Getting a Seat at the Table: Interview with Theresa Hummel-Krallinger and Jim Yoacham

Training expert, Theresa Hummel-Krallinger, and former senior executive, Jim Yoakum, draw from several decades of experience to define just what skills are needed to "get-a-seat-at-the table," and how these skills can be developed. Hummel-Krallinger and Yoakum sound a clarion call to the training profession: training consultants need a strong presence and clear, resolute voice in the executive suite. They offer a simple 3-step model practitioners can employ to develop these critical skills: (1) broaden the practitioner's traditional focus on training to include business and consulting, (2) project a professional attitude and reject the view that training is "a nice-to-have extra", and (3) build the credibility, reputation, and relationships needed to get, keep, and leverage "a-seat-at-the-table."