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Member Spotlight on Rik Nemanick, PhD, ACC

Q: Were you born and raised in the St. Louis area – or elsewhere?
A: I was born and grew up in Creve Coeur. I left Saint Louis for college at Drake University in Des Moines before returning to Saint Louis to attend graduate school at Saint Louis University. I grew up a Cardinals fan (both baseball and football). 

Q: What is your history with SHRM St. Louis?
A: I joined SHRM St. Louis when it was still the Human Resource Management Association (HRMA). I was a regular member at first, but then I joined the mentoring committee (around 2009?). I still co-lead the mentoring committee with Angela Louis.

Q: Why did you decide to focus on employment/human resources?
A: I was an undergraduate marketing major at Drake and added psychology as a second degree because I enjoyed learning about personality and motivation. It wasn’t until my senior year that I took my first course in industrial-organizational psychology when I first learned I could blend my two interests in business and people. Between college and graduate school, I worked for Laclede Gas (now Spire) where I met one of my most important mentors, Dr. Marvin McMillan. He was also an Industrial and Organizational (I-O) psychologist by training and the Vice President of Human Resources at Laclede. He inspired me to go to graduate school at Saint Louis University, which led to my career as a leadership development consultant.

Q: Please describe your job.
A: I have two daughters, 20 and 16, who are just now starting to understand what I do as a consultant. My older daughter is majoring in cognitive neuroscience at University of Denver and took an organizational psychology class her sophomore year, so she is getting a better idea. My work focuses in three areas: mentoring programs, executive coaching, and leadership education. I work with clients to set up and run mentoring programs focused on high potential employees to accelerate their development and retain them. I also work one-on-one with senior leaders to grow their leadership capabilities. And, I teach about leadership, both directly to my own clients and through Olin Executive education at Washington University (WashU) and the Brookings Institution. 

Q: What is your favorite part of the job?
A: I enjoy the variety that my job allows; no two weeks are alike for me. For instance, in May, I am launching two client mentoring programs and conducting midpoint sessions for two other ones. I will travel to the Kennedy Space Center to teach NASA leaders about managing organizational change through Brookings. And, I will have individual meetings with ten different coaching clients. In addition to the variety, I enjoy being on the learning journey with leaders. I love reading the feedback from participants in mentoring programs who gain confidence and perspective, and I am so happy for my coaching clients when they have breakthroughs in their development.

Q: What is one example of a positive experience that you’ve had in this field?
A: I have so many that it is hard to count. Aside from my consulting, I also have taught human resource courses at Washington University going back to 2003. I enjoy connecting with the students who are often in the early stages of their careers and helping them build skills and confidence as HR professionals. I keep in touch with some of them and have enjoyed seeing their careers grow in the field (any of my former students should feel free to drop me a line).

Q: Who introduced you to SHRM? How did you initially become involved?
A: I first learned about HRMA when I was starting out in consulting and a member of the Gateway I-O Psychologists. We cross-listed some of our events between those two organizations as well as St. Louis (Organizational Development Network) ODN and the local chapter of (the International Association of Talent Development ) ASTD. I met some great people and joined. It wasn’t long before I volunteered to co-lead the mentoring program, which we are still running today. We have cohorts starting in the spring and the autumn. My co-lead, Angela Louis, and I enjoy pairing up prospective protégés with seasoned HR professionals.

Q: What have you gained thus far through your SHRM membership?
A: I have gotten to meet a lot of great HR professionals. Saint Louis has a vibrant HR community, and SHRM is a great place for them to connect.

Q: What are your hopes for SHRM St. Louis for 2023?
A: I hope that we can engage some more active involvement from seasoned HR professionals. Our mentoring program always gets a lot of applications, and we are limited by the number of experienced professionals to serve as mentors.

Q: What non-professional activities do you enjoy in your spare time?
A: I love entertaining. My wife and I have an historic house in Saint Louis City, and we love throwing parties for our wide circle of friends. I usually make all of the food and pick out all of the wine. I also enjoy running (albeit slowly) in Saint Louis and hiking around Missouri and on our family trips to Summit County, Colorado.

Q: What is a favorite quote of yours and why?
A: A quote I regularly use in the course on Leading Change that I teach through executive education at WashU is, “Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better” from Chicago journalist Sydney J. Harris. It speaks to the ambivalence we all feel about change. I always wish I were better about embracing change but recognize that changes that pay off in the long run can be painful in the near term.
 
Q: Who would you consider to be your mentor and why?
A: I have had many mentors over the years. Marvin McMillan (mentioned in an earlier question) was the VP of HR for Laclede Gas who inspired me to go into the field. My graduate school advisor, Dave Munz, helped me navigate the academic world. Bob Vecchiotti is another solo consultant who helped me figure out how to be a consultant and navigate the first five years of being in business. Carol Weisman mentored me through the book writing process and gave me the confidence to finish it.