L&D: ATD23

Two weeks ago I was in San Diego for ATD23… kind of. I landed Sunday night and was excited! I had a session on Monday, I was meeting up with the THRIVE team from the UK, I was in one of my favourite US Cities (we once lived in SD), and the week was all about learning! I checked into my hotel room and was getting all set up for a successful Monday and BOOM! A stomach virus smacked me down. I went from excited to blaaaaaghh in less than 10 seconds.?

After a sleepless night, a virtual doctor visit, an Uber Eats delivery of Gatorade, and a few cool showers I managed to summon up all my passion for learning and culture change and made it to my 4:30 pm session on the topic of #learnerengagement. It was a great turnout, a really engaged audience and I put out everything I had in me. After a few quick chats with some attendees, long-time friends, my colleagues, awesome customers, and my boss I headed back to the hotel and crashed. That was it. I rescheduled my flights and crawled back home to my family.?

Here is what I learned in my very brief time:

?? I was right about learner engagement still needing a spotlight in the sea of buzzwords that permeate our industry. Remember that engagement is a lead indicator, not the final destination. Learner engagement should lead to #behaviourchange.?

?? Stop obsessing over #AI and wait… it’s early days, most people don’t have a strategy and there are very few experts (even though there are plenty of people who are claiming to be). It’s not a magic bullet for your L&D department. It is definitely cool, and can fuel our imaginations (which we need), but if Microsoft and Google are still trying to figure it out I highly doubt Timmy Tuesday’s session “ChatGPT & Me” is really going to provide you with depth beyond every social media posts that tells you the best prompts to use.?

?? #Networking is vital. Build a community of people in L&D here on LinkedIn. Join the local ATD Chapter in your area and volunteer. Find ways to connect with L&D professionals (please hit me up if you want to find different groups to join).?

?? If you work for compassionate leaders your life will be better. I do, and I’m so grateful for Sean Reddington , Josh Devanny , Cassie Gasson (on-site at ATD), Gary Evans , and Ian O'Rourke (who supported me virtually).?

In summary, I spent most of my trip in a hotel bathroom with #FOMO. I’m looking forward to New Orleans in 2024! Did you attend and want the slides? Here’s a link to it: https://linktr.ee/naterowlan