Training & Development

If you’re new to the complexities of color accessibility standards — like I was at the start of this project — here’s a distilled cheat sheet that can help you make the most of our new tool in Figma. We know this can be a bit daunting at first, so we put a lot of care into this feature, trying to make it as simple as possible for you. Whether you’re brand new to this concept, or a seasoned a11y pro, you can start leveraging this right away. Here are the basics: → Strong color contrast makes your designs more inclusive by improving readability for users with visual impairments. → A contrast ratio is simply the foreground compared to the background, the higher the number, the higher the contrast, the more inclusive it is. This ratio is automatically calculated in real-time and displayed in the top left corner of the color picker. → We built everything using the WCAG 2.2 standard, which is widely accepted and most commonly used. That standard has categories and levels defined, which are available to you in the settings menu. → Figma will automatically detect the appropriate category of the layer you have selected, but you can override this if you need to from the settings menu. → Level AA is good for most projects, and is the Figma default. → Level AAA is considered above and beyond, and is good for projects that have enhanced needs. → Large text is considered at least 24px or Bold 19px. → Normal text is considered below 24px or Bold 19px. → Graphics are considered icons, controls, and other elements that have meaning. (BTW Level AAA does not exist for this category, so if you see your level changing on you, this is probably why.) → You’ll see AA or AAA in the top right corner, alongside a pass/fail icon. This is your stable place to find the status at any point. → You’ll see a pass/fail boundary line on the color spectrum, use this as a visual aid to choose a color that meets your goals. → You’ll also see a dotted pattern on the color spectrum, this is the fail zone. If your color is in this area, you can click on the fail indicator in the top right corner to auto-correct it to the nearest passing color. → If you need to know the background color that was auto-detected, click the contrast ratio in the top left corner to open a flyout with more color info. We blend together any transparent background elements as well, so this value may be technically undefined in your file, but we’ve done it this way to be as accurate as possible to what you see on the canvas. → In more complex layer structures (such as overlapping elements), or complex color scenarios (such as multiple colors, gradients, or images), the calculations may not be possible. If you find that’s the case for your design, we recommend duplicating and isolating the foreground and background elements you want to evaluate onto a clean part of the canvas. Let us know if you have questions, and happy contrasting!

Your brilliant idea means nothing if no one listens. 5 years at McKinsey taught me one important truth: It's not the winning idea that wins. It's the winning idea COMPELLINGLY PRESENTED. Master these 4 frameworks to transform how your ideas land: 1️⃣ The Pyramid Principle (go-to storytelling technique at McKinsey #1) Communicate efficiently: → Lead with your main point first → Support with structured reasoning → Back it up with relevant data 2️⃣ SCR Framework (go-to storytelling technique at McKinsey #2) Craft a convincing storyline: → Situation: Establish clear context → Complication: Highlight why action is needed → Resolution: Recommend the solution 3️⃣ The Golden Circle (Simon Sinek) Inspire action with the WHY: → Start with purpose (why you exist) → Explain your approach (how you deliver) → End with what you actually do (what you do) 4️⃣ Story of Self/Us/Now (Marshall Ganz) Mobilize collective action: → Share your personal values journey (self) → Create unity around shared goals (us) → Drive urgency through compelling vision (now) How you FRAME your message is the difference between ignored and influential. What storytelling frameworks do you most often use in your own work? ♻️ Find this valuable? Repost to help others. Follow me for posts on leadership, learning, and excellence. 📌 Want free PDFs of this and my top cheat sheets? You can find them here: https://lnkd.in/g2t-cU8P Hi 👋 I'm Vince, CEO of Sparkwise. I help orgs scale excellence at a fraction of the cost by automating live group learning, practice, and application. Check out our topic library: https://lnkd.in/gKbXp_Av

