VMworld Call for Proposals: Professional Development Track. Everyone belongs!

VMware has announced the Call for Proposals for all VMworld US submissions. This is a very exciting time as folks organize their thoughts to create proposals about technology they’ve been working with over the past few months as well as what they’ll be working on this year. As technologists, we all want to share our knowledge with others and do our best to enable others. And this is what VMworld is about – a week of sharing and learning!

It was only 2018 when I submitted my talk, Achieving Happiness: Building Your Brand and Your Career, in the VMworld Call for Proposals process. I didn’t know where this type of talk would land, if at all, since VMworld never had sessions (to my knowledge) on personal and professional growth. I selected the Leadership track for my submission. This track was created for technology leaders and executives. Most of the content was for CIOs, CTOs, and VPs around business processes and organizational change. However, my talk was accepted and well-received at both VMworlds in 2018. In 2019 we had a Professional Development session type in the CFP portal due to the very positive response we saw in our VMworld surveys in 2018. In VMworld US 2019, we had 9 Professional Development sessions and in VMworld Europe 2019, we had 6 Professional Development sessions that are available in the on-demand catalog today on vmworld.com. 

I am honored to announce that I am the track lead for Professional Development at VMworld 2020 US and Europe. We are creating more session slots than ever before specific to professional development. The talks might be technology related, and they might not be! That is the beauty of professional development. It isn’t just about professional life. It is about being a good human being. Human development is professional development.

This is my first time being a track lead at VMworld. I don’t know what to expect, but I do know the following:

·      This appointment is an honor, and I take it very seriously.

·      I will give no less than 110% to ensure the Professional Development track is the best it can be.

·      I want this track to be the shining star for what diversity looks like at a conference.

After accepting the track lead role a few weeks ago, I immediately began thinking about how to get the word out for this new track and inspiring the best possible speakers on the subject of being a good human being and professional development to submit a proposal for VMworld. I don’t have all the answers, but I know as a community, we can figure it out together. I need your help in encouraging and supporting yourself, your friends, your colleagues, and people you don’t know to submit their ideas during the CFP process. I’d like to see people of every under-represented group that exists and more as speakers in this track. We all know how vital it is to have diversity of thought and opinion for any subject, and I can’t think of a subject that needs full representation of all people more than human and professional development.

I was thrilled when I saw an internal email from our VP of D&I, Shanis Windland, this week to everyone involved in VMworld planning and execution. She gave me permission to include this quote on my blog:

 “All of you have the opportunity to showcase VMware’s commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. VMware is a diverse, multinational, multigenerational and multicultural company. As you prepare potential submissions, we encourage you to consider speakers that truly highlight the diversity of our employee population and the customers, partners and communities they represent.”  

At VMware we have employee led Power of Difference Communities, or PODs, to represent everyone. We have demographic PODs such as Black@VMware, PRIDE@VMware, Asian@VMware, Disability@VMware, Latinos@VMware, Veterans@VMware, and Women@VMware. We also have PODs based on Geographic Regions. You can learn more about these pods on our VMinclusion page here.

I will be enlisting the PODs help in encouraging people to submit proposals to the Professional Development track. And I’m asking all of you in our community to also go above and beyond to inspire the best speakers you know to submit. If you have an idea, ask someone that doesn’t look like you to co-submit and co-present so we can hear their thoughts and experience on the subject as well. Absolutely everyone is different, and my approach when learning is to listen to all perspectives and employ the saying “Take what you like and leave the rest.”. This doesn’t mean I only retain what is easy or already fits my mindset. It means I integrate what information and actions work for me as an individual with a unique personality to my being.

I hope to meet many people and learn new things throughout this process. Please submit your VMworld US proposals here! VMworld Europe CFP opens in a couple of months. And when that happens, I will re-surface this blog, possibly with edits based on what I’ve learned since it was originally posted, and have the same call-to-action for all of our European-based friends, colleagues, and community members.

Building Your Brand - Like a Blevins

I recently presented this at the Kansas City VMUG UserCon, and the session was a hit. Here is the blog version of that session.

Over the past couple of months, the opportunities I’ve had to discuss careers and brands have increased exponentially through others’ or my own requests. I’ve been mulling over those conversations as well as doing personal reflection. This blog organizes my insights into something that can help anyone who is thinking about an adjustment in her career or life. What I have learned is that the growth and change necessary to build a career is like a second job! It is highly rewarding though. The lessons I’ve learned about improving myself, my outlook, and my actions have a positive influence on all aspects of my life.

