RAMONA HAMILL

Your current Company: 

Caesars Entertainment

Your current Title: 

Director of Internal Audit

How long have you been in a Lean In Circle?

3 years

Tell us 1 or 2 specific things that you have benefited from being in your circle

This feeling of belonging and being understood, while also seeing the same experience unfold within my fellow circle members.

What is the biggest obstacle in your career that you were able to overcome?

I will never forget my first year as a manager. I joined a team of relatively new auditors who immediately expected me to have all the answers for them and some were even looking for me to fail and quit at any moment. Pair that with having a very challenging Management team at four of my six properties, having to study for a certification and having a newborn at home. It was messy! I was fortunate to have been reporting to some awesome people at the time, who guided me and listened to my struggles daily. Then I received a scholarship to attend GGW's Eastern Leadership Development Conference and everything changed for me. I became a much stronger leader, I had so much more confidence in myself and my abilities and learned to surround myself with people who truly believed in me. I attribute a lot of my success over the last six years to GGW.

If someone was on the fence about joining a Lean In circle, based on your own experience, what would you tell them?

I would say 1,000% DO IT! It's amazing to see how a group of complete strangers comes together in this environment and everyone just lets their guards down and is so real with each other and extremely supportive of one another. We all have had challenges in our lives, whether personal or professional (most times, it's both), and this is a perfect space to lean in and on peers who have likely experienced your same hardships. It's also a space where we celebrate each other and reinforce the sentiment of support and inclusivity and suppress that nasty imposter syndrome we all know too well.

What is something most people don't know about you?

There is a very creative side to me that is typically showcased when I have time to bake :-)