Authentic Leadership – Walk Into the Future

Five Minute Thursday: Leadership

close up of human hand — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

“The writer is the explorer. Every step is an advance into a new land”.

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

The Walk into The Future blog continues to serve as a vehicle for my creative expression. I started this blogging process to share my thoughts, travels, and adventures. I find it easy to write about my adventures and then share with my loyal readers.

There are days when I don’t think I have the inspiration to write another blog article and then I sit down with a specific prompt and the words just come to me. I would like to say writing these articles is an easy daily process, but I find myself struggling to generate content that I think others will read from time to time. I write, edit, delete, and then write again to create something worth reading. This is not all the time but figured I would share I have writing distractions to keep me away from me cranking away on my laptop.

Today is not one of those days! 😊

I went back to a tried-and-true process of identifying a writing prompt to generate a new concept to write about. One of the prompts I found a while ago was called: Five Minute Friday. The intent is to pick a specific word and then write about it for five minutes to create content. Well, I modified the prompt into Five Minute Thursday since I post on Thursdays at 11:08 am—did you know that? 😊

My first prompt for Five Minute Thursday is: Leadership.

Leadership is a concept that I began to explore while I served in the Air Force. We were put through a series of leadership courses (Airmen Leadership School, Non-Commissioned Officer Leadership School, Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, etc.) where principles of leadership were shared. The best leaders I worked with all went through these courses, but they had more than course leadership principles.

Three of my favorite Air Force Leaders: Chief Master Sergeant Roger Noyes, Chief Master Sergeant Janet Craton and Senior Master Sergeant Rich Gardner—thanks to them all!

Developing leadership skills became a priority for me and I explored this topic via books, online trainings, and lectures.

I discovered Authentic Leadership almost by mistake. I wanted my dissertation to focus on First Year Experience (FYE) courses for first generation students. This would have been an impactful study, but my dissertation mentor told me I couldn’t pursue this topic because it was Educational Psychology, and my program was Organizational Psychology. I hung my head for a few months before we discovered Authentic Leadership, and the rest is history.

My earlier introduction to leadership while in the Air Force allowed me to blend things I learned from wearing a uniform into my model of Authentic Leadership. The great leaders I worked with in the Air Force have been integrated into my version of Authentic Leadership as I incorporate their lessons into my current pursuit of leadership.

Well, my five minutes is up. I could keep going but will honor the concept of this writing prompt! 😊

What can you get done in the next five minutes? Ok, take off!

Irie!

“Writing is the painting of the voice”.

(Voltaire)

Walk into the Future Prequel

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“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing”.

(Benjamin Franklin)

Merriam-Webster defines a prequel as a work (such as a novel or a play) whose story precedes that of an earlier work.

Simple enough, huh?

I had an interesting conversation with a mentee who discovered my first public written work recently. We were discussing his future work-related options, and I reminded him to slow down and not rush into anything if he was not sure. This caught him off guard because everyone is always in a hurry to get to the next big things. I’ve been there too but learned a valuable lesson after I got out of the U.S. Air Force.

What’s the lesson I learned? To slow down and enjoy the process.

There may be a few Walk into the Future readers who may not know the prequel to this blog was my first and only (at this point) book I wrote in 2010.

I found myself at a crossroads in 2010 and wanted to take control of things in my life. The book, What Now? Take Control Live Life; Don’t Let It Live You came together as I started to examine things in my life and look for new angles to gain and stay in control.

A few lessons from the prequel:

Enjoy some time off. Most people think they must rush from one position to the next. This lesson was written to let readers know they can enjoy some time off without feeling guilty. Not everyone can afford to be without a steady paycheck but for those who can there’s no need to jump back into the world of work. My advice is to sleep in a bit, visit with family and friends and find new ways to relax.

Take a vacation. I took this lesson literally and started my yearly trek to Negril, Jamaica. It was a place I always wanted to visit but never made the time. Not working gave me the perfect opportunity to head down to Negril and discover Irie vibes. I’ve been going back every year since 2010 and will continue for the foreseeable future.

Reconnect. This lesson centerson reconnecting with family and friends. I recommend using time away from work to reach out to family members and close friends to catch up on life. We spend so much time at work and sometimes miss out on opportunities to spend time with people close to you.

