Meet Lindaann Rogers, Sphr, Shrbp, Cbc | Human Resource, Leadership & Business Strategy Consultant/Executive Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lindaann Rogers, Sphr, Shrbp, Cbc and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi LindaAnn, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
Early in my career, I realized that finding the courage to speak up was essential, especially in situations where something was done poorly or went against my sense of integrity. It was a pivotal moment when I understood that if no one speaks out, nothing changes and at that point I would be part of the problem. Finding the courage to improve a situation or to uphold my integrity has been key in my professional growth.

This decision wasn’t always easy. Speaking up often came with its own set of challenges and risks, and not every consequence was pleasant. But despite the occasional backlash, I never regretted choosing courage. Each instance provided me the opportunity to practice being courageous and strengthened my skill and reinforced my belief in the power of taking a stand. It taught me that courage isn’t just a one-time act; it’s a practice—a muscle that needs regular exercise to develop.

Courage is often underestimated as an effective leadership skill. But in my opinion, it’s one of the most critical and valuable of leadership skills.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others,

I have had 5 career paths, but I was only educated for one. That is a testament to being a life-long learner and having the mindset of – I can figure this out AND do it well.

How this really sets me apart is that the experience I bring to the table when working with a company spans all the different aspects of running a business (Education & Training, Marketing & Sales, Benefits &Administration, Finance, Human Resources) and I can take a wholistic approach to the consulting process.

Education & Training
I have a degree in Health Education started my career as a 7th Grade Health and Science teacher. I loved the kids, and they taught me at least as much as I taught them. I knew however, that I never wanted to retire from teaching, so after several years, I looked into getting a job as a pharmaceutical rep but without sales experience, that wasn’t going to happen.

Marketing & Sales
I decided to find a way to get that experience. I took a job with an insurance company as a commission-only sales rep. I had to find my own leads and spent all day doing cold calls. I spent any free time I had reading and studying books on how to be a successful salesperson. I learned a lot but the money to make a living wasn’t there. I wanted to get back into the health field and at the time, corporate wellness programs were becoming popular. I became a Marketing and Sales Rep for the Corporate Wellness Programs at a major hospital in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. After a few years, I was promoted to Director of Corporate Marketing for the organization. Eventually, the advent of managed care resulted in some downsizing and I moved on to other opportunities.

Benefits & Administration
I was the Assistant Executive Director of a Ski Tour Operator and COO at a Benefits Consulting Firm. Learned a lot about structuring health benefit plans and how to transform an organization’s way of doing business so it can grow in an industry.

Helping entrepreneurs who have technical expertise understand the bigger picture and how they can and need to get out of their own way to move forward is key.

Finance
When my family moved from the east coast to Colorado, my daughter started school and I worked part-time at what I called ”Mom jobs”. They were jobs that provided the flexibility to allow me to be the Girls Scout Leader, the softball coach, the house where kids wanted to come play and have sleepovers, etc. They were bookkeeping and accounting positions and through using the help features in the software, researching best practices and GAAP standards, I learned the ins and outs of bookkeeping and accounting. This coupled with the experience of running a department that was expected to meet revenue goals for 5 service lines earlier in my career, I have a solid understanding of the finance aspects of running a business.

Human Resources & Administration
When my daughter went to high school, I took a part-time position a Human Resources Administrator and over time that developed into a full-time position as Director of Human Resources. Again, I was in a situation where I needed to learn the details, legal aspects and best practices for the role. I eventually went on to obtain my Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification.

COVID changed the world in many ways for all of us and for me, it allowed me to reflect on next steps. I decided I wanted to step out on my own to address the challenges I had observed throughout my career. The advantage I have is, as I mentioned earlier, that I understand and have experience in all aspects of running a business. I know how making a change in one area can impact one or all the others.

What you are most proud of or excited about.

I absolutely love what I do and I know that it has a positive impact on people’s lives. Even a small impact on a person sends a ripple effect into the world. So, when I work with and help individuals navigate the business, strategic, leadership and HR parts of running their business, the transformation is amazing and the impact on both the business and each employee is significant.

Watching people develop into effective leaders is extremely rewarding because effective leadership has a generational impact. The skill set that I leave them with will be the how they model leadership for the people they lead and as those employees advance, it will be the model they use for effective leadership, and the impact multiplies.

How did you get to where you are today professionally.
My natural curiosity has been instrumental in my career progress and success. My willingness to acknowledge that I don’t know something, being open to learning it and finding the resources to help me learn, has been a gift. In many conversations that I have, when there is something that is said I that I don’t know about or understand. I immediately respond by saying, “I don’t know what that is.” and they kindly take the time to explain and help me understand.

Another piece is learning that it is ok to ask for help. People actually love to help you when you ask for it.

Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges?
Easy is definitely a subjective perspective. I have often joked that if someone gave me a job description that that outlined the duties of the role I was filling, I wouldn’t know how to act. I usually either created the scope of responsibilities or elevated them. The challenges didn’t seem hard because it was just the way I approached an opportunity.

What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way.
Courage is key and you are in control of your career.

On courage – It is critical to learn what it takes for you to act in courage and practice it. Courage is like a muscle, you need to practice to make the action easier.

I learned very early in my career that I had responsibility to help make situations better. Without taking the initiative to improve a situation, things don’t change or improve and if I just go along with the situation, then I am a contributor to the problem. Taking this initiative requires courage.

Make no mistake, the result of acting in courage does not always have an ideal outcome and that needs to be understood before action is taken.

On control of your career – When coaching employees, I often let them know that they are responsible for their own success. Nobody can “do” success to you. It is your responsibility to make it happen. There are many ways to make it happen and the first step is to clearly define what success looks like for you.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

Regardless of your level of education or what you have been educated for, if you have a clear understanding of where you want to go or what you want to achieve, there is a path forward for you if you can clearly communicate it to others and are willing to put the work into gaining the skills.

The basic premise for Aspire to Align to work with an organization is that employees are the most important element of a successful business. Subsequently, those employees need to have a complete understanding of where the business wants to go and how it wants to get there so that they can understand how they can contribute to the organization’s success while developing professionally.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The itinerary changes a bit depending on the season and whether or not they enjoy snow sports or are in shape enough to take on a mountain hike.

I am blessed to live in Evergreen, Colorado which itself is a destination for some people. People who come to town often just want to hang our on my deck which has a lovely view and a regular rotation of wildlife.

One day is usually spent here in Evergreen, we walk around the lake, walk through the shops in town and have an amazing meal on the deck that overlooks Bear Creek at Creekside Cellars. They have wonderful wine, fabulous food and the charcuterie board is a must. We head back to my house to sit out on the deck and maybe grill dinner.

If it is a warm weather visit, planning the trip around tickets at Red Rocks is usually a priority for a day.

Another day is usually planned for the mountains and where we go is influenced by the season and whether or not they ski or board. If it is summer, taking them up to Vail or Beaver Creek for whatever music festival or other festival is going on there or if they like Blues or Jazz, we can head to Winter Park for one of their many festivals.

We might head to downtown Denver on another day to get brunch at Snooze and stop by Voodoo Doughnuts to take some home. OR we might head down to Tupelo Honey for either brunch, happy hour or dinner.

There is always an opportunity to head to a Rockies or Broncos game, depending on the interests of my visitor.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Thank you to my Dad, who taught me to always pose the question, What am I learning from this situation? It has helped me through the most challenging of times by allowing me to turn my perception of any situation into a positive opportunity. I use this mindset almost everyday in both my personal and professional life.

Website: https://aspiretoalign.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindaann-rogers-sphr-shrbp/