Our CEO Hillary Spreizer contributed to an article at Twin Cities Business Journal. Four business leaders contributed to the article. Here is what Hillary shared:

For Hillary Spreizer, CEO and Owner of The Latitude Group, a firm specializing in software recruiting, being underestimated often stemmed from unconventional career moves.

“Too many times to count,” Spreizer says. “I didn’t go to school for tech and became a software recruiter. I’d never run a company and bought one.”

Rather than resisting biased perceptions, she leaned into them. “In a lot of ways, being underestimated was a gift,” she says. “I respond well to a challenge and like being uncomfortable. It’s a great combination for growth (if not a bit of imposter syndrome).”

With hindsight, Spreizer sees the experience as multifaceted. “The underestimation was a combination of other people’s insecurity and me not having a clear picture of what success looked like,” she says.

Today, her leadership style reflects those lessons. “Now, I focus on transparency and talking about how to achieve something, not just the goal or end result,” she says. “After that, it’s about cheering people along the way and removing obstacles.”

Her approach to leadership focuses more on enablement than evaluation — an evolution shaped directly by her experiences being underestimated herself.

Perhaps most notably, Spreizer’s baseline assumptions have shifted. “The work isn’t any less difficult, but my experience has taught me it’s more productive to assume someone will do great things and do everything I can to support them,” she says.

Read the full article, with insights from all four business leaders, here.