Learning How to Make a Difference for Many, Beyond One: Scaling Impact and Reach Beyond Your Bubble

TAHRA Recap: Talk with Local SHRM Chapter

I have spent much of my career leading so many great people, 99% having good work ethic, attitude, and intention. But the reality is, those who were direct reports were supposed to listen, follow, engage, and support. And the same for me. Even with internal or client partners, there was a general understanding of their role and that of my own. I have been leading a mostly, willing group of professionals or partners, and most leaders are.

With CHRO/i, a recent talk with a local SHRM chapter, or with a career support group a few weeks ago, I am an outsider, a stranger in most cases, and that comes with the fact that you must earn trust with little up front established. Unless they happened to do their homework and check your profile beforehand, and you gain credibility and trust there, I’m just a guy talking, and have 60 seconds to convince them that I am worth listening to, believing, following, and maybe even connecting with, or inviting back again in the future.

That’s hard. It’s hard to be a “nobody” compared to some of their other guests, to talk about something that may not resonate with that group at that time, or topics that may not be meeting them where they are. It’s hard to be the newbie speaker. I have to earn trust from people that aren’t directed to follow, but could be rooting for me if my message hits the right way. It helps to remember you’re there to help the audience and they want to learn and have a productive session. They are rooting for you.

Takeaways From My Talk with the Tippecanoe Area Human Resources Association (TAHRA)

A few things stood out from my talk this month. The group was engaged, listening and taking it in, they were fairly serious about the session and the time they had committed to make this session in person or online. The topic seemed to land fairly well, and is relevant for any group coming from the right place with an interest in learning, development, and self-growth. The engagement was great when asking the group what they had down on their sheet of one word or phrase that sums them up from a professional perspective. People shared some good stuff with stories behind it:

• Utility

• Making a difference

• Compassion

From the talk, that was probably the best section, when I was able to ask others to share their own thoughts, and it was really cool to hear others share what either they think about themselves or what other people people label them as, or describe them as a positive positive way. This section of the talk led us to the stories. Stories connect humans with such power and purpose, stories drive home points, teach, and inform, and stories move people in some way. Depending one the quality and gravity of your story, that may ignite a little movement or a lot.

I also learned that when you prepare for a talk like this, even though it was just 14 people in a room, including a few online, your plan and the topic itself must be clear. When you’re talking about something you weren’t told to talk about, with no preplanned talking points, no widely known topic, something where no one told you what to say, and you aren’t just reciting facts and figures, clarity and thought ahead of the speech, is what helps give you power during the speech. I learned how to prepare for a talk like this. Sharing what I want to talk about I wanted to talk about with the group was such a great experience. It really was empowering and gave me so much just energy. Making an impact on others really lights me up and gives me energy.

I’ve done it twice recently and it was completely different each time. Once was with a career group, before this session with TAHRA. With the career group, it was about their job search or career growth, and they were so engaged and gave so much good feedback, and people contributed quite a bit during the session. The contributions actually helped make various points more valuable, and filled a lot of time to where I didn’t cover nearly as much as I did with TAHRA. This HR group (TAHRA) was so attentive, listened, and so engaged, although somewhat reserved throughout most of it.

Does that mean you go in with a plan for a talk, of course, but you also have to be able to adapt and dig a little deeper with a group to get them to open up a little earlier in the conversation. That’s where the good stuff happens - sharing and stories, that people connection.

I learned a lot about myself through this talk. I learned how much I can learn from HR professionals and aspects of the profession where I have less experience. I learned more about who I am as a Workforce Advisor & Leader | Tech & Human Integrator | Account Executive.

That’s a good thing.

I learned that I really enjoy talking with groups about specific topics I care about personally, and not just a script that’s dictated to me, a pre-planned meeting, or whatever the case may be. It’s fun to go off script, create something, and share with others and see how they react.

The impact you are able to make often comes from putting yourself out there.

Hopefully, this added a little value to your business or your career. Thank you for reading. Please repost or share with someone who may benefit from this edition.

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