Saying Good-bye to My Work Wife

This week marks my one year anniversary as a manager in Corporate America. To celebrate said occasion my work wife, Karen, is also celebrating her freedom from those same corporate bonds. My friend's last day is today, December 18th, 2015. She is the rare individual that sees something she wants, takes control, figures out how to do it, does it and turns the page. I admire her skills and willingness to take a chance or risk that I otherwise would shirk from.

I met Karen a little less than four years ago. I was one of the people who interviewed her and then, in a scenario that would only work to foreshadow why she would leave, we didn't get back with her, left her dangling in the wind and then one day reached back out and offered her the job. We both worked for the same manager at that time who had the wisdom to recognize that Karen was a good fit the very first time we spoke with her.

It took only a matter of days or weeks for me to figure out I was fortunate to meet her. While I call her my work wife, it's more like a slightly wiser sister who actually likes me and doesn't mind my uniqueness. She would allow me to interrupt her whenever I wanted but was always thoughtful enough to not interrupt me. She would bring me McDonald's, on the regular, even when she might be dieting or avoiding fast food.

She was one of my main advocates in getting me into management. You have to have people who are willing be on your team. and she was always kind and understanding to me while I made the mistakes a new manager makes.

Her uncompromising self confidence that when she puts her mind to it and plans for anything, she can make whatever she wants to come true, come true. She is giving up the security of a consistent paycheck, not just for another paycheck but for work she finds rewarding. She is willing to take the chance that it might not work out but you never know unless you try. It seems so simple on the outside but the guts it takes to make those changes will always impress me.

She will probably read this and not agree with the vision I have of her in my head but it's how I will always see her. Good bye and have fun on your next adventure.



I read this last night at a meeting.

Look to this day,
For it is life,
The very life of life.
In its brief course lie all
The realities and verities of existence,
The bliss of growth,
The splendor of action,
The glory of power –

For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision.
But today, well lived,
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.
Sanskrit proverb

Pre End of Year Blog That May or May Not Ever Get Written

There is a lot to share that I'm probably not going to get around to writing. My kids are making me a better person everyday, my wife sees me through everything, everything. I have so much to be thankful for not just in the "season of giving" but all the time. We can give something back every day. If you can find that little piece of humanity and build on that, life finds of way of being alright.

The Value of Mentorship - A Tribute

My mentor at work is off to a new challenge and opportunity. More responsibility, more pressure, more money, and potentially more difficulties. Even on her way out she has impressed me with her positivity, her grace during her transition out of her role, and the tact that she has taken to leave this place better than when she got here.

I'm not sure when I got on her radar. Maybe it was running, maybe it was background, maybe it was when I applied and she read my resume and saw we had a lot of similarities. Anyway, she welcomed me to her inside sales team after my first two years of toiling away in marketing trying hard to make my mark.

"Rough around the edges and has a tendency to rush towards a solution rather than fully investigate all the ramifications. Occasionally can be verbose and can get off topic and spend a large amount of time talking and not doing." This would be a kind description of who I was professionally when Shannon got a hold of me. What I believe she also saw, was someone who loves to lead people, who is an optimist, who can inspire others, isn't afraid to ruffle feathers, and shares similar personal priorities. The honesty and openness that her mentoring provided was an environment where I felt safe to make mistakes. I had an ally who was willing to mold me into a better version of myself and would not hang me out to dry when I did mess up. She has my back and the good mentors do.

My mentor has the self defeating attribute of being so selfless it hurts her. Every person who is under her management is coached to realize their potential, whether that's on her team, on another team, in a different role, or even at a new company. She would literally sacrifice her own advancement for the advancement of her team. That is what a REAL leader does. She has a vision and actively inspires her team to achieve it. From the outside or from a higher position in the company it could appear that her team is always in flux but that would be a superficial way of looking at it. The reason it's in flux is because she is tirelessly working to find the best fit for every team member and maximize their potential.

In the past four years of mentorship, I have gone from Inside Sales Rep to Manager of Global Operations. The old me would have been upset that it took so long. The new me recognizes it ONLY took four years because of the direction of my mentor and persistence to my own vision.

Running is another passion with which we share an interest. She likes the big races, I like the small ones but if life works the way it normally does, I will be running a big one in the Fall and she will be running a small one. We rub off on each other even when we don't know it.

I'm also mentoring on my own now. She inspired me to take on that challenge as well and it's tremendously rewarding. When we are growing up, we need role models. Whether it's our parents, teachers, entertainers, athletes, presidents, we look up at others and look to behave like them. We don't stop needing them just because we get older. Now, we give them a fancier name, mentor, and it's really an adult role model both professionally and personally. I saw what she had, how she behaved, and the respect with which others in the organization saw her and I wanted that. The only way to get it was to ask her how she got there. That little spark of a conversation has blossomed into a real friendship and I don't know about you, but I don't make friends as readily as I did when all it took was a shared love of play-dough and crayons.

Shannon Glass is someone whom I will forever be indebted. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for your friendship, kindness, compassion, encouragement, laughter, listening, and guidance. I can't say this about more than a handful of people in my life but I can say this about you with 100% complete confidence, you made a positive difference in my life and I am a better human being because of you. I'll miss you Shannon Glass. I'll miss you.

To new adventures my friend!

New Adventures Coming Soon...

I have done a lousy job of chronicling my adventures in coaching. From where I started with youth wrestling, to soccer, to competitive soccer, to club soccer, then cross country and now track, it one of the most rewarding and challenging parts of my life and I want to share it.

For the remainder of the year, I will be kicking out one a week, to share my love of coaching.

Stay tuned.