A Day in the Life - Sandra Hester

Sandra Hester

Principal – USC Operations Excellence

What does a typical day look like as a Principal in the Operations Excellence team?

As a Principal for US & Canada, each day is about balancing impact across four areas:

• Performance Management & Client Excellence – tracking KPIs, leading client reviews, and ensuring we deliver above expectations.
• Business Development & Growth – meeting with prospects, crafting proposals, and identifying opportunities to expand our partnerships.
• Team Leadership & Capability Building – coaching high performers, aligning resources, and designing programs that elevate our people.
• Strategic Planning & Market Positioning – analyzing industry trends, creating thought leadership, and developing new service offerings.

No two days are the same, but every day is focused on one thing: helping our clients and teams achieve excellence.

Why did you choose a career in consulting?

At my core, I am a nurturer who finds profound fulfillment in cultivating growth and potential in others. I believe that when we nurture systems with the same intentionality we show people, we create environments where excellence becomes inevitable and sustainable. My personal value of continuous improvement serves as both my compass and my calling. I am energized by the opportunity to leave every person I work with more capable, every process more efficient, and every product more valuable than when I first encountered them.

Why did you join dss⁺?

I was drawn to dss⁺ because I found a rare convergence between my core values and beliefs and an institution that not only shares these principles but actively lives them in service to clients and team members alike. What makes this opportunity truly exceptional is the unique positioning it offers to be both entrepreneurial and systematic in shaping the organization's future. This dual dynamic allows me to pioneer new approaches and methodologies while leveraging the deep institutional knowledge and proven processes that come from an organization with strong roots and rich history.

What are you most proud of?

In this environment, I can bring my complete, authentic self to work each day - my curiosity, my passion for improvement, my nurturing nature, and my systems thinking–without having to compartmentalize or diminish any aspect of who I am to fit a predetermined mold. This pride comes from knowing that I am not just employed but truly belonging to something that makes both me and the work we do together better than we could ever be apart.

What do our values mean to you?

Our values represent the rare opportunity to work in complete integrity, where there is no disconnect between personal principles and professional practice. These values serve as our North Star, providing unwavering guidance that aligns every thought, belief, and action with our deepest commitments to safety, excellence, integrity, and service. At dss⁺, this is what it means to be values-driven: values aren't what we do-they are who we are.