Investing in Professional Development

I would consider myself to be a lifelong learner and find professional development to be part of that learning process for myself. I have always seen the value in it and encourage others to do so. There are various avenues that I continue to integrate into my own professional development. These range from attending conferences, engaging small, focused topic discussions, speaking, reading, coaching, etc. I believe that there is so much to learn and implement, that as leaders we have a responsibility to strive to increase our knowledge for the betterment of the members and organizations we serve. I intend to share my insights and how I apply them from various professional development areas I engage in throughout the year, there is one I want to highlight at this time.

When I accepted the offer to become the next Executive Director/CEO of American Mensa and the Mensa Foundation, I quickly understood the need for me to shift my focus in understanding where my gaps were to be successful in this role. This is my first opportunity to lead an organization in this role, and no matter how much coaching and mentoring you receive, there are just some things that you cannot be prepared for until you are in it. I believe that my experience and learning up until this point did an excellent job in many areas, but I still had some areas to develop now. I focused my energy on engaging in the sessions at events, connecting with fellow CEO’s in my industry, and anything that I thought would aid me to be the best I could in this role.

I eventually was connected with Lisa Harrington who was establishing a Vistage group in the mid metro area of Dallas/Fort Worth. Through a few discussions, I learned about the structure of Vistage and the value provided from being a part of this organization. The quick, 50,000-foot overview of Vistage is an executive coaching company that focuses on the combination of in-person peer groups and one-on-one coaching to support and guide executives for success. If you are interested in learning more, you can check out Vistage. www.vistage.com. I joined this group and began my Vistage membership and journey in August of 2018. So say it was worth the effort for me is an understatement. I found this blog posting that I feel summarizes the process and value as I see it as well. In the short amount of time I’ve been a member of Vistage, I feel that I’m on my way to being the CEO I want to be and am already position my organization to achieve the goals that it has set. I am also excited for how this journey continues to develop for me both through Vistage and other industry events that I engage in.

My purpose for sharing this journey to finding Vistage is to set up future blog posts. As we meet as a group once a month, I intend to blog about what I’m learning from those sessions and how I look to implement them going forward. So when you see the name Vistage, or you wonder where I’m going to go with some of my blog posts, now you have a peek in where it’s coming from. I’m excited to share this journey with you all! Stay tuned for more!