Heidi Saucier

Reflections on a conference: The sequel

A few weeks ago, I attended the National Management Association’s annual conference in Reno, Nevada. As an officer on the national board of directors and a member of my company’s local chapter, the organization has become central to my professional growth and leadership journey. The week was productive, filled with meetings, networking, and new ideas. In this post, I’ll highlight some of my favorite moments.

The first part of the week focused on board meetings. I always enjoy connecting with board members and collaborating to make key decisions to further the association. In my current role as board treasurer, I am learning about the importance of maintaining organizational budgets and making important recommendations to the NMA staff on where we can reduce costs. I also work with the other officers and the staff to review existing processes and identify opportunities for revisions and improvements. Some decisions are straightforward, such as changing language that reflects our move to more virtual meetings. Others require further discussion that brings recommendations to the full board for a vote. I am honored to be a part of this board and the relationships I’ve built as well as the lessons learned.

After the board meetings, the conference officially kicked off Wednesday night with a mixer. I reunited with people I hadn’t seen in about a year and made some new connections. The next day, professional development sessions began. Here are some insights I gained from the speakers:

Shawn Harper, former NFL player and now CEO of American Services and Protection, talked to us about having the mindset to win. Sharing personal stories and key principles, he encouraged us to think differently and enter a new level of motivation with the belief that we can win and not let our comfort zone and excuses prevent that from happening. One of the most profound things Shawn said that stuck with me was “If you’re not careful, your comfort zone will become your casket.” While that may sound harsh, it said to me that you have to be willing to take risks and not keep doing the things that are easy and normal. That could lead to your own demise.

Ana Larrea-Albert, speaker, author, leadership strategist, and just beginning her doctoral journey, was our next speaker. She engaged us in activities to help us consider a new perspective that points us towards excellence. We were challenged to shift our mindsets to find the positive even in situations that don’t seem that way. While she gave some examples, the session was more hand-on as we explored situations individually and in our table groups to look at challenges through a more positive lens. She brought together the elements of strength, mindsets, values and purpose that lay the foundation for confident leadership and how to identify the self-limiting beliefs that we often go to as a means of protection. One thing Ana shared that stood out to me was that when dealing with those self-limiting beliefs, we should “look at them with kindness and compassion,” which then allows us to give the same to others.

John Di Domenico, keynote speaker, actor, and impressionist gave us two amazing experiences by hosting our annual Recognition brunch and giving a keynote session during the conference. His creativity and spontaneity led to a special moment of some attendees sharing why historical leaders resonated with them. Because of this, many of us learned about leaders we didn’t know before and heard some heartfelt stories of individuals that inspired others to explore leadership. In his keynote, John shared his life journey of discovering his voice and challenged us to embrace the most underrated asset we have in our voice. For leaders, this is an important element that we don’t often think about, so it was great to have John challenge and help us consider ways to bring our voices forth.

A special treat during the conference a session led by They Improv. Several years ago, I participated in a team building activity at Grand Circus. There, we used improv to practice conversations with others and consider the importance of having to use these techniques to confidently present to others and to lead critical and sometimes uncomfortable discussions to point employees and teams to success. I had forgotten about this experience until my son had a school event with Karen and Darrin, a local couple who shared their gift of improv, storytelling, and illustration. Knowing how amazing of an approach this can be for leadership development, I shared the idea with the organization staff, and they were able to get They Improv on the schedule. The group was very hands-on, and we got a lot of practice on how to apply improv to our work conversations and decision making.

We also had the pleasure of learning from two of our NMA members. Larry Kieshnick brought an interactive session on understanding our own and other’s personalities, gleaning on components of Carl Jung’s Four-Color Framework and Don Lowry’s True Colors system. By identifying our primary profiles, we collaborated in groups to confirm how we think and work with others, then gaining understanding on the other colors in an effort to work better together. David Sandhu built on his past webinars on AI and introduced a new series on prompting. It was great to hear a more effective way to have AI assist with requests and the importance of “being more human in the age of AI.” One of my biggest takeaways from the session was reminder of having AI ask questions to help better understand the need. I’ve applied that suggestion to several AI interactions in the past week and have found the results more refined and useful.

