Thelma Haddock shared insights from her decades in corporate America as a "people first leader" in sales operations and change management. She discussed her career philosophy of speaking with purpose and empowering others to use their voice and the necessary skills for success, including cross-functional collaboration. She advised being curious and networking, while her future goals include scaling her thought leadership to empower overlooked leaders.

Key Takeaways:

• Career Journey and Personal Philosophy: Thelma reflected on her journey to reaching a director level, noting she was a quiet, observant child who learned the importance of listening and forming opinions from her mother, and speaking with purpose while knowing when to hold back from her father. Working in a male-dominated corporate field taught her how to speak with "timing and presence and power" after often being overlooked or having her ideas reframed. 
• Change Management Expertise: In 2021, she was asked to build a change management team from the ground up within the enterprise IT organization. Change management involves ensuring that people are brought along with transformational changes, such as technology shifts, so they feel a part of the change rather than having it "done to them". The goal is to move everyone from the current state to the future state where they can function properly and utilize new technologies and ways of working. 
• Skills for Success in Change Management: Key skills for successful change management, including having a broad view of the organization's goals and being open to change. She stressed the necessity of being able to "collaborate cross-functionally" with various teams like the business, program, and IT teams, and acting as a leader to bring all parties together for a successful outcome. She also mentioned that formal training, such as certification, offers specific tools and phased approaches for stakeholder engagement that make the process efficient and effective.
• Overcoming Challenges: She views challenges as opportunities for learning and improvement, attributing this positive outlook to having a curious and self-aware mindset. A major professional challenge she highlighted is the difficulty in meeting people where they are and avoiding "shoving things down people's throat" when deadlines loom, emphasizing that working with people is crucial. 
• Daily Habits for High-Performance: Her daily habits include listening first, deep observation, and journaling to process her thoughts, stay grounded, and prioritize focus on what truly matters while leading with kindness and heart.
• Advice and Proud Accomplishments: For those starting their careers, she advised remaining "very curious," networking, and not becoming fixated on their current role or even their degree. She also encouraged working hard but maintaining personal time and being kind to oneself and others, asserting that one can be successful without abandoning their authentic self. Her proudest accomplishment is rising in complex environments while leading with her values, lifting others, and watching people she has supported "step into their own power".
• Future Goals and Aspirations: She shared her dream to scale her thought leadership through speaking, writing, mentoring, and strategy. Her main goal is to build movements that empower leaders, particularly those who are overlooked or underestimated, to fully claim their voice as their superpower and lead with kindness and heart without apology. She views kindness as a strength and advocate for using boundaries as protection to ensure respect.

Reach out to Thelma on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/thelma-haddock/

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