Cultivating a Thriving Environment (is like Music)

“Everyone across my leadership team has unique strengths and perspectives on driving and supporting our business (very similar to a band) and when we’re all executing on our roles, it’s a lot like music.” - Jerald Jackson  

Working in an inclusive, highly engaged, and diverse culture is important to Jerald Jackson, VP of Client Implementations, and is a big part of why he shows up everyday. He values having the ability to influence and cultivate a work environment where others feel they can thrive. 

“Providing our team members with meaningful work and how it directly ties back to our mission statement of helping people live their financial best is critical for a highly engaged workforce. “

Jerald originally studied music and psychology and didn’t have a background in data management. “I joined Equifax as an individual contributor and was fortunate enough to grow my career within Operations where I led small teams and layered in similar functions along the way.”

What do you believe contributed to your success when you pivoted and pursued a career in client implementations and data management?

What’s interesting, as I continue to think about my music background and the successes I’ve been able to experience throughout my Equifax career, there are definitely some attributes that overlap and lean into my successes.  

For example, curiosity about my craft and taking the time to develop a level of mastery beyond the surface.  Reading sheet music only got me so far in music, I needed experience playing different genres of music. Not only practicing, but also performing.

 The same applies within my career; understanding a file spec is one thing, 

• but what does that really mean for building a file, 
• what is the level of effort, 
• the experience for both our customers and consumers.  
• What are the downstream effects when building files or API connections?  

We all interpret information differently, be it sheet music or business strategy.

Listen in as Jerald speaks on the importance of showing up as your authentic self and more in this video.

Learn more about available opportunities at Equifax.