The American Staffing Association’s THRIVE Virtual conference was held on April 27th, 2023. Not only was THRIVE a wonderfully executed virtual conference with stellar presentations, a fantastic moderator (@Diana Mertz), and poignant topics … you even left with a Spotify playlist to keep you striving and thriving while working!
Things kicked off with an energetic and thought-provoking presentation by Joyel Crawford, speaker and author of Show Your Ask. Joyel shared with us her career journey and all the amazing knowledge nuggets she learned along the way. She embodied one theme throughout her career: ‘It’s one thing to know your value, its another thing to SHOW your value.’ Joyel challenged us to keep track of our successes. Stop scrambling right before an annual review but create a folder and document your successes (and failures!) daily/weekly.
HOT takeaways for me were…Always share where you want to be…Show your ask!; DIG folder (Damn, I’m Great); If you can Name it, You can tame it; “No” can mean Next Opportunity; Fix Your Face (great advice for Zoom meetings!).
Next up for me was the amazing strategist, Pamela J. Green. She is an executive advisor and C-team coach. Author of Think Like an Executive Brand: A Playbook of 16 Scenario-based Practices for Distinctive Leadership. Pam’s message can be absorbed and assist anyone (at any level) to grow not only at your place of work but in everyday life. She talked about how we can use our mindset to set us up for success, that we need to challenge our thinking to be able to move forward. Strategic leaders and thinkers leverage vision to engage and motivate those at the ground level to follow their direction.
HOT takeaways were…Growth mindset vs fixed mindset; Recognize and Employ the Strategic Mindset; Fixed mindsets fixate on the negative emotions associated with judgment. Growth mindsets fixate on the positive aspects of the experience; Eliminate the excuse, so how do we get to Yes?
We rounded out the day with inspirational and witty thoughts by Joanna Lohman, former professional soccer player, member of the United States Women’s National Team, and co-author of Raising Tomorrow’s Champions.
Joanna’s take on using adversity as a catalyst for success struck a chord. Joanna had my neck hurting by the end with all my head nods of agreement while she spoke. She tackled not only disengagement at work and the cost to ourselves, the companies we work for, but how we can harness adversity to get to the other side and become our true authentic selves.
HOT takeaways were… “The ultimate measure of a (WO)man is not where (S)he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where (S)he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King, Jr.; “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Ralph Waldo Emerson; the best parts of life are on the other side of fear; MOLT: Mindfulness, Outburst, Let go and Let grow, Transformation.
What a great end to a great day! I highly recommend attending next year’s THRIVE conference, but you don’t have to wait an entire year: the American Staffing Association (ASA) is hosting a preconvention program called THRIVE Live: Elevating Careers, Empowering Women in Staffing on October 2-3 before Staffing World SW23 in Charlotte, NC on October 3-5 (learn more here).
