Tiara Roberts, MBA, PMP®, ITIL®4, LSSGB, CSAM

Part of personal development I have found the hardest is giving myself grace. What do I mean by grace? In essence for me grace is forgiveness…for example this week: Grace that I didn’t get as far through my to do list as I planned…that means I ruthlessly prioritized my day for critical work and supported my team. Grace that I didn’t go to karate class…my kids wanted some extra time with me and karate will be there, but these moments with the kids won’t be. I focus on psychological safety and grace for my team and it is an important reminder to give myself the same. Love yourself! What part of personal development have you found the most challenging? #personalsdevelopment

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Fill in the blanks: Chief People Officers five years ago were ____ Chief People Officers five years from now will be ____ I sat down recently with Grace Zuncic to get her take on ways the top HR job has evolved and where it’s heading next. Grace previously led the talent organization at Chobani as Chief People and Culture Officer and currently serves as Chief People and Impact Officer at Cotopaxi. Her views reflect what I’ve been hearing more and more from talent leaders around the world: the job is no more about being a “compliance champion” overseeing company policies, but is about being a strategic partner and source of inspiration to the CEO who demonstrates that people management done right leads to business innovation. This new skillset is needed now more than ever given the impact AI is set to have on every single job across every single function. We'll see more people leaders like Grace emerge out of this moment. Check out more from our conversation below, and let me know in the comments how you think the role of Chief People Officer is evolving! 

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If all you need is some audacity to: ✔ Ask for that raise, ✔ Launch that idea that's not perfect but needs to be launched FINALLY, ✔ Apply to that dream job, ✔ Thoughtfully reach out to someone on LI that you admire, ✔ Network to make authentic connections ✔ Post on LinkedIN ✔ Start a podcast with Kyla Denanyoh Allow me to give you some of mine because I have found that is often times all it takes is the....audacity. Post inspired by all the awesomeness in Molly Hough, Esq.'s post today that is in the comments. How do you have the audacity? ✔ What would you do if you if it was judgement free? ✔ No worries about "what will x, y, or z think? Because I guarantee there is someone out there wayyyyyyyyyyyy less qualified than you doing the thing AND being successful. Pic: Me. Having the AUDACITY to let my white hairs come right on in....welcoming my "crone" era. It's not "grey", it's "glitter." 😉 #womenlawyers #audacity #business #womenintheworkplace #womeninlaw #hrprofessionals #hr #peopleoperations

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A few weeks ago, I was in an actual mall (yes those still exist) picking up some jeans I had hemmed and finishing up my wife's birthday present shopping. Now, I'm not sure the last time you stepped foot in a mall, but you can't simply go from store to store without being harassed by salespeople working at kiosks in the middle aisle. Now my plan to avoid these salespeople was to avoid eye contact and simply ignore their advances. But without fail my best efforts failed, as one of them was standing right in the middle of the aisle and I couldn't avoid them. Now I don't recall what the guy was selling but he followed me for about 200 feet trying to convince me to buy whatever he was selling. Sadly, the mall isn't the only place I have encountered the middle of the aisle kiosk salesperson as of late. At the beginning of April, I started my second tour of duty at Seismic, and without fail my LinkedIn inbox was flooded with messages and connection requests from financial advisors who I do not know congratulating me on my new job and telling me they can assist me with rolling over my old 401k, which had they read my LinkedIn profile at all they would've realized I was a contractor for the past 6 months (which meant no benefits), as well as noticed I was going back to Seismic. At one point, I coached this very approach to financial advisors but over time I came to the realization that this approach rarely works, if ever due to the fact financial planning is more about building/maintaining relationships with people than it is about doing financial planning. People like to work with people they know and trust and just like chasing someone down in the mall doesn't work randomly blasting a message to every job changer within your reach doesn't work either. The big takeaway from my post today is, don't be the kiosk salesperson at the mall on LinkedIn, remember LinkedIn is all about relationships, which aren't transactional. #salesenablement #socialselling #LinkedIn #buyercentric

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In today's tough job market, the struggles laid-off employees face in securing new roles are truly disheartening, and many of us wish we had a magic wand to help them all. While layoffs might be necessary for an organization's short-term survival, their execution often lacks compassion. Beyond the immediate impact on those laid off, there's also a significant effect on the remaining workforce, leading to diminished trust, engagement, and, equally important, innovation. It's crucial for organizations to recognize these early warning signs and take proactive steps to mitigate the damage, with strong, effective leadership being paramount. More of my thoughts on this:

