Here We Go!

I am refreshed and ready to go! Like others, I took the holidays to get re-focused on priorities and so I come barreling into 2024 with a lot of bridled ambition and plans requiring my time and engagement. I had some good down time, but characteristically spent some time getting my mind straight on how I intend to show up professionally during this next revolution around our star. I’ve had the benefit of a great career and I work for one of the biggest technology vendors on the planet, so you would think my professional appetites are all accounted for; but as a human full of aspirations and hopes my professional plate overflows with opportunity; different ways to help others and contribute to positive outcomes. At this stage, I get to decide what this looks like, so, “Here we go!”

What should you expect to see from me on the 2024 landscape? A fair question I asked myself and so I thought I would take this iteration of The Leadership Student Newsletter to share my consolidated thoughts on this here:

• All Things Leadership: I am hyper-focused on the subject of leadership. I speak with people every week who are unclear on why their career has not achieved the aspirational heights of their imagination and it always comes back to the practice of leadership.?Like any other discipline it has to be continuously studied and practiced.The Leadership Student Podcast and Newsletter - This is where you will find me having active and relevant conversations and expressing my thoughts on the discipline of leadership. The podcast has gone better than anticipated after one year and I feel like the conversations are getting better each time. The newsletter is a reflection of my need to document thoughts through the written word. It's both cathartic and serves as a catalog of my growth on a variety of sub-topics in the leadership discipline. You will continue to find me tackling tough subjects here. Please share and comment on the different iterations of the podcast and newsletter, feedback is welcome.
• Consulting, Coaching & Speaking - late last year I hung up my shingle related to strategic consulting and leadership coaching through my enterprise, Apogee Global RMS. I have been advising, coaching and mentoring throughout the entirety of my career. People see the results and always want a piece of my time to hear about how I have achieved my successes. I love having conversations, but am very much focused on formalizing these strategy and coaching sessions and making them even more impactful for those who would like to engage. If you know of someone who could benefit from some guidance and coaching please send them my way.
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - DEI efforts are under attack here in the United States, it pains me to say. I am so surprised to see some companies pull back on their DEI commitments, leaving the stage as quickly as they entered and feeling no responsibility to explain their back tracking. The problem hasn’t gone anywhere and real leaders should be doubling down, not backing away, at this moment. Women and people of color are disproportionately underrepresented throughout industry at all levels. The world is increasingly growing into a global diverse population. I fully intend to continue using some of my energy to support others in their professional journeys.?The work I do with Cyversity helps me to focus some of my efforts in this space by simply helping people enter and thrive in the cybersecurity industry. My colleagues are ALWAYS asking how they can get involved? “How can I help?” Join Cyversity, be an ally, show up at events and offer to be supportive to someone trying to make their way in the technology space. It's simple, do something!
• Cybersecurity - Cyber has given me life professionally. From my first exposure to the industry while serving in the public sector to my ongoing experiences while working for some of the biggest providers in the industry. I feel strongly that this field is ripe for disruption and there's room for new, diverse and disruptive thoughts around how to solve the security challenge. I speak with security and technology leaders across a variety of business verticals. Most are still fighting a battle constructed in their minds in the past decade, while few are building for the future. I feel a personal responsibility to push technology leaders to think about what is around the corner. Lets future proof our technology assets by thinking forward; not backwards.

Sounds like a lot, right? I recently told a colleague that you have to create waypoints throughout your yearly planning process. My own professional waypoints include engagements across these three domains. I hope you will join me on this journey; I have high expectations of my network, so don't let me down. Don’t be surprised if I ask you to “show up.” Let’s lead, help our colleagues thrive and secure the world. I will see you on the landscape; Here we go!

MK Palmore is a strategic advisor, board member, leadership coach, veteran and advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion. Follow this newsletter and The Leadership Student Podcast to engage in the latest topics within the leadership discipline.