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Action Step – Leading & Retaining Talent: Understanding Your Talent by Understanding What They Value

DFA’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies to humanize the workplace, empower people, and foster innovation. Members can access full versions the Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

Organizations invest significant time and resources in recruiting, developing, advancing, and retaining talent. Those efforts are strongest when they are grounded in a clear understanding of what people actually value from their careers and their work experience.

What motivates one person may look very different from what motivates another. For one employee, advancement may mean moving into a leadership role. For another, it may mean building deeper expertise, gaining new experiences, or finding a role that is a better long-term fit. 

Research reinforces how important it is for leaders to understand those differences. In our July Signature Session, Emma Codd, Global Inclusion Leader at Deloitte, shared findings from Deloitte Global’s 2026 Gen Z and Millennial Survey. Deloitte found that steady progress was the most cited career preference among respondents, while only a quarter said they wanted fast-paced growth. Some respondents said they would be willing to move laterally to find the right role, and others would consider a more junior role to gain experience and find the right long-term fit. Flexibility and purpose also emerged as priorities that, for some, could take precedence over job title or speed of advancement.

Further, nearly all respondents said purpose is important to their job satisfaction and well-being, with just over half of respondents saying their current job was mostly or completely aligned with their personal values and beliefs. 

Leaders can use broad findings such as Deloitte’s study to complement work within their own organizations and better understand their own talent…..

Members: Read the full version of this Action Step in the Member Resource Center.

To read this entire Action Step become a DFA member.

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Signature Session: The AI Multiplier: Using AI to Save Time and Accelerate Business Development – December 10, 2026

Signature Session

The AI Multiplier: Using AI to Save Time and Accelerate Business Development feat. Tasneem Khokha, Managing Director, GrowthPlay

December 10, 2026 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET

For many professionals, business development can feel like a second full-time job that competes with the demands of serving clients and managing a busy practice. This interactive workshop demonstrates how artificial intelligence can streamline business development by reducing preparation time, enhancing market positioning, and uncovering high-value opportunities.

Participants will learn practical, real-world ways to use AI to prepare for meetings, personalize messaging, and identify opportunities more efficiently. By automating time-consuming tasks, professionals can devote more energy to the relationship-building activities that drive new business. Attendees will leave with actionable approaches and adaptable prompts that make business development more efficient, more effective, and easier to sustain.

Eligibility: This event is open to DFA members only.

Members: Register in the Member Resource Center or by contacting us.

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Leadership Symposium: Humanizing Change: Leading People, Not Just Process – December 1, 2026

Leadership Symposium

Humanizing Change: Leading People, Not Just Process with Manar Morales, Founder & CEO, DFA

December 1, 2026 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET

Change is constant and the way people experience it is personal. Right now your people may be absorbing a lot at once: the arrival of AI in their daily work, a leadership transition, a merger or combination, a new office or a return to office mandate, or a shift in organizational strategy. Too often, organizations focus on the mechanics of these changes and overlook the human side. People moving through change face uncertainty, a sense of loss, and questions about where they now fit. When leaders ignore that, even a sound strategy stalls.

In this session, we will explore how leaders can guide change in ways that honor the people living through it. We will look at what people need to feel steady, how to meet resistance with understanding rather than force, and how connection makes change something people can sustain. Participants will leave with practical ways to lead change that people trust and that lasts.

Eligibility: This event is open to DFA Champion and Leader members only.

Champion & Leader Members: Register in the Member Resource Center or by contacting us.

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Signature Session: Beyond Policy: Rethinking Caregiving Support at Work – October 8, 2026

Signature Session

Beyond Policy: Rethinking Caregiving Support at Work feat. Manar Morales, Founder & CEO, DFA

October 8, 2026 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET

Join us for a discussion of DFA’s new impact report on caregiving in the legal profession (being released September 2026), featuring leaders from member organizations building standout caregiving programs. We’ll explore the impact caregiving has on retention, performance, and career trajectories, what a truly inclusive definition of caregiving looks like across life stages and roles, and how organizations can move from scattered policies to cohesive systems. Leave with practical strategies for closing the caregiving support gap across your organization.

Eligibility: This event is open to DFA members only.

Members: Register in the Member Resource Center or by contacting us.

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Innovation Circle: Navigating Culture During Times of Change & Growth – September 30, 2026

Innovation Circle

Navigating Culture During Times of Change & Growth

September 30, 2026 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET

As organizations grow, evolve, and adapt to new realities, culture can either become a source of stability or a source of friction. Join fellow DFA members for a collaborative conversation about how to preserve what matters most while helping people navigate uncertainty, new expectations, and ongoing change. This interactive session is designed to surface ideas, share experiences, and explore practical ways to strengthen culture during times of growth and transformation.

Eligibility: This session is designed for Diversity, Talent, HR, and Wellbeing leaders, as well as those responsible for overseeing culture initiatives at the director level (or the equivalent thereof) and above. This event is open to DFA members only.

Participants should come prepared to have their cameras on and ready to share and participate in the facilitated conversation.

Members: Register in the Member Resource Center or by contacting us.

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Leadership Symposium: Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing – September 9, 2026

Leadership Symposium

Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing with Dr. Leslie John, Professor, Harvard Business School

September 9, 2026 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET

What if the instinct to hold back is actually holding us back? In this fireside chat, Harvard Business School professor and behavioral scientist Dr. Leslie John shares insights from her new book, Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing, making the case that strategic vulnerability is one of the most underutilized tools in a leader’s toolkit. Dr. John will explore how the willingness to open up builds trust, deepens relationships, and signals the confident, self-aware leadership that inspires others to follow.

Eligibility: This event is open to DFA Champion and Leader members only.

Champion & Leader Members: Register in the Member Resource Center or by contacting us.