Workforce Development in Associations: AI, Adaptability, and the Power of DEI

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Lowell Aplebaum: Welcome
everybody to episode two of
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Associations NOW Presents, an
original podcast series from the
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American Society of Association
Executives. And we'd like to
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thank our episode sponsor today
Visit Omaha for the support of
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this podcast. My name is Lowell
Aplebaum. I'm the CEO of
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Vistacova, typically hosting the
Association Rockstars podcast,
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but really excited and overjoyed
to have the opportunity today to
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facilitate a meaningful
conversation around workforce
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development with two brilliant
minds in our community. And
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rather than read a speaker bio,
which probably would not have
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you still tuning in, we're going
to have the opportunity to hear
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a little bit about the own
professional journey from our
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two panelists today. So for each
of you, I'll ask you one at a
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time, if you could please tell
us a little bit about who you
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are and where you work, as we're
thinking about workforce
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development and professional
journeys that have led you to
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places of the association
community. Tell us a little bit
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about your journey. Haley, do
you want to go first?
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Haley Jones: Sure. So I'm Haley
Jones. I'm the director of
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member engagement at the
American staffing Association in
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Alexandria, Virginia. I spent my
entire career in the association
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space, but I got started through
being placed at my first
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association from a staffing
firm, ironically, X amount of
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years later, so I don't
necessarily age myself. I now
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work at the trade association
that represents the person who
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was once a member who got me
into associations to begin with.
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I started in associations
through member care, was
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answering the 800 line
processing applications. Moved
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into the membership department.
I spent the first half of my
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career in membership. The latter
half has been in governance and
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volunteer management, leadership
development. And then the last
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almost five years now has been
also in the DEI space. I oversee
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a team of four people who run
all of the, basically eight of
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the nine engagement programs
that ASA has. My main focus is
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our DEI initiatives. I think
where I've gotten to where I'm
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at now, I attribute a lot of it
to being a DELP Scholar. I'm in
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the 2019 to 2021 class, and got
access to mentoring and
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executive coaching and just
education opportunities that I
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ordinarily wouldn't have thanks
to Visit Detroit that sponsored
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everything, and that was a
turning point for me and my
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career and finding my voice and
just putting me in a leadership
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position, where I still work on
this now, but where people see
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me as a leader and I also
finally see myself as one too.
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Lowell Aplebaum: I love that.
Hopefully, as we were able to go
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into a discussion around
workforce development, that sort
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of transformational journey from
an employee to a profession to a
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leader, hopefully we can dig in
a little more on those stages as
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well as we think about that,
Joe, please.
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Joe Lindhal: Yeah, so I'm Joe
Lindahl. I serve as the CEO for
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Mission MSA, which is a
nonprofit organization for
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patient advocates and research
around multiple system atrophy,
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which is a rare
neurodegenerative disease
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closely aligned with
Parkinson's, but has the size
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and progression of it. I am with
MCI USA, which is a management
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company, so I think I share many
similar stories and journey as
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Haley. I was placed through a
temp staff firm with the
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Association Management Center
right after I graduated with a
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degree in journalism from
DePaul. Go Blue Demons! In front
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of the recession where
newspapers were failing, no one
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wanted to read or at least pay
for it. The whole industry was
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turned upside down. So I was
placed in this firm and I ended
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up really loving the world.
This, I think, is a very common
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story for us, association
professionals. Starting in
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marketing, really, after the
first two years of more
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operations and governance, moved
out to DC, where I got to work
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for the Child Life Council, and
then also worked at the American
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Staffing Association, where
Haley is now, where I had my
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"association, full circle
moment." Like, I get to support
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an industry that really has done
so much for me to where I am
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now. And then I moved back to
Chicago, worked for AMC again,
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serving as a senior ops for
specialty nursing groups, and
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eventually as an executive
director and to where I am now.
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So it has been a rapid journey.
You open your eyes and like, oh
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my gosh, what has happened? But
it's been a lot of fun, and I'm
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really excited to talk about the
workforce journey and workforce
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development.
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Lowell Aplebaum: I hope that you
will continue, both of you, to
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insert sort of personal
reflections of your own stages
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of your professional progression
as we talk about the larger
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workforce development. What's
interesting, I think about both
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of your backgrounds - besides,
it's amazing that both of you
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found sssociations by being
placed in them; I'd be
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interested in a research study
of what that percentage looks
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like as we now go into a
discussion on workforce
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development - there's really a
duality that we're discussing.
