Hailey Benton-Thomas

Chief Operating Officer/General Counsel, TBS Factoring Service, LLC

40 Under 40 Category: Operations
 

Hailey Benton-Thomas is chief operating officer and general counsel for Oklahoma City-based TBS Factoring Service. She oversees the people and processes that ensure this leading national provider of small business cash flow solutions is an employer of choice and a highly efficient business.

Hailey joined TBS Factoring in 2014, and quickly became an indispensable member of the senior management team, drawing on her experience as a lawyer. She was promoted to her current positions in 2016. While at TBS, she has implemented scalable processes to support the exponential portfolio growth.

Prior to TBS, Hailey was an employment lawyer and assistant managing attorney in the flagship office of Floyd, Skeren and Kelly, representing clients such as Verizon, Sysco, and several NFL teams. Though a successful litigator, she found her true passion in training and developing others.

In addition to her work at TBS, she serves on the board of the Oklahoma Human Society and the Capitol Hill High School Advisory Board. She holds a B.A. in industrial-organizational psychology and Juris Doctorate, both from Pepperdine University.  

What is your definition of success?

For me, success is meeting goals without compromising your principles. My father set out to accomplish great things and did, but not at the detriment of others, or by taking the easy path, even though that sometimes meant harder work. In my own career, I’ve strived to do the same. I haven’t always taken the jobs that offered the highest pay; I’ve taken the jobs that allowed me to feel fulfilled and to feel good about what I’m doing. 

How do you define a good leader?

In my legal career I had the opportunity to meet with a lot of great leaders, and some awful ones, typically at tough points in their careers. Nobody likes to be sued and, if they were in the room with me, it was typically because they had been dragged there somehow. In those discussions you learn a lot about someone’s leadership style. The pretense is gone, and you get to see whether they hold to their principles, even in the worst of times.

Great leaders, and I would include my current CEO, Jennifer Lickteig, are honest and fair in any circumstance. They have the ability to see a different future, and they are always open to feedback, not only from peers but also from their teams, clients and outside advisers.

I’ve always believed in hiring smart people and making sure that they get the training and develop opportunities to grow — even into my role. When someone I hire can do what I do, that doesn’t replace me; it means that I can grow and move forward to take on new challenges.

What advice do you normally give to the junior talent you mentor?

“Know yourself to lead yourself.”  Self-awareness and emotional intelligence contribute more to the success of a leader than the ability to perform the tasks of the job alone. It is important to understand where your shortfalls are, where your strengths are, and to surround yourself with people who balance out your areas of weakness.  For example, I’m almost six feet tall, and I’m a lawyer. I speak with an intensity and formality in my voice and people can be intimidated when they first meet me. I know that, and I know I need to overcome that when I’m working with a team, or people who don’t know me. 

I’m not the kind of leader who can stand up in front of a room and whip them into a fever. I connect much better in small groups. This kind of self-awareness is important, and it is something I try to impart to anyone I have the privilege of mentoring. There’s no one who cannot lead if they can work with their own strengths and navigate their weaknesses.