Struggling teams don't need another framework. They need a leader. I've taken over bad teams filled with good people. I learned to embrace three themes for a successful reset: ✅ Change requires honoring the past and building the future ✅ Trust is rebuilt through actions, not just words ✅ Culture lives in daily micro-decisions Here are the 8 lessons that make it work: 1/ Honor the Past ↳ Don't play the blame game ↳ Value those who stayed through hard times 2/ Name What Stops Here ↳ Be specific about what changes ↳ Get them to help rewrite the new rules 3/ Own Your Role ↳ Acknowledge where you fell short ↳ Build trust through self-accountability 4/ Reset the Target ↳ Paint a clear 6-month vision ↳ Define what excellence looks like 5/ Define Winning Behaviors ↳ Skip empty corporate speak ↳ Make expectations crystal clear 6/ Create New Rituals ↳ Build sacred team habits ↳ Engineer connection, especially remote 7/ Embrace Iterations ↳ Progress isn't linear ↳ Celebrate small wins, learn from setbacks 8/ Rebuild Trust Daily ↳ Start from trust at zero ↳ Do what you say you'll do 9/ Catch Them Winning ↳ Be specific about what you see ↳ What gets recognized gets repeated Want more detail?  Flip through the full playbook below. Remember:  Your team likely knows the path forward. They're just waiting for you to walk it first. If this was helpful: 📌 Please follow Dave Kline for more ♻️ Share to help other leaders turn things around.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗲-𝗼𝗻-𝗢𝗻𝗲𝘀? . . . 💫When you become a manager or leader, your responsibility shifts. Your role isn’t to maximize the potential for the work; it’s to maximize the potential of those around you.   💫Having one-on-one meetings is an excellent chance to have routine discussions about professional growth, and if conducted effectively, these regular check-ins can increase engagement, accomplishments, and employee retention. Additionally, one-on-ones serve as the basis for top-performing teams.   🚩Yet so few leaders fulfill this core responsibility, and no one should consider themselves a leader if they can’t commit time and effort to improve the abilities of their team members.   👉Recommendations for effective one-on-ones:   ✅Prepare Well: Go over previous notes or, if first time, request they fill out a survey with open-ended questions, complete an online tool to identify their strengths, or use other templates to gain some insight before the meeting.   ✅Proper Schedule: Ensure they have proper time to prepare and the meeting doesn’t conflict with a hectic or stressful time for them.   ✅Use Open Space: Sometimes, being away from the workplace can lighten the mood and improve the conversation.   ✅Set the Agenda Beforehand: Facilitate the conversation to stay on focus.   ✅Let the Team Member Lead: Don’t deliver a monologue; this approach isn’t very effective. Instead, let team members set the tone. Remember, it’s only about them!   ✅Encourage Self-Awareness: Help them become more introspective by asking the right questions.   ✅Be Open-Minded: Their view of their future may differ from what you think is best for them. Don’t let your experiences and biases overtake their passions and ambitions.   ✅Pay Attention to Their Well-Being: Team member well-being may not be tended to, which can impact their ability to consider signing up for a mentorship program or training opportunity.   ✅Build Trust: Managers must recognize their limitations and provide accurate information to build trust and connection with team members and create a supportive work environment.   ✅Be an Active Listener: Pay attention, ask questions, summarize, and ensure no distractions!   ✅Take Notes: Keeps track of the conversation for revisiting progress in the next session. But don’t violate the previous point! Write notes when appropriate or after the meeting so as not to distract.   ✅Revisit Previous Goals: Did the team member pursue mentorship or certification? How are you supporting?   ✅End on a Positive Note: Motivate them at the end of every meeting and pave the way for a positive working environment!   🔥It requires dedication and focus to initiate discussions on team member growth during one-on-one meetings. However, these personalized discussions are invaluable for creating customized learning and development plans that can significantly enhance and nurture talent!

Leaders need to have reserves of resilience to deal with crises as they arise. If as a leader you are depleted and running on empty when a crisis occurs, it's very hard to operate at your best. The world got a lesson in the value of supply chains and the consequences of what happens when they break down during the pandemic. But for supply chains to be always on, the people who run them can’t be. And that goes for all of us, even if we don't work in supply chains!   Here is some advice I shared with supply chain leaders at the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM)'s Connect 2024 conference. ➡️  Most important: You have to put on your own oxygen mask first. Too many leaders still buy into the misguided notion that urgent or chaotic times require them to be in constant motion and always on, or that they somehow have to match the frenetic pace of the moment. In fact, the opposite is true. Because it is judgment that we need from leaders in moments of crisis, not just stamina. So it starts with prioritizing well-being for yourself, and being a role model for well-being to give others the permission to do the same. ➡️ Technology is a double-edged sword: Technology accelerates burnout when we try to be always on. What's funny is how much better care we take of our technology than ourselves. But unlike machines, humans have to unplug to recharge. In the human operating system, downtime is a feature, not a bug. ➡️ The qualities that define a successful leader: Empathy, being able to listen, being open to new voices. Not just being a broadcaster all the time, but being a receiver as well. It first requires not constantly being in fight-or-flight mode. We can’t be open to others and their creativity and innovation when we’re marinating in stress hormones and just trying to get through the day or through the next hour. ➡️ To create a Thriving Culture: Communication is key! One of our core values at Thrive is Compassionate Directness, which empowers team members to surface feedback or any problems and challenges they’re having in real time. That allows not only team members to course-correct and grow, but the company as well. In any company, and certainly in supply chains, there are obstacles to growing the bottom line. There are challenges with engagement and innovation. Wouldn’t you want to know those sooner rather than later? Knowing them — and getting to work in solving them — in real time as they arise has huge benefits to all the metrics that go into the bottom line. ➡️ And finally: Well-being needs to be embedded into the fabric of company culture and into the workflow. A company is only as resilient as its people so an investment in the healthy future of your employees is an investment in the future of your company. To build resilience into your industry, you have to build it into your people.

