Meeting check-in & lunch service begins at 11:45am
Lisa Blanton, MBA, SHRM-SCP
"Let’s Bring the L-Word Back into the Workplace
(and No, I Don’t Mean Layoffs)"
Program Description: In today’s workplaces, stress is high, trust is fragile, and leaders are expected to sustain engagement while navigating difficult conversations and minimizing risk. Yet one of the most powerful leadership capabilities has quietly disappeared from our professional vocabulary: love. In this interactive 60-minute session, HR professionals will explore how bringing the “L-word” back into the workplace—defined not as romance, but as intentional humanity, curiosity, and care—strengthens engagement and retention while also functioning as a proactive risk management strategy.
Drawing from executive leadership experience and personal insight into what it means to feel safe at work, the speaker illustrates how authenticity, language, and presence shape psychological safety. Participants will examine how everyday leadership behaviors influence employee engagement, retention, and employee relations outcomes. Through guided reflection and practical application, attendees will learn how to help leaders shift conversations from judgment to curiosity, reducing people-related risks that contribute to disengagement, turnover, and escalated employee relations.
Learning Objectives
- Identify leadership behaviors that increase or reduce people-related risk impacting engagement, retention, and employee relations.
- Apply practical tools to shift workplace conversations from judgment to curiosity, strengthening psychological safety and trust.
- Coach leaders to use intentional language and presence to proactively prevent disengagement, turnover, and escalation of employee relations issues.
Speaker Bio:
Lisa Blanton, MBA, SHRM-SCP, is a senior executive leader, speaker, and business advisor with more than 30 years of experience as a COO, CFO, and CHRO across entrepreneurial and multi-site organizations. She specializes in helping HR professionals and leaders reduce people-related risk by strengthening leadership behaviors, communication, and psychological safety. As Founder and CEO of Austin Alliance Group, Lisa currently serves as Texas SHRM Co-Director of Certification. She brings both executive leadership experience and lived insight into workplace safety and authenticity, and will be accompanied by her trained service dog, Chloe, during the session. Lisa is also a Certified Virtual Master Presenter, recognized for delivering highly engaging, interactive virtual experiences that foster connection, learning, and meaningful participation.
Recertification Credit
SHRM Certification has approved this webcast for 1 PDC toward SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP recertification. A program code will be provided at the end of the webcast. The program also meets recertification credit standards set by the HR Certification Institute and other HR certifying bodies, but candidates must manually enter their activity into their records.