Fresh off CHART 109 in New Orleans (yes, beignets were consumed, and yes, the ideas were that much sweeter!) I am left thinking a lot about Serah Morrissey’s breakout session: Elevate Yourself from Trainer to Organizational Influencer.

Serah Morrissey presenting at CHART 109 New Orleans

It wasn’t about better presentations or creating better job aides, but about stepping into influence – real, measurable, impactful influence. And being in hospitality training, we all know that we don’t have the luxury of being “nice to have,” we have to drive results.

If it Doesn’t Move the Needle, It’s Just Noise

One of the biggest takeaways for me was that if we can’t prove our training drives widespread success, adoption, and lasting financial impact, it becomes background noise. When your work connects directly to what the business measures, it stops being optional and starts being essential. Relevance creates value – and value earns you a seat at the table.

Know Your Big Three

Knowing your organization’s top three strategic goals is step one. Growth, profitability, retention, market expansion – whatever they are, your training should directly support them.

Before the launch of any new training initiative, ask yourself the following:

  1. What strategic goal does this support?
  2. How will success be measured?
  3. What will change as a result?

Use Language that Matters!

The language used within your organization sets the mindset for both what you want to achieve, as well as greatly impacting your culture! The use of inclusive plurals is a game changer!

“We,” not “I”

“Ours,” not “mine”

“Our” team

“Our” store “Our” results

Organizational success is not owned by one department, one location, or one manager. It belongs to all of us. We share in the wins and successes as well as the struggles and failures.

Shifting from “I” and “mine” to “we” and “ours” seems small, but has a massive impact on the mindset of your leaders, and those that are following.

The Three Levers of Influence

To elevate beyond the status of “trainer” we have to master the three levers of influence that make it happen:

  1. Trust – Without a full understanding of your business and operations, everything can look like a training problem or a knowledge gap, when in reality, it can be a simple operational hiccup that just needs some adjusting.
  2. Connection – Say “yes” to opportunities! The more you take advantage of opportunities to connect to other departments and teams, the more visibility and impact your work can have.
  3. Value – Align your initiatives to business metrics. When you do this, you are no longer just running training but driving performance and impacting results!

This isn’t just about training. It is about influence. And that is where WE belong.