My New Chapter of Abundance, Joy, and Adventure

By?Serena H. Huang, Ph.D.

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<< Special Edition: Untold Stories >>

Right after I told our CHRO I was resigning, I texted 3 of my mentors to let them know before the news became public. They are C-level analytics leaders in F50 who I had worked with previously. Each of them told me about an open role on their team that would be perfect for me, and the job was mine if and when I wanted. There was a mix of emotions I felt: grateful, relieved, conflicted, and flattered. They were excited about how my external presence on LinkedIn could elevate their team in ways no one else had done before. After a few follow-up conversations about the roles, each at higher level and better compensation, I told them I did not want another full-time executive role at the moment, because I was interested in building something with impact that would go beyond any single company’s walls.

If this seems sudden and you are wondering why I made such an unusual choice, you are not alone. Everyone who has heard the news asked me why I left stability and big brand name behind. It took a serious health challenge last summer to completely re-evaluate my life. The short version of the story is my body started shutting down, I lost 20% of my body weight in two weeks, and I kept up the appearance of “everything was fine” to my colleagues until I couldn’t anymore. For weeks, I continued to join meetings while driving to and from numerous medical appointments. I even traveled to give a guest lecture at Wharton. When my doctor told me I needed to be hospitalized, I refused to believe them and sought two more alternative opinions. Their recommendations were the same. When I finally accepted the fact I was too ill to keep going, I told my colleagues I’d be back soon, even though my medical team said they didn’t know how long it’d take for me to get better. The day I was hospitalized, I told the doctor they had exactly 7 days to cure me because I was a very busy executive in tech and I couldn’t be away for more than a week. They looked at me with no smile on their face and said “I can’t tell you how long it’ll take but I can guarantee it’ll be more than one week.”

I am grateful that my incredible team and project manager ensured I did not have to worry about work for two and a half weeks, which felt like eternity at the time. While hospitalized, I had a lot of time to think and realized the way I was living my life was completely misaligned with my values. In my self-discovery and healing journey, I gained clarity on the purpose of my life and figured out the three things that brought me joy were speaking, content creation, and community building.

Data with Serena was born. ???

Fast forward to today, I had gone from doing one corporate job and spending my limited free time doing things I loved – speaking, creating, connecting – to now doing 5 jobs simultaneously that each leverages different parts of my skillsets and passions.

1.?Founder of Data With Serena. I provide keynote speaking, hands-on workshops in a corporate setting, and partner with data-focused brands as an influencer. I also coach data leaders who want to build a powerful brand on social media. You can check out my new website for booking options. ??

2.?Chief Data Officer of ABE.work. I am building a platform to match people with opportunities based on authenticity and candor. If you are interested in being part of our pilot program, please reach out and see how we can help your organization with internal talent mobility. I also co-lead workshops with Beth Elletson on talent transformation projects.

3.?LinkedIn Learning Instructor. I am creating a series of practical people analytics courses on topics you won’t get anywhere else, including how to implement a skills-first workforce strategy using data analytics, how to create an employee wellbeing program powered by data analytics, and how to stand up DEIB initiatives that move the needle on metrics. ?

4.?Chief Wellbeing Officer at BeWellWithSerena. Some of you already know I’ve been meditating since I was 7 years old and am a strong advocate for mindfulness. I am thrilled to offer a new service as a Certified Professional Coach, to both organizations that want to improve their employees’ wellbeing and productivity through wellness retreats and individuals who want to live a healthier life through individual coaching. ??

5.??Adjunct Professor in People analytics (To be announced). ?

I feel fortunate to have you in my community and appreciate your encouragement as I take this less-traveled road. Here are two topics you’ll see me speak and write more about going forward: mental health for executives and the importance of healthy relationships.

The highlight of last week was definitely People Analytics World 2023 in London. It was a dream come true in many ways. As I listened to the presentations and reflected on my own people analytics journey, I noticed one topic that deserved its own keynote: the career path of people analytics leaders. Several leaders of people analytics also recently left prominent F500 companies to build their own startups. This is not a coincidence. In my conversations with some of them, it’s clear that we had similar experiences in our corporate roles: the need to have various parts of us recognized and celebrated at work, being intellectually stimulated, and the autonomy to be innovative in analytics were ultimately better suited in a role as an entrepreneur.

These conversations are similar to what I’ve heard in the Chief Data Officer and Chief Analytics Officer communities. These experiences explain why CDOs have such short tenure on average. I’ll be sharing more from my conversations and observations in the near future. If you are CEO worrying about your CDO/CDAO leaving for greener grass, or a CHRO worrying about your Head of People Analytics pondering leaving after just hiring them, or if you are a Head of People Analytics about to rage-quit, book a conversation with me. I’ve helped people in your position and I’m on a mission to help more find a sustainable path forward.

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???Featured Startup This Month!??? Data Culture & Preql

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???Coming Up Next???:

?? My next keynote on skills will be back in the Midwest at the Skills-First Talent Development Conference in Milwaukee on May 18th. For a very limited quantity of 3 codes remaining, you can get?50% off?the event and 6-month premium membership to the ELE platform for exclusive content! Use the code "datawithserena" to register at?https://www.learningexecutive.com/

?? I am happy to share I was one of the top 50 speakers who received the invitation out of nearly 1,000 who wanted to speak at National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) convention in Minneapolis on May 24-27. If you haven’t heard of the convention, it is one of the largest conferences on mental health. My keynote is “Data-Informed Workplace Mental Health Strategy”, and I hope to see you there!

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Dr. Serena Huang?provides keynote speaking, corporate training, and influencer marketing services.?She is a thought leader and professional keynote speaker with 100+ speaking engagements in the past 3 years covering topics including people analytics, HR technology, future of work, ethical AI, employee experience, and mental health. Dr. Huang is currently the Founder and CEO of?Data With Serena?and the Chief Data Officer at?ABE.work. She brings deep analytics expertise and HR strategy experience spanning large multinationals including PayPal, GE, Kraft Heinz, Koch Industries, and Deloitte. She regularly guest-lectures at top MBA programs including Kellogg, Wharton, and Haas.

Dr. Huang is a LinkedIn Learning instructor of a popular course “The Data Science of Using People Analytics” and a LinkedIn influencer who graduated from the highly-selective LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program focused on Innovation and Technology. Her LinkedIn newsletter “From Data to Action” already has thousands of subscribers reaching senior data analytics and HR leaders across the globe. She partners with data analytics conferences and brands to promote data literacy.?

Featured in Profile Magazine as one of the Women in Tech Code Breakers, Dr. Huang is passionate about helping business leaders see data as an asset in large organizations and optimize talent decisions. Get to know her by checking out her recent interviews on?Data Ideas,?Conversations on Wellbeing at Work,?TAG Data Talk,?Profile Magazine,?Tech Talks,?and more.