Live life. This lesson provides space to reassess life priorities and use free time to rediscover important things in life. This can also be a time to find yourself—what’s important to you and what do you want to accomplish?

There are additional lessons in my prequel and I welcome you to discover them all here: https://amzn.to/3IktGn6

Let me know your thoughts if you decide to accept the reading opportunity! 😊

Irie!

“I always kept two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in”.

(Robert Lewis Stevenson)

Leadership lessons from the GOAT

“Complacency breeds a blatant disregard for doing what’s right”.

(Nick Saban)

Leadership lessons are available daily. I normally write about my preferred style of Authentic Leadership but continue to seek out new ways to improve my leadership knowledge.

One of my 2024 goals is to read two books monthly. I naturally gravitate to leadership topics and found myself shopping for a new leadership book on Amazon. The algorithm used by Amazon always provides me with recommendations based on my past book selections. There were several interesting books available but the book “The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban” caught my attention because of his continued success and recent retirement.

Always knew Nick Saban was a great coach who won a lot of football games and put a ton of players into the National Football League (NFL). His players ranged from high first round draft picks to solid contributors that spent years as professional ball players. He is known as an outstanding recruiter and an even better developer of the talent he recruited to the University of Alabama.

His ability to recruit players at a high level and then the development of those players were reasons I wanted to explore his leadership style and techniques. Opened the book without any knowledge of how Coach Saban was able to become successful but wanted to learn directly from him on how he led his teams to multiple championships.

The book opened with the concept of building a team framework. This provides a solid foundation for the team and sets the tone needed for success. Coach Saban’s first meeting was designed to inform everyone of his vision for the team and how team members would operate. Recruiting was identified as the life blood of the program, and everyone needed to be on the same page when it came to recruiting players.

He ensured the team understood that there needed to be other leaders in the organization—he set the foundation but needed others to step up their leadership. He created player leadership councils and allowed players to lead each other. He demanded that players get involved in the daily operations of the team activities. This created multiple leadership voices within the team but that all resonated with Coach Saban’s message. This translates to all organizations that want to see staff and process growth.

Coach Saban also welcomed staff turnover in his organization. He saw staff turnover as a way to improve the organization as new staff members brought in their ideas. These new ideas were added to Coach Saban’s routine to enhance his overall message. He lost staff members yearly but was able to regroup and still win multiple championships. His core beliefs remained but he was willing to adjust based on new staff members input and continued to lead a championship program.

Coach Saban was known for The Process which is the system and mindset everyone must follow. Coach Saban stressed winning each play as the goal instead of winning the game. The concept of do your job each play led to the success his team maintained. This focus gave the players a more immediate outcome than simply saying we need to win this game. Win each play over and over and the game will be won—in theory. This translates directly into the work environment for employees. Teams that focus on the next task and complete it well win—sounds simple, huh? The Process can work for us all.

The last concept I will explore is Be True to Yourself. This resonates with me because it parallels Authentic Leadership and the need to be self-aware. Internal moral perspective requires leaders to evaluate themselves daily to ensure they are not doing anything that compromises who they truly are. You don’t have to rant and rave to get staff members to do the right thing. Leaders can remain themselves and not have to try to become something or someone else. You can be a quiet leader and still get positive things accomplished.

There are a ton of other outstanding leadership lessons in this book. Highly recommend this for your leadership library.

https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Secrets-Nick-Saban-Alabamas/dp/1637740832/ref=sr_1_3?crid=OXEKTRCUTPZ2&keywords=nick+saban&qid=1707356155&sprefix=nick+saban%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-3

What are you currently reading?

Irie!

“Success is not a continuum; it’s momentary”.

(Nick Saban)

Operational Gears

close up photo of stainless shift knob — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

“Winning requires reaching inside of yourself for that extra gear to accelerate challenges”.

(Orrin Woodward)

How many gears do you have? This may be the first time anyone has asked you that question, but I leverage this daily in my work environment.

Yes, I know people are not machines with a gear shift like cars. I use this concept to identify team members who can handle more responsibilities and help the organization grow.

My goal is to hire 5-gear staff members or work to help current staff members develop additional gears. This is not a simple process considering staff may have already maxed out on the number of gears they possess. The Peter Principle identifies a person competent at their job will earn a promotion to a position that requires different skills (gears). I added the word gears to this definition to highlight my thought process.

