Time to transition

This week marks the end of the leadership class at University of Richmond and I look forward to the next class: Recruitment and Retention. My heartfelt thanks go to Dr. Bob Kelley who has truly been an inspiration for me, not only in this class, but also in Strategic Human Resource Management which I took with him in the summer of 2005. There are many qualities when determining a leader, but I believe that one extremely important facet of believing in a leader is to have a connection. Dr. Kelley is one of those rare individuals who makes everyone in his class feel that connection.
The leadership class is the reason behind this blog, and I am convinced my blog will continue as I continue on my academic quest to complete my Masters in Human Resource Management.
It will be very interesting to relate the Recruitment and Retention class to the leadership class and I am hoping to learn some creative methods of both, and am curious to know how today's current economic crisis may alter the course. I want to learn how to differentiate between the generations when it comes to both recruiting and retention, and be able to take ideas back to my management. However, I learned last week that the Executive Director of Human Resources at my location is moving up the corporate ladder with a transfer to South America and our department will transition to either an internal or external candidate. Our current Executive Director has achieved much during her tenure, especially in the area of raising the visibility of HR and the importance of having a seat at the table so each of us who remain are hoping for an equally as dynamic individual to replace her. At my company, we are fortunate to have women at high levels within the organization, and not just in HR. The transition will be completed by March of 2009 and I should have news of the replacement sometime before then. Who knows? Perhaps it will be some I know!