Cultivating Success with a Growth Mindset

Read Time: 6 minutes

At McKesson, we recognize each August as “EmPower” month in celebration of our Emerging Professionals (EP) employee resource group (ERG). EP helps equip and empower its members with the proper resources, networking and opportunities to take charge of their careers. This year’s theme is “Cultivating Success: Nurturing a Growth Mindset,” which focuses on the power of growth and what it means at all levels of your career journey.

We asked two EP board members how the ERG has helped them develop a growth mindset and strengthen their leadership skills to excel in their careers.

AlRitia Oden joined McKesson three years ago and currently serves as a Six Sigma business process consultant supporting corporate finance. AlRitia loves spending time with her husband and two dogs, traveling, and leading the nonprofit she founded called Unicorn Leaders. She is the national vice-chair on the EP board and is dedicated to helping employees reach their maximum potential.

Cody Brown joined McKesson seven years ago and currently serves as a primary care inside sales manager for McKesson’s Medical-Surgical team. Cody is a die-hard Boston sports fan who loves golfing, reading and spending time with his wife and his best friend, Brickley, a labrador retriever. He is the EP site leader for the Richmond, Va. office and helped build a local ERG board.

What inspired you to work in the healthcare industry?

AlRitia: Several of my family members work in the healthcare industry, and seeing the impact they have on peoples’ lives inspired me to follow a similar career path. I originally wanted to be a nurse, but one of my coaches encouraged me to consider engineering because I was good at science and math, I loved to build things, and I was always interested in how the body worked. I attended a college session that showcased different engineering majors, and when I learned about biomedical engineering, I knew that was the career path I wanted to follow.

How has your involvement with EP impacted your career at McKesson?

Cody: I moved from Connecticut to Richmond, Va. in 2020 with my wife for a job opportunity at McKesson. We didn’t know anyone in the area, so it was a fresh start for us. EP made a significant impact on me during this time of transition by helping me get to know people outside of my direct team. I felt a sense of belonging in my new environment, which helped me to quickly acclimate.

Cody with his wife.

Once I got settled, I started attending EP’s leadership series events and workshops. These helped me gain the skills I needed to take on a leadership position within the ERG. In 2022, I took on the role of the only EP site leader in the Richmond area. We had about 300 local members at the time, and it was clear that we needed to expand our leadership presence locally. I worked with the national EP board to build a framework for a local board, and we now have an established board and two committees to help lead our efforts. Last year, our local membership grew by 35%, which is so exciting.

Why did you join EP?

AlRitia: I started working at McKesson in August of 2021, and I immediately joined EP within my first week. It was a great way for me to network because we were in the middle of the pandemic, and everyone was still very isolated. Being a part of EP allowed me to meet people from all over the business and make connections in a time where it was really hard to do so.

I also wanted to grow my career and leadership skills, so I quickly interviewed for a board position. I love being on the board because it allows me to connect with so many employees. I had the opportunity to speak on a panel for our annual ERG Summit, which was such a great experience. It’s easy to forget what an impact we have on ERG members through our roles on the board until you start talking to them. Even if I’ve never met them before, they know who I am and have learned from me. I hope to show others that they can achieve their goals with a growth mindset and become leaders as well.

What is the most impactful experience you’ve had as an EP board member?

Cody: We partner with the local Boys and Girls Club throughout the year and host several signature events. One is a bike build event where we receive the bike parts and split up into teams. Each team gets a series of clues they must solve to receive bike parts, so it’s a competition of who can build their bike first. It was a great team-building exercise, but more than that, the kids who attended didn’t know they would receive a bike. We made it special by putting license plates on each bike with the kids’ names. Seeing their excitement when they realized they got to keep the bikes was really special. Now we do the event each year, and everyone loves it.

How have the skills you’ve gained on the EP board translated to your life outside of McKesson?

AlRitia with her husband and dogs.

AlRitia: In 2013, I attended a leadership speaking engagement and realized I was the only Black woman in the room. I struggled with relating to the topic of becoming a leader because I could not see myself in that position.  I knew I wanted to do something to prevent others from experiencing the same thing, but I sat with the idea for eight years. In 2021, I founded Unicorn Leaders, a nonprofit dedicated to mentoring young women of color into STEM leadership positions.

Serving as an EP board member has fostered a strategic mindset, and I have applied that to the development of The Unicorn Leaders Cohort (The ULC), a six-month fellowship program focusing on leadership development, as well as personal and professional growth. Fellows are paired with mentors and are presented with monthly challenges. Being exposed to various professional development topics at McKesson has enabled me to incorporate those topics to The ULC to help prepare the next generation of leaders and bridge the gaps I encountered at the beginning of my career. Being involved with EP has also allowed me to raise awareness about my nonprofit and gather support for our cause.

Who inspires you most in your career?

Cody: My dad is my biggest inspiration in terms of my career. He started as a technical illustrator and worked for various companies that manufacture airplane parts. It wasn’t easy and he faced a lot of challenges, but he moved up from the bottom with hard work and achieved his goals. He was successful because of his growth mindset, and he inspired me to take ownership of my career by rolling up my sleeves and getting to work. I hope to inspire others the way he inspired me.