By Christie Hardwick
As a newly minted BIZ columnist, I am energized by the opportunity to share ideas about leadership and personal performance with you. Yet I'm also looking forward to developing a dialogue where we can talk about what is important in your life and in your work.
I have been helping people think about what best serves their lives for more than 25 years. I've done that vital work in traditional corporate settings—overseeing employee relations, human resources and community relations. I've even taken a turn at serving as the vice president of change management for a Fortune 500 company.
I've also worked in the nonprofit world, contributing my time and energy to the Center for Living with Dying, City Year and, for the past seven years, on the national board of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
My many passions include education. To satisfy that urge, I have served for seven years on the governing board of trustees for the Fremont Unified School District in California. I also spent two years as a political consultant—one to help the district pass facility bonds and the other as a field director for a national presidential campaign in 1992.
My company, Spirited Contribution, was incorporated in 2003 after I left the Silicon Valley scene to follow my own path. That path has led to executive coaching of leaders in industry as well as the nonprofit and artistic arenas.
My work as an educator and a coach led to my decision to record a CD of original music, entitled "Keep The Lights On." I also completed a book of photographs and inspirational writing, The ABC's of an Extraordinary Life. My path has also led me to study metaphysics for the past five years and earn the title—reverend—for having a spiritual point of view.
The mission of Spirited Contribution is to encourage you to step up and then show up with your complete self in all that you do. Your complete self—including your sexuality, your talents, your passions and your culture—contributes to diversity of thought in the workplace and leads to innovation and a better life.
I invite you in this column to ask questions that range from the simple to the sublime. I want to inspire, teach and learn through our correspondence. I hope to provoke new thinking and more possibility for joy in your life and the life of those you touch by encouraging you to get in touch with your authentic self and to be the authentic leader that you are.
How can I help? Love your work but hate the paperwork? Are you struggling to help a troubled employee? Or looking to fix a strained relationship with a vendor? Having difficulty finding the right balance for your work and life? Maybe you just need to be reminded of what joy looks like? Write to me. Let me know what's on your mind. Let's start a conversation.