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One is the place of workforce
development within the
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association community itself,
and then the larger societal
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challenges or opportunities of
workforce development across
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many industries. And I imagine
from an American Staffing
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Association, you're looking many
different lenses. We all, of
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course, are well matched in the
association industry. So I
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welcome either of those paths
that you want to explore with
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the top I'll start thinking
broad, which is just as you
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think about workforce
development in general, from
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what you've experienced and from
your insights, what trends do
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you see? What would you identify
as some of the big markers of
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challenge, opportunity or the
way things are go? Haley, do you
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want to go first?
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Haley Jones: Yeah, so this is
something we do talk about a lot
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with our members, and especially
in hearing what they're seeing
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as they're putting people to
work, and one of the biggest
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ones is probably the emergence
of AI and the fact that people
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really need to learn it. And
there are people who think that
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AI is going to remove other
people from the workforce, and
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then that probably will happen
in some instances. But there's
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also a way to use AI as more of
a partner and not much for a
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replacement to your
responsibilities, and being able
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to learn how to use it to help
with maybe administrative tasks.
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Or several of us have used it
for writer's block, and then
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going back in and using it to
going through it with a to read,
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for comprehension, to make sure
that what it does dump out is,
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one it's accurate, or you make
it accurate, and also that it
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makes sense. But it gives you
the opportunity, if you are
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using it, to be able to focus on
higher level work and higher
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value things. But I just had a
conversation about two weeks ago
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about this, where everyone's
starting to learn AI now. I had
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an owner the other day say, "I'm
going to become obsolete. So I'm
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learning how to do all of this
now." He's, I think, in his 60s,
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and has been in the business for
over 30 years, but is also
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trying to keep his business
relevant. It's just been
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interesting to see the different
facets of it. There's also a
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bias issue when it comes to AI
that we can get into later, but
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because that definitely can hurt
minority communities in certain
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ways. But yeah, we've been
talking a lot about AI and just
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also really upskilling to learn
that or learn other skills to
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help further your career.
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Lowell Aplebaum: Joe?
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Joe Lindhal: The general
workforce piece, I think some of
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the trends that when we look for
talent, at least from an
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employer standpoint, is, we are
looking for a kind of
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willingness to adapt, having
some comfortability with
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technology. And how we operate
as a workplace is we are almost
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completely remote, so our team
is everywhere. There has to be
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the level of comfort of having
these video conversations,
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having to use SharePoint, how to
do video calls, how to be
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comfortable doing some of these
things that are really
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important. And from piggybacking
on what Haley's saying is as
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small staff especially, AI
presents a lot of opportunity. I
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think it's not going to replace
a lot of what we do yet
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individually, but it certainly
can act as an accelerator or
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simplifier in a lot of our
processes. For example, we have
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a support line that is open
where you can speak with a
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social worker if you have any
questions about your diagnosis.
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No one really generally knows
about multiple system atrophy
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until they have to know about
multiple system atrophy. And in
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that context, you're dealing
with folks that want everything
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they want to literally swallow
the ocean, and it's a really
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hard thing to do. And so what we
do have a social worker that's
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available to talk on the phone
answer emails, but we're
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exploring like we know what the
common questions are. We know
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where people need to go to where
can I find a movement disorder
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specialist? Where can I find a
clinical trial? How do I manage
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my symptoms? We can create a
chatbot based on our documents
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that will answer 75 to 90% of
those questions immediately. Our
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helpline is only open from nine
to five, but we deal with a
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global audience. So someone from
Australia has a question they
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want an answer. We think we can
create a resource that's going
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to be really useful in that
regard. So I have a person that
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is a licensed social worker,
that has a level of
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comfortability with the
technology. Might not have
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walked in as a coder or
developer, but is willing to
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learn and ask the questions to
those that can do it. How do we
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train it? How do we make sure
it's transparent? What biases?
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How do we make sure it takes
these two outputs that's really
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important from a workforce
place, because that way, I'm not
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training two skills they have a
level of comfort they're walking
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in with.
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Lowell Aplebaum: I love that
we've started in terms of
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discussing workforce development
with really front and center,
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the role of how AI is impacting
workforce development today and
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for the future. What's
interesting, I think, is if we
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look at historical trends of
where workforce development
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issues and discussions have
been, it's really been that,
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like your career journey has
been defined by being able to
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demonstrate the skills and
experience that you have, right?
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That's what your resume shows.
Does the skill and experience
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align to the position you're
looking for? But what you two
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are discussing is actually this
intersect that's not, perhaps
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not, about rate interested to
hear about the skills you have.
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It's about how much you're able
to demonstrate an ability to
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adapt to the skills that you
will need.
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Haley Jones: It kind of reminds
me of 2020 and obviously we all
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had to go virtual, and suddenly
everyone was learning how to use
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Zoom. And I remember for myself
and what we were doing. We used
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Zoom already however, we didn't
use it as often as we do now.