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A recruiter emailed me yesterday about a job. I hadn't been actively looking for work, but gave it a read. What jumped out at me? --> Location: Hybrid in NYC or Remote In my reply, I said, "I live outside of Atlanta. How realistic is it that they'd hire someone remotely vs. another qualified candidate who can do hybrid and lives in NYC?" The next morning I got a reply: "Funny enough, I got an email from the hiring manager this morning saying they're switching this search to only folks in the NYC area." This is the new normal, job seekers. And so the best advice I can give anyone serious about finding a new job is this: Disqualify yourself from job opportunities that are not a precise fit, especially with respect to location. In the last 2.5 years I've spent nine months looking for work. My biggest a-ha moment was the day I realized that I was wasting my time going 2-3 rounds deep into an interview process with the "wrong" company. So I started disqualifying myself. Telling hiring managers thanks, no thanks. That I didn't see the fit. That I was not convinced this was the right fit. For me. And it changed everything. I had more time back to focus on viable opportunities, and gained confidence in my future conversations with recruiters and hiring managers. Think about the jobs you are applying for right now. Are they actually a good fit when it comes to location? Ping me if you're not sure. Happy to help.

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This week on LinkedIn, we dove into some key topics for anyone looking to level up their career: - Monday: We kicked off the week with a focus on productivity, sharing a calendar management tip to help you conquer your Mondays. - Tuesday: I shared my personal journey from Operations to Program Management, highlighting the importance of initiative and transferable skills. - Wednesday: We explored the exciting world of healthcare tech, showcasing transferable skills from healthcare and a list of companies to explore. - Thursday: I gave a behind-the-scenes look at a typical day for a program manager, focusing on morning prep routines. - Friday: We talked about the power of the professional resume summary and when to include one. Bonus: We wrapped up the week with some eye-opening LinkedIn stats and a look at how to optimize your resume to grab recruiters' attention. Which post resonated with you the most? Let me know in the comments! #CareerAdvice #LinkedInTips #JobSearch #Productivity #ProgramManagement #HealthcareTech #ResumeTips

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Since so many of my #transitioning #JAG folks found my thoughts on resume writing to be helpful, I’m going to devote a series of posts here to the ways you can get a head start on your #jobsearch and your life after #activeduty. The JAGC provides its #attorneys and #paralegals with stellar experience -- but it does not prepare you for the breadth of opportunities you may encounter after your service. If you’ll permit me an analogy, the JAGC is like a mass transit system in a large, diverse city -- there are lots of paths and stops, but once you get off the train, you have limited visibility on what’s outside. When you leave the service, the train keeps going and you watch it leave -- but you may not have any idea which door of the station to walk out of once the taillights recede. When I left active duty, I really only had experience with former JAGs taking the following limited options: (a) federal or state service (USAJobs, a new agency, etc.); (b) a firm (really only #BigLaw came to mind); or (c) becoming an #AUSA or joining the DOJ. It never occurred to me that you could work for the American Red Cross like Thomas Harper. That you could become the GC of a major space company like Thomas Ayres. That you could go in-house like Bradford Bigler, JD, LLM or Augustus Turner. That you could move into nonprofit work and then legal operations like Molly Kovite. That you could become a professor like Bennett Gore. As Brad pointed out after my last post, one of the best things you can do to prepare your exit is to talk to everyone you can find who has made the transition and schedule a quick call or coffee or get-together to see where they landed -- and what they’ve tried or learned along the way. A few tips to open those conversations: * Ask up front for what you need - half an hour and their story. * Be respectful of the window you've gotten to spend with your connections and express gratitude. * Come armed with your curiosity and ask lots of questions. * Take notes, then reflect on your conversation and add your reflections to your journal or Google doc or vision board or whatever you're using to manage your transition (I recommend OneNote). * If you hear something interesting, follow up and find jobs that look like that. See what they require. If you don't have that skill, make a plan for how to obtain it. Fellow JAGC #alumni, what other paths have you seen former JAGs take? Where did yours take you before you landed where you are now?

