What is a Power Member?  A Power Member is an ATD member that holds both local chapter and national membership. Local chapters provide opportunities to connect and learn with other TD Professionals in your area. National membership provides access to information about trends in the industry, research, best practices, and design tools and templates from ATD sources. I’ve been thinking about Power Membership even more after returning from the recent 2019 ATD International Conference and Expo (ICE) and reflecting on my experience as a Power Member. Both memberships provide a multitude of resources for you to use professionally. Membership at both levels also allow human connections to develop organically.

I had the opportunity to attend ICE with some local board members which was a great way to learn more about our roles in the talent development field. As a chapter we organized a meetup with other local ATDChi members that attended ICE this year. Our purpose was to meet and connect with other members and have ice cream together. This time together allowed us to put names with faces, have some laughs, and share our favorite conference experiences. These moments were meaningful to me not only as a local member, but also as chapter President for it provided a shared experience that will build the foundation for stronger professional relationships.

The national membership allowed me to register for the conference using a member discounted rate, attend a variety of amazing sessions and visit with vendors to learn more about emerging technologies and a variety of platforms. I met TD professionals from different states and countries and learned more about their roles.  Discussing our key takeaways from the sessions that we attended was priceless. Meeting members from different parts of the world expanded my key takeaways as cultural influences allowed information to resonate with people differently. I was able to also learn more about sessions that I couldn’t attend from others who had participated in those sessions. This provided me with insight about potential presenters to see during my next conference, or in the interim read articles by or view recordings of those presenters. These informal learning opportunities were worth the price of registration plus held a special place in my heart because of the new people I met.  

Each connection I made was a genuine display of curiosity, two or more people looking to learn more about each other and share our session experience.  The human connection now enhances the connection on social media platforms. I can send a message to any one of my new TD friends and continue to build on our shared conference experience.

If you aren’t an ATD Power Member, consider adding this to your Professional Development plan. Local and national membership has a place in helping you as a Talent Development profession have impactful discussions with your business partners to identify, develop, and deliver the right solutions in addressing performance gaps in their organizations.