We recently connected with Dr. Linetta Clemons and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dr. Linetta, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
The irony of answering this question at this time in my life is, it results in feeling sad and happy all at the same time and looking deep into my childhood memories during a time where I am also mourning. I received my work ethnic from my father, Mr. Willie D. Clark Jr. and in 12 days, (at the time of this interview) it would be one year since he lost his battle to colon rectal cancer. My father, or my “daddy” as I called him, was as country as country could get. He was born in the early 1940’s in Yazoo County, Mississippi. What came with him was an 8th grade education, plenty of racist incidences, and a migration here, to Cincinnati or as he coined it, “up north” to a place where he wouldn’t get lynched for no reason, and would be able to work, and send money “down home” to the family members who remained. I watched my father wake my siblings and I up at 6am every morning, on his way out the door to work. He only missed 3 days of work during his 47 years of being an employee for a local school district here, and that was due to having a cold, in which my mother INSISTED he “betta use some of those sick days” to recover! He went from being a Janitor to the first black Stationary Engineer, training others to operate boilers. My mother believed in him, taught him how to use a slide rule, read on a level higher than the 8th grade, and he used it to care for all of his children. I learned to work even though I was tired, I learned to take a chance even if I didn’t know how to do something, to value time and to pursue my education.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I founded AtteniL in 2001, but rebranded and relaunched in 2018 and AtteniL Leadership and Management Group (ALMC Group) was birthed. In a spirit of transparency and honesty, I never aspired to be a business owner or a Black Woman Entrepreneur. I just wanted to be a lifelong learner who would make systems better, help non-profits in urban communities increase their funding so that my children, nieces, nephews and grandchildren, or youth who look like them, could have more opportunities to be successful. I aways believed I could impact education, educational professionals and others who were committed to youth by changing my sphere of influence, through career advancement. As a Teacher, I became a Principal to broaden my reach, then I became a Superintendent of Schools to help Teachers, Students and Community members. I could go on about when I became a Professor, Department Chair, then Pastor; all to help others at various levels, but the truth of the matter is I was always taught to get ONE skill set, ONE thing you were good at and stick to it. There wasn’t a place for me to explore all of my interests as well as competencies. Guess that comes from being a Generation X’er! Our parents, who are/were either from Generation Silent or Baby Boomers, taught us to stay at one job until retirement and ignore the boredom, or the desire to implement new skills acquired from reading, learning or earning an advanced degree. AtteniL (my first name Linetta spelled backwards- like Oprah did Harpo studios) had to represent me! I had to dig deep and ask myself, what am I always asked to help with, to do? Where are my strengths outside of education? What emerged was people were constantly asking me my “how?” How did you turn your school around from failing to excelling? How did you earn your Ph.D. while nursing a baby and raising a teenager AND working? How did you get involved with online education at a brick-and-mortar school like the University of Cincinnati? How did you study HIV infected youth in schools? How did you get different races to work together without conflict? How do you have courageous conversations about leadership and race? How did you reduce a college department deficit? How do you write a grant, get that one donor to write a $50,000 check just because you asked and raise money for a starter non-profit? The list of “how’s” deepened, and as they deepened, my services at ALMC Group grew as did my love for wanting to share my “how”!
With the hiring of new employees, we have been able to expand from Cincinnati, Ohio to Atlanta, Georgia and Nashville, Tennessee. We have increased affiliate memberships as well as launched a life coach training program, DEIB training along with C-Suite for-profit and non-profit professional development emersion experiences. I am particularity proud of our newest service, which is K-12 parental advocacy support, where we have parents who have been trained through their own personal experiences and by our consultants (who are former school administrators), to advocate for their children who have special needs or who attend schools as a minority. One unique aspect of ALMC Group is our ability to pivot mid-contract. If we see, through conducting reliable and valid assessments, that a particular methodology isn’t working, we consult with the client and begin again. It’s been a welcomed practice to not be afraid to go back to the drawing board with a client, who is just expecting results, not perfection, and we can both learn from each other.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Boldness, Resilience and Honesty are the three qualities I possess, which I truly feel has allowed me to become successful in my career and as a business owner. Believe it or not, it isn’t my skills garnered from working in the field or my education that has been the most impactful, in my journey, but it has been the ability to be forthcoming about any limitations coupled with the understanding that “all money isn’t good money.” Meet your clients where they are. Discern whether they want a service without compensating you because they just want a “hookup”-a big return with a small investment, or they really need your services but can’t afford you. It’s worth the conversation!
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
My crossroad, my challenge? Understanding when and how to expand services offered based on market needs, and my vision, versus staying committed to the services that allow me to make payroll. What do you do when you feel your business has been pigeonholed into being known for one service which you do well, and that produces results, versus, really wanting to try out your other skill sets and those of the consultants you lead? We discuss this in our leadership meetings as I try to remain as collegial as I can.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.almcgroup.com
- Instagram: attenil_leadershipmgmggroupllc
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