Beyond the Booth: Investing in the Women Who Make Pedigree Great
I've attended a lot of industry conferences throughout my career. Some leave you with new business opportunities, others with great connections, and a few remind you why you enjoy being part of the industry in the first place.
This year's Women in Trucking Accelerate! Conference & Expo in Dallas managed to deliver a little bit of everything.
But what made this trip particularly special was the opportunity to experience it alongside three incredible women from Pedigree Technologies.
These women are smart, creative, independent, and bring a tremendous amount of talent and personality to our organization. They contribute to our success every day, and having the opportunity to step away from our usual responsibilities to learn, connect, and experience the industry together was something I genuinely looked forward to.
And as it turns out, some of the most valuable moments had very little to do with what was on the conference agenda.
Seeing Our Industry Through a Different Lens
At Pedigree Technologies, we spend our days helping transportation companies operate safer, smarter, and more efficiently. We talk about fleet visibility, safety, compliance, and the technology that keeps businesses moving.
But there's something different about stepping away from your computer and spending a few days surrounded by the people who make this industry what it is.
Accelerate! Brings together women from all corners of transportation, from those behind the wheel to those leading companies and shaping the industry’s future. It's one thing to understand an industry through the products and services you provide. It's another to sit across from someone, hear about their experiences, and better understand the challenges they're navigating every day.
That's the perspective I wanted our team to gain.
We attended educational sessions, met women from across transportation, and had some fantastic conversations with people who know this industry inside and out.
And if you've ever attended Accelerate!, you know there's no shortage of personality in the room. The energy is contagious, the conversations are engaging, and there's a whole lot of laughter mixed in with some pretty impressive professional accomplishments.
It's an environment that reminds you just how many talented women are helping move this industry forward.
Leadership Is About More Than Managing the Work
One of the responsibilities I take seriously as Vice President of Brand & Enablement is helping people grow.
Yes, that includes setting expectations, providing direction, creating accountability, and making sure we're delivering great work. Those things matter, and I'm certainly not suggesting we abandon our project plans and spend our days discussing personal development over coffee.
Although, for the record, I do enjoy a good coffee conversation.
But leadership also means recognizing potential and creating opportunities for people to develop beyond the responsibilities of their current roles.
Sometimes that's encouraging someone to take on a challenging project. Sometimes it's introducing them to a different part of the business or helping them develop a skill they haven't had the opportunity to explore. And sometimes it's bringing them to Dallas for a few days to learn from some of the industry's finest.
I don't expect every conference session to produce a brilliant new idea or every networking conversation to turn into a business opportunity.
That's not always the point.
I want our people to be curious. I want them to ask questions, challenge their thinking, build relationships, and become more confident in what they know and what they're capable of accomplishing.
If we're asking our employees to help our company grow, we should be equally committed to helping them grow.
Seems like a pretty reasonable expectation of leadership to me.
The Conversations I Didn't Expect to Value Quite So Much
Something else happened during our time in Dallas that I appreciated just as much as the conference itself.
We had time together.
Actual, uninterrupted, face-to-face time. A luxury that doesn't come around nearly enough when you're managing remote employees across two different teams.
We spend plenty of time connecting through Teams calls, emails, project meetings, and the occasional flurry of messages that could probably qualify as a full conversation. But there's a difference between working together virtually and spending meaningful time together in person.
When you're balancing projects, deadlines, and competing priorities, it's easy for conversations to become focused entirely on what's next on the to-do list.
Dallas gave us an opportunity to change that.
We talked about what we were learning, what we were seeing across the industry, and how we could bring some of those ideas back to Pedigree. We also had some valuable conversations about how we work together, where we can improve, and what we want to accomplish moving forward.
And we laughed. A lot.
There were conversations over meals, between sessions, and throughout the expo hall that probably wouldn't have happened during a typical workweek. Nothing particularly structured or planned, just the kind of genuine connection that's difficult to replicate through a computer screen.
I already knew these women were talented. I work with them every day. But seeing their curiosity, personalities, and perspectives come through in a different environment gave me an even greater appreciation for what each of them contributes.
It also reminded me that team development doesn't always require an agenda, a PowerPoint, or a carefully planned exercise.
