It is official, the 2010 recaps are out, the 2011 predictions and resolutions are up and people are already looking to make this coming year the best yet! I’m riding that bandwagon too. As a vice president of a talent management communications company I know full well how important it is to plan ahead; I already have some meetings with great clients lined up for 2011 – yep I’m moving on!
However excited I am for the future, it is nice to look back at 2010 and have NO REGRETS!
Yes, it was another year of dismal job and economic growth, more layoffs and more unemployed people than we’ve seen in years. In fact, Florida’s new unemployment rate is 12%. Can you just shoot me?
You know that saying about leaders: “Leaders are defined not by the good times but by the way they manage in bad times”? Well, that is why I have NO REGRETS. In a time when our industry, state and country have seen some of the worst times, great leadership has risen to the top in some of the most unexpected ways.
HR Florida has passed the baton of leadership to another Executive Council that will lead our state for the coming two years. I have served these past two years on the Executive Council as the State Conference Director. When I transitioned into this role I had very little experience with the politics, processes and the enormity of the task set before me. I was unaware of the amount of personal dedication it takes to put on one of the premier state conferences in the country, let alone how to manage a team of 26 volunteers, a P&L, and the expectations of the sitting leadership. This could have been the worst job ever or the job that defined my leadership, negotiation and people skills. The team produced and the proof came in the form of two back-to-back successful and record breaking conferences for HR Florida. Now as we transition into 2011 I’ve already passed my State Conference Director baton on to a new leader who has shown that improvements and changes can lead to an even better conference! I have NO REGRETS!
The volunteers that I have had the pleasure to work with ranging from the HR Florida leadership team, conference planning team and the outside vendors, have all taught me a few things about leadership at its best and at its worst. You see it in your own workplace every day. We have to make daily decisions about how to recognize great team members and how to work through uncomfortable situations. That is the core of what makes great leaders – being able to consciously make decisions on how to approach each unique individual and/or crisis.
There were many instances over the past two years in which I could have just shut my eyes, threw up my hands and yelled, “It’s my way or no way!” – frankly, it might have been easier. However, there is really nothing more satisfying then getting in the dirt and figuring out how to make it work and LISTEN to what others have to say.
So as this year ends and 2011 in upon me, I have NO REGRETS about my past leadership, and I’m looking forward to learning how to further enhance the skills necessary to become an even better leader as the Vice President of HR Florida!
