It’s my birthday, so I gave myself the nerdiest present: I opened LinkedIn and read my career like a novel. Spoiler: there were plot twists, poorly lit scenes, and some stellar cast members! This year’s twist: my role at the MAG expanded. I still lead member facing Education, and now I’m officially back in the HR world, focused on Organizational Effectiveness. Translation: help humans learn what matters, tune the system so work actually works, and prove it with real outcomes, not confetti charts.
As I scrolled my profile that was created when LinkedIn was still a baby (and I had no grays), two kinds of folx showed up:
-The amazing: generous with their brains, brave, allergic to fluff
-The… educational: creative with deadlines, committed but light on facts
Both taught me. The first gave me craft, the second clarity. Together they gave me a spine.
The recommendations I’ve collected across my career reminded me who I am at work even on “Tuesdays”: I make complex stuff usable, treat time like it’s real, and keep people at the center while we solve the mess. Those are not compliments; they’re baselines, and when my head gets loud they lead me back to my operating principles:
-Start with the learner and the outcome. If they can’t use it, it isn’t done.
-Design measurement into work. Proof belongs upfront.
-Treat SMEs like co-authors, not vending machines.
-Ship quality at a steady rhythm.
-When the room gets loud, turn down the drama and turn up the data.
-Document decisions. Memory is a lovely liar.
-Optimize the system, not the heroics. Quiet excellence beats loudly busy.
What I’m celebrating this year:
-Work that compounds… learning that sticks, processes that breathe, teams that get lighter because the load is smarter.
-Beautiful recommendations from over literally decades. If you wrote one, thank you!
-A career that looks less like a ladder and more like a constellation. SKILLS from roles ago light up today’s problems. NETWORKs that became new bridges. ACTIVITIES practiced in the dark that are magic tricks in public.
What I’m leaving:
-Meetings that pretend to be decisions.
-Vanity metrics.
-The urge to be impressive instead of useful.
And here’s what I know, careers are messy and occasionally absurd. But all you ever need is a clear next step and a way to tell if it worked. Rinse. Repeat. That’s it… well, also snacks help!
So, if you need a quick boost today, try my bday audit:
• Open your profile.
• Read your recommendations out loud.
• Screenshot a line that sounds like you at your best.
• Pin it where you can’t miss it on your next crappy day.
To the amazing and the “educational” folx who shaped me: thank you for the reps, the real talk, the trust. To my current team and partners at Merchant Advisory Group: onward, with evidence my friends!
If this lands, drop one line from your recommendations that feels true, and if you don’t have one yet, ASK TODAY! Consider it your birthday gift, no candles required.
