We recently connected with Vanessa Patrick and have shared our conversation below.

Vanessa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents were a wonderful combination of strict discipline where it mattered and completely fun and easy-going in everything else. We lived in a gated community that often hosted big lavish weddings with thousands of people in attendance. I was about 10 years old and on one Saturday evening our groups of friends (aged between 7 years and 10 years) were playing at the base of our building when we smelled the most delicious food wafting from where a lavish wedding was held. We hatched a plan to dress up and go attend the wedding. We went to our respective homes and changed from play clothes to dress clothes and with our parents all watching us from the balconies of our homes we confidently gate-crashed the wedding. Food had never tasted more divine!
Knowing that our parents had our back on this “daring” childish scheme has given me the confidence to go on to do amazing things and go to unbelievable places as an adult.
I hope I am as cool a parent as my parents were!

Vanessa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Professor of Marketing and an Author of numerous research articles and a popular press book. I teach personal branding, so I have thought a great deal about Me as a Brand.

I think that my brand delivers the following impression “Where Passion meets Expertise”. My value comes from knowledge, insights and ideas about the topics I am an expert in and the ability to communicate that expertise with passion.

At my very core, I am a scholar and a teacher. I invest a great deal of time in developing unique insight about my core topics and am able to convert that knowledge into things my clients and students can readily remember, apply and use in their own lives and businesses.

I am a resource for people – as a teacher, a writer, a mentor, a trusted leadership advisor and a coach.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I like to build things and make something out of nothing. This is perhaps why I enjoy cooking. You take raw materials which on their own are uninteresting and tasteless and you build a dish through creativity and expertise that is delicious!

In my career I have often taken on projects that require creativity, expertise and resilience to be brought to life.

My most recent story is the design and development of our Doctorate in Business Administration degree.

It was 2016 and I recognised a trend in higher ed that was emerging and potentially important – a doctoral degree for senior executives. As the Director of Doctoral Programs at the time, I floated the idea to our leadership, but did not get the support at that time. I knew that this was a viable program because there are no degree programs for senior executives who are life-long learners and passionate about translating their experiences into knowledge.

A few years later, we had a change in leadership and I floated the idea again. This time, there was interest, but I would have to be the person who would lead, build support and handle all the documentation needed to establish a new program. With a small team of faculty, the germ of the program was born. It took 4 years of constant attention, care and nurturing to bring this program to life. It is now up and running (https://www.bauer.uh.edu/dba/) and dare I say successful!

It makes me proud and happy that my focus, vision and resilience has paid off!

Any advice for managing a team?

I have found that leadership of a team begins with self-discipline. Walking the talk, doing the work, leading by example and having an open door is key to maintaining high morale.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vanessapatrick.net/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessapatrick23/
• Other: University website: https://www.bauer.uh.edu/vpatrick/ Curated pages I host on LinkedIn on subjects that reflect my expertise: Women in Leadership: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12030428/ Inclusive Design: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12486715/ Marketing for All: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12486715/

Image Credits
Photo by Nikki Evans