Consultant Spotlight: Jennifer Dixon, Senior Project Manager

One of Jennifer Dixon’s favorite inspirational books is Robert Fulghum’s 1986 best-seller, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”

Jenn could probably write her own book in a similar vein: “All You Really Need to Know about Project Management You Can Learn from Being Trapped in an Elevator.”

On a recent Sunday, Jenn found herself in that unenviable situation — she was trapped in an elevator stuck between floors, on a Sunday, no less. Using the emergency call box in the elevator, she was able to reach … a recorded message. Knowing that would get her nowhere fast, she immediately called a colleague who was working in the building that day; along with a couple other team members; they were able to jimmy the door open just a crack. But it wasn’t enough.

“We jumped into solution mode,” she says, “Just like in the movies, there was a hatch in the ceiling of the elevator.” Once that was open, Jenn’s colleagues lowered a ladder, which got her almost all the way out. “The rest was determination and upper arm strength, fueled by adrenaline.”

The experience offers a great microcosm of all that happens when a great project manager overcomes a major pickle. There’s the problem (the stuck elevator), the exacerbating issues (no response from the call box), the collaboration (rallying the colleagues), the Plan (trying to jimmy the door open), past experience (remembering those Hollywood movies), the Plan B (the ceiling hatch), plus grit and determination to see a successful outcome.

“The experience reinforced for me that collaboration and hard work will solve many problems,” says Jenn.

The outcome would have been different had Jenn not had a great team; fortunately, collaboration is one of Jenn’s top strengths and passions. And when it comes to team building, her secret ingredient is “difference.”

“I welcome and encourage the differences in people and the depth that varying approaches and opinions brings,” she says. “My work thrives on the different strengths each team member brings to the table, and I love the way everyone can help each other learn, grow and expand our minds and skill sets.”

Jenn is also a builder by talent and trade: In addition to assembling teams, she’s a pro at developing processes and projects, too. She has more than 15 years of experience in relationship and project management, with 10-plus of those years in the financial industry, and five-plus in human resources and health and welfare benefits. Her experience through multiple industries always encompassed technology at the core.

Jenn lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where she enjoys the family-oriented vibe of the city and actively participates in sports programs with her three children. She’s also involved in Women in Leadership, the Chamber of Commerce, and Hubbard House, a domestic violence shelter. In her spare time, she loves crafting, reading, and capturing beautiful moments in time through the art of photography.

Jenn’s vast expertise and experience includes her recent success at managing a complex, multi-track data conversion project as well as how her leadership on another Collabry project increased a product line by 25% while maintaining more than 95% customer satisfaction across all product lines.