You know that feeling when you leave a conference and you’re so inspired and motivated that you can’t wait to put everything you’ve learned into action? That’s exactly how I felt leaving Live2Lead South Florida on Friday!
Hosted by Kelly Merbler and The Kelly Merbler Company at the beautiful Club at Quail Ridge in Boynton Beach, this full day leadership development experience was a powerful reminder of why it’s so important to take days to invest in your own personal and professional growth. Having started a new job 90 days ago, I have been focused on learning my new company, their systems and processes. Taking a day to step away from work was not only re-energizing personally, but now working in the event planning space, it was amazing to see how Kelly brought ~250 people together to learn, connect and grow. There were incredible speakers and thought-provoking conversations, intentional details woven throughout the day (more on that at the end!) and of course I left with pages of notes and new connections.
Having spent 14 years in HR and talent acquisition, and now working in event planning, I’ve experienced conferences as an attendee, speaker, volunteer, and organizer. Each perspective has shaped how I experience events, and I find myself appreciating not only the content being delivered but also the environment being created for people to learn. Live2Lead delivered on both fronts. There were so many moments worth sharing, but a few messages in particular have stayed with me.
Kelly Merbler: Seeing Potential in Others
Kelly kicked off the experience with an important message about the impact we can have on the people around us. Sometimes all it takes is one person who believes in us, sees something we don’t yet see in ourselves, or challenges us to think bigger. One of my favorite messages was that our next great leader might already be on our payroll. How often do we look outside our organizations for talent, leadership, and new ideas when there are people right in front of us who simply need someone to recognize their potential?
Kelly’s message reminded me of the people throughout my own career who saw something in me before I saw it in myself. An opportunity and a little encouragement can change someone’s entire trajectory. I always think about Jaylene Cogswell when asked to think of a leader that saw potential in me and told me. (Believing in someone AND telling them is so powerful!) Not only did we work together most recently at ATI for 2 years, prior to that we worked together at Rich Products and Greatbatch/Integer! When I joined Greatbatch as a Talent Acquisition Coordinator in 2015, Jaylene noticed I loved tech and systems, and gave me an opportunity to revamp some functionality in our ATS (Taleo at the time!) Little did I know my HTML skills I taught myself to work on my MySpace page would come in handy after a year into my HR career lol. I got to use HTML to reformat some email templates that the system sent out, system page views, and implement e-signable offer letters. This opened my eyes to the technology side of recruiting and ever since it’s a skill set I’ve used in my career. I’m so grateful Jaylene saw a strength in me, gave me an opportunity and encouraged me. She could have just let me do my job description that year – which was mainly to schedule interviews between candidates and hiring managers. Jaylene is a true leader.
Kelly also shared six ways we can intentionally develop others: model, mentor, sponsor, teach, encourage, and empower. I particularly loved the progression from demonstrating a skill yourself to eventually empowering someone else to teach the skill and develop others. That’s when leadership becomes something bigger than one individual. You’re not just helping someone succeed; you’re creating a ripple effect. For anyone in a leadership position, this is such an important reminder that developing people isn’t simply about providing training or assigning responsibilities. It’s about creating opportunities, opening doors, building confidence, and helping others recognize what they’re capable of achieving.
Joanie Bily: Courage and the Career Jungle Gym
Joanie Bily’s session was one of the most personally meaningful for me, particularly given the career changes I’ve navigated over the years. What was also super cool about seeing Joanie speak was that we used to work at the same company at the same time! When I worked at Remedy Intelligent Staffing, we were a franchise of EmployBridge. Joanie worked for EmployBridge and was a workforce insights expert, often appearing on the news and speaking at company events and broadcasts that we watched at the local Remedy offices. I had never met her in person until Live 2 Lead, so I really enjoyed hearing her speak about courage and her transition to now being the CEO at Dress for Success Worldwide, and introducing myself to her afterwards! The cherry on top was when I shared what franchise I had worked at, she remembered we were well-known for being top performers in the direct-hire/permanent placement space, which was the role I held there.
Joanie’s message was: you don’t build courage by standing on the edge of the diving board. At some point, you have to jump. I resonated with what she said so much because I have used many of the tips she shared over the years. Before making a career move, I evaluated the risks, my available resources and my career goals. I made the moves because I had confidence in myself to learn and figure it out as I went. Leadership requires taking the next step without having all the answers. Once you make the jump or take the next step, go from there. You can always refine! Learn, get a coach, ask questions, listen, try again. Confidence is built through evidence, seeing that you can trust yourself and it’ll work out.