In addition to the speakers, we celebrated the accomplishments of our chapters over the past year. Many chapters achieved milestone anniversaries as chapters, recognition for membership growth, and awards for their overall programs and publications. We also honored Dan Gilbert as of Hall of Fame Recipient, Colin Catto as our Member of the Year, and Dr. Tahllee Baynard of Lockheed Martin as our Executive of the Year. I also was sworn in as our 2027 Vice-Chairperson along with our other incoming officers. I’m honored to continue to lead our board of directors next year and beyond.

In a full and productive week, I am grateful for the networking, learning, and celebration that took place in Reno. As we now move forward as the Human Skills Network, I am encouraged by where NMA is going and the potential it will bring to current and upcoming leaders in the years to come. If you are looking for an opportunity to cultivate your leadership development, the National Management Association is an organization to consider joining. If you’re interested, I encourage you to check out the website or reach out to me for more information. What was the most recent conference or workshop that brought new insights on leadership to you? Share in the comments!

Heidi Saucier

Incremental change is still change

“Remake the world, a little at a time, each in your own corner of the world.”
― Rick Riordan

Throughout our lives, many of us look for ways to improve. There are annual resolutions that come and go, enthusiastic commitments where we bite off more than we can chew, and the all or nothing approach to change that for some becomes nothing.

Big change is needed in certain circumstances. Sometimes, that change needs to come sooner than later because of catastrophic consequences that will happen without the change. Other times, while the big change is the ultimate outcome, tackling it with smaller adjustments makes that change more achievable and sustainable.

I’d like to share two examples of where this applies. Habits are one area where incremental changes are often encouraged. In the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, the author emphasizes the importance of making “tiny changes” to better solidify making changes to either start or stop doing something to better oneself.  Clear’s own experience recovering from a serious injury required him to make small changes that eventually brought him to recovery.

I am currently in the middle of incremental change as I work to get back into a consistent exercise routine. Based on past attempts, I knew if I tried to go all in right away I’d have limitations that would become my excuse to not exercise. Instead, I started with five minutes a day of a specific exercise. I am currently 10 days in and have increased from five minutes to 10 minutes. I’ve alternated between a few different types of exercise and am committed to building the right resistance and ability to strive towards better health.

Another area that benefits from incremental change is in workplace learning and development. Even with requirements for a new hire to go through training in a defined timeframe, introducing knowledge and tasks in chunks brings better retention compared to immersing the learner in the entire process right away. In environments where you can build on task learning, this approach is valuable. Many Learning and Development teams, including my own, are moving to microlearning courses and continuous learning models to better integrate employees into the workforce. In a Modern Workplace Learning blog post, Jane Hart argues that continuous learning occurs over time, often as part of on-the-job training, and is an element that companies acknowledge is needed. While there may be some formal training that happens, the employee continues to improve as they apply learning to their day-to-day activities and gain new skills along the way.

As the workplace becomes more agile and fast-paced to keep ahead of the competition, leaders and learning teams need to collectively consider bringing this model into their training plans and pair it with mentors and coaches to help guide employees whether they are new to the organization or are looking to gain new skills for the next step in their career.

Looking at these two examples, how have you seen the benefits of incremental change personally or professionally? I’d love to hear about your experiences!

Heidi Saucier

Your mistakes can help others!

“Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.” ~Morihei Ueshiba

I’m sure you’ve read articles that focus on learning from mistakes. Before you say “Thanks, Heidi, I’ve been down this road,” I encourage you to review the topic again.