A 5-gear staff member in theory will have the emotional intelligence, intellectual curiosity, and grit to continue to get positive things accomplish. My view centers on the 5-gear staff member being able to take in information, process this information and then put it into action quicker than someone with less gears. I view myself as being a 5-gear person and this allows me to take on more responsibility at work and continue to thrive. I may not be the smartest person in the room, but I have an insatiable curiosity that serves me well. Organizations with a large contingent of 5-gear staff members can pivot and grow because of their ability to handle and process information and tasks.

Now, imagine what would happen if an organization was comprised mostly of 1-gear, 2-gear, or 3-gear staff members. Things would continue to get done but the organization’s growth would be limited by the capacity and capability of these folks.

Think back to the gear shift analogy. A vehicle moves the fastest when it is shifted into 5^th gear. It can move in 1^st gear but there will be limitations on the speed the vehicle can travel. Same with 2nd gear, 3rd gear, and 4th gear. The higher you go up on the gear shift the vehicle performs better and you can fully enjoy the ride.

Bring this concept back into the workplace and my theory is this translates to staff members as well. All the gears are needed but to fully engage the 5^th gear needs to be present.

Professional development and training are two key components to gear building. I’m not sure a 1-gear staff member can ever be developed into a 5-gear person, but professional development and training needs to be present to bring out the best in everyone. These programs need to be consistent and prescribed for everyone in the organization. The concepts need to focus on helping staff members improve in areas they are lacking. A healthy dose of self-awareness is needed for the staff to provide a real assessment of their gears and identify ways to develop additional gears.

Self-aware staff members will have a full understanding of their strengths, values, and weaknesses. Building a self-aware staff is a foundational process to increase the gear potential for the staff member and the organization. Imagine the lack of productivity that happens when a 1-gear staff member fully believes they are helping the organization at maximum capacity. This staff member would frustrate their teammates unless they put in the effort to gain and/or display additional gears.

Organizations begin to thrive with higher gear staff members because they have the capacity to bring new ideas and concepts into the workplace. These new ideas provide a new level of growth for the organization and help move everyone forward. Too many 1-gear staff members and things remain stagnant. This is never good for an organization looking to produce at a high level.

So, I ask again. How many gears do you have? What are you doing to gain additional gears in your work environment?

Irie!

“God, I hear you giving me an earful but I’m gonna cruise in 5^th gear until I’m near you”.

(Joe Button)

Career Choices 101 (Repost)

(Image by Orange Fox from Pixabay)

“Don’t chase the paper, chase the dream”.

(Notorious B.I.G)

The Great Resignation is a term that describes the trend of the mass voluntary exit of employees from their employment obligations.

The Great Regret is a new term that describes the feelings of 80% of the people who took part in the Great Resignation.

The quote above is one of my favorites from the great hip hop artist, Notorious B.I.G. He was a lyrical genius, and the quote above can be used as a career metaphor.

My simple translation = find your WHY and career success will follow.

The Great Resignation provided a lot of people the freedom or guidepost to see the world of work in a different way. The new work view provided some with the vision to seek more and bet on themselves with so many new opportunities available. That’s a positive considering I preach to everyone to explore as much as possible. My blog is titled Walk into The Future because I continue to explore opportunities and will not limit my options (work, travel, fun).

There are some folks who viewed the Great Resignation as an opportunity to change their work situation and in some cases cash in more financially. That’s not a problem if the workplace change was made to get the individual closer to doing things they enjoy. It could be a problem if the individual changed careers simply because there was more money available for the new job.

Quick question: How much of a pay raise will it take for YOU to be happy today? Would $5,000.00 or $10,000.00 make you enjoy what you are doing more?

I ask clients and staff this question to get them thinking about what they truly want. Chasing the paper may seem like the logical answer but don’t forget you still have to pay taxes on that paper. Also, an extra $5,000.00 to continue to work in a place you are not happy with does not sound enticing to me. Conversely, leaving a company for a job paying more money may sound just as good but the switch should not be based solely on the money. Refer to the quote above from the Notorious B.I.G.

