Leadership Spotlight: Adam Diercks

Adam Diercks, Senior Vice President of Transportation & Operations, has been in the transportation industry for over 20 years. Before joining the Roadrunner Freight team, Adam spent 13 years with FedEx Ground where he began his career in the industry loading vans as a part time job during college. It was the fast paced and ever-changing environment of the industry that Adam enjoyed the most.

During his time with FedEx Ground, Adam met many people along the way. One person, in particular, would eventually lead him to begin his career with Roadrunner Freight. He has since been with Roadrunner Freight for 8 years. Aside from his wide variety of industry knowledge, Adam brings a strong affinity for math and logic to the team. He values listening and believes strongly that “More often than not, the solutions to a problem are all around us but we don’t open our eyes and ears to discover them.”

ONE TEAM, ONE GOAL

With Roadrunner Freight being fairly new to the transportation world, its leaders and team members hold the ability to truly make a difference and shape the company. The emphasis on the team has been a key factor for Roadrunner Freight’s leaders. For Adam Diercks, it’s the people centric culture that stands out most. He mentioned, “Roadrunner Freight has a corporate culture that emphasized the people and discourages the politics and bureaucracy that other large companies deal with. We truly are one Team trying to accomplish common goals.”

Cultivating an environment full of diverse voices that are heard is a skill that Adam prides himself on. He believes that, as a leader, it is his duty to ensure all team members feel safe, valued, and heard by their leadership and other team members. Adam also believes that with more perspectives comes more opportunities to find creative solutions to solve problems.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS & ADVICE

Adam, another one of Roadrunner Freight’s servant leaders, sees himself as a resource to help his team accomplish their goals. He believes that an engaged and empowered team will accomplish more as a cohesive group rather than as individuals. Being aligned to one common, identified goal is key to accomplishing anything and everything.

When asked what advice Adam could offer up to those in the transportation industry, he stated “Be a sponge. Or, better yet, be a student.” The transportation industry moves and evolves so quickly that a willingness and eagerness to evolve with it are crucial to having a successful career. Keeping this in mind, you can learn so much more from those around you. Use your teammates as resources. Adam said it best when he mentioned “Absorb their (your teammates) knowledge and apply your own perspective to create innovative solutions.”

Adam’s most proud accomplishment during his time with Roadrunner Freight are the feats he was able to tackle with his many team members. He’s proud to have gotten the opportunity to work with the incredible people that have helped mold him into the leader he is today and looks forward to learning and growing with new Roadrunner Freight team members in the future.