The most important thing that you will hear from any self-help book, spiritual guide, or someone who has rebuilt herself from the ashes is that you must do what brings you happiness. Someone recently shared with me that he ranked various parts of his life in order of importance to him like work, family, values, etc. He thought that his rankings might not be “right” and he should have a different order. My response was a very colorful, short, Amanda-like phrase which amounted to, “Don’t listen to that voice.” I reminded him, “You need to do what brings you happiness. You need to take care of yourself.”

Ok, now that we have the obvious yet often elusive happiness thing out of the way, let’s move on to some details. One, we figure out where to start. To do this, we need to ask ourselves questions:

1.     What do I want to be when I grow up (or for now)?
2.     Is it possible and probable?

It is important to be honest with yourself when you answer these questions. Weigh in factors like: Will I find it fun? Am I passionate about it? How will this affect my time with family and friends? Is there too much or not enough travel? What are the work hours? Does it align with my personality? How will it affect my hobbies? What technical skills do I need? What soft skills do I need?

There are no right or wrong answers here. We are gauging the true interest we have in that position and determining if it is the best choice for us based on what else we want out of life. If we think it is a match, great! If not, great! No is always the second-best answer. Just try again with another possibility until the answer to number two is yes.

This list sums up my brand:

1.     Be Tenacious and have Grit. I don't let something go if I believe it is the right thing, and I'll speak up to whoever will listen. I will come with solutions, not just problems. I don’t stop at the first roadblock or the second. There is always another path.

2.     Identify gaps in the company, offerings, or myself. I look for a gap in our offerings. It might not exist. Or if it exists, it might need a massive overhaul. Then I come up with a plan and allies to create the solution. Then I act with #1.

3.     Be confident. This is related to personality, but truly it is an effect of being prepared. I like to feel solid about the subject at hand. If I’m not, I don't feel as confident.

4.     Act as if. If I think I am a good fit for a different position, I start doing that work. At some point, it just makes sense to give me the title. If it doesn't, then I need to be doing something else.

5.     Expect to work a lot of overtime. Mediocrity doesn’t go far. And neither does only forty hours a week – inspiration arrives at any time. Still, work smart. Don’t put in unnecessary hours.

6.     Relax and decompress your brain whenever possible. This means in the middle of the “workday” too – since every day is a workday! Have fun. And I don’t take things too seriously, especially myself.

7.     Be vulnerable. People want to be able to connect with someone on a personal level. This might mean sharing a bit about your weekend, family, hobby, friends, personal interests, or something else that is important to you before diving into business.  You might be lucky if you’re talking to a fellow geek and the technology is your connection, but there is more to share. I find this easier said than done for me, and I am working daily to do this more.

8.     Find a way to communicate with each individual. My default style of communication is straightforward mixed with dry humor. This is fun for a lot of people. Others do not appreciate it as much. It could be off-putting to them. Therefore, it is important to identify how people like to communicate and adapt to their style. This is another item that is easier said than done!

The list above is about me. Some of them might work for you, others might not. It all depends on your personality, your style, what you’re willing to sacrifice, etc. But the list should give you a great place to start on building your own brand. Be sure it is true to yourself and you are comfortable with the characteristics. Most of it shouldn’t be too hard. If one or two things are, that’s ok. If it were easy, it would have already have happened.

Once we know where we want to be and how we will act to get there, the final thing is execution. Gaps might need to be filled in around technical knowledge, articulating strategy, executive presence, business acumen, relationships, or others. Do this with as much help as possible! Grow your network and gain as many mentors as you can. Mentors are people who possess something you want to have. This isn’t necessarily a job. It is more often a quality or characteristic. I’ve also found that I learn from every conversation I have. This might be because of something the other person shared, or it could be something I realized about myself while sharing my experiences. Most importantly, don’t be scared to approach someone. I believe it is my responsibility to start the conversation. It might feel uncomfortable at first, but I have never regretted the action.

Finally, whatever you learn, share! Blog, tweet, give talks, have roundtable discussions, go to lunch, and video blog. Whatever your favorite medium is – go for it! It is important not to hoard information. It doesn’t give you job security or make you better than the next person. Sharing your knowledge with others helps everyone. When other understand what you know, it lifts you up to the next level and frees you for what is next