Ingrid Watkins served with the Coca-Cola Company for twenty years until launching IW Consulting Group in 2017. Ingrid spent fifteen years of that time advocating for the inclusion of diverse suppliers across the company’s global supply chain. She worked her way up from communications manager to senior sourcing manager, all the while gaining valuable skills and experience, and creating her brand as a supplier diversity leader.
Ingrid’s primary function is that of a mother. She has grown twins, and she adores a new title she added to her résumé three years ago: “Lovee,” which is a wonderfully fun word for “grandmother.” She says, “I absolutely love spending time with these extraordinary mirror images of myself.”
Ingrid has been a social activist for racial justice, inclusiveness, fairness, and anti-discrimination her entire life. Her life’s work has been to increase opportunities for historically underrepresented minorities in the United States.
Below are details of the interview:
Tell us the inception story of IW Consulting Group.
In my last role at the Coca-Cola Company, our staff size decreased from 7 to 3, but the workload remained the same. It was then that I realized that for supplier diversity practitioners, there were no resources or support available to help with the workload. When I left my corporate role, I decided to offer my expertise to companies to start new initiatives or optimize the performance of existing programs. I identified an industry gap and positioned my company as the solution.
What has been your biggest learning since becoming an entrepreneur?
No matter what corporate position you’re in, how hard you work or how much you produce, it’s important to establish your professional brand outside of the job. Your industry should know you, respect you, and recognize you as a leader. You never know when you’ll need to rely on your reputation and your network to make a living. I think a lot of my corporate colleagues don’t understand that corporate positions can be unstable, and you can render yourself vulnerable if you rely on them solely. “I’m very proud of what I was able to accomplish as a corporate supplier diversity leader, but it doesn’t compare to the gratification of being an entrepreneur.”
How do you motivate people to go the extra mile?
I learned that I’m a natural educator. Sharing my knowledge within my organization and investing in my team is how I motivate them. When an Intern comes into the firm and tell me that they aspire to becoming a supplier diversity practitioner, I generously load them up with as much knowledge as they can manage. I’m a roll your sleeves up and get in the trenches kind of leader. That hierarchy chain is something I never appreciated about corporate cultures. I don’t sit up high and look down; we are all on the same level, striving to reach the same goals. Consulting work is hard and competitive. I value my team, and I demand excellence from them, but I’m also generous in rewarding them for their contributions to our success. That’s usually a pretty good motivator too!
What gets you up in the morning? What motivates you?
I know that there are still some sectors of society that are not allowed access to opportunities, and who are still experiencing racism, discrimination, and inequity. We all know that each person has a responsibility to do what they can to change things so that we all have the ability to live the American dream. I’m motivated by the work that I do to try and make a difference. We are helping to break down corporate barriers and enabling minorities’ access to jobs and business opportunities that they had been shut out of previously. I wake up feeling tired but motivated, if that makes sense. I feel that we all have the responsibility to improve the pathways for the next generation, and I don’t want my granddaughter to experience some of the things I have had to endure while navigating my career. I’m passionate about assuring everybody has opportunities, and that they are treated fairly and equitably. It’s that simple.
Kindly describe how you will specifically know what success looks like for you.
On a day-to-day basis, I bite off small pieces of success. If I achieved my daily goals, then that was a successful day. There is just too much to take on to imagine yearly or longer-term goals. Some societal events can cause our focus to change, and when that happens, my whole mapped out plan can get tossed. For example, after the brutal murder of George Floyd, when all the CEOs of major corporations made pledges to do better hiring and do business with black Americans, we pivoted to offering DEI training and strategies to address the heavy demand. Being flexible in business is how we grow and sustain.
What are your future plans to sustain IW Consulting Group’s success?
Our plan is to continue to be the best at what we do; supplier diversity program strategy, and diversity and inclusion advising and training. We are committed to providing our clients with strategies that include all of our many years of practical knowledge combined with industry best-in-class standards. We pride ourselves on over delivering and becoming long term partners and advisors to our corporate clients. Our stellar work will sustain us.
Website: https://www.iwconsultinggroup.com/