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I was off last week for a full-week of PTO. Here are the things I learned during my time off: 🎈 Everyone is beautiful. And I don't mean "beautiful inside" or "they have a beautiful spirit." (That is true for most people, but that's not my point). Everyone is physically beautiful. All in different ways, but all beautiful. 🎈 Most things aren't as time-sensitive or urgent as we think they are. If you get where you are going five minutes later than you wanted, is anything really bad going to happen? No? Then chill out and enjoy the journey more. 🎈 Watching someone do what they do best is one of the greatest gifts in life. Whether it's a professional athlete or a shoe shiner, take some time to appreciate both their skill and their pride in doing. It's amazing. 🎈 It can be tempting to wish that everyone would act exactly the way you think that they should act. That would be tediously boring after just five minutes. Yes, you are entitled to have reasonable expectations for behavior, but the range of "reasonable expectations" almost always should be much broader than you think. 🎈 A good life is composed of both big moments and small moments; sad moments and happy moments. You have to have them all. Don't rush past the small moments to get to the big moments. Don't lose out on the big moments because you are too worried about the details. Don't try to suppress the sad moments because you think you should only have happy moments. Don't ruin the happy moments by worrying about the sad moments (either the ones in the past or the ones to come). #PersonalGrowth #LifeLessons #MindfulLiving #EmbraceMoments

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I am attending AfroTech this week. Over the years, I have connected with quite a few peers, mentees, & general good people who live in various places. Since I don't know who all from my network will be there, this is my post to say if you are please let me know. With this post being focused on conferences here are a few things that "Conference Demetri" is excited about: 1. My First AfroTech. This is my first time attending AfroTech, and so I am excited to have the experience of something new. As I continue to grow my career, I have expanded the conferences and spaces I would like to see. I am grateful that I can cross AfroTech off that list after this week. (Some of the others: Blacks in Technology, Black Men in Tech, ITSMF) 2. Reconnecting & New Connections. Conferences like this and NSBE's Annual Convention, have always been these points where I can reconnect with people. Often, I run into someone I gave advice when they were in college and they're a full fledge working professional now. I love being able to see their growth. From a new connection perspective, I am a strong believer that you can learn from anyone. So, I am excited for what I will be able to walk away with and what I can help others walk away with. 3. "Conference Demetri". Since I used the term earlier, I will explain. For the past 12 years since I have been attending conferences, there's a version of myself that can run on little sleep, is the biggest extrovert, and is in their element (Technology & Leadership). A few days ago, for the first time I used "Conference Demetri" like "Game 6 Klay" for any Warriors fans out there. This version of myself becomes an ambivert (an extrovert introvert combo) and I extend myself more than I typically do. It's something that I enjoy, but the time when I tend to leverage this the most is during conferences. #AfroTech #MicrosoftLife #Networking #Conferences

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Here are my Top Five false assumptions that organizations make about people managers: 1. Being good at your job means that you will be good at managing people who do your job. 2. People management skills are easy to pick up and will just develop naturally when the person is put in a management role. 3. Being outgoing and personable are the key indicators of whether someone will be a good people manager. 4. Experience in the industry is more important than experience building a working team. 5. Good people managers listen to their executives more than they listen to their teams. #PeopleManagement #LeadershipMyths #ManagementSkills #CareerDevelopment #EffectiveLeadership

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🌟 Gratitude, Growth, and Giving Thanks (…and Pie) 🌟 As Thanksgiving rolls around, it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect, and remember what truly matters: family, health, and successfully dodging the "reply all" button in your busiest email threads. This holiday, I’m embracing: 🍂 Gratitude: For the teammates who’ve gone above and beyond, the mentors who’ve guided me, and the barista who knows my coffee order better than I do. 🍂 Reflection: On the highs, the lows, and that one meeting where I accidentally said, “You’re on mute,” to someone who wasn’t. Lesson learned: stay humble. 🍂 Renewal: Using this time to reset so I can return recharged… or at least slightly less reliant on caffeine. As leaders, we know it’s not just about driving results— it's about inspiring our teams, celebrating the little wins, and remembering to unmute ourselves before delivering that motivational speech. 🤦‍♀️ So, let’s all take this moment to show some appreciation for the people who make our lives easier, our days brighter, and our work possible. And don’t forget the pie—because even the best leader can’t be trusted on an empty stomach. 🥧 What’s something you’re grateful for this year? And is it okay if the answer is pie? Wishing you all a joyful, laughter-filled Thanksgiving! 🦃🍂 #Thanksgiving #Leadership #Gratitude #Reflection #Reset #AndPie