The best of both worlds would be to find your WHY and build up your skills so that when your dreams come true, the paper (money) follows. Sounds like a simple concept and it can be, but nothing will be simple without knowing/understanding the WHY.

Going to work without a WHY causes a lot of people issues daily. I work with folks who believe that they are not being paid their true worth in the workplace. Some are completing the same duties they have been assigned for 10+ years—no additional responsibilities or growth from them but they want more. Why is that? They have not identified a WHY for their work life and have not built the skills to chase the dream. A larger problem is some don’t even know what dream to chase to find the happiness they seek.

The lack of paper (money) is not really the problem. The problem is chasing something they are not fully invested in and believing additional funds (salary) will turn this around and they will immediately become happy with what they are doing.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

No WHY equals a form of insanity in the workplace. I coach clients to seek/find their WHY to determine the best course of action for their careers.

Chasing the DREAM can bring the paper. Well stated Biggie Smalls!

What dream are you chasing?

Irie!

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/02/80percent-of-workers-who-quit-in-great-resignation-regret-it-new-survey.html

My Reading Progress

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies…The man who never reads lives only one”.

(George R. R. Martin)

My Walk into the Future provides me with the flexibility to add new adventures daily. I continue to view this life I lead to engage my mind, body, and soul. This blog gives me a space to highlight what I am doing, thinking, or getting ready to accomplish.

Goal setting remains a huge part of my success in life, and I look for ways to leverage my goals to help me continue to move forward. I review my goals daily to ensure my energy and focus are consistent to meet or exceed them.

I set reading goals each year in January with intent to read something daily. My daily readings center around Proverbs and a few companion books by Joel Osteen. I started reading Proverbs daily when I lived in Warner Robins, Georgia and this Atomic Habit remains strong. Joel Osteen created a 31-day Proverbs companion book which I utilize when completing my daily Proverbs readings. This little book has helped me understand more and brings Proverbs to life with language for my current Walk into the Future.

My larger reading goal is to read 1 book monthly. There were years where I would be super aggressive with this goal but decided to create a reading goal that provides me an opportunity to stay on track. Please note, just because it says 1 book monthly does not mean I can’t read more, and I do. I am an avid reader and love to sit on the beach with a good book and cold beer to practice this hobby. My love for reading started in middle school and it has not slowed down except when my schedule gets in the way.

The books I select range from leadership, communication, and inspiration topics. These are topics of interest for me so stick to areas I seek growth. I have a couple friends who inquire about my reading selections and have started to read the same books—you can say we have an informal book club going. We discuss the books after everyone has completed them and look for ways to incorporate the content into life and the work environment. This little book club motivates me to stay on track and focus on my reading. It has also provided me with access to books I may have missed on my own. I tend to stick to authors I know but the book club expands my focus and challenges me to explore other authors to enhance my Walk into the Future.

The following books were referred by book club members:

Disruptive Thinking / TD Jakes
Wisdom of the Bullfrog / Admiral William H. McRaven
16 Undeniable Laws of Communication: Apply Them and Make the Most of your Message / John C. Maxwell

FYI—this was my first TD Jakes book, and I was pleasantly surprised by the content and enjoyed reading his thoughts on Disruptive Thinking. It is something we can all practice daily, but it was great gaining new insights on how to move forward in life daily.

I have read multiple books by Admiral McRaven and his wisdom comes through within the context of leadership and helping teams get better.

Lastly, John Maxwell communication strategies can be leveraged in most work settings and enhance overall operations for the team.

I am on pace to meet my stated reading goals and continue to seek additional books to add to my library. This will continue and help me to Walk into the Future.

How are you doing on meeting your goals? What books are you reading in 2023?

Irie!

Busy or productive? (Repost)

“Beware the barrenness of a busy life”.

(Socrates)

Dictionary.com defines busy as having a great deal to do.

Conversely, Dictionary.com defines productive as producing or able to produce large amounts of goods, crops, or other commodities.

So, which of these definitions describes your daily endeavors in the workplace?

People use the terms in a similar fashion, but I am quick to tell folks my goal is to be productive daily.

Busy can quickly become a mindset that leads to staff becoming overwhelmed with the tasks they must handle in the work environment. I ask staff members how they are doing throughout the day and when I hear someone say they are busy I simply ask: are you busy or productive?

