Wow, the online HR community has been active lately with lists featuring influential people in the HR Community. Sites like HR Examiner’s Top 25 Digital HR Influencers and Monster’s Top 10 Employment Bloggers lists have set the blogging community afire with cheers, jeers and comments aplenty. Seems everyone loves to hate these lists. . .or is it they hate to love these lists?
I won’t pretend to know who’s influential in the digital HR world, but I can tell you who’s influential on The People Equation. I’m taking a page from Ben Eubanks of UpstartHR by trolling my WordPress stats for some interesting scoop about my blog readers; in particular, those who regularly comment on the site. These folks are consistent contributors to my blog and the larger social media world as well. They’ve influenced me to think bigger, give back, and keep going. Give them a look; maybe they’ll do the same for you.
So here they are, the awards for the 2009 People Equation Influencers:
Best Sense of Humor: Mike Krupa. I met Mike via Twitter and immediately took to his witty tweets. He’s a Technical Director for HR Systems of a large company and my go-to guy for finding out the latest and greatest in the tech world. Most of my conversations with Mike occur behind the private shroud of Twitter’s Direct Message feature, so you may not see his stealthy, wicked humor like I do. But when he does show up on The People Equation, his comments are smart, relevant, and yes, funny.
Biggest Thinker: Mike Henry. Mike formed the Lead Change group on Linked In earlier this year, and boy, has it taken flight. Last time I checked, there were over 500 members and growing. The group’s purpose is to support those wanting to promote character-driven leadership. Mike has attracted an amazingly diverse group of followers, all committed to leadership in some way. Mike also writes the blog The Lead Change Group, full of insightful posts about leadership.
Biggest Heart: Deirdre Honner. As an Associate Director of HR at a college, Dee is a great source of up-to-date HR information, which she shares openly and willingly. Case in point: this past fall, she hosted several gratis job-search workshops and she’s a volunteer with JobAngels. She also blogs at The HR Maven, sharing nuggets of wisdom and showcasing her no-nonsense style served up with a good dose of humor. Dee has been steadfast in her participation on the People Equation, providing supportive comments througout the blog’s young life.
Introverted Influencer: Lisa Rosendahl. Lisa was named on the Top 25 Influencers mentioned above, but you won’t hear it from her. A self-described “introvert”, she’s uncomfortable with accolades. She’s a practicing HR professional with tons of “in the trenches” experience. We collaborated on a companion blog post on mentoring, a project which was thoroughly enjoyable. Lisa’s also shared her time and talents on helping me get up to speed with the blogging process.
Most Encouraging: Thomas Waterhouse. Thomas’ Twitter handle is the very aptly named @Encouraging. As a practicing psychologist, his daily work is about encouragement. He models it very well by his kind, positive and specific comments posted on the blog.
Most Thoughtful: Jane Anderson. Jane was an early contributor to The People Equation, for which I’m very grateful. Jane’s a gifted writer, a talent she applies daily at her job as an Education Specialist for a financial services company. Her insightful, carefully crafted comments motivate me to keep writing.
The Enhancer: Susan Mazza. A leadership consultant and host of the Random Acts of Leadership blog, Susan can be counted on to offer additional insights to my blog posts. She has a unique talent for seeing the nuances of issues and bringing them to light. Her comments enhance the ideas posted on The People Equation. Susan has also become a sort of MasterMind Group of One for me too. She’s got a keen business mind and is always willing to help me “noodle” over an issue.
The Instigator: Barbara Giamanco. Barb is the founder of Talent Builders, a consultancy that helps organizations integrate social media into their sales processes. Barb is the one who started it all for me in early 2009. She coached me on the basics of social media and provided the very first comment on the blog in May of 2009, back when it was JenniferVMiller.com. Thanks, Barb!
To those mentioned above, thank you so much for sharing your insights, offering your suggestions and helping grow the People Equation. There are many others who have commented too, but I don’t want this awards ceremony to drag on to long 😉
As the year draws to a close, I thank everyone who has stopped by the People Equation. Whether you just browsed a bit, or stayed awhile to write a comment, I know the blog is better for your having been here.
Wishing you all the best for 2010!
What a great list, Jennifer. I know a few of these folks well, and completely agree with your descriptions. There are a few of these folks that I don’t know well at all, but thanks to your recommendation, I’ll be sure to try to get to know them better.
What an incredible surprise to receive the “2009 People Equation Influencers Award”! It’s certainly an honor to be in the company of the other powerful award winners here. As Principal of Simple E Creations, Inc., home of the Simple Encouragement® Brand, we believe that “hearts filled with courage can rise to any challenge”. 2010 will be a fabulous year of growth including extended corporate consultation, speaking, and a book launch furthering the cause of the Simple Encouragement® Movement. I have deep gratitude for you Jennifer (“The People Equation”) and the other folks here (including Becky) for supporting this exciting journey. Happy New Year!
Becky is absolutely right. This is an impressive and useful list. After reading your post today (Thanks to Becky’s tweet this morning), I have found so many more interesting blogs and people to follow. Mike Henry’s blog took me to Don Shapiro’s “Life is a Fork in the Road” work (a blog that will tempt us to post our own story).
So, Thank you. I will certainly be lookng fwd to your tweets in 2010.
Thanks for including me on your list, I am honored. You have been such a great connection for me this past year and from your list, I’ll be adding some new connections in 2010. You are such a kind, solid supporter and contributor. Hoping to meet you IRL in 2010!
Wow, what an honor Jennifer to both make your list and be included among these other fine people. Thank you. I know quite a few of these folks already and thanks to your post I just discovered a few more great people to follow and engage with in 2010.
My connection with you has been one my very best gifts of 2009 as I too took the plunge into blogging and twitter in 2009. I look forward to many more exchanges of ideas in the coming year and seeing where our continued masterminding will take us!
Thanks for including me on your list. What a great way to start a Monday. It’s been great sharing my knowledge with you this year. I sent you a DM this morning that make you laugh out loud (*blink, blink*) so I guess my wicked sense of humor is still intact.
Raj,
Thanks for stopping by The People Equation. I’m glad you were able to find some new people to connect with. These folks are the best!
Nicely done, Jennifer! You have come a long way. I’ve enjoyed watching you transform. Your blog is nicely written and is a great introduction to someone who is unsure about how a blog and social media can change your life. I look forward to more of your posts in 2010.
Jessica
@blogging4jobs
Jennifer, I am honored … and speechless. For a writer that has to be an oxymoron. Following your blog and musings has been a pleasure. Your topics are at once interesting, timely, and insightful. Rarely do we find articles that fuse fun and learning opportunities that turn 10 minutes of reading into something actionable. (I’m pretty sure that ‘actionable’ is as much a word as google is now a verb.) Keep writing your blog and acting out of your passion for guiding people to improved lives through diligent planning and learning new behaviors which ultimately enhance performance.
Thanks, Jennifer! I love my new title…I am the instigator:). As you already know, I’m passionate about helping people take the fear out of using social media for business. The world has changed and social media is here to stay. Smart businesses and business people have figured that out. As for the rest…well…learn it, live it or lose out.
Congrats to all of you!!!! @davedias
This is such a wonderful post! I feel so fortunate to know you IRL and be so close. The opportunities are endless. 🙂 Well neighbor, have a wonderful New Year and looking forward to fun projects in 2010.