Sometimes it just requires being present.
And when you lead people who don't always have the opportunity to share the same physical space, that time matters more than you might realize.
Investing in People Is Never Wasted
We talk a lot about celebrating women in business, and I think that's important.
Recognition matters. Appreciation matters. Making sure people know their contributions are valued matters.
But I've always believed there's something even more meaningful about investing in people.
Not because we expect something in return, but because we recognize their potential and want to help them realize it.
At Pedigree Technologies, we have incredibly talented women contributing across our organization. They bring different experiences, perspectives, personalities, and strengths to the work we do.
And while I appreciate what they contribute to our business today, I also recognize that their ambitions and potential extend well beyond their current job descriptions.
As leaders, we're not simply managing employees. We're working alongside people who have goals, ideas, talents, and aspirations of their own.
Sometimes investing in them means sharing what we've learned or offering guidance. Other times, it's encouraging someone to step outside their comfort zone, introducing them to new people, or giving them an opportunity they might not otherwise have.
And occasionally, it's recognizing that we have just as much to learn from the people we lead as they do from us.
After more than 20 years in my career, I can tell you that some of the people who have made the greatest impact on me weren't necessarily the ones with the most impressive titles.
They were the people who took the time to listen, challenged me to think differently, offered honest advice, and recognized potential in me that I hadn't quite seen in myself.
I've also learned that growth doesn't happen in isolation.
We need people who will encourage us, challenge us, celebrate our successes, and occasionally tell us what we need to hear instead of what we want to hear.
And personally, I'd much rather surround myself with women who genuinely want to see one another succeed than spend time worrying about who's getting ahead of whom.
There's enough room at the table for all of us. And frankly, the conversations are a whole lot more interesting when everyone brings something different to it.
I certainly don't have all the answers when it comes to leadership. I'm still learning, still growing, and occasionally discovering that something I thought was a brilliant idea could use a little work.
But I do know that the time we spend pouring into people matters.
We may not always see the impact immediately. We may not even realize which conversation, experience, or small gesture made a difference.
And that's okay.
If someone walks away from an experience feeling a little more confident, a little more connected, or a little more inspired about what's possible for them, I'd consider that time incredibly well spent.
What We Bring Home Matters
We came back from Dallas with new connections, fresh perspectives, and plenty of ideas.
We also returned with a better understanding of the women helping shape transportation and the challenges and opportunities they're navigating.
That matters to our business.
The more connected we are to the people and industries we serve, the better equipped we are to develop relevant solutions, communicate effectively, and build relationships that last.
But beyond the business value, I hope the women who joined me took something away for themselves.
Maybe it was a new professional connection, an idea from a session, a little more confidence, or simply a greater appreciation for the role they play in an industry that keeps so much of our world moving.
Whatever it was, I hope they know how much I value having them on our team.
I'm grateful that Pedigree Technologies recognizes the importance of experiences like this and gives our people opportunities to learn and grow beyond their day-to-day responsibilities.
To the Women in Trucking Association, thank you for continuing to bring together such an impressive group of women. There's something special about being surrounded by people who are passionate about what they do and genuinely interested in helping others succeed.
And to the women of Pedigree Technologies, thank you for the creativity, insight, determination, and personality you bring to our company every day.
I'm proud of the work we're doing, the team we're building, and the opportunities ahead.
Great companies are built by great people. And investing in those people should never be an afterthought.
If Dallas reinforced anything for me, it's that the experiences we create for our employees can be just as valuable as the work we ask them to do.
And that's something I'll happily make room for on the calendar.
About the Author
Jessica Slyter, MBA, is Vice President of Marketing at Pedigree Technologies and a passionate advocate for the transportation industry. With more than two decades of marketing and leadership experience, she enjoys telling the stories behind the technology, building meaningful industry relationships, and helping fleets leverage solutions that improve safety, visibility, and operational performance.
In her free time, you'll likely find her chasing baseball games across North America, collecting airline miles she never intended to earn, or convincing herself that checking email from a hotel lobby counts as work-life balance.
Jessica Slyter
Vice President of Brand & Enablement, Pedigree Technologies j.slyter@pedigreetech.io | LinkedIn Profile