There's so much more to be done. Keep looking outward and upward. Dallas is becoming the Talent Development Capital of the World. Here's how you can help:

Join us! Take advantage of Transition Membership. 

Volunteer. Find your family within our community.

Build your expertise. There's great programming already on the calendar!

#Access #Recongnition #Expertise

Yours,

Rance Greene

President 2019-2020

"This year has certainly brought more change than we could ever expect.  One change I was deliberately planning for, along with Rance, was the transition into the President role of the great ATD Dallas chapter.  When you know change is coming, you can anticipate it and make a solid plan.  And then there are those changes that come your way that you are really not expecting.  Like a delightful new job opportunity that comes your way, along with a move to a new city.  These kinds of changes can be welcome and exciting, but it also means stepping away from those other changes you were excited about.  I let Rance know a few weeks ago about a change in my day job and that we would be moving away from the Dallas area.  Rance, being the great friend that he is, first congratulated me.  Then we set about creating a plan to identify a new president for 2021.  And you know, it wasn't a challenging feat.  The current ATD Dallas board is a strong team of leaders, who are involved and care deeply about the chapter and the work we do in talent development.  They have been very supportive of this change of plans and will ensure that your experience moving into 2021 is a great one.  They have some neat thoughts for 2021, which is going to be another year full of unexpected challenge and change.  As I sign out of my role in Dallas and look to a new adventure, I want to send encouragement to each of you -- whether we've had the opportunity to meet or not.  I love the talent development space and think that what you do everyday makes a BIG difference for your organizations.  Keep learning, growing and connecting with each other.  ATD Dallas is a terrific place to do that.  Get involved next year -- we need each other!  Rance, thank you for your support, encouragement and friendship!  A huge thanks to the ATD Dallas board, you are the coolest group of folks I know!" - Bonnie Endicott

A big congratulations to you, Bonnie as you pursue this next chapter. Dallas will miss you greatly and we're glad you'll be checking in with us every once in a while! 

Bonnie's departure opens up an opportunity for one of our existing board members to serve as President in 2021. Bonnie and I (and the board) are pleased to announce that Bart Castle has agreed to assume the role of President beginning Jan 1, 2021. Bart has served as a leader in our organization for many years, focusing on Membership. His team's concentration of meeting members where they are has driven innovative and practical engagement of our members from their very first encounter with ATD Dallas. This is going to be even more important in the coming year as many talent development departments are getting back on their feet in 2021 and looking to invest in their own teams in affordable and impactful ways. Bart's expertise in this area will serve the chapter well and we look forward to a good year ahead. You will receive an email to confirm the nomination of Bart (and the rest of the board) later this week. 

Have a wonderful week and thank each one of you for giving so much to our chapter. I'll see you at one of our upcoming events!

#dallasknowstalent

Rance Greene

President 2019-2020

I love September. Throughout my life, it's marked periods of major changes in my life and career. I moved to New York City from my little town in North Carolina in September, 1997. I was thrilled to be living at the crossroads of the world. I came face to face with new cultures, new experiences and, of course, new foods (I still miss that part of New York!). I still maintain friendships with people I met in New York who have returned to their home countries or are living abroad. To say that my horizons were broadened by spending nine years among such diversity is an understatement. What a gift. 

It was in September, in New York, that my son (our first child) was born. It was in September that we (my wife and two babies) moved to Dallas. My son was three and my daughter was one. This year, my son will be taking his driver's test (which I'm actually stoked about--he's a good driver). Time flies! When we moved to Dallas, I was transitioning from full-time ministry to…? I didn't know what was next, but fast forward a few years to another September when I took my first corporate role in talent development as a performance consultant. Shortly thereafter, I attended my first-ever ATD Dallas event. I'll never forget the warm welcome, the comradery and that special feeling: "Hey, these people care about making life at work better as much as I do!"

September also marks a change in our chapter.

It's at this time when leadership begins to transition to the next year's board. I'll meet with the 2020 board by ourselves one more time before we attend the ATD Chapter Leaders Conference, after which, new board members who will begin their service in 2021, will join the current board for the remainder of our board meetings this year. Usually, the conference takes place in DC. We set time aside to focus solely on the chapter, spending daytime hours attending the conference and making connections with other chapter leaders and spending evenings strategizing and planning for the upcoming year. This year, it will be a virtual conference and virtual planning sessions. The energy coming out of these planning session vault the chapter into another impactful year with new ideas and renewed passion for our members. 

