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Nick Allen is an education instructor at a credit union in the northeastern United States.

Nick Allen

November 2018 - TD Magazine

Meet the Villains of Business Strategy

April 2018 - TD Magazine

Success Credited to Learning

May 2020  - TD Magazine

Reframe Your View for Better Solutions

Often when we’re frustrated at work, it’s not so much because of the company we work for, but rather the specific role we’re in. Personality type, as described by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® instrument (MBTI®), offers insight into certain preferences—particularly for how we take in information and make decisions,  which heavily contribute to on-the-job satisfaction. The more we work within our preferences, the more energized and less drained we’ll feel. As discussed in my previous post, your current job may not map well to your preferences. However, if the broader company culture is more in line with who you are and your personality, pursuing a new role within the organization might be preferable to looking elsewhere for employment. Just as personality types describe human beings, you can in fact “type” a company, department, or role by observing how information is gathered and decisions are made.. Use personality type as a guide for determining a better fitting role—looking at what is not only required of an individual, but also what skills and attributes are most sought after in various departments. Identifying What You Really Want to Do Children are often asked: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” In seeking a new role within your company, a better question to ask yourself is: “What do you want to do?” By discovering the kinds of tasks and responsibilities that line up with your core motivators, you can more accurately identify a more satisfying role within your current company. According Allen L. Hammer in “Introduction to Type® and Careers,” you can begin by asking yourself:What do I want to do on a day-to-day basis?Where do I want to be in one, five or ten years?What kind of people do I want to work with?What kind of working environment do I find most comfortable?What kind of working environment allows me to be most productive?What motivates me to do my best? Regarding this last point, while preferences for Thinking (T) or Feeling (F) describe how we make decisions, Sensing (S) and Intuition (N) describe the types of information that we base those decisions on, and the combination of these indicates what will most motivate us at work:ST:  achieving bottom line resultsSF: offering practical serviceNF: making a meaningful differenceNT: improving the system. Research shows that people actually self-select into occupations that coincide with these middle letter preferences. For example, if you have an F preference, you may experience great satisfaction in a role where you get to help or support other people. This can manifest itself in a number of ways—helping customers, mentoring, serving on an advisory board, improving society, or making the world a better place. Additionally, for those with a preference for Feeling, keep in mind that the overall result of your work can also affect your ultimate level of job satisfaction. For instance, you may find that even though you’re not spending as much time performing “helping-type” tasks in your day-to-day activities, you could still be energized by a job that ultimately contributes to a greater good for people. If you work for Habitat for Humanity or at a university, even though your day-to-day activities might not involve direct “helping” activities, knowing you’re a cog in the wheel that makes a difference in peoples’ lives may be enough to keep you energized. Molding Your Own Role If you have a preference for Sensing and Thinking, yet find yourself in a position that requires a lot of one-on-one counseling, you may want to seek out a position that allows you to conduct data analysis with an emphasis on the here and now, or even seek out these types of responsibilities within your current job. For example, I often work with career counselors who have preferences for ST, but their profession requires them to frequently use their non-preferred Intuition and Feeling functions. Although they usually report that they like their jobs overall, they also say their jobs are very draining and frustrating when they spend too many hours in a direct helping role. However, if they’re able to seek out activities that allow them to work within their natural preferences, such as analyzing career assessments, critiquing resumes, running the office operations or managing departmental technology, they can achieve a renewed enthusiasm for their roles. In general, if you can cherry pick enough activities that match your own preferences and integrate them into your daily role, you will be much more satisfied and energized in your current position.  Having the Patience to Work Your Way Up Sometimes there’s not an immediate solution because developing the skills and expertise to operate in certain roles takes time. If you have a preference for Thinking, for example, you may enjoy logical objective decision making, and like to look for what is wrong with the system so you can fix it. The question is, are you far along enough in your career to initiate and implement change? Let’s face it, most teams don’t take well to junior-level employees telling them what’s wrong with what they’re doing, regardless of how on-point their advice may be. In some cases, you may have to stick it out for a while, building your level of expertise and influence before you are able to take on more of a “fixer” role. You may experience frustration along the way, as you’ll likely witness incompetence in both leaders and peers that you would like to “fix,” but don’t have the power to do anything about it, yet. Instead, use your current position to gain the expertise and, eventually, the level of authority to implement change, so you can grow into a role that you’ll find very satisfying and allows you to do what comes most naturally.

Frustrated at Work Part II: Using Personality Type to Find a Better Role at Your Company

We hope youve enjoyed the conference education programming. Their work helps shape the final programming delivered at ATD International Conference EXPO.

