Nicole Joyce has been a member of ATD since 2013. Here's her story in her own words.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am the Research Administration Training Program manager for the University of California, San Diego, and have been a training and development professional for almost 10 years. After spending the last five years working specifically within the field of sponsored research administration, I feel passionately about contributing my best knowledge and techniques to assist in the advancement of both those within research administration and the profession as a whole. I hope that my unique qualifications, perspective, and passion will help ignite those within research administration to become as excited as I am about furthering the aim of this fascinating, complex, and crucial profession.
I reside in San Diego, California, with my husband, baby boy, and dog, Sadie. When I'm not trying to shift the landscape of adult learning and research administration I enjoy morning runs and taking advantage of the San Diego weather with long walks—on the beach, of course!
What are your personal and/or professional goals?
I aspire to transform the way learning is perceived and delivered. I want to find streamlined and effective ways to create the true transformation that organizations seek to achieve. To do this, I would one day like to earn my CPLP and combine that methodology with project management, change management, data analysis, Lean Six Sigma and a variety of communications and marketing techniques to reshape the integration of learning and development in a more holistic way.
What’s a common misconception you see when it comes to talent development?
That to train someone, you just need a 60-minute PowerPoint presentation where you lecture to your participants in an effort to download everything you think someone needs to know about; by the end, they have been trained, and because you have told them everything they need to know, they should be able to do it in any circumstance. (Insert eye-roll and sigh here.) Training is so much more complex and interesting, from the neuroscience behind it to the design aspects. If I had a dragon to slay, it would be death by PowerPoint.
How do you stay motivated?
All it takes for me to stay motivated is to see the development and changes in real time. The growth in my participants, my instructors, my team, and even leadership. Every time I see it click, I know there is value in everything I am doing, even when it gets difficult.
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