Mentoring

For what felt like forever, I was afraid of being a mentor.

I didn't know enough. My career didn't have enough awards marking the journey. The world didn't know my name.

At some point, I realized that a mentor is simpy someone who has been on the journey longer. Every experience leads to wisdom (be it "do this more" or "don't do that again" or "I wish I'd known") and wisdom can be shared.

And if wisdom can be shared, that means that anyone can be a mentor, and anyone can be mentored.  

I've been fortunate enough to have mentors who are older than me and mentors who are younger than me. I also have a group of women who meet regularly (we're the Marketeers!) to mentor one another.

Never be afraid to seek out a mentor or to serve as a mentor - whether you're asked to or not. I'm glad I got over my fear and I feel that both my career and my life are better for it.

Whirlwind LA: SMPS Conference in Review

I had what felt like whirlwind trip to Los Angeles last week.

Well, it was actually nearly a week-long trip, but for some reason it felt like a whirlwind. I suppose that's what happens when you spend time with friends, colleagues and thought leaders. A tired brain and a full heart are wonderful ways to spend a week.

So what did I do?

I worked with a team of really smart people to review certification questions for quality and consistency. Lest this seem like an easy process, it is easily the most difficult 8 hours you can spend while also serving as a great way to remember core principles of marketing.

I split one of the best kale salads of my life with a girlfriend. Oh, we also had an amazing dinner, marked mostly by the quality and depth of conversation that happened at the table. I love you Random Cathy!

I explored a bit around our hotel. We were right by the Staples Center...too bad my Dallas Mavericks weren't there for a game. Too bad our electricity also went out one night. Despite that, I enjoyed sharing a room with a colleague from San Antonio. If we weren't both watching the bottom line, I doubt I would have gotten to know Linda so well. I'm grateful.

I admired and celebrated the work of my former firm in partnership with another company and a client. Three years of hard work wrapped up in a national award for our efforts.

I celebrated that award - along with all of the great things happening in SMPS - at our annual awards gala. I loved having a chance to sit and spend time with a dear friend from Nashville, Donna Corlew (great conference planning!!!) and to get to know the others at our table.

I loved spending time with a former should-have-been-colleague. Nicole joined my former company right as I was leaving. We would have been tremendous friend-colleagues had we worked together. We'll just have to settle for tremendous friends. And that's ok.

I was incredibly inspired by our keynote speaker, Tim Sanders. He encouraged us to do what I've long held as a motto - BE NICE - and focus on pouring into others, be they colleagues or clients. Bonus points for Tim: He's a former City of Plano resident. I am quite sure we will be speaking again in the days to come.

And lest I forget - I was part of a panel discussion on the mix of generations in the workforce. We had a great conversation, along with more than 100 of our closest friends. Instead of talking about generational tendencies, we focused on the nuts and bolts of how you relate to your colleagues and adapt your communication strategies.

Bottom line: SMPS once again put on a great conference. Now that I'm on the client side of life and not professional services marketing, I was worried that it might not be as relevant to what I'm doing as it once was. However, I left with some great takeaways and felt it was an excellent use of my time.

As long as SMPS will have me, I'm there!

Embracing New Things: What a Start

I'd say that I'm now firmly ensconced in my new role with the City of Plano. I've now been in place for just over six weeks and I'm still loving every minute of it.

And how could I not, with such crazy, interesting, challenging and fun days?

There was a big design reveal of Toyota's new corporate headquarters - complete with tons of press (and our Mayor's super-nice and talented intern):

And a concept car:

Plus we had an office grand opening:

And a spotting of our new portable party trailer in the wild, so to speak:

I received a lovely welcome letter from our local congressman:

And for the first time in my life, have an enclosed office with a door with a nameplate:

Our team kicked off strategic planning (one of many, many, many meetings I've attended in the last six weeks but surely one of the most invigorating):

We celebrated birthdays with cake and faux selfies:

I've attended three council meetings. They are far more interesting than you might think and who knows? I may have the Texas state pledge memorized before too long:

And then there was another groundbreaking - in 100F+ weather. Lovely. But I did get to do some congressman spotting!

And I accepted the fact that I may have an office but I'm inept when it comes to putting things together:

Plus I made my first meme in honor of my new favorite thing to say to Kelly:

It's important to be willing to embrace new opportunities, because you never know how wonderful things might be if you don't. All too often we worry about the unknowns - discounting the potential awesome in favor of the less-possible disasters.

