A Personal Story of Connectedness at ISA

I recently attended a four day conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Reflecting on the experience during the flight home, I was struck by how it had reinvigorated my sense of purpose and provided a clear line of sight to the difference I and my company make. It was a powerful reminder of the importance of Resilience Superpower # 4 - Connectedness. I'd like to share that experience and hope that it inspires you find new and surprising ways to develop this along with your other Resilience Superpowers.

The ISA Annual Business Retreat (ABR) in Scottsdale, AZ is my favorite event of the year. This year it was four days of intensive learning along with 130 leaders representing more than 60 of the world's finest learning and development organizations. What makes the ABR so special is the extraordinarily high level of trust and sharing among its members - many of whom are competitors. It's rare and inspiring to learn and collaborate along with the leaders of organizations like The Ken Blanchard Companies, Development Dimensions International (DDI), Center For Creative Leadership (CCI), The Myers Briggs Company, Zenger Folkman, and NeuroLeadership Institute (NLI).

On the flight home I was basking in the warm reflections of the relationships I'd made and strengthened, reveling in the power of being part of something much larger than myself, and reflecting on the renewed sense of meaning and purpose I was feeling. In that moment I realized that I was living the Resilience Superpower of Connectedness. Here's the back-story:

I joined ISA last year after participating as a guest in a C-Level Virtual Forum. This was an intensive facilitated discussion with strategic leaders from member training companies to gain perspective on critical business problems that each of us brought to the table. At first I felt uncomfortable airing some of my dirty business laundry with potential competitors. But it didn't take long to see it was a high-trust setting designed to help us all learn and benefit from each other's depth of experience. It was like having an instant advisory board of peers who were experts in my business. I left with a solution strategy that I probably would not have found on my own. More important in hindsight was the unexpected connection I'd formed with a group of fellow practitioners.

After the C-Level Forum, I joined ISA and registered for the 2022 ABR which took place in March of last year.

When I arrived at the conference location and went to the event registration desk, I was nervous. Even though I'd met some members virtually, I had met almost no one in person, and being a stranger didn't feel good. It was my first in-person event since the pandemic, and I realized that my networking skills were rusty. (Maybe it's just me, but it's taken work to get these underused muscles back in shape.) So I tapped into my resilience strength of Reaching Out and pushed through the discomfort. Happily, everyone I met was warm and welcoming. It didn't take long to start feeling at home.

By the end of the conference, I knew I wanted to get more involved. I volunteered to join the ISA Awards Committee, whose charter is to select recipients of four annual awards that recognize significant contributions both to the organization and to the training industry at large.

We were tasked with researching and interviewing nominees for three individual and one company award. It was a great way to connect at a deeper level with other ISA members and to learn more about some of our most significant industry-leading organizations.

When I arrived in Scottsdale for the 2023 ABR, it was a completely different experience from last year. I received handshakes and hugs from ISA board and committee members, most of whom I'd already gotten to know.

It was a fantastic event from start to finish. Just being in a room with so many colleagues and friends was inspiring. It was fun - and surprising - to meet in person with people I'd only met virtually. Some were taller than I thought!

Session topics were timely. Speakers were world class, including our Thought Leader Award recipient, Dr. David Rock, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of NeuroLeadership Institute.

The culmination of the conference was the Awards Celebration Reception & Dinner. I'd volunteered to moderate the awards portion of the evening and was nervous about taking the stage at an event where I'd been a complete stranger one short year earlier.

But the minute I got behind the podium, I was on fire. It was one of those rare and wonderful times we've all had when I could do or say nothing wrong. I was on a roll and had a blast from start to finish. It was incredible to honor these four recipients, each of whom has become a trusted colleague and friend:

After a great dinner and the awards presentations, we wrapped up the evening on the dance floor!

To cap things off, I was asked to chair the Awards Committee for 2023-4. I'll be getting our team together for a new round of nominee research, and looking forward to an even more meaningful connection with ISA members.

To bring this story home, what resilience tools and techniques did I use to create greater connection?

• I said Yes at every opportunity.
• I always tried to go the extra mile.
• I saw gaps in performance and jumped to fill in.
• I connected with everyone I met on LinkedIn and am developing personal relationships.
• I took every opportunity to engage with lots of empathy, warmth and humor.

Now, truth told, Connectedness is one of my strongest resilience superpowers. It's fueled by the resilience factors of Empathy and Reaching Out which are among my highest scores on the Adaptiv Resilience Factor Inventory (RFI). But like other resilience superpowers, even our strongest require practice and exercise to stay strong.

What about you? What do you do to connect - or reconnect - to your meaning and purpose, with a clear line of see to how you make a difference? Please share in a comment below!