Connection Point

Talent development professionals help others. Ben Nemtin, star of The Buried Life, called attention to that in his keynote address closing out the Association for Talent Development’s Virtual Conference: Unleash Potential. And he noted that attendees could likely relate to his bucket list pursuits that entailed not only going after the big things he wanted to do before he died but also involved helping others.The Roots of The Buried LifeAs he began his session “Impossible to Possible,” Nemtin spoke about falling into depression after seemingly being on top of the world as he graduated high school in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He had a spot on the national under-19s rugby team and a college scholarship.But that joy soon turned to anxiety, trouble sleeping, and then depression. He became a shut-in in his family’s home, not understanding why he was feeling the way he was. A summer in a new town, securing a job that brought him confidence, and talking with others about his feelings led Nemtin to start turning the corner. From there, he decided to only surround himself with people who inspired him. He found three individuals who fit that definition: Jonnie, Duncan, and Dave.Sketchnotes provided by See In ColorsWhat followed was their decision to make a film. The quartet were inspired by the Matthew Arnold poem The Buried Life, in which the poet described how we all too often leave our dreams and aspirations buried with day-to-day life getting in the way.To avoid dying without living their dreams, the young men created a bucket list—the stipulations being that they would act as if they had $10 million in the bank and that the goals had to be crazy big. They also knew they wouldn’t be able to accomplish their goals by themselves. They decided that every time they crossed off an item on their list, they would help a stranger do the same.The list that Ben and his friends crafted included such things as helping deliver a baby, having a beer with Prince Harry, and playing basketball with President Barack Obama. That last one required all the grit and persistence they could muster, including dealing with a number of rejections before it finally happened.“Doing what you love actually inspires others to do what they love,” said Nemtin. There’s a ripple effect. The same ripple effect occurs when you help others: They, in turn, have a propensity to help those around them.Your Resiliency Tool KitTo be able to help others, you need to take care of yourself, emphasized Nemtin. Here are some tips to do so, and these comprise what he calls his resiliency tool kit.Gratitude. Think of one thing each night before you go to bed and one thing in the morning when you get up that you are grateful for. They can be as minor as a meal with a loved one, a walk, or the sun being out.Exercise. You don’t have to go for 60 minutes, Nemtin pointed out. Five minutes of push-ups or a 15-minute walk will help you release negative emotions.Mindfulness. This can take the form of the Headspace or other app, a walk, meditation, or being cognizant to breathe deeply from your abdomen.Detox. This may mean staying off social media for 24 hours or avoiding the news for the same period. When you return, only use the tools that bring you joy—come back in control of how you spend your time.Connect. To ease anxiety and stress, talk with friends or a therapist, continued Nemtin.Purpose. This is what the bucket list is all about: doing the things that are most important to you and that bring you joy.Help others. You can’t feel bad when you’re helping others.Nature. If you’re unable to actually go outside for 15 minutes right now because of the pandemic, bring nature inside by getting a plant or two.Fulfilling Personal GoalsThough this belief is hopefully shifting, it’s long been the pervasive mindset that pursuing our personal dreams is selfish. Nemtin refuted that, noting that pursing our dreams is actually a service. Prioritizing your goals, he says, is beneficial to you, your friends and family, your career, and your organization. And if organizations and leaders create an environment that encourages people to go after what they want, those individuals are far more likely to stick around.Psychologist Tom Gilovich reported in his research “The Ideal Road Not Taken” that 76 percent of people identified on their death beds that their greatest regret was not fulfilling their ideal self. What leads people to stop short of that goal? Nemtin identified two reasons. One is that—unlike work goals and duties—our personal goals have no deadlines. The second is that we often lack the inspiration to move forward. To that, Nemtin suggested that we create our own inspiration through small steps and think of “dreams as projects.”Here are five steps he outlined to accomplish your personal goals:Write them down. Putting them down on paper makes them real.Share them. As Nemtim showed with his bucket list, you need others’ help. All too often, we don’t share our goals due to fear—either because we’re afraid of what others may think or because we fear falling short of accomplishing them.Persist. Sometimes we fail because we give up too quickly. Nemtin showcased his persistence in his and his friends’ efforts to play basketball with President Obama.Go for moonshots. Nemtin, smiling, noted that the level of competition for reachable goals is much higher than the competition for ambitious moonshot goals, which few people strive for.Give. Nemtin briefly recalled speaking at ATD TechKnowledge 2019, where he shared the stage with Tiago, a brain stem tumor sufferer who, through the Make a Wish Foundation, expressed his desire to go bobsledding. As a result of Nemtin and the conference attendees, Tiago realized his dream.Ripple effects happen not only from big things—for example, a smile causes a ripple, as does a compliment—Nemtin pointed out. And we don’t necessarily see those reactions happening, and that includes training and development results. But know that as talent development professionals, said Nemtin, you create a positive difference in others.Share your ATD Virtual Conference experience on social media. #ATDVirtualConference

