In the midst of change in the way we work, the way we grow, and the way we connect, many of the topics at the Virtual 2021 California HR Conference focus on helping HR professionals and their teams to prepare for the road ahead. One of the foremost thought leaders in the area of inclusivity and diversity is Dr. Johné Battle, who will outline his strategy for sourcing talent and developing high-performance teams.

Research shows that average person is only working at half their capacity, yet with shifts in the economy, demanding customers, a shortage of top-tier talent, and limited resources, they’re expected to do more with less and yield even better results. As an HR professional, it’s critical to be strategic about setting your team up for success.

But how can you change your approach to nurturing talent and impacting change? In this session with Dr. Johné Battle, you’ll explore the growth mindset needed to expand the capacity of individuals, teams, and the organization to drive business results. You’ll also recognize how reactions to differences can impact the treatment of people and their ability to contribute their best work.

In the ever-important role of sourcing for talent, many organizations use assessment tools or interviews, but few look at grit. Johné will address the importance of committing to grit and what you need to do to model inclusive leadership skills and communicate key messaging about the importance of inclusion. You’ll leave understanding how the equity development process can help you impact change throughout your organization.

1. Understand how belief in capability is based on an environment where employees can be authentically themselves, feel comfortable and get reassurance.
2. See how the learning loop works through opportunity and the right stretch.
3. Explore how positive positioning begins with effective support and feedback.
4. Get a confirmation of belief by assessing employees for a learning mindset, engagement, positive disposition, performance and future opportunity.

The Power of ALL TALENT…Having the COURAGE to IMPACT CHANGE
Thursday, May 27, 2021, 9-10am

Dr. J. E. Battle is VP, Diversity & Inclusion at Dollar General and Founder and CEO of The Greatness Factory. r. Johné Battle is an author, keynote speaker, professor, executive coach, change agent, blogger, and leadership development expert who helps smart people lead more effectively and develop high performing teams. He provides diversity and inclusion counseling, change management, team- building and leadership development for CEOs, top executives, and leadership teams ranging from mid-sized businesses to Fortune 500 companies.

As a dynamic motivational speaker, Johné has taken the attention of students, athletes, educators and corporate execs of all ages, interests, and backgrounds hostage with his energetic and heartfelt messages of hope, persistence, and moving beyond your circumstances. His story of overcoming an early age reading disability to pursuing an Ivy League doctoral degree has inspired audiences across the nation. He is an advocate for transformational development, and life-changing reimbursement by leveraging the benefits and freedoms that can only come through education.

The 10-80-10 principle

One of the biggest benefits of the Virtual 2021 California HR Conference is the talented array of presenters. And one of the best is Sunjay Nath, who will be discussing his 10-80-10 Principle.

Delivered in a high energy, high content and highly humorous manner, the 10-80-10 Principle is a framework that allows you to increase your performance and results by focusing your energy and efforts on highest yielding activities. It helps individuals and teams operate at a dynamic level.

Every person or group already exhibits behaviors that are Top 10 (percent) – those behaviors that lead to high performance and achievement. What people lack is the knowledge and a framework to consistently operate at that dynamic Top 10 level. The 10-80-10 Principle program provides a methodology to reward and grow Top 10 behaviors and neutralize Bottom 10 actions.

Filled with practical examples and engaging content, the audience is able to identify their Top and Bottom 10 and then A.C.T. with the 10-80-10 Principle to create greater performance levels in both their personal and professional lives. It has direct application to employee management and it helps to reduce stress and increase fulfillment on the job.

1. Save time by focusing on the “right” activities
2. Increase team cohesion by increasing output with fewer resources
3. Create a healthier organization culture by cultivating and training toward team member’s strengths – which increases job satisfaction and reduces turnover

The 10-80-10 Principle, Tuesday May 25, 9-10am.

Visit THE ROAD TO CAHR21 to register for the Webinar Series.

The Stepping Stones in Obstacles

We are blessed enough to have a 21-month old and all the experiences and learning that go with him. Every day as I watch him grow and discover the world, I realize he is teaching me just as much as he is taking in – and this has been going on since before he was born.

In our bedroom we have a tree that sits in a pot and the pot is just slightly shorter than our son. And months ago when he first discovered it, it was just as tall as him. The problem is he is fascinated with this tree. More specifically, he is fascinated with the taste of the dirt in which the tree resides! Now, my wife and I thought it would be a great idea to place some sort of obstacle to prevent him from having access to the tree.

We looked around his massive stack of toys and found the perfect solution. We call it, “Toy Mountain.” It’s a plastic mountain that has ramps and such on it that is supposed to be used for little to cars to boot around. It was the perfect solution for a couple of reasons. First, and most importantly, it was large enough to block his access to the tree. Second, it was one of his more favorite toys at the time and it served as a great distraction to help him forget about the wonderful tasting dirt.

So we placed it and it worked! Whenever our little one got close to the tree, he got side-tracked with Toy Mountain and totally forgot about what was on the other side. We first implemented operation Toy Mountain when our son was about 10 months and it worked very well until he turned about 20 months.

One day, I walked into our room to discover that Toy Mountain was no longer an obstacle for our little monkey, but in fact, it had become a stepping stone. In explorer-like fashion he had managed to balance atop of Toy Mountain and reach over to get to his ultimate goal, the tree, and the dirt – he could now also reach the leaves to serve as a chaser after the dirt.

This episode taught me something very important. The very things that serve as obstacles at one point in our lives, with the proper education, experience and change of perception will serve as stepping stones as others. It got me to think and reflect on some of my past experiences that at the time I thought were obstacles but really turned out to be stepping stones.

The very things that hold us back at one point in our lives have the ability to propel forward at other times, provided we let them. What obstacles do you currently hold on to that aren’t serving you? How can you leverage them? What can you do to acquire the skills or experience to turn them from weights into spring boards.

Then I really got scared as I thought, “If this is what he is teaching me at 21-months, I’m scared to see what he’ll be teaching me by the time he is three!” I’m looking forward to it with great excitement … and apprehension.

Sunjay Nath, MBA, CSP, HoF was a founding Vice President of an e-learning company based in Toronto that has gone on to become a multimillion-dollar company. He started an international speaking business when he was 19 he wasn’t even old enough to rent a car. This was particularly problematic when he would travel. As a speaker, Sunjay has travelled extensively and addressed in person well over 1,000,000 people around the world since 1995.

In 2005, Sunjay became the youngest Canadian (and third youngest in the world) ever to earn his CSP (Certified Speaking Professional). The CSP is the highest internationally recognized designation that a speaker can aspire to achieve. In 2018 Sunjay was inducted in the Canadian Professional Speakers Hall of Fame.

With his background, Sunjay offers a rare combination of both left and right brain activities to engage all audience members. Sunjay holds an undergraduate degree in Mathematical Engineering, a degree that after the first year of the program, 80% of the students failed out. He also holds a Master’s in Business Administration.

Always striving to achieve Sunjay has earned is Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, has run a full 26 mile (42km) marathon and has jumped out of a perfectly good plane (some call it skydiving. He is a magician, a comedian, a professional actor, he can juggle and in university he was rated as one of the country’s top debaters.

Sunjay is the author of The 10-80-10 Principle, The ABCs of Student Leadership, a contributing author for the book, Professionally Speaking. His new projects include learning to sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in rounds … by himself.