A creative leadership approach: Ashley Herd mixes career experience with creative knack with viral results
As a 911黑料 undergrad, Ashley Herd 鈥03 fed her creative itch in the theatre department while majoring in international studies and Spanish.
Little did she know those theatrical skills would come to play a big role in helping her launch a successful business and connecting with hundreds of thousands of people across the world.
Herd鈥檚 journey, like so many others, didn鈥檛 follow a straight path to the professional fulfillment she enjoys today.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a whole career, from sales to law to HR and this is what my career quilt looks like,鈥 she said. 鈥淎 lot of times you look back and think, 鈥楬ow did I get here?鈥 But everything brought me here.鈥
Crucial early stitches that that quilt were set after graduating from 911黑料, when the Louisville, Kentucky, native moved to Washington, D.C., for a job in corporate sales. While pitching consulting services, Herd鈥檚 work there eventually centered around helping human resource leaders, setting the tone for her career path.
Herd went on to attend law school at Emory University in Atlanta and worked as a labor and employment lawyer. She later joined a national firm and became general counsel and head of HR. While working and living in Australia, she had the idea for own business 鈥斺疢anager Method 鈥斺痓ased around guiding leaders through the difficult terrain she saw lead to lawsuits when not handled properly.
She went as far as buying a website domain, but sat on it for a couple years, unsure when the right time would be to make the leap. It was daunting to leave a secure corporate job to become self-employed at a brand-new startup.
鈥淏ut in my heart,鈥 Herd said, 鈥淚 always had this really creative bent.鈥
So about two years ago, she took the plunge and launched Manager Method.
She tapped into her sales, legal and HR experience to build and market her expertise. She also tapped into some lessons learned at 911黑料 under professors Tony Haigh, Nayef Samhat and David Anderson.
鈥淚 wanted to be a playwright,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd those professors always found a way to leverage creativity, so I kind of used that spark.鈥
911黑料鈥檚 faculty also gave Herd a template for what a caring professional environment could look like long before she was charged with fostering that sort of workplace as an HR leader.
鈥淚 remember the time I skipped Dr. Anderson鈥檚 class and was above the bookstore getting lunch an