Fairygodboss Radio: Heidi Herbrand - Vice President of Talent Acquisition at GE Aerospace

Heidi is a true servant leader in Talent Acquisition with over 30 years of cross functional recruiting, human resources and entrepreneurial experience. She is an authentic leader who is passionate about connecting top talent to great work and bringing an aspect of fun into her team culture. Heidi likes to build things. Throughout her career, she has built great teams and great organizations though consistent leadership and leveraging her strong business acumen to create innovative solutions. She consistently pushes past traditional boundaries and has been instrumental in evolving teams and driving strategies to achieve excellence. Her ability to form strong relationships has played a key role in her success and has enabled her to be respected both inside and outside the Talent Acquisition community.     

She began her recruiting career in Executive Search with Management Recruiters and Sales Consultants where she supported clients in the Securities and Manufacturing sectors. She spent 10 years building the HR and Recruiting functions for various entrepreneurial, start- up companies; mainly in the IT consulting industry, followed by 9 years with a large National Retailer. She has spent the last 9 years growing her career in Talent Acquisition with GE, serving multiple business sectors and with the most recent 2 years as the Global Head of Talent Acquisition for GE Aerospace. She has a degree in Psychology and Religion from St. Olaf College. 

Heidi resides in Waukesha, WI with her husband. They enjoy spending time with their adult children, dogs and grand dogs, traveling and many outdoor activities: kayaking, camping, and fishing. When not adventuring, she loves to read and watch movies and enjoys the experience of good eats and connecting with friends.

Gabi Carachilo: Welcome to Fairygodboss Radio. Today I am joined by Heidi Herbrand, Vice President of Talent Acquisition at GE Aerospace. Heidi, welcome to the show. We're so excited to have you here today. 

Heidi Herbrand: Thanks, Gabi. I’m really excited to be here.

Gabi Carachilo: Thank you, Heidi. We would love to get started by hearing more about your career journey. How did you get to where you are today? 

Heidi Herbrand: Yeah, well, that is a long story. I'll try to keep it short. I've had over 30 years experience in both talent acquisition and HR, and I would say my career evolution has really been a product of three things. One is a natural desire to learn and to be challenged. Two is, I've always really been focused on the work. So not so much the title, but really about the work. And the alignment with an organization's cultural tenets and behaviors. And then three, many times during my career, I have asked for the opportunity or taken advantage of the offer to do more or take on more. And I think those three things have really been influential in how I have gotten to where I am today.

Gabi Carachilo: That's wonderful. And great advice for those who are interested in following suit. I took down some notes there. When you talk about your career path and your wealth of experience in the HR and talent acquisition space, I think about all that those teams have experienced in terms of the change and the transitions that have happened in, especially in recent years. How did you personally navigate these transitions and what were some of the crucial decisions you had to make along the way? 

Heidi Herbrand: Yeah, I think it's been a really interesting last few years. Our teams, specifically in GE, have gone through a lot of change and transformation. And I think the key to navigating those times has been focus on the positive, be flexible, and we are incredibly resilient at GE. So, I think those things have really helped us navigate the change and the turmoil in a way that has positioned us for continued success. 

Gabi Carachilo: That's wonderful and so important, not only from an individual level, but a leadership standpoint. So, your team has been lucky to have you leading the way and demonstrating those skills and competencies. In addition to some of those characteristics, we know that gender dynamics can influence the trajectory of one's career, shaping both the opportunities and challenges, some of which we'll talk about today. I'd love to learn more about your personal experience, and has gender played a role in your career?

Heidi Herbrand: I think as a woman, gender just naturally has an impact. And I would say probably a pivotal point for me was early on in my career. As I had children, that created some real challenges in terms of how to balance work and home. And it was really hard, super hard. When I was at work, I was finding I was thinking about home, and when I was at home, I was thinking about work. And so for me, I took the opportunity to ask for that balance and took a reduced work schedule. So I went to a four day work week. And that was the balance that worked for me because I found it allowed me to really focus when I was at work. I could focus on work. And when I was at home, I could focus on my responsibilities at home. And so I think being clear on what you want. And not being afraid to ask for that is key. 

Gabi Carachilo: It's so important. It's so important for all people, especially those who are listening in who are working moms. I'm one of them and I have gone through that experience. I go through that experience. It's not easy. So I appreciate your insight and your feedback. At Fairygodboss, we recognize that the connections we forge with others, especially like us, who share some of those same experiences can be profoundly impactful. So, with that in mind, could you share your insights on interactions you've had with other women in your career, and maybe some who've had a great influence on you?

