Teamwork and Leading by Example
Sarah Husain, B.B.A.'06, began her career as an intern at Stryker in her last semester at WMU and was hired as a full-time buyer after graduation. She worked her way up in the company, moving through the Medical Supplier Development Team and holding the position of the operations team leader for Stryker’s Furniture/OEM group. In November 2010, she landed her current job as the materials team leader for the Patient Handling group, where she manages buyers, planners and supply chain for the stretchers manufactured at Stryker.
Husain understands the difficulties a local manufacturing company faces when competing in a global economy and helps Stryker overcome those barriers by cutting costs, putting her international business savvy and understanding of emerging global markets to use and, “building and maintaining a world-class supply chain and local manufacturing operation that can produce quality products in the United States." All of these things add up to a competitive advantage for Stryker.
Nearly all of Husain’s work at Stryker is as part of a team; she credits the classes at the Haworth College of Business in helping prepare her for this work environment. “In the College, we had to work with diverse groups of people in order to be successful on a presentation or major project. We had to be quick on our toes but also had to learn to leverage relationships with other people in order to achieve a common goal—which at the time was getting a good grade. The same concept applies to my daily interactions with my team and other folks at Stryker.”
In addition to relevant coursework at WMU, Husain learned the value of hard work and perseverance from her professors. Dr. Tim Palmer, professor of management and faculty advisor, served as a mentor to Husain throughout her college experience and taught her the importance of being ethical in the business world. In one of his classes, Husain completed a service learning project at an inner-city neighborhood Boys & Girls Club, “The young children at the club made me realize that no matter how successful I might be in my job or career, I should never lose sight of those that are less fortunate. It is important to count my blessings, and always remember to help provide for the needs of those that may not have the same opportunities that I have had.” That assignment taught her a great deal about servant leadership, a concept which she is now able to apply to her career at Stryker, making her a strong ethical leader.
Husain also jumps at the chance to give back to the Haworth College of Business. She attends events at the college and coordinates leadership presentations for current students. In addition, she serves as a WMU Alumni Ambassador, giving encouragement to incoming business students by sharing her experiences at Western.