I feel like I took a risk stepping away from my industry of 16+ years. I took the risk and I have no regrets.

Good to Remember

One thing my team is working on learning is that failure can be a good thing.

We learn by failing, just as we learn to walk by taking tentative steps and falling.

Only through the process of taking a chance - as bubble wrapped as we can make it - can we learn what does and doesn't work.

Ultimate failure only comes from being unwilling to change.

Just a Reminder to Create What You Need

I grabbed this photo off of Random Cathy's Insta feed because first, my hair looks cute this photo and second, I love this group of women.

I think I've written about this before (?? - too tired/can't be bothered to search The Archives), but I've had a great group of professional women that I've networked with for more than a decade.

In the early 2000s, a larger version of this group would get together to share stories and strategies for how we could advance our careers. We were young in our fields, working in what was then a male-dominated industry, and we were hungry to Make A Difference.

We needed each other to learn, to grow and to "sniff test" our reactions to situations we faced. It was a good and healthy group to engage with for the time. We met for a couple of years, then disbanded as healthy groups tend to do when a need has been fulfilled.

Last year, one of the former members of that group and I met for lunch and decided we needed version 2.0 of that group. This time, we would stay small and very focused. We'd have an agenda. We'd be designed for senior-level women (Hey! Our original group's purpose paid off in spades!) who were dealing with senior-level issues. Discussions would be strictly confidential.

Once again, it's a good and healthy group and I've found it to be so critical in my continued personal and professional growth. Where else can I meet with women that I've known for more than a decade, chat about life, enjoy a good meal, then have deep discussions and take notes ferociously over a topic that we're all dealing with?

The point of all of this is: Create what you need. If you need a group, don't wait around for someone to create one for you or to invite you to join their group. Make your own.

Recognizing a need and doing something about it is a part of your personal growth. You'll be better for having taken initiative in your own life to grow.

Making Changes

Today has been exciting, scary, thrilling, sad and every possible emotion that you can imagine.

After more than 16 years in my industry - professional services - I'm changing course to work in public service. Many things remain the same. I'll be focused on connecting people, telling good stories and making things better.

Other than the obvious difference of change in organizations, there's one very big change: I'm going to be working just 15 minutes from home. A mere 7 miles.

For the past three years, I've worked nearly an hour and a half (with traffic, door-to-door) from home. A 24 mile journey.

I can't even begin to imagine the change that this is going to bring.

It's been a real quandry over the last three years - the best company I could imagine working for, wonderful colleagues, amazing stories and a challenging (in a good way) role.

But the energy drain was real. Very very real. Over time, I realized that I was tired - all the time. I stopped enjoying cooking. Craft projects piled around the house, half done. I couldn't commit to activities with my church or my friends.

Work became everything, because the drive (or train ride) there and back took everything out of me. As it increased, what made me me became less.

This wasn't my company's fault. It's totally a byproduct of who God made me to be - a person who goes All In on everything I do. I let my yes be yes and all-too-often look up to realize that I've left a pile of wreckage in another part of my life.

I'm thankful that Kelly was patient with my commitments, adjusting his schedule and activities to make sure we could spend a few intentional hours together each week. But I'm more thankful that he pushed me to examine my energy level and needs.

So change. It comes and it's exciting, scary, thrilling and sad - but it's good and it's what keeps us alive and energized. And I've learned it's best not to have regrets, only warm memories and thankfulness for the goodness of God to bring people and experiences into your path for however long He sees fit.

Now on to the next adventure ... (and maybe more time on this blog!)

Keep This In Mind

I'm in the middle of a very big project at work. A very big project that will set the stage for an even bigger project, pushing the boundaries of how we've done our business of marketing for decades.

It's new, it's scary, it's time and brain-consuming and it's hard.

In the midst of these types of projects, it's helpful to remember:

Source

Excuse Me...

I returned to work from the holiday weekend and noticed that something was amiss on my desk:

My tape dispenser is missing.

My colleague has a habit of asking to borrow my tape dispenser, so I had a suspicion that he might know where the dispenser was hiding.

I was half right. He said he borrowed it, but forgot where he left it.

Now I'm having Milton from Office Space moment, obsessing about my tape dispenser.

About Last Week

This poor blog - it's either a reflect of my life (busy) or of my mental state (tired). Whatever the cause, I've surely moved long past the days of updating every day.

