525,600 Minutes - How Do You Measure a Year?

Today marks my one year anniversary at LinkedIn. Happy anniversary to LinkedIn and I, one year looks good on you

😊

Now, when I started to think about what I would choose to focus in celebration of my "One Year Anniversary" that made this past year so amazing, I quite frankly, couldn’t narrow it down to any singular event. So instead, I present to you “The 12 Moments of LinkedIn a la Linda King,” by each month that made this year, one truly for the books.

On the first month of this year, my LinkedIn gave to me...

1.January – Chicago new hire training in the middle of winter! Not only did I get to meet a great group of new hires from other offices, but I finally got to see Second City (and wear a down coat indoors) Shout-out to being cold together and learning about @Tanner Trosper former life in the limelight. Also, there to hear all about this - @Alex Roda, @Gordon Tobin, @Anita Pai, @Dave Martinez, @Bomani Mintz, & @Kaily Miller.

2. February – Friendship Day with my team, aka Valentine’s Day! Although, I didn’t get to formally attend, because I came down with my 2nd out of three rounds of food poisoning of the year, I did get to help facilitate the creation of “All Spice.” #vivaforever

All of my awesome team (former and current): @Rebecca Ross, @Kathryn Hogarth, @Swapna Kodali-Ranade, @Bomani Mintz, @Kaily Miller, @Shawn Uberoi, @Meghan Wersel, @Veronica Murillo, @Ola Bailey, @Christina Ostlund, @Nicole Prairie, @Carla Charles, @Kristen Kemerer, @Ernesto Garza

3. March – My first big public speaking engagement with my customer, Cogeco Peer 1, during their AMER Half Yearly SKO. It was wonderful to visit San Antonio with my Relationship Manager, Kelley Larsen, for the first time and experience the River Walk (it was also 70 + degrees!). I truly enjoyed getting to speak with the different sales team members and learning about their careers and any challenges they may have had with modern selling, and collaborating with them on how to navigate the changing landscape.

4. April – I became the SF Women at LinkedIn Office Lead and started a whirlwind journey where I would get to meet amazing, strong, authentic women. That month, I even got to eat lunch with Sallie Krawcheck (it was Taco Tuesday) prior to her fireside chat on being a woman in the workforce, and her recent book Own It: The Power of Women at Work. Major props to Roxane Bal and Kelsey Garvey on not only executing an event of this size, but making such a major impact within the community.

A heartfelt thank you to both Kelsey Garvey and Kal Tanzin for bringing me into the most epic mix of women and allies.

5. May – My first month not juggling both Yoga Teacher Training and ramping in role (I became a 200 hour RYS end of April)! This month was purely dedicated to all the goodness that is Sales Solutions and becoming a true product expert with our recent Sales Navigator product updates.

6. June – I moderated a Women at LinkedIn panel on Wellness and how to incorporate this into your every day life. What a great experience hearing different perspectives and approaches from Shannon Arens, Scott Roberts, and Akansha Agrawal.

7. July – I was given the opportunity to collaborate with other ERG members (props to Mona Hassan, Steven Mooradian, Alex Tickner, Rebecca Roberts, Cory Welsh, and Doug Winnie) to plan and execute Culture InDay. I represented Women at LinkedIn during the idea jam (which was timed too, no pressure) and met one of my favorites at our donation based, non-profit partnered, OneProsper, Yoga for Good event that day (yay yoga buddy @Viriginia Seabring Watts).

8. August – My team surprised me on my birthday by falsely telling me my Manager needed me in a meeting, and staged shuffle from the kitchen, to said conference room, singing “Happy Birthday” paired with my favorite (sparkling rose of course)! We also got to celebrate the ever lovely, Christina Ostlund. Here's looking at you Veronica Murillo on the awkward birthday escort.

9. September – Women at LinkedIn partnered with Out at In to provide two Illuminating Gender Training sessions with Ariel Vegosen. Thank you @Binya for helping drive awareness and making a topic and discussion on gender something much more approachable, that sometimes otherwise can seem daunting given the rapid changes and fluidity in this field.

10. October – Women at LinkedIn hosted a fireside chat with One Love, CEO, Katie Hood, moderated by VP, Brand Marketing and Corporate Communications, Melissa Selcher, on healthy relationships. The discussion was so eye opening that I left feeling more responsible and empowered than ever, armed with a toolkit, on how to help my friends and family when I see warning signs of unhealthy relationships. To learn more, please check out the #thatsnotlove campaign HERE.

11. November – I had the opportunity to partner with my Mo’ Brothers, Jake Turrin and Chris Tamasi, for Movember, as part of Women at LinkedIn (and become a Mo' Sista) and teach a benefit yoga class in our large event space. It was so beautiful to see a community come together to rally in support of a cause that impacts so many.

12. December – Yesterday, I listened to the ever amazing Rosanna Durruthy, Head of Global Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging AND the dynamite Amy Borsetti, Head of Sales Effectiveness, speak about their personal and professional journies on how they live and embody diversity, inclusion, and belonging (DIBs). A favorite quote of mine from the fireside chat was from Rosanna in which she explained that, “Diversity, inclusion, and belonging is a living experience.” I 100% can attest to the fact that it truly is a breathing, living, magical experience, that I hope YOU feel empowered to dive headfirst into…imagine crystal blue, warm Mediterranean waters (@Larisa Hawkins, @Ryan Hawkins, @Luke King #honeymoonbluewaters).

Won’t you join me in fully embracing this beautiful thing called the human experience?

As always, I am humbled, grateful, and overjoyed to share with you what I’ve been up to for the past year with my dear LinkedIn. Can’t wait to see what year two of our courtship will look like!