Insights and Inspiration Await at ATD21: Q&A With Elaine Biech

We interviewed the famous Elaine Biech, “Titan of the Training Industry,” to gain some insight into what she is looking forward to at ATD21. Here’s what Elaine had to say.

What are you most looking forward to about attending and presenting at ATD21 in Salt Lake City?

Seeing all our colleagues in the flesh, not on a screen! I am looking forward to meeting TD professionals who may need a boost of inspiration or encouragement to aim high and achieve what they want in life. I love to hear “what I want to be when I grow up” stories.

I’m interested in hanging out in the bookstore, so I can chat with other authors, staff, and participants. It’s the best place to hear about new ideas, get a two-minute synopsis of the best speakers and their ideas, and encourage others to write that book that’s in their heads!

You work with a diverse group of clients. What commonalities are you seeing emerge as organizations grapple with what the future of work looks like?

Most of my clients are focused on these two questions: “What do we expect as we move forward, and how can we be better prepared for the future?” Before the pandemic, almost every speaker, leader, and author lamented about the fast pace of change, but no one was prepared for the velocity of change they needed to be successful in 2020.

My clients are focused on several things as they plan for their future:

• Hybrid work. How can we balance on-site and remote work, and how can we ensure that the plan is fair and equitable for everyone? There is some research in progress, but each company will need to refine the results and interpret the data for its own situation.

• DEI initiatives. My clients understand the importance as well as the benefits to their organizations, yet most are unsure of what they need to sustain an effective DEI culture.

• Skill building. Most of my clients talk openly about closing the skill gaps. The pandemic gave them an opportunity to do more development, and most of them intend to continue to provide more training. Additional development is needed because they are redeploying employees to other jobs that they have been unable to fill.

• Uptick in soft-skill development. Although they rarely call them soft skills, senior leaders have offered more development in empathy, interpersonal skills, communication, collaboration, respect, resiliency, and others.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing TD professionals in the next year to 18 months?

TD professionals exist to help their organizations be successful. To contribute to organizational success, I think that we will face challenges related to those our organizations are facing—but of course from a learning perspective. We will need to take the lead and become the trusted advisors that support the C-suite.

Hybrid work. TD professionals will need to identify how to provide flexible learning opportunities for all members of the workforce. This begins by staying abreast of technology options such as when to implement collaborative digital learning approaches or determining how to redesign an L&D department that meets the hybrid employees’ needs. We’ll need to stay in a learning mode because new delivery options will be created and work will be redefined.

DEI initiatives. TD professionals need to determine how to make DEI best practices work in their organizations. They need to support—and sometimes lead—their senior leadership team to sustain DEI.

Skill building. The challenge for TD departments is to ensure that they can meet their organizations’ needs. Organizations want more development, and TD departments have difficulties filling positions. TD professionals can fill in with subject matter experts (SMEs) but need to know how to best work with them. In addition, this is an ideal time for TD professionals to ensure that managers throughout the organization know how to develop their employees, and it’s an even better time for TD professionals to demonstrate how important it is for all employees to take charge of their own careers. (Check out section VI in ATD’s Foundations of Talent Development for ideas**.**) TD professionals also need to help senior leaders develop plans for related efforts such as creating ways to close the skills gap; increasing employee engagement, especially with those who work remotely; and assisting with recruitment, hiring, and succession plans.

Uptick in soft-skill development. This is an easy one. If your company is increasing the delivery of soft-skill development, TD professionals need to polish their own skills and enhance their abilities to develop others in topics such as empathy, interpersonal skills, communication, collaboration, respect, resiliency, and others.

Can you give us a sneak peek at what you’ll be sharing at #ATD21?

I love sneak peeks! I am delivering three sessions, and each one has a different but practical focus.

From Disrupted to Defined: Get Your Career Back on Track: The 2020 turmoil required many of us to be so focused on developing others that we didn’t take time to think about our own careers. This will be a two-semester course for planning your future “smashed” into one hour. Come for the fun; leave with a plan for your future.

Going Solo? Realities and Rewards of Consulting: If you have been thinking about striking out on your own as a consultant, my co-facilitator, Halelly Azulay, and I will present things to consider before you take the leap. We’ll share tips from our experience, provide tools you can use, and present a surprise opportunity for you.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Discussing the Undiscussables: Rita Bailey, Tonya Wilson, and I coordinated four ATD conversations about DEI earlier this year. In this conversation, we will focus on the E because that’s where the most apprehension resides for many people. We hope you’ll join our lively, transparent, and informative discussion.

Visit our official ATD21 website to learn more about ATD21.