We are often told we can learn from our mistakes and that they are an essential part of our development. It’s completely true, and your mistakes can help others grow! When mentoring or coaching someone, it’s easy to only share stories where things have gone well for us. While those are important when you want to encourage people to do something similar,  it’s just as beneficial to share when things have not gone well in your career and how those experiences have helped you.

During a meeting with a leader, she told me about a time she was coached for a similar struggle I was experiencing. She explained how that conversation opened her eyes and allowed her to make changes to her approach. As a result, she became more successful as a trainer. After she shared the experience, it motivated me to make necessary adjustments to improve my facilitation skills. Telling me what she went through showed me I was not the only person to struggle in this way and that I could overcome it.

As leaders, we have made mistakes. It’s part of being willing to take risks. Dede Henry shared in a Forbes Magazine article that while mistakes happen, how we respond to those mistakes is the key difference. I encourage you to check out the article and the strategies shared to change your mindset towards mistakes and failure. Some of the lessons we learn as leaders when things don’t go right have turn into key steps on our development journey. They may also be the experiences that someone needs to hear at just the right moment to redirect their path and achieve their goals.

How has sharing your mistakes with someone helped them grow? I’d love to hear your examples!

Heidi Saucier

Embracing Change = Growth

The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress. ~Charles Kettering

We’ve all faced it. Someone announces a change is going to happen for your team, division or even the entire organization. Or maybe through personal reflection you’ve realized that something needs to be different in your life. When we face change, it’s not always with the most positive of reactions. While the experience may have been difficult, I’m sure some of you are able to reflect on the changes and see the growth you’ve experienced because of the transition to something new.

When I moved to my current role over nine years ago, there were changes on multiple levels. I left a team where I had gained experience and knowledge. Now I was in a leadership position where I would learn new processes, build new relationships, and implement my own changes to the team’s operating structure. As I began asking questions and giving feedback on training projects, I received some resistance. I realized I needed to explain why I was asking the questions and build trust with those I would be working with. Once I made that shift, people were more receptive to my feedback and willing to partner with me on training initiatives. Not only did I experience changes overall by joining a new team, I learned that I also needed to change my approach as a leader.

A few years later, along with the rest of the world, tremendous change came as the pandemic hit and we had to make quick adjustments to daily living. For me that meant leading my team from home, making difficult decisions to ensure my family was supported while I was working, adjusting to mask wearing and social distancing, and even increasing virtual interactions with friends and family. For others it was working on the front lines, adjusting to wearing PPE on a regular basis, dealing with fear, figuring out how to stay connected to loved ones that were isolated, and wondering how we would come out of this. Reflecting on my experience during the pandemic, here are some things that I’ve learned:

  1. Curbside grocery pickups are a timesaver. I still take advantage of this option from time to time.
  2. It’s ok to take a break.
  3. Maintaining relationships is critical, even if you are an introvert.
  4. Some people are kind. Others are not. Either way, only we can control our decision to be kind.
  5. There’s always a way to support others.
  6. People are more creative than they know.

Most recently, I’ve begun exploring the use of AI in my role. I will be the first to admit my skepticism towards this technology. Would it really make a difference? Would it reduce the time it took to complete tasks I had grown to dislike because they slowed up the process? At the same time, I was hearing the benefits and possibilities to do things that I was not as skilled in with the support of AI. In other words, it would help me learn new things.

The company I work for has done an amazing job preparing us to increase the use of AI in our work lives. Through learning, job aids, and hands-on activities with the encouragement to experiment, they have offered numerous ways for employees to discover how AI can become a part of daily work. I began to take some classes and started practicing the art of prompting. I learned how AI could help make some of my email messages more concise, how to create a process map using CoPilot and Excel, and discovered analytics that are beginning to reveal key metrics related to the audience that my team supports training. I am still learning how to further refine prompts and use CoPilot throughout the Microsoft Office Suite. My willingness to give AI a chance is bringing positive change and new opportunities within my work. I know that AI is not perfect, and the human touch is still necessary to ensure anything I ask AI to create is accurate and reflects the goals and message we want to portray to our internal teams and external learners.