You’ve heard the advice, “Use stories in your presentations because people respond to stories!” Great advice. BUT… Your story won’t grab your audience’s attention and communicate your message unless it has these 6 elements. In fact, it could even have the opposite effect! Every story you use as the foundation of your high-stakes presentations needs to have: 1. A logical structure. A story needs a beginning, middle, and end with clear turning points between each section. Don't just jump between ideas randomly. Map your presentation flow on paper first so you can physically move sections around. The most persuasive structure builds toward your most important point. 2. An Emotional structure. In the middle of your story, create a rise of conflict where tension builds. This might be when your audience realizes their current approach isn't working or market conditions are changing rapidly. Plan moments where this tension rises before providing a cathartic resolve. Your audience will stay engaged through this emotional journey from tension to resolution. 3. A clear goal. The protagonist in your story must have something they're seeking–an objective that drives the narrative forward. In your presentation, position your audience as the hero pursuing something important. Whether it's reconciliation of different viewpoints or finding the solution to a pressing problem, make sure this goal is crystal clear. 4. Meaningful conflict. Every story needs the hero to face obstacles. This conflict might be with themselves, with others, with technology, or even with nature.  When preparing your presentation, identify what's standing in the way of progress. Is it internal resistance? Market challenges? Technical limitations? Acknowledging these conflicts shows you understand the real situation. 5. A resolution. Every narrative needs to resolve the conflict, though resolution doesn't always mean a happy ending. It could end positively (comedy), negatively (tragedy), or be inconclusive, requiring your audience to take action to determine the outcome. For business presentations, this inconclusive ending can be particularly effective as it prompts decision and action. 6. A lesson worth learning. While rarely stated explicitly (except in fairy tales), every story teaches something. Your presentation should leave your audience with a clear takeaway about what approaches to emulate or avoid. The quality of your story often determines the quality of your high-stakes presentations. Take time to really think through the stories you’re using. Hand-selecting the best ones will help you leave a lasting impact on your audience. #Presentation #StorytellingInBusiness #PresentationSkills

Your instructional designers are wasting their talent building courses nobody asked for. I see it everywhere. Brilliant L&D teams spend months crafting beautiful, interactive modules about "Professional Email Etiquette" or "Workplace Wellness" while the sales team is begging for help with objection handling and the customer success team can't figure out why retention is tanking. We've turned instructional design into an art project instead of a business solution. Here's what's happening: Someone in leadership says, "We need training on X," and your team jumps into action. They research learning theories, build personas, create storyboards, and design gorgeous courses. Six months later, completion rates are 12% and nothing has changed. Meanwhile, the real problems are hiding in plain sight. People are struggling, metrics are declining, and teams are frustrated. But nobody thought to ask the humans doing the work what they needed to learn. Here's where it gets interesting: AI-powered learning platforms finally give us better ways to understand people's needs. Instead of guessing based on annual surveys, these systems can track learning patterns, identify skill gaps through competency mapping, and help you spot where interventions might make a difference. The best instructional designers I know spend more time in the business than at their desks. They're on sales calls, watching customer interactions, sitting with support teams, and asking, "What's making your job harder than it should be?" Now, they can use data from their LMS to validate those hunches and see which learning paths actually correlate with better performance. Stop designing courses for compliance checklists and start creating solutions for real people with real problems. Let the data help you find those problems faster, but remember that correlation isn't causation. Your job isn't to make training. Your job is to make people better at their jobs. There's a massive difference. Want to know if your L&D team is on the right track? Ask them, "What business problem did you solve this month?" If they can't answer immediately, you've got some redirecting to do. L&D leaders, what's the most impactful learning solution your team built by talking to the people who needed it? #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #BusinessAlignment #LDLeadership

