As Audigy’s HR Program Lead, Zea Wintersong puts her passion to work helping our members with any and all HR-related conundrums. She also oversees and mentors our HR experts and leads projects for our People and Organizational Development team.
Working With Members
People try to avoid uncomfortable conversations, even at the expense of relationships.
By her own admission, Zea is “such a nerd about” helping people confront and embrace their discomfort so they can have that conversation and get to a positive end — a productive relationship.
Many of our audiology practices and ancillary clinics are either small or close-knit, almost like family. If someone doesn’t show up or isn’t doing their job right, it can feel like a personal affront. Confronting that employee feels very uncomfortable.
That’s where Zea comes in. Her support is really two-pronged:
First, she’s a receptor. The member expresses their anger, distress, or whatever their emotional response is to the situation. Second, she’s an advisor. With the emotional charge reduced or eliminated, she helps them devise a strategy for having a productive conversation with that employee.
She genuinely loves coming to work. She knows she’s trusted to do what needs to be done — her ideas are accepted and embraced. She also gets to see how a project she’s working on impacts the whole membership or her whole team.
Plus, she genuinely likes everybody that she works with.
Who Is Zea?
Most of her working life, though, was in food service or retail. She worked her way up to shift manager in the deli at New Season Market. But confrontation was really uncomfortable for her — physically ill uncomfortable.
She learned that going through it, and then going through it again, practicing, made her better. And she realized she really liked it. She was good at positive reinforcement, constructive criticism, and managing conflict.
That’s why she’s so passionate about helping members in this way — conflict can be fruitful. It’s a coachable skill.
A Rising Star in HR
It just made sense to apply for the Staff Coordinator position at New Seasons. She worked her way up to HR Assistant Manager, and during her tenure at New Seasons, she was part of the leadership team at several different locations.
Along the way, New Seasons supported her when she pursued a certificate in Human Resources management. When she landed at Audigy, they helped her earn her SHRM certification.
She cites Brené Brown, Patrick Lencioni, and Susan Scott as strong professional influences, along with Jeffrey Nelson, the man who was her boss in her first HR-related position.
She plans to one day earn her master’s degree in organizational psychology.
Zea Outside of Work
In her free time, her interests run the gamut. She’s passionate about the environment and helping the disadvantaged. She also loves river hiking and watching TV with her son.
But she does have what she calls “a plant problem”: too many plants and not enough space. Her solution? Take up macramé and hang them from the ceiling!
One of Zea’s biggest personal influences is Julia Child — her positive outlook, her can-do approach to life, and her love of teaching. She savored life, and that’s what Zea tries to do.