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And everyone laughs about I
remember when I had to just make
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a phone call, and now if someone
calls you on the phone, it's
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weird. And I became the resident
Zoom expert. There's two of us
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on staff who all of a sudden it
was like they know how to do
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this. So let's have them run
this virtual conference on Zoom.
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And when we have breakout
sessions, even now, for one of
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our virtual conferences, I get
the one that's the most
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difficult to set up, because I
know how to do it. I saw one of
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my chapters ran, I forget what
the platform was, but she ran
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virtual conference, and then
started offering her services to
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others because she had already
paid for the platform. So she
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offered it to other chapters and
other organizations, and she
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would run logistics in
production of their entire
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virtual conference. That became
another stream of income. She
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just adapted and learned how to
use it and became this expert at
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it. But I feel like AI is about
to become that same situation
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where you're figuring out how it
works best for you, how you can
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use it to move your either
yourself or even your
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organization, forward, but we
ought to adapt to it.
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Lowell Aplebaum: So I think the
question I would ask based off
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of that really tangible,
excellent example is, as you
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think about workforce
development, both for those
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seeking positions and those
seeking positions, what is your
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perspective of what that looks
like in a different context,
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when it's about, as you're
saying, finding someone who has
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the agility to adapt to what
we're going to need. Right? From
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your perspective in workforce
development, either, how does a
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candidate display or demonstrate
that agility, or from your
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perspective, how do employers
seek that agility that's not
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just based off of "give me your
resume of all the things you've
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done," because that doesn't
display that, right? I'm
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wondering if either of you have
perspectives about from either
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side of that. We've talked about
AI, this would have been a very
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different conversation 24 months
ago.
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Joe Lindhal: Yeah,I think it's a
tough thing to get at times
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like, it's not you're like,
you're it's not on a resume,
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it's not in chronological order
of how my past experiences would
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be a perfect fit for this role,
this opportunity in your
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company. For, I would say, like,
entry level folks, they don't
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have that. They're an intern,
maybe. But asking the questions
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around some more than
interpersonal like, how have you
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been a chameleon? And then also
asking, here you have the job
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description, I'm happy to walk
you through it in more human
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terms, because sometimes these
jobs because they already read
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like they've been written by
robots at times. But how do you
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just say, "Hey, this is what I
need. Give me an example from
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your perspective. How do you
make this work? What would you
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do differently?" I even give
them like test scenarios,
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saying, "This is the issues the
opportunity with what when the
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landscape of tools or
processing. What would you do?"
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It doesn't have to be perfect.
You don't know like the disease
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per se, but I just want to give
a general sense of how does your
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mind work? How does it adapt?
And can take things that aren't
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necessarily crystallized, but
absolutely can be flexible, and
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put them into work that advances
whatever industry, or that's how
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like as an employer, that's what
and from a talent perspective,
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that's what I look for,
especially for folks that are
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coming into a small staff
organization. We have titles,
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but the reality is, we're doing
what's best for the patient and
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the care partners, and we want
to find a cure. That's it.
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That's the North Star. So if it
comes outside your job
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description, and if you're
really good at zoom, or you're
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really good at implementing X, Y
or Z, I think you'd be willing
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to do it, it, be it in research
or advocacy or awareness, that's
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what we look for. Yeah,
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Lowell Aplebaum: I doubt that if
an association executive
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actually had a business card
that was the title of everything
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they did that would fit on a
business card. What you just
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shared, Joe, in terms of the
idea that I love...the "how have
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you been a chameleon?" That the
demonstration through
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application of how someone would
say that they would deal with a
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situation and adapt, is really
interesting. We all are really
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enmeshed in the association
world, part of which the mission
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of many. Organizations is to
support individuals on their
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professional journeys. Do you
have any perspectives from a
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place of how we help the
individuals that belong to our
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organizations get better at
demonstration of this
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adaptability? How are
organizations that are supposed
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to be your partners in
supporting your professional
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success actually helping people
learn how to be adaptable in the
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skill sets they need for the
future.
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Haley Jones: I honestly get an
opportunity with a lot of the
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programs that we do. The
majority of our members are
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small businesses. Many of them
are jacks of all trades, and
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they're putting people to work.
I say, I don't, Joe, I don't
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know if you ever said this too
is, having worked at ASA, that
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the staffing industry, to me,
always reminded me of the
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association industry, and that
there's an association for
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everything. There's a staffing
firm for literally any job that
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you can think about and what we
do a lot of our programming, in
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some cases, it's to help
strengthen their own internal
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workforce, but also to help them
guide the candidates that
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they're placing, or the clients
that are accepting the
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candidates and working with
them, and different ways to
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hopefully either adapt to what
they're about to hire or be
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higher into and succeed. But we
have one member in particular
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who I always love hearing about
them, their focus is skills
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first, and so they're taking
these great skills that their
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employees or candidates have.