This makes folks pause for a bit and then they want to know the difference. Again, I refer to the two distinct definitions. Someone who exclaims they are busy is identifying they have a lot of things to do, and they are thinking about that workload. Some will just come out and say I have a lot on my plate and need to get things done. Sounds reasonable but it can also cause a mental drain on the staff member and anyone else who hears a constant “I am busy” drumbeat in the work environment. Yes, there may be a lot to do but saying ‘busy’ does not move the needle to get things done.

Flip the script!

My goal is to be productive daily, and this starts with the concept of coming to work to get things done. The old saying talk is cheap would apply here. Talking about being busy does nothing to get task accomplished. A productive mindset allows staff members to come in with focus and take an active role in getting things done. Tools I use to increase productivity:

To Do Lists (daily, weekly, monthly)
Outlook calendar (meeting reminders, team time off, out of office reminders)
Face to face conversations
Email
Large Post It Notes on my office walls
Staff meetings (group, 1:1, virtual)

I have used To Do Lists for most of my professional life and these lists help me plan/organize my day to keep me focused on deadlines and work products I need to complete. I begin each morning before going into the office with a list of action items I want to accomplish for the day. I sync this list up with any items I did not complete the previous day once I arrive in the office.

FYI, I am also the first person in the building most days so I can have 45 minutes to consolidate my lists and build a game plan for the day. Yes, I put this much thought into my operation to ensure I have a productive day. I am trying to maximize my opportunities to be productive and leverage all the tools available to help me with this. A secondary benefit of my lists is they allow me to pick up where I left off when I must help staff members with a task or problem. I can come back and pick up where I left off without wasting time trying to remember what I need to get done. Please note, staff and clients take priority, so I get a lot of practice coming back to my daily lists.

Face to face conversations are a great way to keep the productivity flowing. I find simply getting up from my desk and going to have a conversation is more productive than emailing back and forth. We can talk things through, come to a consensus and eliminate potential misunderstandings. Of course, this only works if the person is available to have a conversation. 😊

The large Post It Notes on my office walls is something I started while working in the Florida State University’s Career Center. The concept was for me to put big projects on Post It Notes so staff could come into the office and add updates to each project. I began to allow staff to build their own projects and put them on my office walls so we could work them together. I got the Post It Note idea because my white board was not large enough to highlight multiple projects. I purchase the Post It Notes from Staples and they stick to the wall. These notes provide a great visual to highlight how productive we are on any given day. One of my current staff members said coming into my office and seeing the notes is like being ‘in my mind’. I quickly told her to get out of there because there is a lot going on up there. 😊

There are other ways to become productive in the work environment, but these are a few that I leverage daily to help move me and the organization forward.

So, I ask you, are you busy or productive? What tools are you using to help your productivity? I welcome your thoughts—thanks!

“Focus on being productive instead of busy”.

(Tim Ferris)

Authentic Leadership Consulting Project

My Walk into the Future continues to allow me to make a difference in the world daily. I realize most of my life and writing focus appears to only be on my marathon preparation but I’m still busy with my consulting work as well.

I embarked on an Authentic Leadership consulting project with the St. Lucie County Tax Collector’s office to enhance leadership training for front line supervisors. I have been working with this organization since February but never got around to sharing with my readers. Well, now is the time to get a full understanding of the project.

The Director of Organizational Efficiency reached out to me on LinkedIn to discuss my Authentic Leadership work back in February. We had initial conversations on LinkedIn and transitioned to a phone conversation on the impact of Authentic Leadership within the work environment. I was scheduled to attend a local Chamber of Commerce event the next week and she asked if she could join me during the event to talk more. I’m always networking so invited her to join me at the Chamber event.

She brought her supervisor, the Chief Deputy with her to the Chamber event to meet me as well. We spent most of the Chamber event discussing my Authentic Leadership work and how it might benefit their organization. We agreed to stay in touch, and they invited me to meet their leadership team—an audition if you will since I did my Authentic Leadership presentation for the group.

This led to a request to provide a 5-part leadership training program to the 18 department leaders.

I worked directly with the Director of Organizational Efficiency on the topics, dates, and frequency of the training program so we could maintain a schedule that provided maximum exposure for the leaders. The topics requested were some that I already had in my library, but I was able to build new, innovative training sessions based on the needs of the organization. FYI, a full training needs assessment was completed by the intended audience to ensure I provided training that would benefit the organization—not just something I wanted to share with them. This is a major key to a successful organizational training program.