How many times have you waited until you felt completely prepared before making a move? We convince ourselves that we need another certification, more experience, a better plan, or just a little more time. But what if you’re never going to feel 100% ready? One of my favorite takeaways was that being uncomfortable doesn’t necessarily mean we’re unprepared or incapable, it just means we’re growing. We’ve all heard that phrase get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Next time you’re faced with an opportunity to jump, or lead in the face of uncertainty, ask yourself – am I unprepared or simply uncomfortable?
The piece of her session that resonated with me most was the idea that our careers don’t have to look like ladders. They can look like jungle gyms. She talked about the transition from being a leader in talent and workforce for 20+ years to being a CEO for a worldwide non-profit organization. We can be conditioned from a young age to go to college and then define career success as a linear progression. We climb the ladder, earn the promotion, take on more responsibility, and continue moving upward. Each new rung is supposed to represent another level of success. At some point, you may feel that you are ready for more or different and that’s okay! I realized this when I worked at Unifrax. I was 27 and a Senior Manager of Global TA Operations. I was well on my way to Director, VP and CHRO. But there I realized after many manager changes, M&As and cultural shifts in a short time, that my desire had shifted to focusing more on personally feeling fulfilled and making an impact. I’m so grateful that Randy Harris, the CEO at Lighthouse Technology Services reached out to me. I spent the next 3.5 years there having so much purpose, caring for people and the community, and using my strengths in community building, training and public speaking. I felt much more at home in my body and mind making the shift into the jungle gym if you will. And I’ve been on it ever since!
A jungle gym allows us to move in different directions. Sometimes we move up, sometimes sideways, and sometimes we have to move down or take a different route to get where we ultimately want to be. We explore, experiment, develop new skills, and discover opportunities we may never have considered if we were only focused on climbing higher. People in my network asked me – why go from a Director title at Lighthouse to a Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner role at ATI? You’re losing your Manager / Director title! Well, because the opportunity was remote and I got to work with Jaylene again and I knew she’d help me make an impact. There are always multiple factors to consider when taking a new role. And now having pivoted from being a practitioner into an event planning and sponsor partnerships role (for the HR/recruiting practitioner community!), I keep seeing more and more clearly that I continue to find roles where I can make an impact and thrive, not reach the top. I connected with her message so deeply because it reflects how my own definition of career success has evolved.
My current role is different from the career path I originally envisioned, but it allows me to bring together so many of the things I genuinely love doing. My experience in HR and TA didn’t become irrelevant when I changed directions. Quite the opposite. It gave me the perspective, relationships, and understanding of the community that I now get to serve in a different capacity. Another reason why I’ve always pushed against the idea of having 5 to 10 year goals. I’ve always been incredibly forward thinking, but without tying myself to specific roles or titles. Having now lived it for many years, I truly believe that finding roles and companies where you can be yourself (and that’s appreciated) and use your skills and strengths will allow you to continue attracting the opportunities that are meant for you. And that’s what I love about the jungle gym analogy. Every experience, even the ones that don’t appear to move us upward, can prepare us for something meaningful. Sometimes the most rewarding career move isn’t a promotion. It’s a pivot.
Jess Ekstrom: Motivation and Choosing Our Perspective
Jess Ekstrom brought such an engaging energy to the day. An incredible storyteller with a great sense of humor, she had a way of delivering meaningful messages while making the audience laugh along the way. I learned so much to incorporate into my own public speaking journey. The way she told her career story from being a Photographer at Disney, to working in Communications at Make-A-Wish, to founding her company Headbands of Hope was entertaining, heart-felt, and she hit the lessons home in all the right moments. Truly an amazing speaker and I’m so happy I got to see her live doing her thing!
One of the concepts I loved was that we all have fundamental needs for autonomy, connection, and competence. When those needs are met, we can feel intrinsically motivated. Another way to keep yourself motivated is you have to believe that you are making lives better in your job. Even if your role may be administrative or behind the scenes, focusing on how you impact the greater mission or vision of the organization helps us keep going and do our best work. When we find that sense of purpose, even the difficult days take on a different meaning.
Jess also shared an important reminder. When hard times arise we have a choice: we can use them as an excuse for why we’re doing less, or as a reason to do more. We don’t always get to choose our circumstances, but we have more influence over our response than we sometimes realize. She shared stories about career moments (like planning wishes for Make-A-Wish kids!) where circumstances were out of her control, but rather than using it as an excuse for something not being able to happen, she thought outside the box and delivered something just as or even more meaningful than the original plan.
