Michelle Ockers Found a Voice for Her Business and Industry
Your industry is undergoing massive change. You know you can help, but don’t have the voice or influence for that level of contribution.
Michelle Ockers is a Learning and Development strategist. Michelle believed in her relevance and capacity to survive disruption. Recently she had helped Qantas and Coca Cola Amatil transform culture and create high impact learning environments. Following these successful projects, she wanted to help other learning professionals see their potential.
Michelle’s corporate learning and development industry and peers were at risk. “I witnessed professionals becoming irrelevant and being bypassed in their jobs. At worst, they were being laid off, departments closed.“
The industry had an identity and communication problem. Michelle shares, “My industry had not learned business speak. As an industry, we embodied the future of collaboration, innovation and learning. But didn’t know how to argue our case and prove our business value.”
Her peers were invisible to corporate leaders and Michelle was on a mission to change that.
Michelle wanted to learn how to communicate in ways C Suite leaders could follow. The jargon and technology of learning professionals wouldn’t cut it. “We all need to communicate our relevance to potential clients,” Michelle says. Michelle was ready to prioritise this even though she was busy delivering to her biggest client.
Michelle’s associate Emma had experienced Dangerous Blogging and suggested she try it. Could finding her Dangerous Voice help Michelle solve the identity problem of herself and her industry? Michelle shares, “I could see Katie had helped other niche professionals get out of their bubbles. I knew she had tools I needed to be a better writer and communicator.”
Michelle commenced Katie’s program and began to apply the tools to her blogs, social media and videos. “Katie encouraged me to bring my entire career and views into the picture. I was able to share more of who I am and my opinions. This was very new for me and it was scary. But I could immediately see people responding to me differently.”
Katie guided Michelle’s choice of blog topics and supported her through public speaking engagements. Michelle’s words became jargon-free and she began to write confidently about business values. She was no longer communicating only with peers, she was being heard by business leaders as well.
Michelle says of the journey, “Katie caters for people who learn in different ways. She helps you see your goals very clearly and patiently guides you forward. She held space for me to transition into visibility, using my authenticity and authority.” Michelle also appreciated the accountability of the program, “Katie personally coached my authority voice and writing. She also presents a monthly webinar where her clients are all present talking about their writing. These were important reminders of the new values and techniques and their effectiveness.”
Michelle posted her first Dangerous Blog in 2017. She uses LinkedIn, her business blog, a regular newsletter and Twitter to regularly share her views. Michelle also applies Dangerous Blogging techniques to her other business writing. “Dangerous Blogging creates clarity in my mind and influence in my writing. My reputation has increased and I reach more people. I’m regarded as one of the leading thinkers in my industry. This is creating exciting opportunities. I have just announced an international business partnership. This all allows me to be of greater service to my profession. I’m making an even bigger difference. My business is very different to what it was twelve months ago,” Michelle says.
Michelle has recently launched her own program, mentoring industry peers. Her writing is helping other learning and development professionals. “We need to take bolder steps to communicate our value. That’s the spirit of Dangerous Blogging,” Michelle says.
Michelle Ockers, Managing Director, is a Learning and Development Strategist
She was named in the 2016 and 2017 Top Ten Corporate eLearning Movers and Shakers
www.michelleockers.com
Read Michelle’s Blog The Training Trap