A spotlight on Sheri Miller: Domestic Manufacturing Scheduling Manager for Red Wing Shoe Co.

“My single biggest contribution is my unique perspective,” said Sheri Miller, domestic manufacturing scheduling manager at Red Wing Shoes. From running her own micro dairy farm to performing the flute in Orchestra Hall, Sheri’s experiences give her a unique perspective that allow her to see parallels, connections, and rhythm. “I went to school to become a professional flutist and realized that professional music can be an ugly industry,” reflects Sheri. “It took the beauty out of music.”

As Sheri reflected on what she wanted to do next, she worked at a manufacturing plant with her future husband. “I was petrified to even touch the equipment,” said Sheri. “I thought it was going to blow up and this just wasn’t the fit for me – I’m an artistic person.”

But as she learned the process, she started to see patterns. “I started to understand how things worked and it really ended up being a nice mesh for how my brain works.”

As Sheri advanced her career into management positions, she was encouraged to go back and complete her formal education. “Even though I’m super good at math, numbers, and concepts, I knew I didn’t want to advance my career by the path of school. I love reading and finding connections across different industries. If I went to school to learn the same thing that everyone else learns, I lose my ability to see things from a unique perspective.”

A lack of degree forced Sheri to restart her career several times. “Every time I re-entered the workforce, I had to start at the bottom and work my way up. There’s a belief that if you don’t have a degree, you can’t know what you are doing. Defining someone based on a degree is limiting. But eventually people see my skills and the value that I bring.”

Sheri’s unique perspective comes to life through her knowledge of experience and piecing things together for herself. “I don’t make assumptions or have the perspective of how things should be done,” said Sheri. “I love to take things from different industries and skillsets to mesh together.”

And Sheri does just that – like drawing parallels between riding a horse and playing the flute. “They are the same thing to me and I thought it was a normal connection; that people would see it the same way. It’s all about rhythm, whether its rhythm on a horse or the flute. I view everything conceptually.”

As Sheri encounters challenges, she pulls out the raw concept from the details. “I piece things together and find ideas that don’t normally pop into someone’s mind right away. It’s about finding what is stopping the energy from flowing and starting it back up again.”

Finding the energy and rhythm is what drives Sheri. It’s also the foundation of her biggest passion – horse dancing. “In order for me and the horse to move exactly at the same time, without prompts, we have to get into an energetic state where that can happen. I’m always looking for how I can get the energy to flow. It’s the same with work. When energy stops, we don’t feel good. It’s all about maximum flow of energy to drive maximum results for everyone and everything.”

Energy is how Sheri approaches leadership and she attributes her time operating her micro dairy farm to her success as a manager. “It was such an interesting experience to see how the animals, plants, and land mesh together,” recalled Sheri. “When there is an issue with one, it impacts everything. That’s the same with corporate. When the energy isn’t flowing, something is missing.”

After running her micro dairy farm and homeschooling her daughter, Sheri joined Red Wing Shoe Company in 2018. Recently promoted to domestic manufacturing scheduling manager, Sheri is laying the groundwork to find the rhythm and energy flow with her new teams. “I like to learn everyone’s strengths and find what they are passionate about. It can take awhile but once you find what someone lights up about and hone in on that, the energy flows for everyone and any problems naturally go away.”

As Sheri says, “when everyone feels good about what they are doing, we can come together to create the perfect shoe.”