Ripple Effect of Helping Others

Think back to onboarding experiences that you’ve participated in. Those may have provided you with critical first impressions of the company. Research says that onboarding also can be a factor in how long an employee stays with an organization.Chief Learning Strategist and Founder of ThinkLearnEngage Shana Campbell and Jason Sturges, CPTD, project lead of courseware development at AllenComm, co-facilitated the session “How to Rock Your Onboarding: 10 Steps to an Employee Centered Program.” During this upbeat presentation, Campbell and Sturges defined onboarding and reviewed onboarding’s role and purpose.They then discussed three onboarding frameworks. The first model focuses on who needs to be involved—commonly the employee, HR, and the manager or supervisor. The second model emphasizes four Cs: connection, culture, clarification, and compliance. The third model from Bamboo HR offers seven steps: “Outline Responsibilities, Train, Accept the New Hire, Give Early Feedback, Put Management in Charge, Assign a Mentor, and Focus on Stuff That Really Matters.”As Sturges pointed out, however, onboarding holds various meanings at different organizations. He covered some of the more prevailing definitions, including “Getting new employees oriented, integrated, and delivering results as efficiently and energetically as possible.” He noted that that definition covers the onboarding process’s business, social, and energetic aspects.He likewise pointed out that onboarding’s ideal length is often debated and varies by company. As many can attest, onboarding can be nonexistent or seemingly never-ending. Imagine your first day at a new job, completing the paperwork and then starting on your work with nothing but well wishes.Citing research, Sturges affirmed that onboarding begins at the point an individual applies for a position and lasts until the employee’s one-year anniversary. Does that mean onboarding leaders are tasked with a whole year of activities? No. However, during an employee’s first 12 months, Sturges says that companies should keep top of mind the “experiences, interactions, knowledge, and training” that new hires receive.In designing an onboarding program that brings people into your organization, makes them feel welcome, trains them up, and aids in retention, Campbell and Sturges agree that it must be an employee-centered experience. Sturges shared 10 steps to accomplish that goal:Identify problems.Categorize the biggest hurdles.Brainstorm all solutions.Determine success criteria.Evaluate and brainstorm.Organize solutions into the program.Pitch to management and leaders.Pilot.Gather feedback.Enhance and repeat.He points out, though, that Step 0 is to remember that you shouldn’t develop onboarding in solitude and that generally you need multiple departments involved in planning a successful onboarding. “Don’t do this by yourselves,” he advised. “Just as onboarding is a social event, preparing onboarding should be a social event as well.”In explaining Step 10—enhance and repeat—Sturges advised those planning onboarding experiences to refine along the way. “If it doesn’t work, throw it out, pull in a new idea, do something different, and just keep trying,” he said.To wrap up the presentation, Campbell offered advice to those tasked with pivoting from in-person onboardings to virtual experiences. She noted that—regardless of the model you choose to shape your onboarding—your program doesn’t have to change because it is virtual. Focus on the how not the what, and consider aspects like screen time and creative ways to record video content, she said. Those are the keys to making your virtual session a success.Share your ATD Virtual Conference experience on social media. #ATDVirtualConference

Rock Your Onboarding

As so many of us are spending our days on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or some other form of video communication, it’s easy to be blasé about it. But if you’re an online presenter, it’s important to consider how the video experience is affecting your learners.During her session “Top Five Principles for Incorporating Instructor Video Into Virtual Classrooms,” Diana L. Howles, CEO and co-founder of Howles Associates, offered guidance for this new literacy of being on camera.Howles first pointed out the video frame, the space that others see during online trainings or meetings. That space subconsciously sends the message to the viewer that “everything in this frame is important.” Learning can be affected when there are distractions in that space that take them away from what the instructor is trying to convey.Before delving into her tips, Howles posed the question of whether the instructor should be on camera at all. Several years ago, the quality of video was generally poor, so it was not unusual to have a static picture of the presenter. But today we have effective video, she continued, and the gains of being on camera include increasing the learner experience as well as the level of perceived connectedness and presence. But that doesn’t mean that a presenter necessarily needs to be on screen all the time, Howles noted.The five principles for being more effective, as Howles outlined, are:Minimize distractions in the video frame.Adapt instructor movement for the video.Establish an on-camera presence.Improve the video’s technical quality with small adjustments.Be on camera when the focus needs to be on the instructor.To highlight potential distractions, Howles showed a static depiction of the video frame for an instructor facilitating a course on emotional intelligence. Attendees chatted about what they noticed that was distracting, among them an open closet door to a crowded, somewhat messy storage space; the presenter being off-center in the video frame and truncated at the top of her neck; and in general too much space in the frame above the presenter’s head.A second picture showed a gentleman in front of a fireplace with a plant on the mantle piece. To viewers, it appeared as if the plant were growing out of the presenter’s head. Other faux paus include sitting below a ceiling fan that is operating, making it look like the facilitator was wearing a giant rotating hat.You can easily remedy your background when facilitating, advised Howles, either with a virtual or blurred background that many video technologies offer or by purchasing a physical screen for your office space.She continued to demonstrate images of presenters who were offering less-than-an ideal learner experiences. One example was the positioning of the camera so that the presenter was looking down into the camera. That means learners are looking up to the presenter, an intimidating stance. Instead, presenters should be at eye level. You can do that by raising your chair or, if need be, sitting on a book or something to elevate yourself when presenting.Contrasting the background and foreground is another important tip to remember. Either light on black or black on light, Howles recommended, and to prove her point, she showed a distracting “floating head” of a presenter wearing dark clothes against a dark background.Throughout the remainder of her session, Howles offered more in-depth looks at the remaining four principles. Using her tips, especially presence, can actually lead you into honest conversations with attendees, making it feel as if you’re together. Because, after all, we are all in this together.Share your ATD Virtual Conference experience on social media. #ATDVirtualConference

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