Pondering HRevolution 2010

HRevolution has left Chicago.

HR social media thought leaders and practitioners from around the country converged for 24 hours+ of  discussions on HR, social media, communications, and leadership/development. And now it's over.

Starting with the Monster Tweetup Friday night, we met up with old friends and met online friends (and new friends) for the very first time. The connections and conversation made Friday night carried over into the unconference the next day and the Catalyst Ranch was charged both with excitement and  easiness. 

My high point of the day was the session I facilitated with Jennifer McClure. Discussing whether or not HR could be trusted, we had a great discussion. After that, I joined other sessions covering topics that included blogging, generations in the workplace and  health care. I listened, observed and reacted, but personally, something was missing. No denying it - I didn't have the same spark that I saw in others. Was it the topics discussed. . .or was it me? Have I lost my spark for the future of HR?

After lunch, I took some time out of the sessions, grabbed some bacon popcorn (yes, bacon popcorn!) and started to question if HR really is where I am supposed to be. Seriously. I don't know.

In a stream of consciousness kind of way, here is another thought on my mind:

HR professionals are at so many points across the spectrum in terms of social media, credibility, influence, and leadership. Giving them social media knowledge, a new way of speaking about it, or links to cool tools are not going to get them anywhere if they lack credibility, influence or the ability to get things done. For some, the gap between where they are today and where they know they (and their organizations) can be, seems  impossible to bridge.

It's not sexy, flashy, or particularly forward thinking but our future looks bleak if we can't create a confident, capable, credible and influential human resource ground swell where the rubber meets the road. 

More to come. Later.

Thoughts, food, bacon popcorn aside, I'd like to acknowledge the HRevolution planning crew and thank them again for the work they did to bring this event to us. You rock!

Women's Leadership Conference, Day 2

A sequel is never as good as the original. Fortunately, that was not the case with Day 2 of the Women's Leadership Conference.

We started the morning off with Gail Evans, former Executive Vice President of CNN and author of Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman. Gail spoke with us about creating our own rules and playing by them - golf not required! Women do not have to change anything at all; women need only use a different language about ourselves and others. Leadership is connected to power and power is in words.

After a very engaging and inspiring speech, Gail left us with three thoughts:

Network. Networking is not work. Make it a part of what you do every day with each interaction. Great networking is putting other people together. And it is fun. Consider a woman. Put forward the name(s) of qualified women for opportunities. Don't give a woman a job because she's a woman, give her an opportunity to compete. Be a little quieter about each other. Women, seek harmony with other women and stop talking about each other. Be nice.

In the next session, Stephanie Trotter and Stacy Lindley presented GlaxoSmithKline's Accelerated Leadership Development Program. Stephanie shared how two women, one idea and a cocktail napkin developed into a leadership program that truly creates inspired leaders. Stacy, a truly inspiring leader, shared her personal experiences as an member of the first cohort. Promoted into a position that others felt was a good career move for her, she was miserable. The program (and her coach) provided her with the tools and the strength to make a change. Her heartfelt and honest presentation spoke volumes about the strength of a commitment and a network.

Now, because I scheduled my departing flight without considering the lengthy bus/shuttle time back to the airport, I did not attend the closing session of the day and missed my opportunity to listen to Barry Salzberg, CEO, Deloitte LLP. That was definitely my loss and will not happen again next year - guaranteed.

This was an amazing conference. I provided an overview of each day, but I am not finished yet. I am a ponderer by nature and have a few thoughts bouncing around in my head right now. I'll be working through them over the next few days and will post a follow up soon.  

Note: I attended the Women's Leadership Conference as a guest of The Conference Board. They covered my travel accommodations to New York so that I could bring you my honest insights of some of challenges and opportunties facing women leaders today.