Staffing industry icon and former Kelly Services Executive Vice President Teresa Carroll believes that in business and in life, it’s all about the people you impact. She’s followed that credo throughout her career, and it shows, based on all the success she and her teams at Kelly had during her 27-year career there. In this episode of ClearEdge Marketing’s TheEdge podcast, Teresa talks more about the highlights of her tenure at Kelly, as well as her personal passions and advice for others.

Teresa didn’t always plan to work in staffing. She had a passion for engineering and teaching, and ended up graduating from a co-op school with a industrial engineering degree. After a few years in process-heavy automotive engineering at GM, Teresa knew she needed to shift gears to find a more people-oriented career. Enter: Kelly Services.

Working her way up the ladder at Kelly, Teresa was often charged with leading business turnarounds and entering new markets due to her proven track record of innovating and delivering for clients. Before she left Kelly Services after 27 years there, she managed 40% of the total annual company revenue and 50% of the total annual company profit and oversaw more than 2,500 people. She is well-known throughout the industry for her successes at Kelly, achieving the status of what fellow industry leader Robin Mee of Mee Derby calls, “a dominant force in the transformation of a company once known as ‘Kelly Girl’ into a modern talent management solutions company.”

As their conversation continues, Teresa shares just how important connecting people is to her, as well as the advice she would give her younger self, which is: “be your authentic self. It will be far more rewarding than what society and others may unconsciously or consciously bias you to be.”

Leslie and Teresa also discuss her “A” and “B” networking strategy, why she’s so passionate about female leadership and last, but certainly not least, what the future holds for her and her career.