And they're finding the best fit
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for them in the workplace. I
think of one story where a
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person is actually someone who
had special needs and he was not
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doing well at a job site. He was
also non-verbal, so he couldn't
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necessarily express what he
didn't like about the job. But
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they knew that he liked
something down the street,
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because he was always going to a
car watch, and was an amazement
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at these cars. So they thought,
why don't we focus on what he
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likes and see if we can get him
a job down there? He still works
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there, and he dries off the cars
in a car wash, watches them go
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through. But he's succeeding in
this role because it's something
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that fit him, and they focus on
his skills and interests.
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Lowell Aplebaum: First, I love
that the people-center approach
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to that, that how do you balance
the needs of an organization or
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a company, and what they think
they need is a skill set by
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recognizing the strengths and
interests and potential in the
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individuals that work for that
company, and have that be
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something that can be, hopefully
something in harmony. That's a
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really nice picture of what
ideally a workforce could look
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like.
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We'd like to take a quick break
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meetings.
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00:18:26,100 --> 00:18:28,200
Lowell Aplebaum: I want to
shift, if I can, a little bit,
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just to recognize that while
there are sort of general
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workforce challenges out there,
I'm curious, as we go into a D&I
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lens, what roles do you see the
associations playing in the
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future of workforce development
when it pertains to diversity
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and inclusion? Do you think
there's a role for our
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professional organizations as we
think about workforce
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development paths and have a
lens towards minority
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communities or the need for a
more diverse workforce?
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00:18:56,290 --> 00:18:58,750
Haley Jones: It's an unfortunate
reality that we have to put it
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this way sometimes, but it's
also effective. DEI affects your
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bottom line positively, if done
correctly, and that's something
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that I work for my I'm the staff
liaison to our IDEA group, which
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is inclusion, diversity and
equity advocacy. And we are just
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promoting the business case to
our members and to understand
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why these inclusive practices
essentially help your bottom
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line, help your retention, with
your employees or candidates,
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for that matter, but also just
make it a better place and
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environment to work. But I think
that one of the ways that we can
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play a role in this is just at
least setting not a standard per
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se, but maybe a good example, I
always hesitate to say best
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practices, and I try to say
effective instead, but showing
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00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:51,460
effective ways that you can
incorporate dei into what your
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workforce and by helping them
succeed, I just think that
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that's where associations can
help and having things that they
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can model after. Even for other
orgs who are modeling DELP-like
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00:20:02,980 --> 00:20:06,310
programs for their respective
organizations, that's where
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ASAE, I think, has played a huge
role. We've all seen the success
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of the DELP program, and we're
starting to see other
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organizations do something
similar to try to have that same
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success for whatever that
population is.
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Joe Lindhal: I totally agree. I
think there's a lot of different
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responsibilities associations
and nonprofits have when they
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00:20:24,259 --> 00:20:27,905
represent a whole industry or
profession. You have so much
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00:20:27,967 --> 00:20:31,550
access, in theory, to thought
leaders staff that can help
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elevate communities that haven't
been seen or heard from in a
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really meaningful way. There's
systemic issues I think that
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associations can certainly play
a role in. I also think that
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there's an opportunity and a
responsibility for groups like
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ours to elevate, purposefully
and intentionally provide
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00:20:50,406 --> 00:20:54,492
invitations and access of almost
a see it, and you can be it kind
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of situation like I think ASAE
has done a pretty good job of
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that from a personal
perspective. As an association
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00:21:01,657 --> 00:21:05,554
management professional coming
into the industry, I'm a member
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of the AANHPI group that we
recently formed three years ago,
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and one of the first things I
said of why I even want to be a
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00:21:13,348 --> 00:21:17,370
part of this--shout out again to
DELP because this is where this
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00:21:17,433 --> 00:21:21,016
conversation starts--is my
barrier has been, I have never
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seen anyone that looks like me
be in a CEO position of a large
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00:21:25,038 --> 00:21:28,935
association. One person I knew
that was the name only, and now
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00:21:28,998 --> 00:21:33,084
I think I can call him my mentor
is Richard Yep, who was with the
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00:21:33,147 --> 00:21:37,232
American Counseling Association.
That was it. And for me, I think
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00:21:37,295 --> 00:21:41,129
we have a responsibility to ask
that question of, "Why aren't
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there more folks that are
actually reflective of the
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00:21:44,523 --> 00:21:48,231
country and the world that we
live in places of influence?"
