October 2018 - Meet My Network: Kelly Marinelli

* Meet My Network is a monthly blog series where Alyce highlights outstanding individuals within her network to share their professional and personal accomplishments * 

If you had to guess how I met Kelly what would you say? Take a guess. I dare you! Are you ready to be UNsurprised? I met Kelly Marinelli through...yes you guessed it, networking! (A big shout out to Reagan Freedfor making the introduction!)

It only takes a quick gander through Kelly’s LinkedIn profile to realize the breadth of her experience and wide ranging real world professional experiences to recognize the inherent value she brings to any conversation. 

 

She earned her B.A. in English and went on to earn a J.D. of Law from the University of Colorado, Go Buffs!

Currently she is the Founder and CEO of Solve HR, Inc. a people strategy and human resources consulting firm with a strong emphasis on business results. 

Solve HR’s focus areas include: HR effectiveness and compliance audits, retained HR services, talent acquisition strategy, California compliance, complex legal and employment requirements, DOL/OFCCP/EEOC response, complex disability and absence consulting, succession planning and workforce analysis, training and development, succession planning and workforce analysis, and executive HR interim. (If you don’t quite understand all of those complex terms then here’s a 30 second video that scratches the surface of what Kelly and Solve HR can do for their clients. )

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Kelly is also the current President of BAHRA, Boulder Area Human Resource Association, and has built an incredible team and base of members that receive HR support and resources. Her network is diverse, rich in experiences and founded on the notion that we are all here to help one another succeed. 

One other place where others can learn from Kelly in both a personal and professional way is on her blog, which you can check out here!I especially like her post from June 1, 2018 entitled, Human Suffering is Everywhere - Including at Work. So is Empathy and Caring. Treat yourself and take the next 2-minutes to read it, it’s very powerful and has lots of great suggestions for anyone looking to meet the complex and holistic needs of their employees without losing focus on the actual work.

I could easily go on and on about all of Kelly’s accomplishments but I think you’ll enjoy hearing (aka reading) it straight from her. Enjoy learning more about Kelly! 

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1. Why do you do what you do? Aka how do your values align with your work on a day to day basis? 

I consult on people strategy because people are complex and their needs are as well. That doesn’t stop when they go to work! I care about helping organizations with developing transparency, integrity, flexibility and trust. The business results and lower turnover are a happy byproduct of high-performing teams and a leadership that people affirmatively choose to align with. As a consultant, I also get to choose who I do business with, and that fit is a critically important part of what I do.

2. Tell us a bit about your journey that has helped you get to where you're at today?

 I have always enjoyed challenges and change. Doing the same thing all the time doesn’t feed my passions, so I have zig-zagged through many different industries and roles over the past twenty-five years. I’ve been fortunate to find a spot where my areas of expertise converged. I love my work!

3. How has networking, both personally and professionally helped your business and/or career?

I had a breakthrough moment when I realized that networking is meeting and getting to know people, pure and simple. When I realized that, I began to enjoy it and embrace it. When I get to know people, it’s much more likely they will consider recommending people their own networks trust me with their most sensitive and challenging issues.

4. If you had to pick one networking tip, tool or strategy that's increased your confidence what would you say it is? (ie: utilizing body language, perfecting your elevator pitch, having a strong mental game, knowing the 'right people', following up etc.) 

The only way networking works for me is to be myself. I am naturally introverted so I often choose to “go deeper” with a few people at a big event, as opposed to trying to meet everyone. That makes me feel like I have had an authentic interaction and I come away from that with the joy of having gotten to know someone new, rather than just touching base briefly with many, many others.

5. What specific strategies or tactics do you utilize to maintain your various networks?

I celebrate. When you are in my network and I hear about something great that you are doing, I take genuine joy in your accomplishments. I share that with others, and I hope everyone can tell how happy it makes me to do that.

6. What challenges or obstacles have you faced along the way and how have you overcome them?

I mentioned above that I am naturally introverted, and it takes great energy for me to dive into networking. I don’t feel good about an interaction unless I can be myself, so I need to go beneath the surface level to really feel good about meeting new people. Once I realized that I could be in charge of how I structure interactions with others, and that there is no set of hidden “rules” around networking, I felt free to do it my way.

7. What are your 'secrets' to success?

Ha! The secret is that there are no secrets. To the extent that there is something that I believe is critical success, I’d say it is making mistakes, moving on, and learning from that. I like to be very open about taking risks, falling, getting back up and having a rich and imperfect life. When we never, ever stumble, I feel like we’ve missed opportunities and played it too safe.

8. Where can people find you online or in networking situations to meet you in person? 

You can find me on my website at solvehrinc.comand also at Boulder Area HR Association meetings. I am the outgoing board president but I will still be there next year!

9. Anything else you’d like people to know about you, your philosophy on networking or about business in general?

I have learned from many of the people in my network how to make networking enjoyable and work for me. Networking is an important skill, just like the other skills that you need to be successful in your career, so learn it, exercise it, and enjoy it!

Thank you Kelly for your sharing your wisdom with us!

To connect with Kelly directly click here!

 

Stay Connected, 

Alyce

#NetworkingWorks #inspired5280

 

Alyce Blum