A companion 3-part leadership training program was requested for staff participating in the LEAD Academy—next line leaders coming up through the organization.

5-part program topics:

Authentic Leadership
Goal Setting
Your WHY Statement
Being a Self-Aware Leader
Empowering Leadership

3-part program topics:

Self-Awareness and Leadership
Authentic Leadership and How to be a Leader
Learn How to Interview (next position)

There was some overlap with the topics, but I was able to tailor to fit each group and their needs based on what they requested in the needs assessment.

It was great being able to see the leadership growth in each group—some folks did not understand what leadership should be when we started but quickly developed outstanding insight on leadership when we were done. I like to look into the eyes of my clients to determine if they understand a topic and the growth, I saw in the eyes of both groups they are better leaders now.

I remind my clients leadership requires continued learning and development. You must adapt to situations and people but having a strong leadership foundation is key to organizational growth.

I am in the process of building a 2023 program for the same organization to capture more up and coming leaders. This will ensure the organization continues to evolve and grow based on the training provided to the staff. Excited to partner with this organization again in 2023. Also, looking to expand my client base to conduct training with other local organizations. Never a dull moment for me! 😊

Irie!

What projects are you working on? Make it great!

My 2022 reading progress

(Books I’m reading now)

“A book is a gift you can open again and again”.

(Garrison Keillor)

I start each year with a measured set of goals. Reading and writing are two areas I focus on for my goals.

These are the areas where I find a ton of joy daily along with my running program. My 2022 reading and writing goals are below:

Read bible daily / Proverbs, Matthew, and other areas for better understanding
- Read 2 books monthly
Write daily (poems, journal, BLOG articles, LinkedIn posts monthly)
- Publish Authentic Leadership eBook (April 2022)

So, this is where I update you on my progress.

I discovered the book The Richest Man Who Ever Lived by Steven K. Scott 15 years ago and adopted an aspect from the book into my daily life. The book highlights the benefits of Proverbs and how King Solomon identified secrets to success, wealth, and happiness. I originally read the book thinking it would TELL me how to become rich financially which did not happen.

I read the book and did not understand the lessons the author was trying to relay to the readers. I dismissed it as an attempt to get people to read the book because of the catchy title. Luckily for me I decided to go back and read the book multiple times and followed the directions provided to see where they would lead.

I adopted the practice of reading Proverbs daily because of the wisdom (secrets to success, wealth, and happiness) this book provides to readers. I have been a daily Proverbs reader for over 15 years now and continue to discover new wisdom insights. Decided to add other books in the bible to my daily reading program in 2022. This is the reading goal I continue to meet and/or exceed so far this year.

Now, let’s talk about my goal to read 2 books each month. I started the year off with a bang and was able to handle my book goal in January and February. I started to go downhill with my reading program in March. I added more racing and training to my routine to get prepared for multiple half marathons but that’s not the real reason my reading has been slacking.

I have not done a great job of identifying book topics/titles that keep my attention. I big part of reading for me is an interest in the topic/title and the author. I started grabbing books off Amazon based on recommendations but some of the books did not have a true flow and caused me to become a slower reader than normal. No excuses but it is taking me longer to digest and get through the books I have selected. I’m averaging a book a month but need to increase my pace or make the time to read these books. There is still a lot of 2022 left to get more books read but I may not average 2 books each month.

My writing program remains strong, and I am happy with my progress in 2022. The blog articles keep me searching for new adventures and ideas, but I am happy with my ability to create content. It helps that a lot of my life revolves around traveling, running and the beach. I am sure I will continue to have content to turn into another Walk into the Future blog article. 😊

I have published multiple articles and posts on LinkedIn so that is another goal win. I continue to look for ways to network and connect with a larger audience. LinkedIn has allowed me to attract readers to my blog and share my adventures and leadership thoughts. I will use LinkedIn to build my leadership audience so I can get back to conducting Authentic Leadership workshops for organizations looking to improve/grow.

