Reflecting on ATD 2018: Top 10 Moments

Just last month, more than 13,000 talent development professionals gathered in San Diego, California for ATD 2018. We’ve been reflecting on all of the learnings, events, and networking that took place . . . and we continue to be amazed by the energy and enthusiasm of our exceptional global community.

Below are our top 10 moments to summarize what took place, and some additional resources from our community members who’ve been sharing their insights about favorite sessions and topics discussed.

1. ATD celebrates its 75th Anniversary this year. This video captures everything we love about our global community!

2. President Barack Obama answered questions about change, resilience, and the future of work from ATD’s President and CEO, Tony Bingham, to kick off ATD 2018. Bonus: read Dan Pontefract’s Forbes article with Obama's Three Leadership Takeaways.

3. Marcus Buckingham shared how we can leverage our strengths as individuals in our organizations and provided insight into his Nine Lies of Work research.

4. Connie Podesta gave an audience-guided talk creating awareness about how we communicate with individuals who may have other communication styles and preferences.

5. Our ATD Chapter Leader Day recognized the efforts of our 100+ chapter leaders in attendance, who showcase the power and impact of local leadership.

6. ATD’s global community included delegations from 92 countries, providing their diverse perspective and learnings from all over the world.

Love having all of our #global community members here at #ATD2018! Here are just a few reasons why they chose to be here. Thanks to all of our #international partners & #talentdevelopment professionals who are truly creating a world 🌎🌍🌏 that works better. #ATDat75

A post shared by Assoc. for Talent Development (@atdnational) on May 7, 2018 at 5:20pm PDT

7. Our ATD Awards Ceremony named several Excellence in Practice Award winners and honored Beverly Kaye for her Lifetime Achievement.

A hearty congratulations to all our award winners who were able to join us for our annual awards ceremony, including Bev Kaye, winner of #ATD’s Lifelong Achievement Award! 🥂🏆 #ATD2018 #ATDat75

A post shared by Assoc. for Talent Development (@atdnational) on May 9, 2018 at 12:37pm PDT

8. ATD Education offered 32 Pre-Conference Education Courses and Certificate Programs for talent development professionals.

9. At ATD Central in the EXPO hall, alongside more than 400 exhibitors of talent development tools, ATD’s Career Development Stack was front and center to illustrate the vast opportunities for career growth with ATD.

10. Experts throughout the talent development field facilitated 300+ sessions of knowledge, data, real-time application, and more—from onboarding employees to microlearning to what AI means for the future of the profession.

More resources on talent development topics and your favorite sessions from ATD 2018 can be found here, cultivated from our broader ATD community. If you have more to add for session learnings and ATD 2018 overall, please email Avra at [email protected] or share your takeaways in the comment section below.

Keynote Recaps:

o President Barack Obama: Obama delivers lessons on work, purpose by Kanoe Namahoe

o Marcus Buckingham: Helping People Find Their Left Foot by Ashley St. John

o Connie Podesta: Keynote Recap: Connie Podesta by Ashley Chiasson, M. Ed.

Session Learnings:

o Shannon Tipton: Answers to EVERY question from the #ATD2018 microlearning panel

o Ashley Chiasson, M. Ed.: Session Recap: Diana Howles

ATD 2018 Overall:

o David Kelly: The 2018 ATD International Conference and Expo Backchannel – Curated Resources #ATD2018

o Shannon Tipton: ICE 2018 – It’s a Wrap, Krissy Richard

o Jessica Howell: Top 10 Tweets and Takeaways That Will Ease Your #ATD2018 FOMO

o Yuko Baba: Our Experience at ATD 2018

o Josh Maleeff: This One Time at Band Camp…

Some of our favorite posts on social media from #ATD2018:

The line for @BarackObama at @atd is wrapped around the entirety of the convention center.

And it is an hour and a half before his keynote...#ATD2018 pic.twitter.com/C1D6eekYXY

— Alex Dorr (@alexmdorr) May 7, 2018

Super excited to be here with 115 ATD leaders from across the U.S. for Chapter Leader Day! Thank you Chapter Services! #ATD2018 #Leadership #ChapterServices pic.twitter.com/Ukt8SYYdug

— Eddie Turner, The Leadership Excelerator™ (@eddieturnerjr) May 6, 2018

If there was a Woodstock for people who care about helping others be better, it would be this. #atd2018 pic.twitter.com/JOWpnuoTi3

— Chris Gordon (@chrisgordon\_1) May 7, 2018

Want to join us in Washington, D.C. for ATD 2019?