Reaching 15 years is an accomplishment for any organization. For McCann Partners, it’s a special milestone. When I founded this Chicago-based IT staffing firm, starting and running a business wasn’t something I ever envisioned. But reality made its own plans for me.
By 2011, I thought I’d be leading a more traditional life: married with children, balancing a family and a career. Instead, McCann Partners was born that year. I’ve spent the years since then growing a team that shows up every day to make a positive impact in IT staffing, tech recruiting, and workforce solutions. I did build a family, but it is made up of candidates, clients, team members, and industry colleagues turned friends and confidantes.
Like all successful endeavors, though, I did not do it alone. Mentors believed in me when I did not believe in myself. Exceptional people helped me see a path forward and supported me along the way.
The Architect of My Values and the McCann Legacy
My first mentor was my father. I didn’t realize it, but as a child, he was passing on tools I would rely on decades later.
Jack McCann is no longer with us, but the values he taught me serve as the daily operating system for how I lead at McCann Partners. He loved to remind my siblings and me that everyone puts their pants on the same way – to me, he’d add: “And Megan, even if you’re stepping into a skirt, you step into it one leg at a time.” It was a simple way to say we’re all the same, all part of one big community.
He lived those values too. When he was president of a steel mill, he didn’t manage from the comfort of an office. He walked the floor. He got to know his employees and their roles. He treated them all the same. At McCann Partners, that translates into valuing every candidate, client, and team member equally, regardless of title or tenure.
We manifest this spirit every day at McCann by paying that belief forward: Actively championing local Chicago talent, elevating women in technology, and showing up for our professional network.
A Personal and Professional Turning Point
About five years into this adventure, McCann Partners faced a perfect storm. What we built together began to fall apart all at once – that paralyzed me. I nearly sold the company out of fear.
At that low point, I had a moment of clarity. I was not making a business decision based on what I’d learned throughout my life and throughout those five years. I was making a decision based on fear.
It’s been said that it’s darkest before the dawn. This was my darkness.
Then, I stepped back and realized the McCann team had accomplished so much in five years and was capable of so much more. We came together, relied on one another, and persevered.
McCann is stronger today because we were able to find a way through. I now know what we’re made of and what we can achieve under both good and unfavorable circumstances. I’ve also learned that the temptation to quit is almost always loudest just before something turns.
Navigating a Shifting IT & Recruiting Market
Pandemics. AI. Accelerated market changes. You don’t have a playbook to make any of this easier to deal with. You learn by embracing uncertainty, rising to the challenges, and facing hardships head-on.
Have I done this perfectly every time? No. Have I learned every time? Yes. The exceptional people around me at McCann have made it possible.
Together, we ask the questions that inform the path ahead. It’s another lesson from my father. When I would come to him with a frustration, he would ask, “What have you already tried?” It was his way of helping me figure it out myself.
That question shapes how we work at McCann. Effective recruiting requires curiosity. We ask about team dynamics, what has gotten in the way before, and what a candidate needs to step into. It is about understanding the human side. We show up as people because the person in front of us deserves that from us. Meaningful connections and honesty build a trust that lasts.
Celebrating Today. Looking Ahead to a Better Tomorrow.
As we mark 15 years, I want to celebrate everyone who has helped us build the McCann Partners of today. Clients who relied on us. Team members who bring our values to life. Candidates who trusted us with their careers. Mentors who pushed and cheered me on along the way.
No matter their impact, large or small, short-term or long-term, they are forever our family. Like Jack McCann’s lessons that resonate today, their contributions continue to shape this organization.
To everyone who has been a part of this story, whether you’ve been with us since day one or have joined us recently, thank you. You are the reason we have made it this far, and you will take us wherever we go next.
It’s impossible to know where we’ll be in 15 years, but that’s part of the adventure. I am grateful to be on this journey with all of you, stepping into the unknown as one, and facing the future together.
