The educational highlight of IHRSA 2019 for me was the presentation by Craig Weber on “Conversational Capacity”. As part of the REX Roundtable event, he offered amazing insight on the key to open, balanced, and non-defensive dialogue in the workplace. Craig shared easy to implement techniques that can provide immediate results. I plan to incorporate some of these in my upcoming meetings.

Three Golden Nuggets I left with are;

1. Nothing lowers conversational capacity more predictably than the presence of authority. Especially if you are in a leadership position, to gain the meaningful discourse desired, it must be cultivated. Brutally honest feedback is rarely given.
2. Differentiation is a must in today’s competitive environment. Even delivering outstanding customer experience isn’t enough to make you stand out in a crowd. Be unique.
3. Trust is in crisis around the world. Said another way, there is a believability crisis. People are less trusting than ever before – and rightly so. We must all do our best to be trustworthy in the small and larger things of life.

Attending IHRSA 2020 should be at the top of everyone’s plans for next year! This annual educational experience is a singular and significant opportunity to broaden your horizons and sharpen your skills. The combination of keynote speakers, topical sessions, trade show, networking, and energy are the reason so many leaders in our industry have been attending for decades. Every year I leave having grown as a professional and a person.