Alana McNary

▶0:00IntroWelcome to the Built by People Podcast, where we share the stories and insights of the world's top HR leaders. Join us as we dive deep into the minds of HR executives, uncovering their strategies, challenges, and triumphs in shaping today's workforce.

▶0:37HostI'm excited to welcome Alana to the Build by People podcast. Alana, thank you so much for joining us today. And as a starting question, I always love to ask if you could share a little bit more about your career journey.

▶0:47GuestOf course. So I have been in HR for a little over 16 years. I started off doing an internship in college, headed off to another HR role, and then after I graduated, I actually got called back to the company that I had my internship at. And I spent about 3 years there in aircraft manufacturing. Had a great time there, worked with a lot of great people, but knew I wanted a little bit more and wanted some more growth opportunity. So, I sought out another role within another manufacturing company, and I spent my next 10 years there. Had a lot of great opportunity and growth in that role. I went from an HR generalist, rolled into the manager role, and then became their first female director on their leadership team. So, A lot of great experience and background there. And then again, I felt like I needed more opportunities and more growth, so I sought out another role within an engineering company, which is where I'm currently at. Been the chief people officer at Professional Engineering Consultants now for going on about 2.5 years.

▶1:46HostBut I— you mentioned in our previous conversation about being an extreme introvert early in your HR career. Can you share more about the specific challenges you faced and why getting involved outside of your company became so important to your own professional growth?

▶2:03GuestAbsolutely. Going through high school and college, I was definitely an introvert. I didn't say yes to opportunities. I held myself back and I would experience fear and intimidation when it came to saying yes to things, even joining clubs, some sports activities. I would experience that social exhaustion and just— I don't even know how to describe it in some cases, you just felt like closed off and you didn't feel like you could be your true self in those aspects. And so, it was important to me as I grew into my career that looking at what my predecessors and the things they did prior to me coming into my roles and that social aspect of being involved in the community and on those boards,, and I wanted to be able to continue that. And I found through some of those pieces that it was sharing my skillset and my expertise that was valuable to those committees and those opportunities that were ahead of me.

▶3:08HostWhen the president of your company first asked you to join a board, what was going through your mind and what ultimately made you step out of your comfort zone to say yes?

▶3:18GuestI would say it was ultimately fear and intimidation, but when he asked me to step into that role, I kept asking myself, what can one person do? What can I do to make that difference and that change? I think at that time, as I was rolling into some of those roles, I was beginning to see the opportunity that I have and the impact that I could have in my own community. So some of those roles were joining a committee with the local school soon. I joined the chamber board, which allowed me to see what was going on in my community, what was coming to the community, what impact that board was having on sharing the opportunities that the community had, as well as the businesses and what they brought to the table. And I think I had to change my mindset. I had to change the, the way I looked at it and what I could bring to the table for them. And then in turn, the mutual benefits we had back and forth.

▶4:14HostAs you transition from joining your first board to eventually becoming president of multiple boards, what specific strategies or approaches helped you build meaningful connections with professionals outside the realm of HR?

▶4:29GuestI think my biggest thing that I had to teach myself was to speak up. I had to put my foot out there and just take the opportunity to say something, do something. It even started internally in my managerial and leadership roles. I need to learn to speak up, even if it's asking a question or affirming what somebody said or attending an event alongside another individual is just saying yes, is that first step. And I think the next step was ensuring that the organization that I was with at any given time was supportive of those organizations. The president of a company had asked me to be a part of one of those roles on a board, and I had to see the true value in what he saw in not just me being on the board, but the company being part of that board as well. So ensuring that those missions and the visions and the passions that the company had is also something that I had to ensure there was a full growth opportunity on both sides of. Once I had that opportunity and I was stepping into those roles, one thing that I had to do was ensure that I was making an opportunity for me to decompress, knowing that it took a lot of energy for me to step out of my comfort zone to step into these roles and say yes, it was ensuring that I had time for myself to decompress and learn how to step into that role again and again.

▶5:48HostAlana, how have these external connections and your community involvement tangibly benefited both your personal development and the companies you've worked with? Can you share a specific example where the relationships that have materialized from these activities made a measurable difference?

▶6:05GuestAbsolutely. So I'll start with professionally. One of the opportunities I found was I became part of a board. In the long run, the company I worked for at the time became the sponsor of the Christmas parade each year, the whole Christmas program that the community put on every year. We became the face and the name of that event every year, which in turn had my face and name out there as well, which led to additional opportunities for not only me to get involved in the community, but also the company to get involved in other ways, putting our name out there, providing opportunities to get involved as a company. So not just myself, but getting volunteers from our organization involved and growing that from there. Another, personally, I would say would be many opportunities that led to one to another. So once you join a board or an organization and you are committed, your name starts to get out there and you start getting phone calls and people are reaching out to you asking what your interests are and would you be interested in joining this board or that committee? Personally, one of the boards that I joined was a children's home board, and I'm still on it today. Currently hold the president role. I'm getting ready to pass that gavel off. But one of the things that came out of that was some deep relationships. And through another passion of mine and my family's, we foster dogs. We ended up fostering a dog that had the calmest demeanor. In turn, we were able to make him a therapy dog, and to this day, he goes to work almost every day to the children's home and the CAC, sitting with children, going through forensic interviews, and comforting those children in probably what is the hardest time of their life. And so, seeing how my connection to the community, my one role in this organization, is making a significant impact and how I can bring alongside others, i.e., my therapy dog or any other individuals within the organization, to grow that passion and share it with others, having them join the boards alongside me has been a wonderful opportunity. I would say, furthermore, one of the things I mentioned was the chamber boards and the school boards that I'm on. I think you step into those roles and you don't anticipate how in-depth they will take you on a personal level. Learning about the schools that your children are going into, the community, what they have to offer, definitely takes you out of your element and allows you to immerse yourself in the community, not just from an HR standpoint or a volunteer standpoint, but a personal standpoint as well. Building those connections with peers within the community that just trifold and multiply over time.

▶8:51HostAlana, what parting advice would you like to share with

▶8:55Guestour community? Say one small act of kindness makes a world of difference. Growth is always one step outside of our comfort zone. And like I said, it's making that one step, that one connection in order to say, I'm going to step out of this comfort zone and I'm going to reach out and speak up or say something or do this one activity that's going to get me involved. And that one can make a difference, not only your community or somebody else's life, but yours as well.

▶9:25HostLana, thank you so much for joining us today on the Built by People podcast.

▶9:28GuestOf course.