In all these times of change, I grew. Was it easy? Absolutely not. But when I took the time to step back and look at the bigger picture, I saw that I embraced the change in many ways and gained insights I will carry with me into the future. These lessons are ones that I often reflect on to remind me that despite it all, growth is still happening and there are things we are constantly learning.

Leaders – Embracing change and not running from it is the most critical thing you can do. Remember the people following you. If they see you avoiding the change, that may influence them to do the same. If they see you leading the way through change, and you remain honest and transparent through the process, it will help your entire team transition and come out on the other side of the change a stronger and more resilient group. How will you lead yourself and others through the next change that’s on the horizon? For those that have recently gone through a change, what have you learned through that experience? Please share in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

Heidi Saucier

Engagement and Learning Using Technology

One of my grad school projects involved developing and sharing a perspective of how technology promotes engagement and performance by learners in blended and online settings. Below is a focused literature review from the project.

What are apparently effective strategies for motivating learners in online settings?

            Whether a learner chooses to enroll in an online course or is required to do so, strategies must be implemented to help sustain motivation throughout the duration of the course. Because learners are motivated to engage in learning for different reasons, educators should consider having multiple strategies in place to address a variety of motivational factors. Studies of motivation strategies in face-to-face environments have examined how learners demonstrate extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and the part that instructors play in implementing motivational strategies in the classroom (Newby, 1991). Keller’s ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) model has also been applied to classroom observations to identify if teachers focus more on specific or various motivation strategies within the classroom setting (Newby, 1991). Educators have also looked for opportunities to improve motivation for non-English speaking students that struggle learning the English language (Alshenqeeti, 2018). It is known that “learners learn differently and are motivated by different things” (Alshenqeeti, 2018) in face-to-face settings, and this thought can also be considered when looking at effective strategies for motivating learners in online settings.

            When comparing motivation strategies between face-to-face and online learning environments, studies infer online students appear to be less motivated but are found to achieve higher grades than face-to-face learners (Stark, 2019). These learners often choose to participate in online courses based on increased flexibility and convenience of schedule (Stark, 2019). Though some studies indicate higher dropout rates in online courses, others report high success rates that suggest the ability for online students to acclimate themselves to online learning (Stark, 2019).  Stark’s study using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) identified lower levels of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for students in online courses (Stark, 2019). Even so, the same learners expressed that they had the ability to succeed in online learning (Stark, 2019). What supported the motivation of online learners in this study was their perceptions of being able to have more control over their learning experience as well as reduced test anxiety (Stark, 2019). In addition, past studies showed that having prior online learning experience could influence motivation and learning approaches for future online courses (Stark, 2019). Tapping into prior experience may be helpful to online instructors to increase motivation and engagement in future learners that enroll in their course.

            While over 30 years old, Keller’s model that is “the conceptual foundation of the attention, confidence, satisfaction (ARCS) model of motivation” (Milman & Wessmiller, 2016) is studied in relation to online learning. This model includes four categories with examples of motivation strategies that can be incorporated into online courses. The component of attention looks at provoking as well as continuing to keep learner’s attention (Milman & Wessmiller, 2016). For online learning, this can be done using media such as video, graphic images, and even comic strips to gain attention (Milman & Wessmiller, 2016). The relevance component is one that answers the question “why do I need to learn this topic?” (Milman & Wessmiller, 2016). It looks at finding ways to meet personal and professional goals of learners and can be implemented by incorporating current event topics into learning (Milman & Wessmiller, 2016). As learners navigate through an online course, confidence is the next component to instill to give them the assurance that they can achieve the learning outcomes of an online course (Milman & Wessmiller, 2016). While this can be a challenge in online settings, videos or emails can be developed with encouraging messages to boost learner confidence (Milman & Wessmiller, 2016). Satisfaction, the last component, can be immediately experienced through online learning (Milman & Wessmiller, 2016). The ability to provide prompt feedback in the form of grades and assessment results is one way to provide more timely satisfaction (Milman & Wessmiller, 2016). Another method is offering the opportunity for immediate application of learning using a discussion board or wiki for showcasing student work (Milman & Wessmiller, 2016).