I've served as your President since 2019. The volunteers who have served alongside me these past two years are remarkable. Through triumphs and challenges, we've changed and grown together. We will end 2020 strong, laser-focused on delivering A.R.E. (Access, Recognition, Expertise) through the end of the year and into 2021, as I continue to serve…this time, as Past-President. 

I'd like to spend the next few blog posts introducing you to your 2021 board. Stay tuned! In the meantime, check out our upcoming events, sign up to volunteer and stay connected to your ATD Dallas family. This is also an appropriate time to remind ourselves of ATD Dallas's purpose: "To empower people who are changing their organizations for good."

#dallasknowstalent

Rance Greene

President, 2019-2020

Every month, I have a phone date with two other men—Vincent & Joey—that I met while living in New York City. All three of us moved to different parts of the country, but the first Friday of every month, we still call one another to catch up and to pray for each other. Vincent is black. Joey is Hispanic. I’m Caucasian. Until June 5, the first Friday of June, I don’t think the differences in the color of our skin even crossed our minds. But during that call, for the first time, we talked about it. We talked about what it was like to grow up black, Hispanic and white. And even though we’ve been there for each other through many difficulties in our lives, the conversation wasn’t necessarily an easy one. 

I called Vincent again later in the week to ask him more about some of the thoughts he expressed during our conversation. He shared many personal stories about racism. Since that conversation I’ve met with many friends in the black community who are part of our ATD Dallas family to talk about inclusion, equity and racism. I’m grateful to each one of you who shared your stories with me. I know it wasn’t comfortable for you. It’s awkward. It’s emotional. It’s not something we’re used to talking about. But I’m hopeful that as more of us engage in these conversations, we’ll all have a greater understanding and respect for one another. Thank you. Because of your openness, I understand how ATD Dallas can support greater inclusion and equip members with the tools to overcome ingrained biases. And more importantly, I know why it’s so crucial. 

ACCESS. RECOGNITION. EXPERTISE. This is who we A.R.E.

ATD Dallas does, and always will, offer every member #ACCESS to our vibrant community. For members of our chapter who are black, please keep coming to our events and being yourselves. Your presence, your friendship, your perspectives keep us thriving. Stay connected and keep sharing your stories with those you trust and who are willing to listen.

We care about you and we #RECOGNIZE that, with the help of our active volunteer base, we can do more to support thoughtful, sustainable programming that gives our members, and the organizations our members belong to, skills that help us see our own biases and overcome them. We’ll start with our July chapter meeting, when Korn Ferry will guide us through the talent management cycle through the lens of inclusion. 

I encourage all of our members to build the #EXPERTISE of engaging in healthy conversations that build understanding. To get started, I’ve shared two pathways on Degreed with all of our members on Unconscious Bias and Diversity and Inclusion. Please check out all of Degreed’s curated content on related topics, such as empathy, and approach your conversations well-equipped. 

If you are a Power Member, you also have access to National’s diversity and inclusion curated resources, which you can find here: 

Our best resource to understanding and leading the way to equity at every level is one another. It begins with listening. Start there. 

With love and respect,

Rance Greene

President 2019-2020

Talent Development has always had its unsung heroes. So much of what we do is accomplished in the shadows. The weeks of analysis and performance consulting. Months of design and development. Managing stakeholder relationships, resources and technology challenges. Pressing through to emerge with a solution that empowers the organization's most valuable asset: People. 

And now, with the added challenges that COVID-19 has introduced, you've quickly pivoted to offer remote solutions, overcoming more technology challenges to deliver effective interventions, onboarding programs and skill-building courses that make a difference in your customers' lives. In some cases, you're literally saving lives.

Many of you have businesses of your own that may be particularly challenged. I've seen you adapt to our new reality. You've re-thought how you design and deliver your expertise to clients. You've started podcasts, posted videos and published blogs to generously share your knowledge with our community.

Constraints have spawned creativity. Hardship has spurred innovation.

To all of you, ATD Dallas salutes your valiant efforts. I expect the AXIS Awards will be packed with show-stopping submissions this year (Applications open in June!). I can't wait to see what you've been doing and celebrate it with you.

Many in our community are now in transition because of the pandemic. Resources in some industries are drying up and talent development areas have been trimmed down. Our hearts are with each of you.

