by Melissa Wray

What Does Your Corporate Family Look Like?

This month we are pleased to have Brian DaRocha join us. He spoke about the concept of “Corporate Families,” in which the members of a team support, and are accountable to, one another. When I look back at my experiences in the workforce, I have always been most productive at the jobs where I thought of my co-workers as family. Six years ago, I took a job that required me to work from home. I only communicated with my co-workers over the phone or by email. Without the social interaction during the workday, ASTD became my “corporate family.”

According to last year’s member survey, 62% of you “feel like a member of the family.” This was an active goal of the Executive Council in 2007. We are pleased to see the results, and we continue to strive to keep our chapter a warm, inviting, and safe place to learn and grow. I encourage you to utilize your chapter as a place of discovery and enrichment. How?

Have you ever wanted to add to your repertoire of skills, but there was no such opportunity within the context of your job? This is where your ASTD chapter can help. Think of ASTD as a learning lab—a safe, supportive environment filled with the tools and resources needed to experiment with your career and professional development.

• Do you want to be published, but you need a little writing practice? Try writing a piece for the chapter newsletter.
• Do you want to grow your professional network? Volunteer to man the check-in desk at a monthly meeting. You’ll get to associate a name with a face for every person who walks in the door that evening.
• Do you want to add some marketing experience to your bag of tricks? Ask the Marketing committee how you can help promote the spring workshop with Tom LaBonte.

Our chapter has also seen an influx of new family members. Some of these new members are also brand new to the profession. We can all help them feel welcome by engaging them in conversation, or introducing them to other members. You could even share your talents with members who are new workplace learning professionals by getting involved with the new mentoring program being organized by Careers and Education.

At the risk of sounding just like a recent Past President, I thank you for sharing your gifts and your talents each and every time you attend a meeting, send an email to a board member, talk about ASTD to your colleagues, or join a committee. You make the chapter a better place just by being here, and I think that you will agree that the rewards are worth it.

Melissa Wray

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