            Gamification is another strategy that can be implemented in the context of the flipped classroom, which is a blended learning model (Matsumoto, 2016). Effective gamification continues to be a popular learning tool that includes the following components: a clear and succinct tutorial, tasks that are learner-driven, a well-arranged platform, and motivation-inspiring and prompt feedback (Matsumoto, 2016). By incorporating elements of game design in non-game settings, gamification allows learners to apply game-like actions to real-world scenarios for problem-solving opportunities (Matsumoto, 2016). For example, first year high school English as Foreign Language students participated in an e-Learning course that incorporated gamification (Matsumoto, 2016). During the lecture portions of the course, students watched as in-game characters presented the lesson, then completed a task that was complimented by the character when complete (Matsumoto, 2016). The home page of the course allowed learners to track task completions, open tasks, and achievement rankings (Matsumoto, 2016). Data results showed that students grades improved post-learning (Matsumoto, 2016).

            Motivation strategies also aided in boosting learner motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic. While buildings were required to close, it was believed that learning and teaching did not have to cease during the closure (Nguyen, 2021). An example of this occurred at a Vietnamese university using several technology applications to teach remotely (Nguyen, 2021). Researchers acknowledge that barriers that exist in online learning have worried educators and those researching educational technology (Nguyen, 2021). These barriers include lack of technology experience and support as well as preferences and beliefs (Nguyen, 2021). The study sought to initially identify barriers perceived by students that transitioned to online learning because of the pandemic as well as study the effects of implementing motivation-boosting strategies to learning activities including audio and video clips, pointing learners to websites and social media tools, text chat activities, and the use of Zoom or Skype for video calls (Nguyen, 2021). Adding the alternate methods showed in the results to boost motivation and led to higher performance (Nguyen, 2021).

            While studies show that online learners tend to be less motivated yet often are still successful in performance, my research will look deeper into the areas of relevance, self-regulation, and how technology can gain and sustain motivation. Studies also show dropout rates are higher among online learners compared to those that opt for face-to-face environments. That means that for some there have been experiences where the learner is no longer motivated to continue in an online course. I would like to further study those reasons to identify if missing motivation strategies would have made a difference in dropout rates for particular courses. With a focus on workplace learning, research can be done on the role of the virtual trainer, a comparison between voluntary and required online learning, and the motivational needs of employees that seek out online training.

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What are your thoughts on online learning? What online courses have you found most engaging and helpful in your development journeys? Where are there still opportunities to improve online learning, whether in academia or the workplace? Is there still a value in live, in-person learning? Why or why not?

References

Alshenqeeti, H. (2018). Motivation and Foreign Language Learning: Exploring the Rise of Motivation Strategies in the EFL Classroom. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 7(7), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.7n.7p.1

Matsumoto, T. (2016). Motivation Strategy Using Gamification. Creative Education, 7(10), 1480–1485. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2016.710153

Milman, N. B., & Wessmiller, J. (2016). Motivating the online learner using Keller’s ARCS model. (attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction). Distance Learning (Greenwich, Conn.), 13(2), 67–.

Newby, T. J. (1991). Classroom Motivation: Strategies of First-Year Teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83(2), 195–200. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.83.2.195

Nguyen, H.-T. T. (2021). Boosting Motivation to Help Students to Overcome Online Learning Barriers in Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case study. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 15(10), 4–20. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v15i10.20319 Stark, E. (2019). Examining the Role of Motivation and Learning Strategies in Student Success in Online Versus Face-to-Face Courses. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks JALN, 23(3), 234–. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i3.1556