Senior Instructional Designer Rachel Rolader’s mom has been a powerful influence in her life, teaching her to “leave places better than you found them.” And it’s clear that Rachel has taken this advice to heart, as she’s made a profound impact on her colleagues—and on MarketSource—in the brief two years she has been with the company.
“Growing up, my mom reiterated to me the importance of how you make others feel,” reflects Rachel. “For every gift or kindhearted gesture, she taught me to write that person a thank-you note. She constantly modeled thoughtfulness—anticipating what others might need and trying to help them before they needed it.”
It’s this heart for serving others that has enabled her to excel in her own role while helping others excel in theirs. Rachel serves as senior instructional designer, which keeps her on her toes, as no day is ever the same. Her role involves projects as broad as working with clients and program managers to determine the training needs for a successful program launch and as precise as developing compliance training curriculum for established programs.
So how does she find time to lend a helping hand, while balancing her own complex responsibilities? “I use time-blocking on my calendar, which helps me a lot,” she shares. “I can get distracted helping others, so having time blocked on my calendar helps hold me accountable for the work I need to get done. I will still mark the time as ‘tentative’ or ‘open’ so others can set meetings with me. I’ll shift my time around as needed, but I feel more comfortable helping others when I’ve created a plan for how to get my own work done and exceed my goals.”
Her skills in creating coursework—and lifting others up—go back to the early days of her career. After studying pre-law, Rachel was applying to various law schools when her now-husband suggested she apply for Teach for America, a non-profit leadership development organization. He knew she had always been fascinated by how the brain works as it’s learning, even studying neurophysiology abroad. She applied and quickly became a middle-school special education teacher.
“That’s the moment I discovered my passion for making learning ‘stick,’” she explains. “I knew I wanted to stay within learning and development, but I didn’t know what that path looked like for me yet. Over the years, I have also taught general education and gifted students. I served as an Academic Bowl coach, cheerleading coach, drone club coach, musical talent coach, and STEM/design thinking collaborator. I also took on more leadership opportunities in the journey to figure out exactly where I wanted to land, and that’s what led me to shift my focus to adult learning and development. I finally found where my true passion lies!”
“I was in a meeting last year where there was a miscommunication between two people. One of them said, ‘it’s fine, we can do it that way,’ and he truly meant it. However, the other person pointed at our core values posted on the wall and said, ‘No, really, open communication! What are you really thinking here?’ That really made an impact on me.”
Eventually, Rachel discovered MarketSource, and the rest is history. “Part of what drew me to MarketSource was our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; our extensive work in the community; and the emphasis on our core values during my first interview,” she says. “Because of the company’s focus on just being an overall good human being, I was excited to accept the job.” She also says our people are the reason MarketSource stands out as such a fantastic company to work for—which is why our core value of building relationships is so crucial.
“Another core value of ours, open communication, goes hand-in-hand with building relationships,” Rachel explains. “A strong relationship can only exist with open communication present. I was in a meeting last year where there was a miscommunication between two people. One of them said, ‘it’s fine, we can do it that way,’ and he truly meant it. However, the other person pointed at our core values posted on the wall and said, ‘No, really, open communication! What are you really thinking here?’ That really made an impact on me.”
The most inspiring piece of advice Rachel has ever received came from a friend, courtesy of Brene Brown. “Brene talks about how we all have so many things to juggle between work, health, and family, that we all have to determine what balls we’re juggling are glass versus rubber. Glass balls are the precious things in life—the non-negotiables”.
Rachel is known around the workplace as someone who consistently displays a selfless attitude, making everyone feel valued and supported. She attributes that to her mantra of incorporating kindness for others each day at work, such as volunteering to brainstorm a problem that someone may be struggling with. “My parents always said that everyone can do what’s needed, but going above and beyond will set you apart,” says Rachel. “It’s that mindset that has become an internal motivation to always put my best foot forward.”
The most inspiring piece of advice Rachel has ever received came from a friend, courtesy of Brene Brown. “Brene talks about how we all have so many things to juggle between work, health and family, that we all have to determine what balls we’re juggling are glass versus rubber. Glass balls are the precious things in life – the non-negotiables. Things like picking up your child from school or a work deadline involving a client. Rubber balls include tasks like yardwork or cleaning your office space. I think about the millions of things going on in my life to determine which ones will break if I drop them. Imagining these tasks as balls that I’m juggling provides a visual for me when I’m overwhelmed. It gives me a sense of calm when life feels crazy and helps remind me of the importance of the glass parts of my life.”
#MarketSourceStrong #OpenCommunication #CoreValues