Grow Your Career With Intention
Building a career is less about speed and more about intention, patience, and the experiences that shape long-term growth.
Grow Where You’re Planted
“The most important job you'll ever have is the one you're in now. Sometimes, people look too far ahead, especially young people coming into the workforce. If you do the absolute best job in the job you're in, people will notice, and it'll create an opportunity.
“The reality is that you simply don't know where those opportunities will take you. You do the absolute best job in the job you're in, and everything else will take care of itself.”
Terry Reed, CHRO at Comfort Systems USA
Let the Game Come to You
“’Let the game come to you.’ A CHRO that I worked for would tell me that all the time. I was always anxious about what my next thing was going to be. But he reminded me that if I focused and worked hard, it would be recognized. And he was exactly right. It is funny to me because, although that is a sports quote, it has been important to me ever since I worked for non-sport organizations early in my career.”
DeRetta Rhodes, Chief People & Culture Officer, Atlanta Braves
Gain Key Experience Before Chasing the Next Title
“Rising HR leaders are anxious for their next opportunity, which is fantastic. But understand that those opportunities may be lateral or even a step back to get the right experience. For example, I once took a lower-level position because I knew I needed process experience in a large corporation. It was an important experience that launched me even further in my career.
“Also, it is important to develop the leaders of the future. We’ve all had mentors who believed in us. It is equally important, even as a rising leader, to develop those you are leading so you don’t leave a gap when you move on to another role.”
Laurie Monfiletto, CHRO, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Align Your Work with Your Passion
“It goes back to that saying of, ‘Do what you love.’ What I've realized is that I am at my best when I’m working both with people and for an organization that has a mission I'm passionate about. I've worked in the mental health industry, education, and several for-profit businesses. Each of those companies had something in common — they were doing something that, at that moment in my life, I really cared about.”
Tom Tang, Chief People Officer, May Mobility
Build Relationships and Grow Every Day
“Never stop learning. It sounds a little cliché, but it really has helped me throughout the years. Not only have I focused on this by going to school and formal learning, but the people that I've met and the networks that I've built through those relationships has helped me over the years.”
Paul Johnson, Former VP of People and Culture, Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Stretch 10% Beyond Your Comfort Zone Every Day
“Early in my career, I heard in a leadership development program that you should look for a way to move 10% outside of your comfort zone every day — at least one opportunity. I really took that to heart. So, when there are times I feel unsure or not confident, I'll whisper to myself or I'll hear those voices about 10%. Most of the time it inspires me to just try.”
Jinah Chernivec, CHRO and Chief Risk Officer at Goodwill Industries Easter-Seals Minnesota
Challenge, Learn, and Then Lead
“Keep asking questions. You have to keep asking questions. Learn all you need to learn, but at the end of the day, you have to bring solutions. You have to bring something to the table. If it fails, go back, adjust, tweak, modify, and go back at it and try something else.”
Thanh Giddarie, Director of HR, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Health
Think Big, Move Slow
“My HR peers know that we have a lot of ideas and we have a bit of OCD and perfectionism. We care about people so much that we're always moving, moving, moving. So thinking big, but moving slow is really important… Slow to you is different than slow to me, but that gives you time for intentionality. I think that's what we're going to need with this workforce fragmentation is some intentionality.”
Nichole Oocumma, Chief Administrative Officer, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
Membership
Lead What’s Next
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