Association for Talent Development (ATD) 2019 - Highlights from the Conference

I try hard to practice what I preach to clients, such as making time for self care, not neglecting my own professional development, and connecting with people who inspire me. Attending the Association for Talent Development (ATD) conference this month was one-stop shopping for all of the above. With Oprah Winfrey, Seth Godin, and Eric Whitacre in the line-up, I had very high expectations, and ATD delivered! Here's what I am STILL thinking about...

LESSONS FROM OPRAH
Oprah Winfrey reflected on life post the Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran from 1986-2011. She spoke with candor and humility about some setbacks--personal and professional challenges that have shaken her foundation. There were so many nuggets from her talk, but I'll share the most memorable ones for me.

• In talking about her career decisions, she said she made the biggest mistakes when she allowed her ego to take over. Now, when approached to create a new channel or start a new school for girls, she asks herself, "Would I do this if my name wasn't on this?" This is one of the many gut checks that she has for herself to ensure she's living with intention.
• She also shared an interesting pattern. After every interview she conducted, no matter how famous the person was, they would always ask afterwards, "Was that OK?" She reflected on what this might mean at a deeper level. What she came to realize is that no matter how successful one is (or isn't), we all seek validation. We all want to be heard and seen. And, she went on to say that the most powerful gift she can give to others is to validate them. Everyone wants to live out the truest expression of themselves everyday. Our job is to give others the space to do that.
• Another interesting fact about her career is that one of her first jobs was being a co-anchor for the local evening news. But apparently, her co-workers didn't think she was cut out for the job and told her that she was too emotional. Apparently emotions were not tolerated on the evening news. Although devastated at the time, this was a turning point in her career, as she focused on day-time television and well, you know the rest of the story! 
• Lastly, she told a story about going to bed each night with her shades open so she can see the stars and the ocean. But she doesn't want to get woken up early each morning by the sun. Luckily, she said, her body wakes her up at 3:23 am "like clockwork"--to go pee. Yes, she literally said, "go pee." Before getting back into bed, she closes her blackout shades. Then, every single morning, she hits the “reset” button, literally and figuratively, as she pushes the button to lift up her electric window blinds and welcome the morning. “Whether it’s sunny or cloudy or rainy or foggy, this is a new day.”

LESSONS FROM SETH
Seth Godin, marketing guru and author, challenged us to make a ruckus. Again, so many nuggets to share, here are just a few... 

• He began by saying "Good morning class" to which all 10,000 audience members responded slowly and in unison (with a cue on the slide), "Good morning Mr. Godin." He used that exchange to make a point about how compliant we've become in our education system. He differentiates between a mandatory, compliance-based system called education, and a voluntary, meaningful process called learning. He would describe a resume as a document of proof that you're complying. Instead of living in squares, quadrants and boxes, he encouraged us as trainers to push back on the current model, stand out, be bold and take learning to the next level. 
• How do you stand out? Seth's suggested strategy is to find the most unique offering you have and offer it to the smallest number of dedicated followers. Due to social media and the ability to scale, he believes we now have the luxury to treat people differently.  In other words, the one size fits all approach gets lost in today's system. He continued to say, attract the "weird" people. Be extremely clear on the specific audience you are serving.
• He also shared a story about an individual who was concerned about the impostor syndrome. The individual was questioning his own abilities and asking Seth, "Who am I to offer advice to others? I feel like an impostor." To which Seth responded, "Of course you are- we all are!" We're all figuring it out along the way. We'll never feel like we have it all figured out so don't let that hold you back. Everyone is prepared and no one is ready!

LESSONS FROM ERIC
​Eric Whitacre is a composer and conductor and was the last keynote speaker. After three days of digesting new information, we all entered the hall exhausted, and Eric provided the perfect presentation to tie it all together.  From his creative process in developing a piece from scratch to his willingness to play with the unknown, the lessons I pulled from his presentation were powerful and inspiriting. Eric is best known for the virtual choir, a breathtakingly gorgeous piece of work in which he weaves together the voices of singers from 120 countries. If you haven't seen his work, I strongly encourage you to check it out some of his work on YouTube.

• He shared with us that as a composer, he goes through a rigorous process and eventually (if you're lucky and skilled enough), your composition is published. But, as he said, only the other choir "geeks" get excited about my stuff. So, one day, he receives a video from a young woman who happened to encounter his work and was deeply moved by his composition. In the video, as a thank you back to Eric, she decided to sing a piece of his work. Eric was blown away by the sound of her voice and suddenly realized the possibility of conducting a virtual choir. What if, he thought, others could submit videos and he would string them together as a complete choir?
• Only one problem: they needed a conductor, so everyone was on the same tempo. Eric tackled that challenge and went to his studio to conduct his piece in complete SILENCE! He posted his video to the world and the videos began trickling in from all over the world.
• However, he encountered another challenge. He knew nothing about video editing! So what did he do? He let his community of followers know. He said, we collected all these amazing videos, and I have no idea how to string them together! Leave it to the power of networking that someone in his network saw that post and said, "I can help! This is the job I've been waiting for my entire life!" And, so the virtual choir was born. As soon as it came out, people flooded Eric's inbox asking to be part of the next one (which by the way, he hadn't even thought of!).

Eric ended his talk with us sharing his latest virtual choir piece, Fly to Paradise, on video while simultaneously inviting a live choir from DC to perform on stage. It was incredible!

Eric embodies the key messages from Oprah's talk about being intentional about your purpose and leaving your ego at the door as well as Seth's message about being creatively bold. Eric embodies what learning and development is all about: Leveraging other's strengths, creating harmony together, and being open to what's possible. 

I thank all of these presenters for their stories, vulnerability, and inspiration!

If you attended too, I would love to hear what resonated with you. What are you still thinking about?