Lean into the networks you've built within ATD Dallas. Let your colleagues know that you're seeking new opportunities. Reach out to me. I'm happy to share what open positions I know about with job-seekers in talent development. Check out ATD National's job bank. Now's a great time to leverage remote employment opportunities. Take advantage of our transition membership option. And don't miss our Career Development meeting on April 27, "Succeeding at a Virtual Interview."

ATD Dallas's programming continues online. This month, we're testing our Zoom platform's capabilities even further by offering a virtual Happy Hour with breakout rooms built around topics of interest. If you've never experienced this kind of interactivity on a virtual platform (it's fairly new to us as well), stop by and join us.

In May, join us online again for Best Practices for Training Delivery, in person, online, anywhere.

We've also added some webinars hosted by ATD Houston; they've generously offered them to ATD Dallas for free.

Please take advantage of these opportunities. We will eventually be past COVID-19. Take some time to develop yourself.

Access RECOGNITION Expertise

With gratitude for each of you,

Rance Greene

President 2019-2020

You may be saying, “Isn’t the Southwest Learning Summit in August?” And you would be right. But read on and you’ll see why I’m writing about this in March. Here are the five top reasons why I am registering now for our premiere regional conference.

REASON #5 - Pace

There’s time for everything at this full-day conference and you don’t feel like you’re being overloaded with too much all at once. Time for taking in the great concurrent sessions. Time for chatting with our top-notch vendors. Time to eat (the food is amazing). Time to network with peers at all levels of Dallas-area organizations. And with over 400 attendees, there’s a lot of networking potential. But not so large that you feel a like a number. Don’t want to miss all of that, so I’m registering now.

REASON #4 - Expertise

You will be hard-pressed to find more talent development expertise under one roof anywhere in north Texas. Surveys from last year’s conference show an incredibly high value from our concurrent session speakers who are leading the way in our field. I’m not missing that.

REASON #3 - Karl Kapp

Our keynote speaker for the conference will be with us all day, starting with a general session on the state of the industry and the future of the industry. He’s  conducting an open Q&A session later in the day. Karl has invested into so many people in our industry and I’m thrilled that he’s investing in us. Definitely not missing a chance to interact with Karl!

REASON #2 - You

The favorite part of this conference is meeting you, seasoned professionals, new members, speakers, sponsors. We’re all in this together. And this is one day during the year I count on to reconnect with the Dallas-area TD people I care about….which means you need to register now too.

REASON #1 - We’re going to sell out early

93% of 2019 attendees indicated that they would return to SWLS 2020. That means that if you didn’t attend last year (which sold out), you have a 7% chance of making it into the conference this year. And with more and more people joining ATD Dallas, this is an opportunity you don’t want to pass you by. I will be surprised if there are still open slots left in June, so please join me in registering for SWLS now, in March. You won’t regret it.

February showcased some amazing programming. Southwest Airlines gave us an in-depth look into their performance management re-haul from the yearly review to quarterly coaching check ins. Simple, human, brilliant. I left inspired to implement the principles on my own team. The L&D SIG addressed design for multi-generations for a live and virtual audience with Darren Ford. Career Development had a knock-out session with Fanny Dunagan on leveraging training experience to build a LinkedIn brand. Rave reviews, Fanny. Thank you! Bart Castle and I facilitated the quarterly New Member Meetup. Welcome to the chapter new members!

Opportunities to connect with the ATD family in March are upcoming. If you are on the waiting list for the Amazon event, please know that we are limited in how many may attend and we’ll bring wait listed folks onto the roster as space is made available. Some of our venues accommodate less people, but the board is aware of the surge of interest to attend our meetings and we’re working to keep our events as open to as many members as possible. For now, please visit our event page and register for only those events you feel like you will be able to make to leave room for those who are able to attend. And if, at the last minute, you need to cancel, please let us know by emailing info@tddallas.org so we can make room for others.

We’ve also seen a surge in volunteerism. To express your interest in volunteering, simply complete Volunteer Form and we’ll reach out to you right away to discuss how you would like to give back to our community.

#dallasknowstalent

Rance Greene

President 2019-2020

At ATD Dallas's first community event, a joint happy hour with ATD Mid Cities chapter, I met a number of people who work in some very niche industries within our field:

• A new member of our chapter who focuses on technical training for trade skills.
• I met a woman who works for a company that provides training strictly for the mortgage industry.
• Then there's Davide, whose expertise is training engineers on soft skills. Talk about niche!
• The board of the North Texas chapter of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) was there representing a subset of talent development that stands on its own. 