Heidi Herbrand: Yeah, I think I've had great influences from both Women and men early in my career. I had a male boss who was a huge champion. I think he helped me establish and understand professional equity as someone who was in her mid twenties calling on CEOs, CFOs. He really helped me understand that being a professional was equitable. And so my time was just as valuable as their time. My position was just as critical as theirs. And I think that really helped educate me in how to create boundaries. appropriate boundaries, but also to just have that confidence, right? He helped me really build confidence early in my career, and that has really been a thread throughout my career. Those two things. So I've had some great female influences in my career. From a coaching perspective, I would say Being able to be vulnerable and share your stories and what's really going on in your life affords you the opportunity to get insights from others who've been there, done that. And there is this key element, I have heard it over and over in my career of, why are you so hard on yourself? Like, would you be this hard on someone else? If someone else came to you with this, What would you say to them? And I think that opportunity to reflect really changes your mindset and has been critical for me in terms of creating that balance, maintaining some confidence. So I think that bit of coaching for me was a change agent. I also had a boss who really reinforced my strengths. So on multiple occasions, she would really highlight the strengths I was bringing to the table and how that was different and gave me, again, reinforced that how I was thinking, how I was approaching my work, I could really build confidence around my strengths and leverage those strengths to my advantage. And I think that's key. So as a woman, being able to do that for other women or anyone else in the organization, I think is key to really call out good behavior, really reinforce what good looks like and champion those things for others. I think is impactful. 

Gabi Carachilo: Wow, so many great insights. I wrote down, "why are you so hard on yourself?" What a simple but powerful question to present. 

Heidi Herbrand: Well, I think what's interesting about that is, I think as women we grow up and we are told we can have it all. And when we think about having it all, like what does that really mean? And I think the truth is having it all comes at a cost. So, as a woman, it's important to be clear on what do you want, what, maybe more importantly, why do you want that? And then what are you going to prioritize and deprioritize to get that? Because you can't do it all and do it all well. So be really clear and intentional on what do you want? Why do you want it? And then work through the prioritization, deprioritization, so that you've got kind of that framework and those boundaries set that afford you the opportunity to continue on that path.

Gabi Carachilo: I agree 100%. I once heard, "you can have it all, but not at the same time."

Heidi Herbrand: Yeah, and it's true. 

Gabi Carachilo: And it's tying back to the same feedback that you shared, that we have to prioritize, right? And, and perhaps we can have it all, but something's got to give and maybe, maybe one thing takes precedence over another at a given moment, given chapter or season. So, so important. Thank you for sharing that. And, you shared quite a few sentiments about folks within your community who have been advocates. Mentors, champions for you along the way in the spirit of fostering that strong sense of community. How do you go about mentoring or supporting other women?

Heidi Herbrand: Yeah, I think that is, it's just part of how I operate. So it comes in my week over week connections with my team, offering the opportunity to talk about life, not just work. I think I offer the connection out there more broadly. So, it's an extension that I proactively make to others. So, I mentor quite a few people. I think I recognize and celebrate good behavior. That's just part of my day to day routine. And I really tap into and reinforce. Allyship across the organization, right? No matter, no matter who, no matter what, no matter where. So how do we create the connections, reinforce good behaviors, and then bring others into that.

Gabi Carachilo: Amazing. I'm curious. I'm sure there've been many lessons you've learned along the way. What is an impactful lesson or maybe one in particular that stands out something that you've learned in the workplace? 

Heidi Herbrand: Probably more recently but such a change agent for me. And I think for our team, we are on a lean journey in GE Aerospace. And the idea that process is where most of the breakdown is. And I think historically we focus on people. So coming into situations and focusing on process, not the people allows you this. a whole different perspective, right? So how do you solve problems by focusing on the process and not necessarily calling out people, but enabling and empowering the people who do the work to really be at the forefront of problem solving has been a huge change. I think it's so easy in the day to day work to get. We either focus on what are other people doing wrong, or we're self focused on how could I be better? What did I do wrong in that situation? Versus really taking the people out, and I don't mean by marginalizing people, what I mean is take a look at the process and where the process breakdown is and empower the people involved in that process to really be empowered to fix it solution on it. It creates a whole different mindset around possibility, creativity. And I think it drives much better outcomes.

