Tuesday Keynote

KEYNOTE RECAP

Talent Development in a Hybrid Work Environment

Presented by Traveling Coaches

Tuesday Keynote Recap


The pandemic was and still is a fast accelerator for change in the workplace. One of the biggest changes firms and other organizations are facing is onboarding and acclimating new hires. How do you provide disparate work teams with opportunities to connect, collaborate, and create a community? How do you mentor new associates without the benefit of extensive face time with senior partners?

These are the questions that keep many Professional Development, Talent Management, and Human Resources professionals up at night. Gina Buser, CEO of Traveling Coaches; Desirée Moore, Partner and Director of Professional Development of K&L Gates; and Elizabeth (Betsy) Nelson, Real Estate Counsel and Adjunct Law School Professor; discussed these challenges and creative ways to engage and develop your talent in a hybrid work environment.

The key solutions can be found in sharing experiences.
Desirée gave the example of digital “the great debate” program for K&L Gates summer associates that not only improved their public speaking skills, but also introduced them to partners and other lawyers across all the firms’ offices. K&L Gates also started The Access Club where they interview key members of the firm on their leadership skills with zero scripts. This gave lawyers greater exposure to the firm and management committee, shared leadership intentions, and made the interviewees more “human” and approachable to others.

These two programs increased connections and brought forward the human side of employees.
Betsy shared the example of weekly check-ins where the meeting starts with good news from everyone. This brought intentionality to how people talked about themselves.

In the grand scheme of things, "The people are what this is really about.”
Does holistic training take time? Yes! But Gina reinforced in the session chat, “When there a sense of a lack of meaning, that is when they start disconnecting. That’s a powerful statement for us to consider as we think about our teams and colleagues.”

Be intentional about your time, actions, and connections.

To watch the speech, registered participants can find the video in the ILTACON 2021 Online Community Library and non-registered participants can gain access to this keynote and other recordings by purchasing the bundle.

Other takeaways and opinions of the keynote from attendees
“Try not to tell them what you can’t do, focus telling them what you can do.”
Marc Meleney (via Boomset Chat)

“Absolute BEST session thus far! Real people, real advice - relevant and so beneficial.”
Marni Beach (via Boomset Chat)

" Man, after this panel and others, I'm sensing a shift in the Force inside law firms. Four decades in law firms, and I've never heard as many conversations about people and their well-being. Truly a silver lining that has come out of a horrible time in history. #myILTACON”
Michelle Spencer (via Twitter)