And So the Journey Begins....

Today starts a whole new journey. Why today?? Because the severance check has cleared the bank and there is no going back. See...in late January of this year, I was informed (along with 900 of my closest friends) that my job had been eliminated. Just like that....POOF...WHAM... SMACK TO THE HEAD... PUNCH IN THE GUT. The rug was pulled out from under me.

Now...the concept was to remove the majority of the Human Resource support from the field and centralize it in an HR Call Center at headquarters. You know- the five to seven year plan that most companies seem to follow. When things aren't working, we pull it close to home. Then years later, someone has the brilliant idea that more control needs to be given to the field and the great process of decentralization begins. Now...to give my company a little credit, they did offer us the opportunity to pursue one of the 100 positions being created in the corporate office. That sounds great, but raising two teenage girls who are about to go into their Sophomore and Senior years, relocation was not a viable option for me. Soooo....being a person who strongly believes that all things happen for a reason, I've had to literally put my money where my mouth is and take a leap of faith that the next chapter is waiting for me. I am paying my bills off for months ahead and work at patiently awaiting my next adventure.

There have been several emotional challeges throughout this whole "down sizing" experience. I live in a tiny town in North Central Arkansas and the job market here is....well....basically nonexistant for professional jobs. That will certainly not stop me from finding the next great gig, but I would be lying if I acted as if I don't get a bit stressed from time to time. The other aspect of the downsizing thing is that I LOVED MY JOB! The last six years of my professional life has been incredibily challenging. I was able to monopolize on my operations management experience to build a skill base in HR. I was allowed the opportunity to do leadership training and development (my favorite thing on the planet) and act as an advisor to managers and associates alike. It was a dream job and I will truly miss it! That said, I realized that there is no reason I cannot take all of my skills and talents and put them into a blog in the hopes of helping others with their issues.

Sooo...Along with my fascinating updates on life in the Haley household, I plan to share my leadership insights, discuss common workplace dilemma's and hopefully entertain questions from anyone out there who is looking for some unbiased advise. Because for those who know me...they will tell you that I always have an opinion and LOVE to share it.