She closed with: optimism and anxiety both require thinking about something that hasn’t happened yet. You can worry about the future OR you can imagine a better one. Again, our choice. Though I’m wired to be naturally optimistic, I definitely needed this reminder as there have been some hard days at work lately as I head into the home stretch of conference planning for our Nov 9-11 event. Staying focused on what I can control and staying positive will get me to the finish line.
Roddy Galbraith: Influence and Relationship Building
Roddy Galbraith closed out the keynote speakers for the day. He shared some inspiring stories from both his personal and professional life. One story he told resonated with me deeply – he interviewed for a position working in IT and hardware where part of the interview was doing a hands on task. He wasn’t able to finish it and left the interview feeling like he wouldn’t be getting a call back. To his surprise, he did get a call back AND he got the job! He was surprised and asked why? They said even though other candidates finished the task quickly, they thought he would be a better culture fit. He was kind and inquisitive, got to know a member of the team while riding the elevator, and stayed positive and communicative while trying to figure out the technical challenge. Such a wonderful example of hire for personality and train for a skill.
This reminded me of a lot of the work I do with my career coaching clients. It’s easy to get caught up in how do I explain my resume, my education, my accomplishments, and be able to answer all of their interview questions. And these are important things to prep for before an interview. But don’t forget how important it is to show you’re curious, ask thoughtful questions, be energetic and conversational, showcase transferable skills, etc. I was actually told in a hiring process once that I wasn’t the most qualified candidate credentials wise, but I was eager, thoughtful and asked great questions so they moved me ahead to the next step. I’ll also never forget my first HR Manager role I was hired to. I had my MBA and PHR, but limited experience in recruiting and benefits administration. The General Manager and I hit it off and he said, “I know you’ll be able to figure it out.” and what a great experience that was!
Some other impactful lines I wrote down from Roddy’s session:
- Growth is my only security in my life and in my career
- If I want to be better, I need to be consistent
- And if you have the choice to be right or to be kind, always be kind
The Experience and the Details!
Of course, the content was only part of what made Live2Lead South Florida such a memorable experience. As someone who now spends my days planning conferences and professional development experiences, I couldn’t help but notice the details that made the day feel so special.
First, the setting was absolutely beautiful. The Club at Quail Ridge provided a wonderful backdrop for a day focused on learning, reflection, and connection. And the food? Amazing. It’s one of those details that can make such a difference in the overall attendee experience. As an attendee, I also appreciated that Kelly told us to come hungry and explained the food that would be available. Typically I always eat before events because you never know if you’re going to show up and their version of breakfast is light/continental!
There was also a step-and-repeat photo backdrop that created a fun opportunity to capture memories from the day. I love when events incorporate moments like this because they give attendees another way to engage with the experience and share it with their networks.
The walk-up music was another favorite detail. There’s something about great music that immediately changes the energy in a room. It made the transitions feel exciting and helped create an atmosphere that was upbeat and engaging throughout the day. You couldn’t help but clap and dance in your seat as each speaker came up to the stage.
What I especially appreciated was how accessible the speakers were. Having the opportunity to connect with speakers after their sessions, ask questions, and continue conversations made the experience feel personal rather than transactional. Speakers stayed after their sessions and were very approachable. (I love that at the ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit, we’ve implemented the Speaker AMA – Ask Me Anything – Lounge where speakers go for 25 minutes after their sessions so attendees can come for small group or 1:1 Q&A to continue the conversation from the session!)
And then there were the small-group table conversations. Throughout the day, we had opportunities to discuss what we were learning with others at our tables. These weren’t just breaks between presentations. They were intentional moments to reflect, make deeper connections exchange perspectives. And they were done at smart times – such as when the crew needed to change the stage furniture. Having people focused on the conversations at their tables rather than looking up at the stage during the furniture stage was a thoughtful decision.
The conference guidebook was a great touch. It housed the sponsors, agenda, speaker bios, plenty of notes pages, and prompts/reflection questions. I loved not having to use the notebook I brought and figure out how I wanted to take notes. The guidebook made it easy to stay excited and engaged with the day. And I’m going to be keeping the guidebook on my desk for the foreseeable future as I revisit the take-a-ways from the day, keeping Kelly’s brand and the memories from the day front and center in my space!
So I’ll wrap up with this: Inspiration is wonderful, but what we do with that inspiration is what really matters. So I’m challenging myself, and anyone reading this, to think about one thing you’ve been putting off because you don’t feel quite ready. One opportunity you’ve been hesitant to pursue. One person whose potential you could help unlock. Or one small action that could move you closer to something meaningful.
Thank you to Kelly Merbler, her team and the speakers for creating a day that was so clearly intentional. Great environment, experience, connections and content. I will definitely be back to Live2Lead South Florida in the future! ❤
