I knew I had made it!

I made it!

You know how I knew?

I was wearing a suit!

A beige polyester suit, beige pantyhose, beige 1.5-inch pumps, neutral color nail polish and earrings no larger than the size of a dime. (No offense beige.  Although I am a human Skittle, I bear no ill will toward neutral colors)

But it was love at first hotel.

I was a frontline worker.

I came from a warm place called, “Hello”

My purpose was the practice of hospitality and it made me happy to make people happy!

Until it didn’t.

As my career grew, who I was and the warm place I came from was replaced by a cold place called, “Metrics”

When we turn human beings into humans performing there to perform tasks to help us get to our goal, we fail to see people.

If we want our organizations to be successful, we have to disrupt the actions and behaviors that get in the way of being present and showing people:

You matter.
You have value.
I have resources for you.
You Rock.
I want to help you.
Where do you want to grow?
What do you hope for?
What do you dream of?
What are you interested in?
I am not going to set you up for failure.
I am here to mentor, guide, teach you.
I've got your back.

You may be thinking, "DUH!" Believe me, I think, "DUH" pretty often about a lot of stuff I read here but sometimes when you take a moment to self reflect, you realize that "DUH" hits you right in the reminder you need.

When our behaviors and actions align with these values (and more), we help people get to their goal which helps us get to ours.

My MUST (this is what happens to a why in my world) is to help people bring more color back into their lives, leadership and teams by continuously fostering safe environments where people can choose their level of authenticity at work.

I don’t claim to have all the answers but the truth I have found in my journey and the core philosophy of my brand is that safety and choice = belonging!

I am super excited to be headed to Chicago to share my talk, "The Belonging Equation" tomorrow afternoon with a group of incredible human beings who are dedicated to building community, belonging and allyship!

Can you guess which airline company I'll be speaking for?

I'll tell you on Thursday (And if wishes come true, a Best In Row Story too)