GUEST EDITOR
Courtney Michener Miller
Author and professor Lawrence R. Frey eloquently stated, “The importance of small groups has never been clearer: From the day we are born … small groups are woven into the fabric of our individual lives. They are the stitches that hold together the communal cloth. In a fragmented world, the small group is the generative site at which individuals and collectives such as organizations and institutions are made and remade.”
LTEN has brought me to a small collective group and I didn’t know how much I needed it until I took a step back into this world.
I’m the mother of four extraordinary children. I have a career drive that runs in two paces — fast and faster — and if I wasn’t at work driving transformation, shifting between global and local remits in roles of increasing responsibility, I was at home with my children. There wasn’t much more to my development story for several years while my children were young.
It hadn’t always been like this. I was a lifelong learner, but as with all things, that was a snapshot in time, a chapter filled with a full heart, full hands and meaningful work. Well, a few years ago, I became intentional about my personal development again.
With this intentionality, I found my way back to LTEN, which I had been involved with early on in my tenure at AstraZeneca. I was captivated by the offerings, the community and the joy that comes from connecting with fellow learning peers who have shared trials, tribulations and victories in learning organizations that were all different, yet all the same. I remember my first LTEN conference in Orlando vividly.
Still, after a few years of involvement, I stepped away, due to the previously noted priorities. However, the universe has a way of bringing what you need back to you in time, and in this case the LTEN timing was right.
A welcome invitation to the Learning Executive Series Annual Forum in 2023 yielded a quick blossoming network and impactful workshops. As I was leaving the event, Greg Adamson, the amazing former president of the LTEN Board of Directors, commented to me, “You belong here.” I did and I felt it.
The forum — which brings an opportunity to connect with peers, learn as a learning leader in a room of brilliant minds and share nomenclature, reading recommendations and solutions — felt like joy and a gift. It still does.
Since the Learning Executive Series reignited my involvement and passion for LTEN I’ve been appointed to the board of directors, attended numerous workshops and events and started to write for LTEN Focus on Training magazine. I have delighted in the shared camaraderie of the hearts, minds and collective soul of the LTEN network.
In 2024, I shared this passion forward with my organization and my team. The AstraZeneca team has an LTEN membership, my leadership team joined me last year at the Learning Executive Series Annual Forum event and for the first time in years, we played an active role in the LTEN Annual Conference, including delivering a workshop as part of the learning executive track.
It is a privilege to be a part of this group of humans working to grow hearts and minds across our industry. As a leader, I have had profound growth as a member of LTEN, the Learning Executive Series and in my board position.
As you consider your intentions for development and weigh the magnitude of how you balance the scale of time in your #OneBeautifulLife, remember that starting is enough. The entire plan doesn’t have to be laid out.
There is a shared collective in the world waiting for you, a place for you to practice what you preach so well and a place to invest in yourself. It’s important to find a small group in this world and LTEN is here for you too.
I’ll see you soon at an LTEN event. Let’s prioritize our growth together.
Courtney Michener Miller is head of commercial learning for AstraZeneca and a member of the LTEN Board of Directors. Email her at courtney.michener@astrazeneca.com or connect through linkedin.com/in/courtneymichenermiller.