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00:21:48,294 --> 00:21:51,374
Because we shouldn't be. And I
do think there's a
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responsibility for associations
to be reflective of their
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industry, and there are
underrepresented people and
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00:21:58,351 --> 00:22:01,682
communities that have the
ability to be elevated, not
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00:22:01,745 --> 00:22:05,579
because of tokenism, but because
they're really good at their
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00:22:05,642 --> 00:22:09,413
jobs, and they have to do it.
And eventually you want to get
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00:22:09,476 --> 00:22:13,436
to a place where it isn't a big
deal, but it is. I notice every
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00:22:13,498 --> 00:22:16,955
time, as an Asian American, is
elevated to senior level
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00:22:17,018 --> 00:22:20,789
position, or when there's a
Fellow at ASAE, and I think it's
381
00:22:20,852 --> 00:22:24,435
really important that see it,
you can be it, so it really
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00:22:24,498 --> 00:22:28,018
supports the next generation,
the workforce development,
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00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:32,040
saying, that's cool. I never saw
an Asian American male in this
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00:22:32,103 --> 00:22:36,000
capacity, and that is an actual
viable place for me, because I
385
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won't be the only one. I do
think that there's a
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00:22:39,143 --> 00:22:42,977
responsibility there for groups
like ours, of why we exist as
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00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:44,800
nonprofits and associations.
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00:22:45,650 --> 00:22:47,990
Lowell Aplebaum: How do you
think associations can prepare
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00:22:47,990 --> 00:22:51,830
themselves for these evolving
workforce needs, thinking back
390
00:22:51,830 --> 00:22:54,710
to where we started, right like
adaptability and what we need to
391
00:22:54,710 --> 00:22:58,250
demonstrate in the future for
successful career journeys. How
392
00:22:58,250 --> 00:23:01,610
do associations prepare
themselves to be able to address
393
00:23:01,610 --> 00:23:03,980
those workforce needs, while
also, as you're saying,
394
00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,540
meaningfully maintaining a focus
on minority communities, knowing
395
00:23:08,540 --> 00:23:11,210
that it creates a better whole
community, a better industry, a
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00:23:11,210 --> 00:23:13,310
better bottom line. Haley, as
you said, right, all the
397
00:23:13,310 --> 00:23:17,030
benefits of doing so. Any
thoughts or examples you've seen
398
00:23:17,060 --> 00:23:19,760
about how associations prepare
themselves or take action on
399
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:20,060
that?
400
00:23:21,020 --> 00:23:24,320
Haley Jones: I think you have to
be prepared and also forward
401
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:29,210
thinking. I was on a program, I
guess, last month, and we were
402
00:23:29,210 --> 00:23:34,070
talking about the legislation
against DEI or the threats that
403
00:23:34,070 --> 00:23:39,110
are coming out, one of which is
from the other VP candidate, and
404
00:23:39,290 --> 00:23:42,410
they're trying to flip the
acronym on its head and make it
405
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:48,110
negative. And someone said, we
have to be ready. I challenge
406
00:23:48,140 --> 00:23:51,740
you all to be ready for this and
prepared for something like this
407
00:23:51,740 --> 00:23:55,550
so it doesn't throw you off when
it comes because what you see
408
00:23:55,550 --> 00:23:58,970
now are people not necessarily
walking back their initiatives,
409
00:23:58,970 --> 00:24:01,670
but they're changing names of
it, so that they're not under,
410
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,840
kind of falling under this
category. But I think it's just
411
00:24:05,870 --> 00:24:09,740
being able to really have some
foresight and being ready for
412
00:24:09,740 --> 00:24:13,640
it, but also leaning in and not
walking it back the way that
413
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:16,550
people seem to have started
doing right now.
414
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:19,180
Joe Lindhal: I don't have
terribly much to add. I think
415
00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:23,860
preparing the the wants and the
need to the workforce, while
416
00:24:23,890 --> 00:24:27,010
keeping a focus on
underrepresented or minority
417
00:24:27,010 --> 00:24:30,970
communities is one in the same.
I just feel like what we here to
418
00:24:30,970 --> 00:24:35,350
see from folks that are coming
up is they want to have that
419
00:24:35,350 --> 00:24:37,900
type of education. They want to
have these discussions. This
420
00:24:37,900 --> 00:24:43,750
idea of bringing a whole self to
work is valuable, and so how do
421
00:24:43,750 --> 00:24:48,190
we as employers or supervisors
or whatnot, prepare ourselves
422
00:24:48,190 --> 00:24:52,000
for that? How are we going to
react to that? What level of
423
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:56,560
conversation, what level of
resources do we want to put
424
00:24:56,560 --> 00:25:00,100
around this? That's what I think
is really an interesting
425
00:25:00,100 --> 00:25:02,650
conversation, because I think
the conversations you might have
426
00:25:02,650 --> 00:25:06,940
with your managers, your
directors, your admins, your
427
00:25:06,940 --> 00:25:12,010
coordinators, probably sound
different than the CEOs. And how
428
00:25:12,010 --> 00:25:15,700
do we get to a closer alignment
and transparency around what is
429
00:25:15,700 --> 00:25:19,750
valuable when we prepare the
workforce for the DEIA-type of
430
00:25:19,750 --> 00:25:22,810
discussions and what's the
expectation of the employee from
431
00:25:22,810 --> 00:25:27,880
the employer? Is it an email
celebrating a AANHPI Heritage
432
00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:31,990
Month and then nothing happens?
