Starting a New Chapter- Carolyn Kurowski’s Retirement

Our blog team recently sat down to interview Carolyn Kurowski after hearing the exciting (and bittersweet) news- Carolyn is retiring from her role as Owner and Board Member of FMP! Her transition into retirement has been in the works for a few years now and while she is scaling back her time; she’s planning to continue in an Executive Advisor role for the next few years. Her focus will be on client and partner relationships, business development, and management coaching, so we’ll still benefit from all her expertise. Read on to hear more about what Carolyn has valued in her years with FMP and her plans for the future!

Carolyn, you’ve been part of FMP for many years and have helped shape its growth and culture. What originally brought you to FMP and what made you stay?

I was first introduced to FMP in 2000 when I responded to an ad in the newspaper (for those of you unfamiliar with this concept, you used to have to look in the newspapers for your jobs) that said ‘HR consultant wanted’ and gave a fax number. I submitted my resume and was contacted to come in for an interview. I had completed my master’s in developmental psychology, focusing on human motivation, and I was looking for a full-time position outside of academia. I interviewed with Tim Barnhart, the founder of FMP, and he talked about helping agencies solve problems and figure out how to set up and effectively manage their workforce- all things that sounded really interesting and exciting. I think I interviewed about three or four times and was actually hired and brought on board in February of 2001.

What made me stay was many things. One of the things I really loved about the work was how it was different day-to-day. I could go from helping the one client figure out what their workforce should look like, working on spreadsheets and learning how to do crazy formulas in Excel. The next day I could deliver training to another client’s workforce on their performance management process and how they could participate effectively. The ability to do different things was really exciting to me.

Another thing that I have always loved about FMP is the sense that we help people to figure out solutions to their problems. What challenges are they dealing with? What obstacles are they facing? How could we help them do their work better? I always loved that sense of solving problems, and I still get a lot of energy from that.

And then there are the people- FMP is a place where everybody has the same mentality of wanting to do a really good job and pulling together to get work done. It created the sense that we would have each other’s backs and work together. FMP was the calm, thoughtful place where we could always talk things through and figure out the best way forward.

As you reflect on your career, what has brought you the most joy?

There are two areas. First, the feeling I get when I figure something out for a client that really delights them. I can recall many of those moments, and they were big ones. On one project we brought an ad campaign to the director and she absolutely loved it! She was so excited and her experience of joy in that moment is one of my favorite memories. I also remember another client who had a small staffing problem and I was like, ‘Can we try this?”. She was so delighted with the idea and felt it was going to make her life so much easier. Those moments and those feelings always really brought me joy.

I think the other area that brought me joy was working through a big problem and that feeling when a team pulls together, is really excited, and all of the great ideas are popping. Those are the times that I love. We’ll be in one of those big meetings and the energy of seeing people come up with and contributing really great ideas to get to an amazing final outcome is one of my favorite feelings. That and Excel.

How would you describe what makes the FMP community special?

There are a couple of things that make FMP special. First, there is a sense of ‘other’ that really centers a lot of how we approach our work. You can see this clearly in how we think about solutions that are really designed to work for our clients and their specific needs and environment. We aren’t bringing an ego into this conversation- this isn’t ‘we have to show you our way because it’s the right way’. We so often begin our work with questions that seek to understand so that we can find the thing that’s going to help our clients, that’s going to improve their work, or that’s going to make the organization better.

Second, I think that same attitude also comes through in terms of how we engage with one another. As we work together, we actively think about how we can support each other, how we can help our team do a better job. This thoughtful, team support comes through in our work, as well as our internal initiatives like our Charity Committee. The charity work that our team identifies and that we have participated in over the years has been quite thoughtful, very much about making a real difference and being present. And I think that’s something that makes the FMP community really special and authentic.

As you take this next step into retirement, what aspects of your work are you excited to continue focusing on in your executive advisor role?

I don’t think anyone was surprised when I said I was going to do things a little differently in retirement! As I thought about my retirement, I was really excited to talk with the rest of the Executive team about continuing in a more limited Executive Advisor role. While I’ll be working fewer hours, I’m still really looking forward to continuing to be someone who helps solve problems and think about things in different ways. I’m excited to work with our clients and consultants to come up with solutions or approaches that are going to make a difference, and maybe coming at the problem from a different angle. So, I want to continue helping, talking through client issues, thinking about deliverables from different perspectives- I’m looking forward to continuing to be a part of all of that!

Finally, and most importantly, what are you most looking forward to in this next chapter outside of work?

My husband, Eric, and I are very excited to travel. It has always been something that’s been important to us and we’ve done trips with our sons over the years. Now, we’re looking forward to some longer trips and going to places like Iceland, the Galapagos Islands, and Eric is really excited to go on safari. So, we’re looking forward to that.

Additionally, we want to spend time with our sons, Andrew and Teddy. Andrew is graduating this year and he’s going to be in New York. I’ve already warned him that I plan to be up there often for shows and to plant myself in the museums. Once Teddy graduates and we figure out where he’ll be, I’ll be able to figure out how to haunt, I mean visit, him as well.

I want to close by saying I’m just so grateful for all of the opportunities FMP has given me over the years. This career was not at all planned or what I had expected when I answered that teeny tiny ad so many years ago. It’s been exciting and I’ve learned so much. I’ve met and been able to work with so many amazing people and looking back, I am filled with immense gratitude.

Jessica Milloy is the Chief Operating Officer of FMP, LLC. Jess is from Alexandria, Virginia and enjoys traveling, cooking, and time spent with family and friends.