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In a conversation with a potential client last Wednesday, Betsy - not her real name - shared with me that she’d sent out her 678th job application just before getting on the call with me. One of the main reasons she wanted to work with me was because a week before, she’d been wondering why none of the over 600 jobs she’d applied to since November last year had worked out. With over 9 years of experience, she was a highly skilled professional with notable achievements.  “Shouldn’t all of that count? The rejections and silence are beginning to get to me.” She said to me in a voice that trembled slightly. So here’s the thing. You just might be like Betty. A subject matter expert with decades of experience, feeling stuck in your current role. You’ve been putting in a lot of work to edit your resume, apply to countless roles and even track all your applications on a google sheet. You’ve even become an expert at decoding rejection mails. Now you are exhausted. The reality is that spraying your CV at 100s of job applications and praying for a hit is an exhausting and often fruitless effort. This ‘rambo-machine gun’ approach rarely ever hits the mark in today’s AI driven job market.  The issue isn’t your willingness to adapt or your skills, experience or qualifications. The issue is your chosen strategy. Applying broadly does not address the core need for visibility and the strategic positioning that’s required of highly skilled mid-senior professionals. Do you want a job or career that values the uniqueness of your skills and experiences? One that offers autonomy, visibility and a high paying 5-6 figure income, preferably in pounds or dollars? Then, instead of shooting blanks with your spray and pray method, narrow your focus like a sniper. Invest time in identifying exactly what you want, then tailor your approach to these specific roles. Increase your visibility through thought leadership and strategic networking, so you can show off your skills where key global decision makers can see them. I want to work with 4 execution focused mid-senior level professionals who want to land 6-figure global roles within 6-9 months. When you work with me, I will guide you to target, aim and shoot like a sniper - till you break out of the 100-job-applications-a-week cycle to get roles that truly value what you bring to the table without compromising your values. Send me a DM with “Career Success” if you strongly believe you should be one of the 4 professionals I work with. #careercelerator #careers

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I’m honored to be featured in the @HIGHER Community Talent100 2024! It’s truly a privilege to be recognized alongside some of the most innovative leaders in Talent Acquisition. This guide showcases the strategies, insights, and journeys of top professionals who are shaping the future of hiring, and I’m excited to share my own story. Inside, you’ll also get to: ● Meet my fellow awardees: Discover the journeys of top talent acquisition execs, whose achievements offer invaluable insights and inspiration for your own career growth. ● Gain actionable insights on core industry trends around flexibility in hiring, globalization and AI in TA, that will help elevate your TA strategy and give you a competitive edge. ● Benchmark against ‘best in class’ TA metrics. If you'd like to learn more about my journey and the work I’m doing in Talent Acquisition, I’d love for you to check out Talent100 and see my profile along with many other incredible leaders. Download Talent100 here: https://lnkd.in/e-7rJa65 #Talent100 #TalentAcquisition #Leadership #FutureOfWork #TAInnovator"

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I’ve been fortunate to receive some incredible career advice over the years, but one piece stands out above the rest. It has shaped my professional journey and continues to guide me every day. #OneThingToKnow - Embrace Change and Uncertainty Early in my career I remember asking someone I look up to what to expect. They said. "The only thing that you can count on is that everything will change. Embrace it, and you will always find opportunities." I wish I could say I was really good at accepting change. I am a work in progress! But this advice has been key to my leadership style. I hope those I have managed feel I was available as the navigated their ups and downs. I am not good at it but always accepting of it. And I can tell you that being adaptable has has allowed me to pivot on a dime when needing to. It has also helped me stop attaching ego to outcomes. It has also helped me to embrace lifetime learning. I always want to learn something. But what about you?! What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received? Create a post on your own page, share your invaluable experiences, and add the hashtag #OneThingToKnow. I really want us all to connect and go on this journey together. Let’s inspire and support each other on our professional journeys! #CareerAdvice #ProfessionalGrowth #Leadership #MondayMotivation #OneThingToKnow Picture: Me and Prerna Chauhan happy with no idea of what the future would hold.

