Bernard Hampton

And so imagine missing three or four months of high school. That's what it took for the family to be able to survive and what that would mean. But then to go on and talk about a lineage that goes back into slavery and what I consider a point of privilege for my family, quite honestly, is at some point, my great, great, great grandfather's

And so imagine missing three or four months of high school. That's what it took for the family to be able to survive and what that would mean. But then to go on and talk about a lineage that goes back into slavery and what I consider a point of privilege for my family, quite honestly, is at some point, my great, great, great grandfather's

And his brother, their families were sharecroppers at post-slavery and came to own 21 acres of the land that they sharecropped as a family and passed down through the generations. Well, my family owns some of that land today. We grew up on some of that land. And that's where my father built the home that my mother lives in to this day. And you start to think about ownership.

And his brother, their families were sharecroppers at post-slavery and came to own 21 acres of the land that they sharecropped as a family and passed down through the generations. Well, my family owns some of that land today. We grew up on some of that land. And that's where my father built the home that my mother lives in to this day. And you start to think about ownership.

What does that mean to be able to have an asset that was part of the story for how they were able to send my sister to college as the first person in our family to go to college? And it spins from there, critical decisions that somebody made along the way. How do you respond to what happens to you in life?

What does that mean to be able to have an asset that was part of the story for how they were able to send my sister to college as the first person in our family to go to college? And it spins from there, critical decisions that somebody made along the way. How do you respond to what happens to you in life?

And that's part of a story that I'm proud of, that I certainly think that I have grown from, not in spite of, but because of that story.

And that's part of a story that I'm proud of, that I certainly think that I have grown from, not in spite of, but because of that story.

I would tell you initially upon making this move, that wasn't the case. It certainly has been an asset to me professionally throughout my career. All the tenants of talent management, of good human resource discipline, engagement of people, But I considered it in a way to say, you know what, that's something I may want to do at the end of my career.

I would tell you initially upon making this move, that wasn't the case. It certainly has been an asset to me professionally throughout my career. All the tenants of talent management, of good human resource discipline, engagement of people, But I considered it in a way to say, you know what, that's something I may want to do at the end of my career.

Today, that is such an integral part of how do you build successful teams, deep and broad benches of succession plans, redundancy in organizations, expand organizational capacity. And so I thought about it in terms of businesses that I run. So up until this point, I've always run a revenue generating business.

Today, that is such an integral part of how do you build successful teams, deep and broad benches of succession plans, redundancy in organizations, expand organizational capacity. And so I thought about it in terms of businesses that I run. So up until this point, I've always run a revenue generating business.

And out of some very good advice from a leader and a sponsor and a mentor, I began to document not roles that I would want to do in the future, but what was the what. specifically in planning my career, what did I want to continue to be able to learn? What were different ways I wanted to continue to be able to contribute to the success of the organization? I wanted to continue to be challenged.

And out of some very good advice from a leader and a sponsor and a mentor, I began to document not roles that I would want to do in the future, but what was the what. specifically in planning my career, what did I want to continue to be able to learn? What were different ways I wanted to continue to be able to contribute to the success of the organization? I wanted to continue to be challenged.

I wanted to broaden in my role. And then what were specific aspects of leadership and business that I enjoy? And so that was the list. And by the way, there was also a short list of, here's some things that I'm least likely to get fired up in the morning to go do. And I think both of those were important, but what they enabled me

I wanted to broaden in my role. And then what were specific aspects of leadership and business that I enjoy? And so that was the list. And by the way, there was also a short list of, here's some things that I'm least likely to get fired up in the morning to go do. And I think both of those were important, but what they enabled me

sponsors and advocates to be able to do was help me think about fits for what ultimately would be the next phase of my career. And so it wasn't until, by the way, like a lot of people, one of my biggest failures I think at the time is when you begin to think about jobs, Jobs change, morph over time, may or may not become available.

sponsors and advocates to be able to do was help me think about fits for what ultimately would be the next phase of my career. And so it wasn't until, by the way, like a lot of people, one of my biggest failures I think at the time is when you begin to think about jobs, Jobs change, morph over time, may or may not become available.

But it became a very different exercise to say, how would I relish the opportunity to spend my time? What would fill my tank, so to speak, when it comes to my purpose, what was important? And that's what ultimately took on the complexion of this role to be able to head the academy, which wasn't on my radar. It's something I thought about at some point in the past, but it wasn't on my radar until

But it became a very different exercise to say, how would I relish the opportunity to spend my time? What would fill my tank, so to speak, when it comes to my purpose, what was important? And that's what ultimately took on the complexion of this role to be able to head the academy, which wasn't on my radar. It's something I thought about at some point in the past, but it wasn't on my radar until