Category: Leading People

The New HR Leader’s First 100 Days 

In 2013, I found myself at a career crossroads.  I had served as Deputy HR Director at NASA’s Johnson Space Center since 2010, and it was unclear what was next.  So, I started looking around for various career development resources.  I also sought a rotation outside of HR—since The Chief HR Officer noted that most top HR leaders had spent time outside the function. 

Additionally, I ran across Alan Collins’ site SuccessInHR.com and heeded his advice: “Take your Human Resources career to the next level by launching your own HR blog!”  Since my personal mission is To Improve Leadership Wherever I Go, I went with a blog about leadership instead of a sole focus on HR.  To get started, I found Collins’ book Start Your Own Awesome HR Blog an instructive and invaluable resource. 

As I faced another major career transition earlier this year—moving from a 28-year career at NASA to the role of Vice President for Human Resources at a non-profit, Space Center Houston—I again turned to Alan Collins.  His 2019 book The New HR Leader’s First 100 Days: How To Start Strong, Hit The Ground Running & Achieve Success Faster As A New Human Resources Manager, Director or VP again provided invaluable advice.   

Click here for Collins’ 15 Proven Rules to help you start strong, hit the ground running, and guide you to success faster

Happy Birthday, Jennifer!

Yesterday was not only Super Bowl Sunday, but it was also Jennifer’s birthday!  We had a fun gathering of the full family on Saturday, watching a University of Mary-Hardin Baylor basketball game in Belton, Texas.  Katy and Evan met us from Dallas, and Cody met us from College Station.  We brought Tanner and my parents and had a fun time watching basketball and celebrating together.

Yesterday after church, we met my brother, Blake and his wife, Kristen for a special birthday lunch.

Previously, I’ve posted a few times about Jennifer’s leadership qualities. For example, in 2017, I noted how Jennifer is “A Leader After God’s Own Heart.” In 2014, I shared “4 Leadership Jewels (C.A.R.E.) from My Wife, Jennifer.”

As I considered various books that exemplify her leadership, I thought of Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, among others but ultimately landed on Tony Dungy’s The Mentor Leader.  Plus, a Dungy book for Super Bowl Sunday just made sense…

Jim Caldwell, Dungy’s successor as Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts, pointed out that Jim Collins’ definition of a Level 5 Leader in his book Good to Great sums up Tony’s leadership DNA perfectly.  According to Collins, “Level 5 Leaders”:

  • Embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will.
  • Display a compelling modesty, are self-effacing and understated.
  • Attribute success to factors other than themselves.
  • Display a workmanlike diligence—more plow horse than show horse.
  • Attribute success to factors other than themselves.
  • Set up their successors for even greater success.

Caldwell explained that Tony’s leadership style allowed him a sense of autonomy, development, growth, understanding, and ownership that ultimately led to him succeeding Dungy.

Click here for a summary of The Mentor Leader by Tony Dungy