I don't know. And how are these
433
00:25:31,990 --> 00:25:36,580
questions being asked earnestly
and honestly? So I see this as
434
00:25:36,910 --> 00:25:40,240
one of the key needs for
workforce development and
435
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:41,740
consideration moving forward.
436
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,340
Lowell Aplebaum: I know we
talked about a number of
437
00:25:43,340 --> 00:25:46,370
questions beforehand, but both
of your responses makes me want
438
00:25:46,370 --> 00:25:49,040
to ask one last one, which is
not on the list, which is...I'd
439
00:25:49,070 --> 00:25:52,580
love to hear if you have any
thoughts about the implications
440
00:25:52,580 --> 00:25:57,260
and needs of culture within an
organization as we think about
441
00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:01,460
minority community involvement,
commitments, implicit or
442
00:26:01,460 --> 00:26:05,330
explicit, to diversity,
inclusion, or in general, a
443
00:26:05,330 --> 00:26:08,150
shifting workforce trends like,
what are the those cultural
444
00:26:08,150 --> 00:26:11,930
pieces internally that are going
to lead to better organizational
445
00:26:11,930 --> 00:26:14,990
success in workforce
development. As I heard in
446
00:26:15,020 --> 00:26:18,050
elements of both of what you
said, not just process, but
447
00:26:18,050 --> 00:26:21,980
culture. Do you have any
reflections on sort of insights
448
00:26:21,980 --> 00:26:24,740
of cultural commitment or
direction organizations need to
449
00:26:24,740 --> 00:26:28,790
embrace to see more workforce
development success. I'd love to
450
00:26:28,790 --> 00:26:30,980
hear any of those cultural
reflections.
451
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,780
Haley Jones: I think for me, it
mean that just not tiptoeing
452
00:26:33,780 --> 00:26:36,660
around it. DEI is not a bad
thing, and I think sometimes
453
00:26:36,660 --> 00:26:40,620
people get uncomfortable with
it. And it's not always meant to
454
00:26:40,620 --> 00:26:43,290
be comfortable conversations
when you're talking about
455
00:26:43,290 --> 00:26:47,280
certain things, especially for
us as minorities, who see things
456
00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:50,370
through a different lens,
experience things completely
457
00:26:50,370 --> 00:26:52,800
different than others do.
Because sometimes people do just
458
00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:56,070
look at us differently because
of the color of our skin or
459
00:26:56,070 --> 00:26:58,890
because someone who might have a
disability or whatever it is.
460
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:02,250
But I think that just having
open discussions about it,
461
00:27:02,430 --> 00:27:07,140
having awareness around certain
things, giving time and space
462
00:27:07,140 --> 00:27:09,720
for people to be able to
celebrate certain things. In our
463
00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:14,730
office, we either have a monthly
activity, or we have training,
464
00:27:14,730 --> 00:27:18,240
or we have some kind of
celebration around food, because
465
00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:23,040
that brings people in the doo.
