Thirty-One Days of Blogging - Day 30
Today’s blog continues with my Top Ten for 2020. I reveal Numbers Three and Four. Number Four is when I did a guest article for eccconferences.org. My article was The Best Thing About COVID. I explained how I retired in early 2020 and had formed my own business. My plans to travel to speak at conferences never happened in 2020. I did pivot my business and adapted to doing everything virtually. My article explains what took place regarding my volunteer position with IIBA. As the Global Chapter Council Chair, I didn’t know many chapter leaders outside of North America. As the IIBA Chapters and conferences adapted to virtual tools, I got to attend many events that I wouldn’t have been able to go to if they were in-person events. I have tried to stay upbeat and positive throughout the pandemic. I have also tried to keep people laughing, especially on Social Media. As a leader, I am a people person who puts people first and leads with my heart. You can’t be wrong with that strategy.
Number Three is when I Delivered My Personal Story in an IIBA Webinar. I have presented many webinars and other presentations on behalf of IIBA. This time was odd because it was talking about my career. I agreed to do it because if it inspired one or more people to take a risk and pursue their passions, it was worth it to me. I was surprised when over 350 people registered, and about 250 attended. It was fun to deliver because I wanted to explain to people how they could succeed during a pandemic, and it was essential to stay positive. I prefer to defer the attention to teams that I lead, but I had another reason to deliver my story. In my volunteer work at IIBA, I have been honored to work closely with the Chapters and Membership Engagement Team members. These three people have become an important part of my life.
Few people have a view of this group as I do in my volunteering. They are Jared Gorai, Terri Lynn Rodrigues, and Danelkis Serra, and we are more like family than friends. I was able to express my appreciation for everything they do for the IIBA members. I was able to pull off a surprise for Jared and Terri when I sent in a fake slide deck. The slide deck I had contained some additional slides as I was ready to unveil my rebranding as “The Optimistic BA.” I also had some of the colorful slides that my graphic designers had created. Danelkis knew what was going on as I took her into my confidence in making sure Jared and Terri Lynn didn’t have any conflicts. It meant a lot to all of us to reveal this professional milestone at an IIBA webinar. As I have said all along, be sure that all the important people know how you feel. Life is so short, can change in a minute, and tomorrow is not guaranteed. I am thinking by now you may guess what I view as my numbers one and two in my Top Ten. Please remember what I said for the first anywhere in my webinar, always remember to keep your glass at least half full.
