I had the pleasure of attending the 2019 ATD Learn from the BEST Conference! What an honor to serve as a reviewer and judge several award submissions. Reviewers are given the opportunity to attend the conference which means that I was able to listen to and learn from other talent development thought leaders. Industry leaders from the public and private sectors shared how they build amazing learning programs in their organizations as well as the results that they achieved.

One thing you can’t neglect when you’re in the business of learning is your own development. I pride myself on quality and authenticity! I can’t talk about being a passionate learner unless I’m intentional about my own learning.

Learning Nuggets for Validation

It was a refreshing and insightful experience to be a sponge and soak up every learning nugget to enhance my skills to make learning extraordinary! Sometimes the learning nuggets that you collect from learning experiences are not new but cause your existing knowledge to resurface or lead you to use existing knowledge in a different way. Having been in learning and development for over 20 years means that sometimes my learning nuggets validate what I already do which is always a great thing! It’s the opposite of the concept, misery loves company…I like to think of it as expertise seeks validation and collaboration.

My BEST Conference Learning Nuggets

Here’s how I benefited from attending the conference…

Learner engagement is in fact “baked into” the design of learning programs. I attended a session that was focused on driving learner engagement. It caused me to reflect on my previous webinars and breakout sessions on The Recipe for Increasing Learner Engagement. I was able to contribute to our table group conversation by sharing the Concerning Learning Blended Learning Approach which offers a practical method to increase learner engagement.

I learned how to increase my social media presence and evaluate my LinkedIn profile by attending the keynote by branding expert, William Arruda. I obtained learning nuggets to inform and validate my real-world experience for my upcoming speaking engagement on how to increase your brand with social media for the USM Women’s Forum 30th Anniversary.

My biggest take away from the conference was that I’m in great company with the BEST in the industry! What an awesome experience to be validated by your peers who are being recognized for their excellent work in your industry! It was great to get a refresher, add other thought leaders to my learning tribe, and share a few learning nuggets if my own. I’m better equipped to make Learning extraordinary for my current and prospective clients!

I love what I do!