Things change. That's life, right?

Anyway, about last week. I was offline for most of the week while attending a conference. Last year at this time, I had the honor of being inducted into the College of Fellows for my professional organization. Fun and meaningful times.

This time, my cohorts and I snagged a national First Place award for our work on our chapter's newsletter.

Awards can be a means to make you feel good - and there's a place and time for that. (Last Thursday was definitely that place and time!) But awards can also validate the work you've done and the importance that you've placed upon it. Our little newsletter that could is, according to this award, as good as we think it is.

I also had a great deal of fun presenting at the conference with my good friend, Random Cathy. I think I'll write about that more later, because I'm still processing the experience and what I learned through working on, preparing for and presenting with Cathy.

The one takeaway that I'll note today is that we had more than 260 people crammed into our presentation room - since none had heard us present, I would say that does not reflect so much on our skills as speakers as it does the topic: How to find your bounce (passion). We're living in a world with tired, run-down people.

All in all, it was a busy, exhausting, fun, educational and energizing four days at conference. I love networking with nearly 1000 professionals in my field from across the country.

And I always love spending time with my cohorts from the Dallas chapter!

That Day I Met the Mayor and a Gold Medal Winning Architect

Just reason #5,780,234 that I like my job.

White Space

My friend, Random Cathy, and I have both written about the importance of white space.

It amazes me how I can so quickly forget the lessons I've previously learned - like the importance of white space.

I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. Overwhelmed by work, home responsibilities, guilt over lack of connection with friends and family...you name it. I was overwhelmed and thinking about it only made it worse.

My colleague is a truly wonderful person and said, I'm worried you're getting burnt out.

He was right. I was dangerously close to the burn-out point of no return. Why is it that others have to tell you something that you should clearly be able to see for yourself?

How did I get there?

Simple: I didn't have white space.

Old work processes that were effective were no longer effective. I didn't have time to do something that, as I get older, I'm learning is critically important to making me who I am: Pause and reflect.

It turns out that my brain functions best when it has time to percolate.

Too many deadlines, rushing from this to that, and detail upon detail simply wears me out. The creative side of my brain shuts down.

Apparently, according to research conducted by the Harvard School of Business, I'm not the only one. Allowing time for reflection (ie - white space) actually improves job performance.

Source

Building Community

In my "great return to regular blogging" - however temporary it may be - I thought I'd do some catch up on 101 items that I've crossed off the list.

Thus, bubble tea yesterday and today, reengaging with my professional women's network.

Here's the thing: It's important who you spend time with. I realized this several years ago and, along with a friend, organized a group of women in our industry to get together for lunch every other month. We called ourselves "AEC Ladies Who Lunch."

It was a way to talk about struggles at the office, share strategies and simply to build relationships with other women in similar roles. We met for nearly two years and I made some life-long friends in the group.

Then, as happens over time, we disbanded. The recession hit, everyone worked harder and longer hours, families grew and occupied any free time - and so on.

Change is normal. Change happens.

But at some point you realize that you need those people in your life again because you're now in a different place (job, status, situation, challenges) and the people you built trust with years ago are the ones you want speaking into your life in the present.

So, together with a friend, we restarted our group. Nearly a decade later, we weren't ladies who lunch or even ladies who needed to build relationships.

We were women who needed counsel, who needed to share best practices - women who needed a safe space in a small group to talk about challenges.

Our new group has a fun new name, but we're all about business. We're also all about keeping the group small, focused and confidential.

We're the Marketeers - a group I look forward to meeting in person with every month and sharing in the off-times via our closed LinkedIn group.

I guess the point of all of this is that I think it's important to make time for people in your life. Maybe it's a work-focused group like the Marketeers. Maybe it's an accountability group through church. Or friends that know your story and who like you anyway (friends that will go on vacation with you and like you enough to go again the next year).

Input affects our output in ways that we can't easily measure - take the time to find those people and make the community you need happen.

The Balance Continuum Isn't a New Question

Life/work balance isn't a new issue. We've been questioning ourselves and our choices for generations.

The Choice

The intellect of man is forced to choose
perfection of the life, or of the work,
And if it take the second must refuse
A heavenly mansion, raging in the dark.
When all that story's finished, what's the news?
In luck or out the toil has left its mark:
That old perplexity an empty purse,
Or the day's vanity, the night's remorse.

