Happy 5-year anniversary!
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Today, I’m celebrating the 5th anniversary of going out on my own to make a different impact on the world of work. It’s been quite the journey of ups and downs, learning about myself, knowing what work I most enjoy doing, and continuing to evolve how I serve the communities around me.
For those of you new to following me, here’s a quick backstory of how I got here:
After a short stint in banking and a professional membership association and getting my Master's degree in HR Management, I joined Andersen Consulting’s (now Accenture) HR organization, where I stayed until late 2016, almost 19 years. That experience allowed me opportunities to work in consulting, outsourcing, and with an internal software organization, work in global roles and travel the world, and help integrate nine acquisitions, one that was the largest ever at that point, and play a strategic role in their large-scale change to performance management.
I decided that it was time to move on…feeling like that wasn’t my end game…and took some time to decide whether to start my own thing or go to another organization. I decided I still wanted to be part of a bigger organization, so I moved into roles with AECOM and then with EPAM, where I grew the impact of HR through new ways of thinking and working in North America.
In early 2019, I realized I still had the itch to try my own thing, with the biggest factor being the desire to not have regrets. I announced my departure and with my internal plan that I would do this entrepreneurial thing until one of three things happened:
✍🏻 I decided I didn’t like it
✍🏻 I wasn’t making enough money to meet my family’s needs
✍🏻 I was offered another opportunity that I would regret if I didn’t take.
Over the past five years, two scenarios occurred that made me consider if it was time to move back into an organizational role.
In 2021, I had the opportunity to be considered for a head of HR role, honestly one that checked a lot of boxes for me on the type of role and organization I wanted to have. As I considered it more and more, I realized I wasn’t done trying to build my own business.
In 2023, many of the opportunities I foresaw fell through with a significantly lower-than-planned revenue outcome. There were definitely moments when I was assessing if it was time to fold up. But I reworked my plans and decided I wanted to continue, and this year, I’ve been blessed with several great opportunities to work with amazing organizations.
So…I’ll keep moving ahead into year 6 with these points in mind:
My WHY: I believe that work shouldn’t suck and that leaders are the key ingredients for creating workplaces where people thrive and those organizations grow and create impact. The job of the leader is challenging, and I am passionate about setting those leaders up for success so they can most effectively lead themselves, their teams, and their organizations.
I have realized what I love to do and where I can make a differentiated impact, particularly with smaller organizations. With my education, mindset, and experiences, I am able to blend leadership coaching, talent strategy, and HR advisory capabilities for my clients so that they can run amazing organizations.
With my clients, we tackle everything from...
🤔 how to structure the organization to play to each team member’s strengths, to
🤔 how to handle an employee performance issue, to
🤔 how to deal with a difficult board member, and everything in between.
I’m also that sounding board and mirror for the leader to ensure they are showing up the way that they intend.
I love the work I get to do.
Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to build some templates and tools to help you as you focus on leading yourself, your teams, and your organizations. This link will take you to a site where I’ve captured a variety of resources that you can download whenever you need them.
For the remainder of 2024, I’m also focused on facilitating short strategy sessions (90 minutes or ½ day) to ensure you’re set up for Q4 and 2025 success. Send me a DM, comment below, or schedule a call.
Three key lessons from the last five years:
✔️ Be intentional about what you want to accomplish.
✔️ Surround yourself with people who believe in what you’re trying to do and who will facilitate your growth
✔️ Recognize that leadership (and entrepreneurship) is an endurance sport with no known finish line so you have to treat it that way and not as a sprint. Taking care of yourself is critical to be able to go the distance.
Here’s to another amazing year of getting to do the work I love!