I have rolled my publishing a leadership eBook into 2022. I have the content for the eBook but need to get busy with cover art and putting the content into publication. I will use the summer months to finalize the content and work to get cover art so I can get the eBook to market. It’s coming—I promise! 😊

Still got work to do but I am making progress towards my 2022 reading and writing goals.

How are you doing with your 2022 goals! I welcome your thoughts—thanks!

Irie!

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body”.

(Joseph Addison)

Inspiration Man—Florida Association of Colleges and Employers (FloridaACE) Keynote

Keynote

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”.

(Winston Churchill)

To keynote or not?

This was a question I faced back in October 2021 when one of my friends asked me to consider being the keynote speaker for a virtual Drive-In conference.

The Florida Association of Colleges and Employers (FloridaACE) members come from college/university Career Services and employers who maintain active on-campus recruiting programs.

I have been a member of FloridaACE for over 10 years and have made some great contacts throughout the state of Florida.

Fun fact, I was selected as the keynote for the inaugural Drive-In Conference back in 2016. I gave my keynote address at the University of Central Florida in the building I used to work in prior to moving to FSU. Who says you can’t come home again? 😊

The Drive-In Conference is designed to be shorter than a regular conference—a day and a half instead of a full week. The concept of the Drive-in Conference is to make it accessible to a large population of attendees who can physically drive to the location and not need hotel accommodations.

COVID-19 made the concept of virtual conferences come to life and this Drive-In Conference was switched to a virtual format.

I love to spread the Inspiration Man message to any group that will sit and listen. I hesitated to accept this request because it was via Zoom, and I did not know how my message would translate on a virtual platform. I love in-person audiences and feed off the crowd when I present. A virtual keynote was a challenge to me but one I am happy I accepted—things went well from start to finish.

The 2021 FloridaACE Virtual Drive-In Conference was titled: Gulf-to-Coast Connections.

I reached out to my friend to get a better understanding of the conference title and how significant it was to attendees. Turns out the term gulf was picked so people in western Florida would not feel left out. I decided to focus on the conference in terms of how people on both coasts (Gulf and Atlantic) could connect to build Authentic Connections. Yes, I put authentic in most things I do these days. 😊

Happy to report I accepted the Keynote invitation and was able to move the crowd on a virtual platform.

I researched the term Authentic Connections to build my knowledge base as I worked to create a presentation to inspire others. There is a ton of research available, and my new task was to filter this data in a way to build the presentation.

The key to any form of connection is RELATIONSHIPS. My goal during the keynote was to highlight to the attendees how technology (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, LinkedIn, etc.) allow us to reach a larger audience than before. There was always a mindset to catch-up with colleagues during the annual in-person conference or workshop. This was an effective way to connect back in the day, but COVID created new options/ways to connect.

We can reach out to potential mentors and colleagues by utilizing the technology we have. My keynote centered on how FloridaACE members could leverage technology and build authentic connections.

Authentic Connections should be genuine, direct, and focused. My point for the group was to highlight relationships can be built virtually, in-person or a combination of both platforms. You must want to make a connection for it to happen. Networking with an intentional mindset helps build connections too.

I would have been remiss if I did not talk about some of the challenges we face when attempting to make new connections:

COVID-19
No in-person events
Zoom fatigue
Multiple platform (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, LinkedIn, etc.)

Simply figuring out how and when to connect with others has been a challenge even for me.

Some folks prefer a phone call, others are all about Zoom and then you have a set who want in-person connections because they want to feel normal again. I shared with my audience it is okay to identify a preferred platform and stick with that. I prefer Microsoft Teams now when connecting with anyone not on-campus with me. The key to this I have found is to state the preference up-front and then provide a Microsoft Teams calendar invite to eliminate confusion on how/when we will connect.

The concept of recalibrate was addressed to ensure attendees understand they must adjust thought processes in today’s world. We are not going back to pre-COVID networking so finding authentic connections should be prioritized for them to happen. Following up after making a request is an outstanding way to continue to build the connections needed to make a difference in the world.

Being a keynote speaker during a virtual conference was a new experience for me but I was able to make several authentic connections during and after the event. Will see how many attendees follow-up with me and leverage the wisdom I dropped on them.

How do you make/ensure authentic connections in your world? Thanks!

“Speakers who talk about what life has taught them never fail to keep the attention of their listeners”.

(Dale Carnegie)

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