Speaking at ATD23: A Conversation With the ATD Program Advisory Committee

Can We Just Say Ick

It’s stressful to be a sales manager. You’re juggling more things than ever: recruiting and onboarding reps, coaching and developing them, collaborating with marketing, preparing reports, and more.With all that, it isn’t surprising that sales managers are turning to AI for help. In fact, 100 percent of sales leaders now use generative AI to drive performance and growth, according to Allego’s 2025 AI in Revenue Enablement Report. And 63 percent of those leaders say AI has improved coaching quality. AI can help in many ways, including making coaching more targeted and scalable. AI-powered dialog simulators provide real-world role-play exercises, and conversation intelligence analyzes sales calls, identifying skills gaps and training needs.But the fact is, and Allego’s soon-to-be-released neuroscience research proves this, AI alone is not sufficient for training and coaching. Human insight remains critical for engagement and behavior change.That means you must take an integrated approach, blending AI with human expertise and guidance.Why AI Is Transforming Sales CoachingOver the past year, AI’s capabilities have grown exponentially. More sales teams have tapped that power and are seeing clear benefits. The 2025 AI in Revenue Enablement Report shows big wins:Improved coaching quality (63 percent)Faster onboarding (44 percent)Improved sales confidence (20 percent)Allego’s neuroscience research backs this up: Sellers who received AI coaching remembered 50 percent more than those who received coaching from a human.Human Coaching Still Wins in Several AreasThat same neuroscience research, however, also shows where human coaching stands apart. Sellers anticipating human feedback felt more motivated, relaxed, and emotionally aligned during training. Those emotional states matter because they strengthen trust between coach and seller, making reps more likely to act on feedback.Human coaches can also pick up on subtleties AI might miss, such as tone of voice, body language, and hesitation. They can also adapt in real time to a rep’s emotional state, learning style, or deal nuances.This agility is particularly important when:A seller needs encouragement after a lost deal.Complex, relationship-driven strategies are required.A rep’s performance issues are tied to confidence or mindset.In those moments, empathy, encouragement, and tailored guidance can make the difference between short-term improvement and lasting behavior change.The takeaway from both sets of research is clear: AI and human coaching aren’t in competition. They’re complementary. 5 Best Practices for Blending AI and Human CoachingTo get the best of both worlds, design your coaching program so it integrates AI’s efficiency with the human touch. 1. Let AI handle the heavy lifting on data and analysis. Use AI to review call recordings, identify skills gaps, and surface performance patterns. This frees you to focus on coaching conversations.2. Use AI for structured, consistent feedback. AI can provide standardized, repeatable feedback that reinforces key selling skills. Follow it up with human-led discussions to add context and address nuances.3. Apply human coaching to motivate, build trust. Save one-on-one time for moments that matter most, such as helping a rep bounce back after a loss. That’s when empathy and encouragement make the biggest difference.4. Personalize learning with a hybrid approach. Combine AI’s personalized recommendations with your understanding of each rep’s strengths, challenges, and learning style. That’s how you make feedback stick.5. Alternate between solo and observed practice. Give reps space to practice with AI-driven role-play, then schedule live coaching sessions to deepen learning.Bringing It All TogetherAI can make coaching faster and more consistent, while human coaches bring the empathy and adaptability that inspire lasting change. When you combine the two, you get the best of both worlds: scalable feedback and genuine connection.

Coaching in the Age of AI: Blending Technology With Human Insight

Occupational health and safety has been a focus of employers for decades, with safety organizations founded in the early 1900s and OSHA created in 1971. However, mental health often does not receive the same considerations.While mental health concerns have become more acknowledged, stigmatization of mental illness—from anxiety to more severe conditions—remains in most workplaces.Mental Health by the NumbersHow does mental health and its stigmatization in the workplace affect Americans?In 2020, a behavioral health impact study found every working generation suffered from a mental health issue (71 percent of Gen Zers, 59 percent of millennials, 36 percent of Gen Xers, and 22 percent of baby boomers).While 86 percent of respondents to a study by Mind Share Partners, a nonprofit aiming to change the culture of workplace mental health, said a company’s culture should support mental health, only 41 percent feel it happens.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found employees with depression miss an average of 4.8 workdays every three months, resulting in more than 200 million lost workdays each year.Roughly one in three participants in a recent Deloitte study admitted to taking time off due to stress and anxiety. Of the respondents who did not take time off, 40 percent said they were stressed enough to do so but worked through it. Many times, this is due to an environment where they feel they cannot take time off unless they are physically sick.Ways Employers Can Provide SupportIt is important for employers to understand their options for providing mental health support to their entire workforce. Below are some tips on providing mental health support in the workplace to create a welcoming environment employees want to return to.Incorporate mental health into workplace culture. Employee safety and mental health must be included in a strong workplace culture. When mental health is made a cornerstone of company culture, employees feel comfortable being honest about their struggles and are more likely to seek help. Leaders play a big part in reducing the stigma around mental health by speaking openly and knowing what to do if people need support.Let workers take mental health days. In general, people are not good at taking days off work. Even before the pandemic, employees were only using about half their paid time off, and using PTO for a mental health day is even more unlikely. If your workplace is open regarding mental health, employees feel empowered to admit when they need a break. Leadership can play a role here, by taking mental health days themselves and encouraging employees to do so.Keep work at work. Many employees remain available off the clock for after-hours emails, phone calls, and even meetings. This creates added stress—the feeling that you must always be ready to work. By letting employees keep work at work, you create a division of priorities. People are more likely to be fully present while working because they know they can unplug for a few hours.Provide mental health resources. A study by Mental Health America found that 86 percent of people who did not seek mental health treatment were covered by health insurance, indicating coverage does not equal access. It is crucial employees know their options. You likely provide information on accessing medical doctors, dentists, and optometrists, so why not mental health professionals? Insurance companies and even the CDC provide mental health resources for educating employees.Offer relevant training. One effective step toward addressing mental health issues is offering training to assist employees throughout their workday and their lives. There are many soft skills that can alleviate mental health struggles. Also, offering companywide training on topics like bullying in the workplace creates a zero-tolerance environment, putting employees’ mental and physical health above everything else.Understand Your Employees’ NeedsEvery organization will have unique issues, due to company size, industry, job-site setup, and employee demographics. Talk to your employees about their concerns, work together to come up with solutions, and continue open discussions.See how SafetySkills can help you ensure your organization is prepared, not only for occupational safety needs, but also for mental health issues and off-the-job situations.

Incorporating Mental Health Into Your Training Program

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