Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/213549
"If all areas aren't in a good place, it's hard to be good at any one of them. If you're only focused on work, and your health and personal life are suffering, you may not be able to be successful professionally," 34-year-old Edgeworth says. "But if you're happy personally, that can help you bring positive and focused energy to other aspects of your life." In many ways, Edgeworth's journey to becoming head of HR at one of Canada's most successful entrepreneurial companies has been about climbing up her own goal-setting ladder. 'STUMBLING' INTO HR She first "stumbled into HR by accident" as a campus recruiter for Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) while studying communications at the University of Minnesota. "It was a good fit for me because I was young and enjoyed working with people," Edgeworth says. Every step she took afterwards has helped her learn a different facet of HR. In her next role at CPR, she was responsible for onboarding new hires and also got her first taste of training employees. "I remember being in front of this group of 20 to 30 people and saw how excited they were about their new job, and how they were ready to make a difference," Edgeworth recalls. "That's when I fell in love with HR." Upon discovering her new-found love in training, she went back to school for a master's degree in organizational development, as well as adult education. Edgeworth later moved into a role in CPR's training department, and eventually tried her hand in other job first r You ream ur d o be y not ht mig lead will . It ay in w 's a ut it b gs. thin any to m you areas like labour relations and HR operations. Jumping into uncharted territories and taking on challenges shouldn't be surprising for someone like Edgeworth, who identifies "being a learner" as her number one strength. "That's probably why I'm in HR — because there are so many different parts of HR that you can learn and continue learning," she says. "Another strength is that I'm strategic, I like to look ahead. Significance is another quality I have — not necessarily that I want to be recognized or given rewards, but to actually know you're making a difference somewhere." OLYMPIC HURDLE After seven years at CPR and a move from her hometown of Minnesota to Calgary in 2004, Edgeworth was ready to make a difference in the greater community — a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be part of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. As the director of workforce planning and human resources for the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC), Edgeworth was part of the senior leadership team tasked with managing a total workforce of 55,000 paid staff, volunteers and contractors. In a flurry of two years, Edgeworth was at the helm of deciding how many people were needed and planning how each and every one of them would be integrated and compensated for one of the world's biggest events. "There were some long days and tough times, but it didn't matter. I loved what we were doing," says Edgeworth, a cycler and marathon runner. "I'm definitely passionate about sports and that drew me to the Olympics. I love what the Olympics does for sports and communities." PERSONAL GOALS As for her own personal, canadian hr profession 14 hrreporter.com HRP.indd 14 12-03-26 11:26 AM