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Good afternoon on this blistering day! ☀️🌡🥵 I want to share with you the three books that have given me a great perspective- for work and life beyond work: 1) Jerusalem by Simon Sebag Montefiore: This marvellous book presents a clear insight that history began long before any of us were around. It makes a very fine point that complex problems have deep-rooted causes and solutions like wars never solve them. Read this book regardless of your political views. 2) Thinking fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman: This books is the bible of understanding behavioural economics, the psychology of decision-making and judgement. You can't afford not to read this book. 3) First, break all the rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. In a world full of management insights, this is the most 'real' and 'applicable' book. It is an especially valuable read if you intend to be an exceptional manager/leader. I hope you enjoy reading them. Do share your recommendations too- I have six more weeks of school holidays ahead of me!!

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One of my favorite things to do at the end of the day is to look back on my work hours and ask myself, "Did I prioritize my work correctly?" Some days I definitely learn more hard lessons through this than I care to admit in a public arena; some days I'm infinitely proud of the work I did and the cohesion created through that work. I've had a handful of bosses during my time in tech, some I learned more from than others. One told me that at the end of the day, "It's all just computers" that we are working on. I agree to an extent on that, but I definitely want to be proud of the work I'm doing, even if it's just computers. Even more I want my team to feel *safe* and *supported* in our workplace. At the end of the day, we might be creating technology - but we are spending 40 of our *best* hours each week in the weeds with REAL people. Real humans with real lives and real needs. Our teammates, our customers, our open source communities - they all deserve our best foot forward and to feel the safety that radiates from our team out. So I'm changing my thought process a little here in my daily reflection time - "Did I prioritize all my work correctly? In the mire of tasks, did I make at least ONE person within my circle of work feel supported, actively listened to? Did I respond intentionally to that person, improving their sense of safety in their role?"

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We've all heard the old saying, "do as I say and not as I do" and you've probably said it a lot if you're a parent like me. Many evenings prior to us sitting down at the dinner table as a family, my wife or I have told our almost 9-year old son, "Thomas no iPad at the dinner table." But unfortunately, at times we don't mirror that behavior to him, and he asks us, "why do you get to have your iPhone at the table?" What does this have to do with sales you may be asking? A lot. Over the years I've spoken to countless sales and marketing leaders about the importance of social selling for their sales teams and many of those very people have asked how do increase the adoption of the social selling tools we provide to our sales teams? Of course there's no single answer to this question, but the simple answer I would give was, led by example. My son, who is nearly 9, notices when we do the very thing we told him not to do and if he notices, trust me your sales team will notice too. I ran a social selling program for roughly 3,500 financial advisors and at one point we had nearly 500 of them on LinkedIn Sales Navigator and every month I would send out the Social Selling Index scoreboard and guess who was on top each and every month, me. Why was that important? 🧑‍🏫 First off, it showed them I cared about the very thing I was telling them they should be doing. 🏆 Second, it created competition. 📋 And finally, it created accountability. You can't except people to simply listen to you when you tell them to do something if you don't do the very task yourself. So, if you're a sales or marketing leader and you want your sales teams to follow the very advice you are giving, it's critical that you do as you say. #socialselling #salesenablement #LinkedIn

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My heart is so heavy this week as unfortunately Tech Elevator had another round of layoffs. Members on my direct team and folks that we worked closely with on cross functional teams were impacted. I'm so happy and thankful to have gotten a chance to be lucky enough to work with them every day and not enough words can express that amount of effort, love, drive, passion, and dedication that these individuals have given over the past few years to thousands of folks and creating positive life changes and support to them and their families + positively impacting me with them always having a hand to reach out and never hesitating to help on any assignment or project is given to them. Would love to share this with my network, and please feel free to repost and share with yours for reach! 🔁 If anyone in my network is #hiring or knows someone hiring for roles such as: #recruiting, #talentacquisition, #programmanagement, #hrgeneralist, #businessanalystics, #projectmanagement, #learninganddevelopment, #talentmanagement, #careerdevelopment, #earlycareers, #executiveadministration, #Talentanalyst, #HRcoordinator, #softwaredevelopment, #javadeveloper, #ITanalyst, #ITsales, #helpdesk, #admissionscoordinator, #onboardingspecalist Please leave a comment below or DM me as I’d be happy to introduce you to these amazing individuals. ❤️ 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 .. 📍 Locations of impact: #columbusohio, #cincinnatiohio, #jerseycitynewjersey, #washingtondc, #clevelandohio, #stauntonvirginia, #durhamnorthcarolina

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