Dear Angela,

Your sister-in-law, Norma shared a post about a letter written to her younger self at the end of 2021 – which gave me this idea to write to you at the end of each year.

First, I want to mention that you f****** did it! You made the jump to full time entrepreneurship. Your dreams of scaling human-centered workplaces that create social impact is just beginning, and it’s picking up steam. I know you were nervous about moving from internal employee and consultant to external consultant and social entrepreneur, but girl, let me tell you – you’re doing it! Back in 2021, you had so many ideas on HOW to build and scale your business, but you’re clear-headed now. Your vision just continues to get clearer over time, and it’s beautiful.

You learned valuable lessons in 2022 to get you here. You made mistakes, and you learned from them. All the knowledge, direction and guidance were in you all along. It just took some honing, reflection and help from others to get you there. As a matter of fact, you now have a full and diverse team of partners and people behind you that are majority women and BI-POC owned. They have all joined you on your journey, and you’ve joined them on theirs.

Here’s what you accomplished in 2022 – let’s celebrate!

Humanly Possible: Future of Work Conversations has TRIPLED in unique listeners since you launched it in 2020. It also made a few “top” podcasts lists which have helped with getting your message out. Those 5-star ratings and reviews didn’t hurt either, so keep them coming! You also joined a lot of other well-aligned podcasts and grew your impressive featured list.
You have aligned your speaking circuit to your upcoming book (yes, you did that too and made the best-sellers list!) and had the opportunity to speak all over the world in person and virtually - including Ted! Mark that off the bucket list!
You’ve centered around ONE key offering for helping organization’s identify, map and activate culture change and social impact. You have a unique methodology; it’s been battle tested, it works AND it’s ready for scale!
You kicked off your community and collective of others looking to scale change in the workplace. I won’t say too much here because I know this is brewing. But all you need to know is that you now have 50 people thriving in this community and it’s growing rapidly. You’ve created opportunity, you’ve sparked entrepreneurship and innovation and you’re moving along your vision for scaling human-centered workplaces that create social impact.
Lastly, you just finished up your teaching come-back at your alma mater, Elmhurst University! Since you won the Distinguished Graduate Alumna Award back in 2021, you’ve re-connected with your roots, and have poured into the Industrial/Organizational Psychology graduate program at Elmhurst University. Seeing the upcoming generation of change makers gives you all the energy and inspiration you need on your journey.

Let’s not forget about all the things that continue to feed your soul and make you whole:

You are traveling, A LOT. Your adventures with your husband and loved ones continue, and you find a way to safely navigate the new realities of COVID. You continue to explore the world. You take lots of trips to get your writing done, you explore new places, you go to destinations to do nothing but eat the cuisine and see new things.
You will experience countless life events with the people who mean the most to you. Marriages, new ventures, published books, new houses, birthdays, lost friendships, new friendships, flourishing families, and deaths. The good, the uneventful, the devastating – it comes in waves, but you take the time to experience every moment fully.
You say “respectfully, no thank you” A LOT. You stopped doubting yourself, you’ve set healthy boundaries, you’ve said no to bad habits, you’re firm on your value. Aligning to what matters has empowered you to live in a space of purpose. This has been the most valuable form of self-care, and it has opened doors – not closed them.

Bottom line - you’re shining, you’re thriving and I’m SO proud of you. See you in 2024!

LOVE <3,

ANGELA

About the Author:

Angela R. Howard is an organizational psychologist, culture strategist and social entrepreneur working to build human-centric workplaces, better leaders and thriving communities along-side growth minded leaders.