{Hitting the Road} Leadership and Credibility Presentation

I have the honor, or is it street cred, to say that I've been working for a living longer than I've not been working.

When I consider the many jobs I've had, my favorite, by far, was my time as an ROTC instructor. Sure, we had the have-to-teach classes like military history, tactics and marksmanship but we also had the fun classes.

The best part of my week was when was able to mold and shape young minds and teach Leadership.

The thing about leadership is it extends beyond the walls of a classroom. When you are a leader, you wake up and step into a living, breathing leadership learning lab. In this lab, you learn from experiences. You often learn more from the bad experiences than from the good.

Last week, I had the opportunity to share my experiences and talk about leadership and credibility with the professionals of ALAMN. 

I tripped over my carefully constructed outline, botched a few lines and forgot to advance a slide or two but I resisted my natural urge to bolt, stayed within my time and noone got hurt.

It. Was. Awesome.

So awesome it may be time to take this conversation on the road.

Note: click on the "empty" slides for cool fly-in text.

Before I pack my bags, I'd like to publicly thank Cheryl Nelson, ALAMN Business Partner and Conference Committee, for finding me, the professionals of ALAMN for their generosity and Sean Schuette, CMP, Director of Meetings and Events at IntrinXec Management Inc., for the smooth running of the behind-the-scenes show.

{HR} Leadership Is Not For The Weak

Essential competencies for high performing HR professionals include being a cultural steward, talent manager, operational executor . . . and having a thick skin.

Listen, let me just save you some time and <wasted> energy. If you are not pleased with a decision I've made or frustrated because I don't see things your way and get the urge to call me names, you'll have to do better than "obtuse and obstructionist."

Really, professionals should be able to communicate without name calling but in those cases where that doesn't happen, you have got to know . . . "sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never harm me." They used to, like when I was 4 and the big girls came up to me and taunted, "Mona Lisa, are you going to cry? Are you going to cry?" Yup, I cried, but no more.

Big girls, big words, artistic taunts and ridiculous slams aside, there is something that does catch my attention: questions about my motives, my intentions or my credibility. 

Credibility. It's the thing that keeps me up at night, has me second guessing my actions and replying my conversations. And at times, it is the thing I insert into situations where it has no place being.

What else do I know about credibility?

Well, a lot actually and I am going to be talking credibility and leadership today at the 22nd Annual ALAMN Educational Conference and Exposition Leadership Boot Camp. All very fitting because I've stepped foot in a boot camp or two back in the day.

ALAMN members and guests, welcome to the blog and I look forward to speaking with and learning from you today.