William Butler Yeats

Some Things Never Change

Something else I found when going through old school boxes - a career assessment based on my skills and interests, from 1985 (ack!). I was 14 years old.

On the list nearly 30 years ago? Components of my job today!

• Journalist
• Public Relations Specialist
• Technical Writer

Odd how accurately the assessment predicted my natural bent, even when I was so young.

I Like These People

I have a great work team.

Living Deadline to Deadline

I think I've become a boring person. Lots of work, lots of running and not enough time resting to engage my creative juices.

It's a deadline-to-deadline existence.

So the question is what should I do about it? I enjoy my work and really enjoy running. There just doesn't seem to be enough white space between those two activities for much beyond resting and the normal "have to's" of life - things like cleaning, grocery shopping, church attendance and so on.

Even if I wanted to be more involved in something fun, I don't have time for it.

Or perhaps I just haven't figured out what I want most. My prioritization skills are out of whack.

It's definitely something I need to spend some time thinking about. I hadn't realized how much of my personality and enjoyment of life was wrapped in having life white space.

Breakfast with a Master

Tuesday morning, a colleague and I headed to Fort Worth for the morning. We were attending a by-invitation press preview for the new Piano Pavilion at the Kimbell Museum of Art.

Really there are times that I just feel so ridiculously lucky to be doing what I do. My company built the new pavilion (let's be honest with terms here - it's a new museum, not a picnic pavilion!) and I get to talk about the wonderful features of the project. What communications graduate doesn't want to have breakfast with the Wall Street Journal and Patron magazine (among others)?

Ridiculously lucky.

And midway through breakfast, I realized how even luckier I was - sitting right behind me, chairs touching back-to-back was the designer of the new pavilion: Renzo Piano.

I had to take a photo so I could remember how close our chairs were!

I love Renzo's work. He's a gifted designer and has the right touch of light and space. Plus he's Italian.

My colleague's photo was better than mine - but I do love the way my poor photo below captures what Renzo captures in his buildings...light.

I haven't included any photos of the new building here. We were meeting in the original Kahn building for the breakfast. If you want to see his new space, you'll need to take time to visit Fort Worth!

Master Chef?

Last year I participated in my company's chili cook-off by eating my way around the office.

Tons of fun.

This year I decided to enter. I didn't think I'd have a shot of winning - we're a highly competitive bunch and these people take chili very seriously.

So I made something different, a white chicken chili.

The Boy promptly informed me that I wasn't making chili. I was making white stuff.

Texans.

I did take note of his disdain, however, and decided that my "not chili" would have to be competitive in a different way. I gave it a Swahili name - Kuku Pili Pili - and decorated my competition station table with plenty of flair.

Those who know me well knew what I was doing...my mom noted on Facebook, "Presentation.is.everything."

Totally my philosophy.

Anyway, I had fun and all of the "white stuff" was eaten.

You can imagine my surprise when I read the following company wide email a couple of hours later:

Thanks to all who participated in today’s chili cook off...

3rd Place Judge’s Choice: Shannah Hayley’s "Kuku Pili Pili"

And I even got a prize! My own Chili Cook-Off apron!

I'm totally wearing it next year.

Presentation.is.everything.

An Interesting Email

This weekend, while idly checking my email, I told The Boy about an interesting email that had just arrived in my work inbox.

It was from Santa Claus.

Specifically, it was from a professional Santa Claus, introducing my company to his services should we want to hire a Santa (we won't - we have a wonderful employee who plays Santa Claus every year).

However, this was The Boy's response:

Well, I don't think I need to tell you that this is the time of year

when Santa is known to reach out to naughty girls and boys,

letting them know it's not too late to get their act together.

Very funny.



Source

A Day in the Life of Shannah

A photographic analysis of a typical weekday for Shannah.

4:30 am - time for a run

5:30 am - We need treats!

6:45 am - train ride to town

7:40 am - morning walk from the train to the office

8 am - breakfast meeting

9:30-11:30 am - Two in-office meetings

Noon - lunch meeting

2:30 pm - mail call (and a fun surprise package from a friend!)

3:30 pm - final meeting of the day

5 pm - running to catch the train

6 pm - hair cut

6:45 pm - We need treats!

7 pm - Cook a little supper.

8 pm - Chillax time!

Brought to you by Shannah's 101 list...