Mistakes. I’ve Made a Few... #LifelongLearning

I love the connections I’ve made over the decades. If you know me, that probably doesn’t surprise you. The truth is, I’ve gathered a lifetime of connections—acquaintances, colleagues, mentees, mentors—each of whom contributes to my lifelong learning.

One of those connections is a colleague and friend more than 20 years my junior. Our paths crossed professionally during my years at the University of Virginia, where our partnership led to the development of popular staff orientation and management programs. We learned a lot from each other,  and I continue to admire her as she advances in her career.

I shared my last blog post, Embracing the Gray – Change, Leadership, and Owning Who I Am, with her, eager for feedback. She hadn’t realized I was writing a blog and took the time to read them all. Then she said something that stuck with me:

“I notice that generally, your posts are positive and focus on the improvements and wins. I wonder what it would look like to do a post on the challenges—what didn’t work or go over well?”

Nice timing, my friend.

Let me be blunt: I’d been crashing and burning when I walked into our October 2024 Summit. I had one question on my mind: How do I get out of this? I had been running myself ragged all year, and remained exhausted—emotionally, mentally, and physically.  I didn’t want to abandon what we’d built, and I believed I was on the right path, but I couldn’t do it alone anymore. 

During that time together, I finally broached the topic to the leaders, and they listened. There, we regrouped as a Steering Committee (vs. Leadership), and I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders. For the first time, I no longer had to make decisions in a vacuum.

Cue the next pivotal decision: we needed an Operations Director. My body, heart, and mind were in complete agreement—it was time to share the load. And the team emphatically agreed.

I had a renewed sense of clarity by our winter Summit in January. I told the team I was ready—truly ready—to be their President and CEO. Since stepping into this role in 2023, I have held the title but have also been neck-deep in daily operations. That wasn’t what I signed on for, but I don’t regret it.

I couldn't have fully understood the business without being immersed in the day-to-day. In 2024 alone, I attended stand-up meetings (three times a day with one client), cross-team calls, 1:1s with each staff member, budget planning sessions, project management huddles, client check-ins, summit planning sessions… and that was just January. If you flip through my At-A-Glance planner (yes, I still use one; another one of my connections introduced me to that tool in 1993), every week was jam-packed.

So, where was my mistake? It was in bullheaded belief that I alone could direct and manage a company in an industry where I had no background. It was in the drive to work harder than everyone else to prove I belonged. It was in pushing a team that had grown under different leadership to believe things could be not just different, but better.

As of March, the pressure valve is turning in the correct direction. After poring over 200+ applications, we’ve welcomed ScribeConcepts’s first Chief Operating Officer, Jared Taylor. You’ll get to know Jared in the coming months through social media, my blog, his own insights, and more, as we step into what we’re calling ScribeConcepts 3.0.

Jared brings an extraordinary mix of experience, perspective, and skill that I could never replicate. Yet from day one, he and I have found common ground in our vision and our hopes for what this company can become. I’m no longer crashing and burning. I’m energized. I’m hopeful. I’m focused on what’s next—for our team, our clients, our consultants, and the future of educational publishing.

Thank you,  Rachel. It was a great idea to write about the hard stuff. And I tried. I really did. But you know me — I’m a lifelong learner.