Cathy Skula of Rent-A-Center – Command and Control

Command and control. That’s what Cathy Skula did at Rent-a-Center, starting just a few months out of college, and then working her way up for the next 18 years. From working the desk, to driving a truck, and even working collections, she has worked in every possible aspect of the business until, finally, she was tapped to step into a new kind of role—”influencer” (not the social media kind) and motivator, and ultimately Executive Vice President of Franchising. She now oversees 50-60 franchises. While this company is all this successful “Intraprenista” (and working mom) has ever known in her 26-year career, her current place in it was fought for strategically, and now she’s playing a role in empowering other women to be leaders. Cathy joins Socialfly Co-Founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer for a conversation about building her career and describes her journey to success. She discusses why moving into a franchising role was the biggest risk she ever took; why she was willing to make someone uncomfortable to find out why she didn’t get a promotion; the value of being an advocate for yourself; what she thinks about keeping work at work and home at home; why showing your career and imperfections to your kids is a good idea; and, how Cathy was able to move up in the organization. Plus, a surprise!