The best mentors won't find you, You have to find them. My core values for career development: • Ownership - Taking responsibility for your growth • Courage - Moving through discomfort for what matters • Reciprocity - Creating value, not just taking it What I can't stand is seeing people wait for career opportunities while mistaking passivity for patience. Here's how to ask potential mentors (without feeling awkward): 1/ Be direct about your goals Don't beat around the bush. Tell them exactly what you need. "I was promoted to senior engineer and want to level up my systems architecture skills. Would you be willing to mentor me?" 2/ Tell them why you chose them People appreciate knowing what drew you to them specifically, showing you’ve done your homework. "I'm reaching out because of your experience leading engineering teams at high-growth startups." 3/ Start with a small ask Don't request a long-term commitment right away. "Would you be open to a 30-minute video call to connect?" 4/ Be gracious if rejected Sometimes people don't have bandwidth. That's okay. "I understand you have significant demands on your time." 5/ Ask for alternatives If they decline, their network might be your next opportunity. "Is there anyone you'd recommend I connect with instead?" 6/ Approach with the right mindset Confidence in your goals. Respect for their time. Gratitude for their expertise. I've seen too many careers stall because of fear of rejection. But I promise: The temporary discomfort of reaching out is nothing compared to the permanent pain of career stagnation. Stop waiting for the perfect mentor to appear. Make the first move today. What strategies have worked for you when finding mentors? Image Credit: GraciousQuotes --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for daily Leadership and Career posts.

Most careers stall for 1 reason: People stop learning. They wait for the company to invest in them. Or for their manager to set up training. High performers, on the other hand, don't wait. They treat learning as part of the job - Even when the workday ends. Not endless study, Just small, repeatable habits - that compound. Here are 11 that make lifelong learning automatic: 1. Keep a "Questions" Note on Your Phone ↳Anytime you wonder about something, jot it down. Research one nightly 2. Replace the Doomscroll ↳Replace 30 minutes of dead scroll time with a course or podcast 3. Teach What You Learn ↳Write a short post, Loom, or explain it to a peer 4. Reverse Engineer Great Work ↳Take an article, pitch, or deck you admire and break down why it works 5. Shadow Someone 2 Steps Ahead ↳Don't ask for mentorship - just observe 6. Then, DO Ask for Mentorship ↳Say: "I admire how well you do X - would you mind coaching me on that?" 7. Run Tiny Experiments ↳Pick one skill and test it live this week 8. Force Repetitions by Tracking ↳For writing, word count. For sales, calls made. Progress is fuel 9. Do "Learning Sprints" ↳One focused topic for 30 days, then switch 10. Revisit Old Material ↳The second read often hits deeper than the first 11. End Your Day with Reflection ↳One line: "What did I learn today?" The compounding effect is real. Small reps + every day = Mastery. Agree? --- ♻️ Share this to inspire other life-long learners. And follow me George Stern for more personal growth content.

In a world where most leaders focus on individual performance, collective psychological context determines what's truly possible. According to Deloitte's 2024 study, organizations with psychologically safe environments see 41% higher innovation and 38% better talent retention. Here are three ways you can leverage psychological safety for extraordinary team results: 👉 Create "failure celebration" rituals. Publicly acknowledging mistakes transforms the risk psychology of your entire team. Design structured processes that recognize learning from setbacks as a core organizational strength. 👉 Implement "idea equality" protocols. Separate concept evaluation from originator status to unleash true perspective diversity. Create discussion frameworks where every voice has equal weight, regardless of hierarchical position. 👉 Practice "curiosity responses”. Replace judgment with genuine inquiry when challenges arise. Build neural safety by responding with questions that explore understanding before concluding. Neuroscience confirms this approach works: psychologically safe environments trigger oxytocin release, enhancing trust, creativity, and collaborative problem-solving at a neurological level. Your team's exceptional performance isn't built on individual brilliance—it emerges from an environment where collective intelligence naturally flourishes. Coaching can help; let's chat. Follow Joshua Miller #workplace #performance #coachingtips