This sponsored content appeared in the Winter 2018 issue of B2B.
Pam Alfrey Hernandez first came up with “The Right Reflection” as she was finishing her Master of Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2014; it originally served as the title of her capstone thesis.
“I was really fascinated with the idea that we cannot see ourselves directly. We can only see ourselves through reflection, whether it’s a mirror, the eyes of our children, our parents, our work. So what happens if that reflection is distorted?” she explains.
Hernandez now revisits that concept through her leadership training, coaching and executive seminars and conferences. In 2015, she founded The Right Reflection, a national, Omaha-based consulting firm that facilitates transformation for individuals, teams, and organizations by creating true change rather than simply re-engineering what already exists.
“I think the basis of all our issues is that we’re not seeing things clearly,” she says. “My tagline is ‘See Clearly—Act Boldly—Live Fully.’ So I try to help individuals and organizations see clearly, and that allows them to act boldly and live fully…I help both businesses and individuals improve their leadership.”
Hernandez certainly knows a thing or two about leadership. She created The Right Reflection after a remarkable and groundbreaking 30-year career at Woodmen Life, where she ultimately rose to the rank of chief operating officer and became the first female executive team member of the 125-year-old firm. She is a community leader who’s been active with Nebraska Humane Society, Women’s Center for Advancement, Tri-Faith Initiative, Omaha Network, Omaha Business Ethics Alliance, Girl Scouts Art Venture, and Go Red for Women, among others. Her education includes two master’s degrees, and Hernandez also has earned multiple certifications and accreditations that ensure she is well-versed in the latest leadership principles and promotes nothing but the best practices through The Right Reflection.
“I bring a whole lot of practical experience,” she says of her unique combination of skills, accomplishments, expertise, and knowledge. “Everything I do is research-based. I layer leadership development on adult stages of development that have been researched by psychologists for years.”
Hernandez’s exceptional abilities as a mentor, trainer, and coach also reflect on her first career.
“I was once a high school English teacher,” she explains. “I love teaching and I love developing curriculum.”
Leadership is more than being responsible for a team of associates, despite the traditional definitions, Hernandez says, and becoming a better leader cannot be accomplished by merely reading a book or declaring a workplace culture change. One of her favorite sayings is “Leadership is as much about who you are as what you do.” Hernandez says she’s not afraid to tell decision- makers that leadership development is no quick fix.
“The only place that makes sense for an organization to invest their dollars if they really want improvement is to invest in developing their leaders to higher levels of consciousness,” she says. “Leadership is not a coat of skills you put on, it’s a way of being. Leadership is creating outcomes that matter.”
402.871.8424r therightreflection.comrpam@therightreflection.com