I’ve had quite a varied and sordid career path since shaving my head in the fall of 1997. Up until then I had worked for seven years in the insurance and banking industry, climbing upwards and sideways while always having “analyst” in my job title—financial analyst, pricing analyst, and reserve analyst to name a few. I loved playing with numbers, problem solving, and trying to predict the future by learning patterns of past data. It was fun for a while; then I needed something new and different that involved more interactions with people. Something more engaging.
The new and different career move was to Pallotta Teamworks, a charitable event fundraising firm. I’ve never been so turned on about work as I was for the 10 months that I worked on the Twin Cities to Chicago AIDS Ride. I was able to finally apply my problem solving skills doing meaningful work. This organization was the first to engage both my head and my heart.
I’ve had some 30 different employers, both public and private, non-profit and for-profit since I started working at the age of 12, and only two of those employers have truly engaged both my head and my heart. It only took me another seven years to find Next Generation Consulting, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work with such amazing people building better places to live and work.
The key to engaging both the hearts and heads of your people goes beyond doing meaningful work; it’s also the how, who, what, and when that matter. Another key is having extraordinary visionaries in leadership positions; and it doesn’t hurt if they are inspiring speakers like Dan Pallotta and Rebecca Ryan.
Pallotta TeamWorks is back and this time I’ll sit on the sidelines and cheer as a firm goes beyond fundraising $305 million for AIDS and breast cancer.
The next generation is waiting for you to engage both their heads and their hearts. What are you waiting for?
