Hello

I’ve been in and around HR functions for over 20 years and in that time have seen the complexity and demands only continue to increase while in parallel, especially in recent years, the wellbeing of people who support people in organizations decline. These are tough jobs, and these are incredibly important jobs.  
 
People in HR tend to care about the employees beyond their productivity at work. That’s not a weakness, that’s a beautiful human trait, but one that can lead to burnout or overwhelm or chronic stress, particularly when put in the context of the external geopolitical, financial and social factors we are all experiencing.  
 
My own experience with mindfulness started in 2017. I had a rock-bottom moment trying to do it all -- growing an executive search business, being a present mom for three young active children, and trying to live up to unachievable standards as a wife, daughter, sister and friend. It wasn’t pretty but I wouldn’t change it. In a low-moment while scrolling to numb my pain, I saw that a friend posted about a vision board session being held locally with one spot remaining. I felt a big yes and signed up. The person who led the vision boarding became my coach. She helped me to work on my mindset. To interrupt unproductive thinking patterns. She called me out on my blind spots in supportive ways. She questioned my default thinking. She also gave me permission to be tender with myself. To have a morning practice of sitting with my warm tea in a beautiful mug and a cozy blanket, just writing everything I desired as a way to get back in touch with my own voice that had been drowned out by so much external noise.  It wasn’t about adding more doing into my morning, it was about adding space and quiet and reflection. The desire lists turned into gratitude lists and ultimately into insights and visions about the future I wanted to create.  
 
I was fortunate to meet an incredible mindful movement practitioner, Amy Lee Flower, in 2018 and as I layered in embodied practices of physical release, not just mental release, and did some deeper dives in retreats, everything seemed to start clicking.  She has helped me to unblock and unlock to gain new levels of self-trust, inner calm and creativity. You know when you experience something so great you want to tell everyone? Well that’s this.

I wish this opportunity for everyone.
 
In 2020, as the pandemic raged, I felt a bit helpless on the sidelines as my network of people who support people in organizations on the “front lines” were being challenged and tested at work and at home. The seeds of TENDhr were planted then. By the summer of 2023 I started to pull together trusted advisors to play out some ideas. In the fall of 2023, Dana Asher Bilsky and I hosted a one-day retreat for 11 CHROs who said yes to a day to focus on themselves. It was an incredible day where we shared, in a safe space, about the challenges of being an HR leader in these times, we explored some breathwork practices and journaling, we looked at the many roles and identities we hold and what it means to be know your core self, and we explored energy and how to manage the inflows and outflows.  It was a special day and the foundation for what is now TENDhr. 
 
Authenticity is my guiding core value. I truly believe in the power of these small practices to have an out-sized impact. Call me a dreamer, but my vision is that TENDhr helps people who support people in organizations to build capacity for more creativity and compassion, to get back that spark, and to lead the way in creating the workplaces that are financially successful, supportive to employee wellbeing, and a win for stakeholders – customers, suppliers, communities, and the natural world.  
 
Thank you for being here. Truly. This is just the beginning.  
 
TENDhr-ly, 
Adrienne