But a lot of it is usually ways
466
00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,160
to just teach people about
things they might not know. You
467
00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,760
know, in February we did a we
called it Bagels and Black
468
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:34,020
History Month. But our the whole
kitchen was filled with fun
469
00:27:34,020 --> 00:27:37,680
facts about black history that
some you would think people
470
00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:41,010
knew. And there are others, like
one of them, which was a hot
471
00:27:41,010 --> 00:27:44,550
topic, was about Reading
Rainbow, the theme song being
472
00:27:44,580 --> 00:27:48,720
sung by Chaka Khan. A lot of
people didn't know that. I can't
473
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:53,700
tell by your face if you know
what I can, but it was such it
474
00:27:53,700 --> 00:27:56,040
was a fun fact that it was
something that everyone was
475
00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:59,940
talking about for a week, but it
was a space for people to learn
476
00:27:59,940 --> 00:28:03,960
things about my culture, and
we've done it for a couple of
477
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,080
other celebration and awareness
months as well. But I think
478
00:28:07,410 --> 00:28:11,100
having space for people to do
that makes a big change, and
479
00:28:11,100 --> 00:28:14,100
also, I would hope, even with
some of the trainings, just
480
00:28:14,100 --> 00:28:18,480
helps people maybe take a beat
before they say something that
481
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:21,930
might be deemed offensive, or it
might change their perspective
482
00:28:21,930 --> 00:28:23,520
moving forward. Yeah,
483
00:28:24,620 --> 00:28:27,200
Joe Lindhal: I think that the
culture is...we always I think
484
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:30,890
we all ask that question if
we're interviewing or doing the
485
00:28:30,890 --> 00:28:34,640
interview. It's a hard one to
answer and when and someone
486
00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,030
asked me that I was I say to me,
culture is walk into a room and
487
00:28:38,030 --> 00:28:42,560
you basically already know what
the expectations are of you and
488
00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:46,370
the people in the room, what are
you committed to? And so I think
489
00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,250
culture can be viewed a lot of
different ways from different
490
00:28:49,250 --> 00:28:53,360
lenses, and that's part of it is
being okay with people will
491
00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:56,870
experience and perceive things
differently based on their own
492
00:28:56,900 --> 00:29:00,500
perspectives, but we're all
pushing towards this one goal.
493
00:29:00,530 --> 00:29:04,550
Here's what's acceptable, here
is what's not. But I think it
494
00:29:04,550 --> 00:29:09,050
has to be the culture of
acceptance and learning and
495
00:29:09,050 --> 00:29:12,650
being willing to say, "Hey, I
don't know." I think it's a good
496
00:29:12,650 --> 00:29:15,500
idea to ask employers and
employees of what their
497
00:29:15,500 --> 00:29:19,040
expectations are around some of
these things, because they like
498
00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:22,100
Haley said, they can be hot
buttony, but they don't have to
499
00:29:22,100 --> 00:29:25,130
be like, I'm just like, I just
want you to bring your whole
500
00:29:25,130 --> 00:29:28,760
self. And if I don't know
something or like, I'm of the
501
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:31,850
age where pronouns are still new
to me, but I will ask now, like,
502
00:29:31,850 --> 00:29:35,360
I've learned a lot as a
older-ish millennial, at this
503
00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:39,080
point, I want to learn except
the whole person, and I think
504
00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:41,090
there's strengths in that
505
00:29:41,090 --> 00:29:43,430
Lowell Aplebaum: time goes by
very quickly, and I have at
506
00:29:43,430 --> 00:29:47,240
least 20 more questions I wanted
to ask, but we'll wrap up our
507
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,660
time with this last one, which
is, just as you think about the
508
00:29:50,660 --> 00:29:54,140
range of our conversation today
and the intersects of
509
00:29:54,140 --> 00:29:57,830
adaptability and AI into really
building a stronger workforce,
510
00:29:57,860 --> 00:30:01,460
towards embracing that priority
of diversity, inclusion, and how
511
00:30:01,460 --> 00:30:04,430
that can help strengthen
workforce and providing those
512
00:30:04,430 --> 00:30:07,700
opportunities and aligning
culture the borrowings we've
513
00:30:07,700 --> 00:30:10,430
gone through. For those who are
listening in, if you were to
514
00:30:10,430 --> 00:30:13,310
share with them a closing
thought, a one-piece-of-advice
515
00:30:13,340 --> 00:30:17,060
or one takeaway that you're
walking away with, what would be
516
00:30:17,060 --> 00:30:19,790
the one piece that you would
hope people would remember from
517
00:30:19,790 --> 00:30:24,200
this or start from our
conversation today. And I had
518
00:30:24,740 --> 00:30:27,710
Haley introduce herself first.
So Joe, I'm gonna go to you
519
00:30:27,710 --> 00:30:28,190
first for a conclusion.
520
00:30:28,900 --> 00:30:30,760
Joe Lindhal: Advice usually
comes from a wise person, and
521
00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:33,670
I'm trying to think how wise I
am. It's just my perspective,
522
00:30:33,670 --> 00:30:37,720
but I guess my one piece of
advice is wherever you want to
523
00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:41,290
work, and when you think about
workforce development, just
524
00:30:41,290 --> 00:30:44,890
think about the whole person.
You don't spend any more time
525
00:30:45,010 --> 00:30:49,360
with a group of people or in a
place than you do at work. I
526
00:30:49,390 --> 00:30:53,590
don't spend as much time my
wife, my kids. This is it. This
527
00:30:53,590 --> 00:30:57,400
is where you spend a bulk of
your time. So you can be
528
00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:00,970
professional. You can obviously
not bring your full 1,000%
529
00:31:00,970 --> 00:31:04,240
authentic self. I don't think we
do that other than maybe in
530
00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:08,140
front of a mirror every once in
a while, but understand that
531
00:31:08,140 --> 00:31:10,810
like they're bringing a wide
range of background and
532
00:31:10,810 --> 00:31:14,050
experiences to the table, and be
ready to embrace that. I think
533
00:31:14,050 --> 00:31:14,800
it's positive.
