2023 TOC Annual Institute: A Wave of Enthusiasm
Written by: Vera Medici
The energy and enthusiasm of members of the Training Officers Consortium (TOC) carried through all three and a half days of TOC’s signature event, the Annual Institute, held April 30 through May 3, 2023 in Ocean City, MD. Management Concepts was proud to “Catch the Wave: Training to Transformation” as a Silver Sponsor, presenting a session, receiving an award, moderating a panel discussion, and greeting TOC members at our booth in the exhibit hall.
Sunday
TOC members braved rain and traffic traveling on Sunday, but that did not dampen their spirits nor stop them from mixing and mingling at the evening welcome reception in the exhibit hall. Management Concepts staff was on hand to reconnect with TOC members and meet first-time attendees, featuring new products and services at our exhibit booth.
Monday
Following the opening plenary on Monday, Julia Mullins, product management director for leadership and management at Management Concepts presented “Not a Super Hero, Just Super: Best Practices for Creating the ‘Adaptive’ Leader that Federal Agencies Need Now.” Ms. Mullins outlined how in the current environment, federal leaders need a different set of skills to foster productive and resilient work settings for their teams, and how without these environments, teams can fall prey to issues like high turnover, low productivity, and loss of morale. During the session, Ms. Mullins lead the discussion through how the last 3 years have affected leadership teams and skills requirements, the importance of identifying the workplace environment and how a leader can impact it, and analyzing the cost of not addressing leadership skills gaps. To take action, leaders must assess the top leadership skills needed in the workplace for 2023 and beyond, identify best practices to accelerate the development of leadership skills, and discuss key components of an effective leadership program.
Tuesday
In a lunchtime ceremony, Regina “Gina” Watkins, financial management training officer for the U.S. Navy, and Tom Ladenburg, executive director, custom learning solutions at Management Concepts, accepted the TOC Distinguished Service Award in the Virtual Training Design & Development category for our joint efforts in producing the Navy Financial Management Learning Eco-System for the Navy Financial Management Human Capital (FMH) Office. Later that afternoon, award recipients in various categories presented demos and gave additional information to attendees. Watch a demo of the FM Connect Portal and find out more about Management Concepts custom learning solutions.
Wednesday
Despite being a half day, the program ended on a strong note with an inspiring keynote speaker followed by a panel of Chief Learning Officers (CLOs). Cheryl Cohen, chief technology officer at Management Concepts, had the honor of introducing the distinguished panelists, Viking K. White, chief learning officer at the U.S. Department of Education, LaJuan Bryan-Beveridge, chief learning officer and executive director at the Department of Veterans Affairs Human Capital Services Center, and Christopher Butts, people development expert. Ms. Cohen lead the discussion with challenges facing CLOs of how to support the current workforce while preparing for the future of work, with the panelists sharing their personal experience, vision and goals for the future of federal learning and development. Training officers posed questions to the panelists of their day-to-day challenges on the ground, creating an honest and open dialogue.
Riding the Wave
As the 2023 Annual Institute came to a close, TOC members were already discussing possibilities for the 2024 Annual Institute, and the regularly scheduling programming throughout the coming program year. View event photos on our Facebook page, and find more information on how Management Concepts supports TOC on our TOC partnership page.
