Katie Kirkpatrick is an environmental engineer by training, but she now leads one of the most influential business groups in Atlanta, the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
The chamber’s board is a “Who’s Who” of CEOs of the region’s most prominent companies and institutions, from Delta Air Lines, UPS and Mercedes-Benz USA to Emory University, Piedmont Healthcare and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Kirkpatrick reports to them and the chamber’s members, representing the business community’s interests. She’s tasked with driving economic development and pushing for broad improvements in areas such as education and public transit, on behalf of the region’s business leaders.
It’s an expansive job that is as complex as Atlanta’s economy itself.
Kirkpatrick spent a few minutes with AJC Her+Story sharing her tips for success, ranging from how to prepare for a day in her shoes to how to kill it in a job interview.
Edited for length and clarity.
Q: What’s your morning routine?
A: I’m very regimented, which I think you probably find with a lot of CEOs.
I get up every morning and do three things.
One is I read a devotion. It’s very important to me to ground myself as I start every morning.
Second, I walk my dogs. So what’s important there is it actually allows me to be in nature, and I think that’s really important. When I walk my dogs, I don’t have AirPods in. I’m not listening to anything. … It allows my mind to wonder a bit. And I think that sense of wonder is a very important skill to have as a leader.
And then the third thing I do is I work out, and I do not miss my workouts. It is both a stress reliever and something that has been part of my daily routine since I was about 6, because I was a competitive swimmer growing up. And so for me, physical health is really tied to mental health and stress reduction, and so I work out every morning.
Q: What is your favorite restaurant for a business lunch?
A: It’s funny that you say that because I just came from a business lunch.
I have two places that I like to go. The first one is By George in downtown Atlanta, in the Candler Hotel. If you haven’t been there — lovely, great atmosphere, great food. Easy place to have conversation, also easily accessible by MARTA.
And then the second one is the Blue Ridge Grill (in Buckhead). Blue Ridge Grill is just a good centralized location if anybody’s coming from the north side of town — easy to get to.
Q: What’s your best Atlanta parking secret?
A: I think I have a lot of secrets. I don’t want to give them all away.
Truist Park — that counts, right? If you park on the other side of I-75, so on the eastern side of I-75 (such as Lot E43 at 3100 Interstate N Circle SE), it’s really easy to park. It’s, you know, maybe a quarter-mile walk, and you can get in and out really easily and you have no traffic.
And I think a lot of people don’t realize that. So there’s a parking tip for you.
Q: What are the best things someone can do to distinguish themselves in a job interview?
A: Two things: Research the company and the person you’re interviewing with before you enter the interview. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve interviewed a candidate that doesn’t know what the Metro Atlanta Chamber does.
If you’re doing communications, understand their profile, how do they communicate. Finance, read their SEC filing. Think through how your job would intersect with the company.
And then second, come prepared with three critical questions about the culture, about the job expectations and what success looks like.
Q: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A: There’s a piece of advice that has always resonated with me, and it was when I was pregnant with my first child. I am a perfectionist, and I like to be the best I can be as an employee.
But once you become a parent, you are now torn between which gets your energy and where do you win on which day. Because some days you’re going to maybe not be at 100% in your job, you may not be 100% as a parent.
And the advice was, that’s OK, and to give yourself grace. You might have a day where you don’t feel like you succeeded in all your metrics at work, or perhaps you fed your kid chicken nuggets for the second night in a row. And the reality is, it’s actually OK and to give yourself grace.
And I thought that was really poignant advice as someone that’s got a career and wanted a career, but yet prioritizes her family. That was important to give myself grace.
AJC Her+Story is a new series in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution highlighting female founders, creators, executives and professionals. It is about building a community. Know someone the AJC should feature in AJC Her+Story? Email us at herstory@ajc.com with your suggestions. Check out all our AJC Her+Story coverage at ajc.com/herstory.
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