employee leadership
LAUREL ODRONIC
And so, when Laurel signed up to learn how to row with the Greater Columbus Rowing Association in 2009, she had no idea what kind of impact the experience was going to have on her down the road.
I’m a Fish! I just want to be in the water!
Greater Columbus Rowing Association
“I’m a fish,” exclaims Laurel Odronic, senior quality analyst, “I just want to be in the water!”
“Rowing is a sport where everyone must rely on one another,” she says. “You must leverage your analytical, logistical, and teamwork abilities at all times.” Since Laurel was already leveraging all of these things at work, every day, she felt she could bring her skills to this team. As it turns out, she learned just as much from them, as they did from her.
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IGS paid for Laurel to attend SCRUM Master Training in order to help serve as a stronger project manager; moving projects along more efficiently and effectively.
“I’ve taken this practice to the rowing association and we’re now using a SCRUM board there, too!”
She was encouraged to serve as secretary for the association, and today, Laurel is the chair for the board of trustees. Her participation within these roles was increasing over time, and so was her confidence. She was learning how to be a leader. But, she still wanted to learn more. She wanted to help the association become more efficient with their planning and forecasting.
Additionally, as part of Laurel’s role as chair for the board of trustees, she’s also the “Equipment Chair,” where she oversees and organizes all of the association’s equipment needs and repairs. She tapped into an IGS Employee Leadership Grant and was able to secure funds to replace their worn rowing oars. Not only did the grant provide new oars, but a beautiful banner was created for the association on behalf of IGS.
“In fact,” Laurel explains, “here in IT, at IGS, we have what’s called a SCRUM board. It’s a planning board that shows our evolving tasks and the progress and accountability for each task.”
“This significantly helped our club to get on the water with our new oars! We are so proud of the way we look when we’re out there, and beyond that, we are all so grateful to IGS for our new and beautiful oars,” she says.