Each of us comes to this industry with a unique experience to offer one another. In attendance at the happy hour were professionals who come to our field from a wide range of backgrounds and experience: finance, teaching, engineering, ministry, multi-media, writing, programming, military career, the list goes on. This tapestry of experience means that our field is rich with unique solutions to business problems. And, no matter how diverse business becomes, there is a diverse talent development pool ready to produce a compelling, engaging experience to meet the changing needs of organizations. The movement of professionals transitioning from other fields and entering talent development doesn't show signs of stopping…and that's good. There's room for all of us. This is why I tell students of instructional design, organizational development or other talent development studies to nurture a second discipline. We are growing as an industry addressing a growing number of business challenges. And Dallas is leading the way.

The board of ATD Dallas is committed to connecting you with our value proposition of Access, Recognition and Expertise. Check out this month's opportunities to connect with us. We hope you'll join us…there's room for you in our community.

Our Volunteer Summit on Feb 1 was electric. Imagine some of the best talent development professionals in Dallas coming together for 4 1/2 hours to execute on our strategy to make the member experience greater than ever. Our year is off to a rocking start! If you want to get in on the fun, complete this volunteer form and we'll connect you to an area that suits your interests and goals. 

If you are new to our community or just haven't plugged in yet, I invite you to join me and other board members for an informal meet up at I Love Pho on Forest Ln and 75 at 11:30. I look forward to connecting with you! I think you'll find that there's plenty of room for you contribute to our vision of making Dallas the Talent Development Capital of the World. 

#DallasKnowsTalent

Rance Greene

President 2019-2020

When I look back to the very first blog post of 2019, I'm reminded of why we still come together as an organization of talent development professionals. Yes, it's because we develop ourselves and deepen our expertise. And it's because of the recognition ATD Dallas bestows on each of its members for the work they do in this industry. But one of the biggest reasons why we still come together is because we know we'll meet other like-minded professionals.

People who care about empowering others.

People who offer connections and counsel.

People who "get" us.

So, when volunteers talk about who we A.R.E. (our value proposition of Access, Recognition and Expertise) to other interested professionals and organizations, it's the "A" that connects us most to one another: ACCESS.

We are a vibrant community of talent development professionals who understand one another. We know the struggles and the joys of working in this industry. That's why, in 2020, our promise to you, as the board of ATD Dallas, is to keep you connected to our growing community--to give you as much access as possible. Among us are the leaders, the innovators, the rock star practitioners who keep talent development thriving. It's exciting to enter into a new year in such good company.

#DallasKnowsTalent

During this season of reflection and Thanksgiving, ATD Dallas enjoys highlighting the volunteers who make us a community that empowers people who are changing their organizations for good. Throughout 2019, I've shared many stories that came straight from our volunteers. You've heard about the #access ATD Dallas offers its members to hundreds of other talent development professionals in our community. You've read stories about volunteers, and the companies they serve, who appreciate the #recognition they receive from ATD Dallas for their innovative work. You know about the #expertise we offer from rock star practitioners and thought leaders from some of the most innovative companies in Dallas.

 Access. Recognition. Expertise. This is who we A.R.E.

Right now, social media is buzzing with our Volunteer Highlights, like some of the ones below. They speak for themselves. There's incredible value in the talent development community we've created. Our organization is run by volunteers to make that happen. Leading, growing and, as our Past-President, Matt Hirst, would say, happy. Happy because there are rich rewards in giving back.

I'm honored to volunteer alongside such a talented and generous group of professionals. We've grown together. We've helped one another. The contributions of each volunteer in our TD family is an inspiration to keep giving back more. That's worth celebrating!

Join us for the AXIS Awards, December 3, where we celebrate the innovative work of Dallas companies…and honor the work of our own volunteers.

I hope you'll also join us for our last chapter meeting of the year on November 19 for drinks, eats and a splash of ritual. The 2019 Board will share our successes from this year. The 2020 Board will be sworn in. You'll have a chance to share your thoughts on where you'd like to see ATD Dallas go. You'll mingle with the leadership team and fellow members.

And for those who are thinking of presenting at next year's Southwest Learning Summit (August 20), no problem! You can submit your proposal now! You can also register to attend! We're going to sell out again in 2020. You don't want to miss our keynote, Karl Kapp, so better safe than too late!

Can't wait to see you at our next event!

#dallasknowstalent

Rance Greene

ATD Dallas, President

November 11, 2019