534
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:15,850
Lowell Aplebaum: Haley?
535
00:31:15,540 --> 00:31:18,427
Haley Jones: So I'm also going
to offer advice, and this comes
536
00:31:18,486 --> 00:31:21,845
from the lens of...I was a
college basketball coach, so I
537
00:31:21,904 --> 00:31:25,440
tend to operate with my team the
way I would operate with my
538
00:31:23,700 --> 00:31:29,455
Lowell Aplebaum: I love that. We
can't thank you enough, both of
539
00:31:25,499 --> 00:31:29,270
players, especially in terms of
development. So I would say just
540
00:31:29,329 --> 00:31:32,983
as far as development of your
employees, it's finding out what
541
00:31:29,577 --> 00:31:36,558
you, for your time today, for
being willing to bring your
542
00:31:33,042 --> 00:31:36,696
motivates them; finding out what
interests they have and maybe
543
00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:43,415
wisdom and your insights and
your experience you've all
544
00:31:36,755 --> 00:31:40,055
where they see themselves going
in their career. But not
545
00:31:40,114 --> 00:31:43,532
necessarily long term, but at
least in the next few years.
546
00:31:43,538 --> 00:31:50,885
benefited from it, and really
good thoughts on the workforce
547
00:31:43,591 --> 00:31:47,244
I've done that every year I ask
why--one person on my team has
548
00:31:47,303 --> 00:31:51,075
actually been with me for over a
year--and every year since I've
549
00:31:51,008 --> 00:31:58,355
ahead and how we need to be
chameleons for success in there,
550
00:31:51,134 --> 00:31:54,787
become her supervisor, I say,
tell me what you want to work on
551
00:31:54,846 --> 00:31:58,029
this year. Tell me where you
want to go, where you see
552
00:31:58,087 --> 00:32:01,623
yourself going, as far as your
career, because she's decided
553
00:31:58,478 --> 00:32:05,580
in the skills that we develop
and bring forward. Thanks to
554
00:32:01,682 --> 00:32:05,395
she really likes associations.
She finally started referring to
555
00:32:05,454 --> 00:32:09,049
herself as a component relations
professional. And so I said,
556
00:32:05,703 --> 00:32:12,805
everyone for listening to this
episode of Associations NOW
557
00:32:09,108 --> 00:32:12,820
"Tell me what things you want to
work on so that I can help you
558
00:32:12,879 --> 00:32:16,533
get there. Because in my eyes,
I'm developing you either for a
559
00:32:12,928 --> 00:32:20,398
Presents. We hope you'll join us
each month as we explore key
560
00:32:16,592 --> 00:32:20,128
promotion where we're currently
at or for whatever your next
561
00:32:20,187 --> 00:32:23,781
role is, whether it's at our
association or not." And I enjoy
562
00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:27,868
topics relevant to association
professionals, discussing the
563
00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:27,376
coaching people, and so that's
the approach that I take, but
564
00:32:27,435 --> 00:32:30,971
it's really finding out what
gets them going so that you can
565
00:32:27,990 --> 00:32:35,827
challenges and opportunities in
the field today and highlighting
566
00:32:31,030 --> 00:32:33,800
encourage that and cultivate it
moving forward.
567
00:32:35,950 --> 00:32:43,297
the significant impact that
associations have on the economy
568
00:32:43,420 --> 00:32:50,645
the US and the world. Again,
we'd like to thank our sponsor
569
00:32:50,767 --> 00:32:57,258
Visit Omaha. For more
information about them, you can
570
00:32:57,380 --> 00:33:03,258
check out visit
omaha.com/meetings. We hope that
571
00:33:03,380 --> 00:33:10,973
you subscribe to our podcast on
Apple Spotify, or wherever you
572
00:33:11,095 --> 00:33:17,708
listen to your favorite
podcasts. For more information
573
00:33:17,831 --> 00:33:24,688
on workforce development in the
association space, visit
574
00:33:24,811 --> 00:33:31,423
Associations NOW online at
associationsnow.com We hope
575
00:33:31,546 --> 00:33:38,771
you'll join us next month, where
we'll have part two of our
576
00:33:38,893 --> 00:33:45,629
discussion on workforce
development. We hope to see you
577
00:33:45,751 --> 00:33:50,160
there. Thanks so much for tuning
in.