Gabi Carachilo: Absolutely. And there's a certain level of perseverance at play there, too, right? It's not comfortable to have to navigate through these changes to find those opportunities and find those successful outcomes together, and that can be a challenging thing to do. What advice do you have for your audience who may be navigating similar challenges professionally or personally on how they can continue to persevere? 

Heidi Herbrand: I think being intentional. So, for me, some of the things that I have built into my repertoire in terms of doing things differently is I calendar everything. So I create space in my calendar for the things I need to do both professionally and personally. So it's built in. The other thing that's been really instrumental for me is I do a reflection at the end of every week. So I create space in my calendar on Friday mornings to say, what was it a good week or not a good week? And then really detailed through why, what were the experiences I had? What were the engagements I had that made it positive or not so positive? And then I work on curating how do I infuse more of those good things into my work week? It's not perfect, but it does help you create the balance that I think is needed. And it certainly has made me happier. 

Gabi Carachilo: Completely. I've been trying to follow that same practice as well. I've heard feedback that, gosh, you know, we plan meetings and book out time. Why not follow suit in our personal lives in an effort to find that sense of, of balance, whatever that looks like for the individual. Really great insights and feedback, Heidi. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. What advice would you have for those who are listening in and interested about career opportunities at GE Aerospace? 

Heidi Herbrand: Well, we're always hiring great talent across the board in GE Aerospace, whether it be engineering, hourly production, supply chain, digital technology. We have a host of opportunities and I would really encourage people to go to the Fairygodboss profile and learn more about what it's like to work at GE Aerospace, and/or you can also go to invent.ge/career to see all the job opportunities that we have available. But it's an amazing time to work in GE Aerospace. We are really doing some groundbreaking work. And the environment here is just, it's full of amazing, talented, smart people. It's challenging work. And it's very inspiring. 

Gabi Carachilo: Amazing. I'd love to transition to our fast fun questions. Are you ready?

Heidi Herbrand: Ready.

Gabi Carachilo: Okay. What is your favorite way to practice self care? 

Heidi: Oh, I'm so I'm tough on favorites. I feel like favorites are limiting. So I have a few, I like to listen to podcasts and be inspired. I like to read, not always work related reading and I love a good massage.

Gabi Carachilo: That's a good one. Who is one celebrity you would like to have dinner with?

Heidi Herbrand: Brené Brown. 

Gabi Carachilo: Yes, she is a force. 

Heidi: Brené Brown and Simon Sinek together.

Gabi Carachilo: Sign me up. I'm there. You talked about your love for reading. What book would you recommend to our audience? 

Heidi Herbrand: So I'm gonna go with The Microstress Effect by Rob Cross and Karen Dillon. It is a really... insightful book that talks about how all the little things add up to create some big issues and how to recognize those little things, not just that are happening to you. But for me, I've really reflected on the book and really tried to use it to say, how do I create micro stress stresses for others? It's really, really insightful. and a really good tool. 

Gabi Carachilo: It sounds like a fantastic read. I'm adding it to my list. 

Heidi Herbrand: It's really good.

Gabi Carachilo: At Fairygodboss we have a tradition. We see that women sometimes are not good about bragging about themselves or talking about their own achievement. And we believe that we can only get better if we practice. So I'll put you on the spot. Would you mind bragging for us right now, Heidi? 

Heidi Herbrand: Sure. So I think I start with a passion. I tend to be really positive. That could be annoying to people, but I'm positive, flexible, adaptable, resilient. I'm a champion of others, a change agent, solution oriented. And I think all those things together really help me kind of find the fun in work help lift other people up and have aided in my success, quite frankly. 

Gabi Carachilo: That's incredible. Thank you for sharing that with us. And I would attest our final question. is possibly the most important, what would you say is the number one piece of advice that you would like to leave our audience with?

Heidi Herbrand: One piece of advice, balance comes from being clear on what you want and why you want it. I think, again, leading to the microstresses, there's all these little things that can cause issues. I think equally, And there's a lot of little things that aid to success. So I don't think it's one big thing. I don't think there is a silver bullet. I think it's a number of little things. That if you focus your time and energy on building in those little things, that will help aid in success. 

Gabi Carachilo: I love that. Thank you so much, Heidi. We appreciate you sharing your time with us. It was wonderful to have you here today. 

Heidi Herbrand: Gabi, I really appreciate the opportunity and thank you so much.