Some news about me...

I hope the new year has been off to a good start for you. 2023 has already proven to be a year of changes and transitions (didn’t it feel like January lasted 8234 days?) and we’re only just at the start of the second month of the year.

I’m writing to share my own transition with you.?Starting next week, I’m going to be taking on a new full-time role as a VP of Communications at Johnson & Johnson. In this role, I’ll be looking after enterprise-wide employee communications and employee engagement, a new international team focused on communications, and I’ll be supporting both the Chief Human Resources Officer, as well as J&J leadership teams, with employee communications and engagement.

In taking on this role, it necessarily means I’m going to be taking a step back from my consulting and coaching work, which has been my life’s focus for the last five years.

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I’m really excited about this job. It’s a new role not only for me, but also for Johnson & Johnson. I am excited that J&J is investing in communication and the employee experience for all of their people in such a serious way.?

Johnson and & Johnson is a storied company whose products, therapeutics, and innovation have touched the lives of many millions globally over the last 130 years. It’s also by far the largest company I’ve worked at, with more than 140,000 employees globally.?I’m excited to lead and partner with a team of professionals doing great work already.

I’m also very excited to learn more about, and contribute to, a company doing cutting-edge research in medicine and science. Health care is something that’s personal to all of us. It’s also something close to me: my sister is a physician as are?two of my best friends,?and in a previous professional life, I spent a lot of time advocating for keeping and expanding the Affordable Care Act. I’ve often thought that in another life (and if I were better at math!) I’d want to become a scientist or a doctor myself.

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Taking on this role is also bittersweet. Like all things in life, there are multiple perspectives, two sides to a coin, double edges to a sword. Azure Leadership Group isn’t going away, but it’s going to be on pause for a little while and I won’t be taking on new consulting work.?Honestly Speaking is still available (and I’m always happy to talk about it!). I’m still so grateful for all of you who have supported the book and its lessons learned.

This work – with all of you – has not only been a great joy and probably the biggest professional challenge of my life, but also has been exactly what enabled me to be in a position to take on this new role. Building and leading my own company for the last five years has been a huge learning experience for me, and I’m so grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to support and work with so many great companies and many individual leaders during key moments.?It happened to coincide with a period when we’ve all witnessed a great new awakening with respect to the importance of leadership communication and employee activation across industries and across geographies.?

I can’t think of a more important or challenging time to be doing this work. I am grateful for the many connections I’ve made and opportunities I’ve had to help others lead and communicate with confidence, clarity, and authenticity.?I am also grateful for all I have learned from all my clients about how to lead, connect, and communicate in a world that seems to change significantly with every day.

(I’ll share some thoughts tomorrow on the lessons I’ve learned from building and running my own company.)

The Azure Leadership Group website will still be up and running, you can still email me anytime. And I am always happy to connect you with others of my colleagues if you are looking for a great coach or a stellar leadership communications partner.?And yes, I’ll still be teaching yoga and meditation. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if I can be helpful.?

At a time when so many are going through professional transitions of one sort or another, I am grateful to be in this one myself, and have been happy to help support so many who are going through changes of their own.

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With gratitude for all of your partnership and support, and with optimism for the future, even in these uncertain times, I’m wishing you all the best in 2023.?

My best,

Andrew