impact and responsibility that we have as leaders to simply treat people like people.”

Jamie says his job is not just about the team members, it’s also about customers and the vendor relations. If he does his job well, his team will hit their sales goals, they’ll build relationships with customers and they’ll represent RC well to partners like Verizon. If you work hard to serve your team members selflessly, they will help you in return and it will provide an overall team experience for everyone, he says.

“It’s about providing direction, vision and leadership to your team members,” he says. “You pour into their cups, but you can’t forget to pour into your own cup as well.” CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE: The best way to lead is by focusing on serving the people you lead. Serve them, and they’ll perform well for you.

INVEST IN YOURSELF: Continue to grow with your team members. Learn and acquire new skills, so you can give back to your team. Never sway from performance and integrity: Do the right thing, because it’s the right thing to do always, not just when people are watching.

BE CONSISTENT: Do things even when you don’t feel like doing them. Stepping up and accomplishing the difficult tasks helps you to stand out among other team members. For those wanting to go into leadership, even if the opportunity isn’t there now, the right people will find you if you are ready and are doing your best work all the time.

LESSONS LEARNED