Agenda and Speakers

Change elicits very different reactions from people, and understanding how people react and how to help them perform at their best can make the difference between the success and failure of your change initiative.

John Brewer will introduce the conference themes within the context of how individuals respond to change. He will then invite delegates to consider and share their own perspectives on and response to change.

What differentiates those who perform well under change pressure from those who become overwhelmed or simply ineffective? Are there some clear indicators that can help identify each group, and can we improve the performance of those who might otherwise fall behind?

Drawing on her learning and development experience and the recent motivation and performance work popularized by authors such as Daniel Pink and Sian Bellock, Atena Bishka will discuss:

• common myths about motivation and change
• why traditional approaches like carrots and sticks don’t work
• what businesses can learn from the latest performance research
• autonomy, mastery, and purpose—a new approach to change performance
• how leaders can help people optimize their performance and results

The focus now moves from individuals’ varying responses to change to the exploration of a specific change process. Wind Mobile is an innovative mobile phone service provider that has grown quickly since its launch, creating unique organizational and change management challenges.

In sharing his experiences, Brice Scheschuk will explain how to:

• avoid costly procurement mistakes on large IT projects
• reconcile vision with reality in a change initiative
• regain control in a chaotic environment
• avoid the temptation to cut corners

Many pundits hail social media as an unprecedented revolution that will change everything—rather like the printing press, nuclear fission, and the wheel combined. But what if as well as an agent for change, social media also taps into the past—and provides us with a powerful tool whose use connects us with practices and approaches from the very dawn of civilization? David Hurst will combine the insights of his forthcoming book on Ecological Leadership with his extensive experience of change and his recent immersion in social media. This presentation will offer an original and practical perspective on the intersection of change, leadership, and new technology.

There has been a lot of buzz recently about the concept of “lean,” and how organizations can apply lean principles to change. Offering the possibility of reduced costs and waste, and greater quality, flexibility, and engagement, it fits well with the current focus on greater efficiency.

Craig Szelestowski will discuss how to initiate a lean change initiative focusing on value creation, while engaging employees and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Drawing on the personal experience that became the foundation of his award-winning book Five Seconds at a Time, Denis Shackel will invite you to consider how life-changing events can lead to a new perspective on change and leadership.

Denis will discuss how his own experience with tragedy and emergency helped him identify tools and strategies that can help leaders facing overwhelming change.

As globalization gathers speed and technology advances, we will all find ourselves working more and more in virtual teams and organizations. Jon Wagner is a pioneer in working virtually, has supported and researched virtual teams and organizations for over 20 years, and has consulted on numerous large scale change initiatives. In this session, Jon will address these timely questions:

• What is driving the growth of virtual teams and organizations?
• What are the challenges of managing change in large scattered or virtual organizations?
• How can virtual teams and collaboration technology be used to support major change initiatives?
• What are the success factors for virtual teams and organizations?
• How can we use change management approaches to enable the virtual workforce?

Retail has always been a highly competitive business. With consumers becoming ever more demanding, the economy slowing almost to a halt, and increasing competition from larger U.S. based organizations, the first place many Canadian retailers look for increased efficiency and effectiveness is their supply chain.

Ursula Erasmus and Debra Milimaka Miles will describe the organizational transformation undertaken in the redesign and retooling of Loblaws’ supply chain. This complex, multi-year project provides a great example of a major change undertaking, and offers many lessons on both the people and technological dimensions of change.

The ability to achieve results amid complex and new challenges is essential to organizational resilience. Individual and organizational resilience are intricately entwined, and involve the capacity to absorb, adapt, and respond effectively to ongoing change.

Leaders today walk a fine line between organizational constraints and individual capacity to respond. Knowing how to conserve, focus, and expend one’s resources effectively is crucial for success. This is what differentiates resilient leaders from the rest.

Drawing on research from the neuroscience, medicine, leadership effectiveness, and sports psychology fields, Jenny Howe will offer proven strategies and practices to help you build and sustain the peak mental fitness that underpins individual and organizational resilience.

One of the greatest challenges for all leaders is how to remove organizational silos. A narrow focus on specialized functions and the creation of fiefdoms in many companies are major obstacles to effective and lasting change. In today’s global and highly competitive environment, artificial barriers between individuals and groups also hamper performance and increase enterprise risk.

Is an organization without silos an ideal that can never be achieved? Jim Diotte will describe practical examples of how silos can be removed, and the potential performance and agility improvements if you dare to break silos down.

Organizational culture has received a lot of attention in recent years, with many considering it a powerful potential competitive advantage. Innovative leaders also recognize that any change process must consider culture if the change is to last and achieve its intended results.

Leona McCharles and Laurie Sanci will examine culture change in two very different environments that are also driven by different organizational imperatives. Laurie will discuss how Centennial College dealt with harassment on one of its campuses, recognizing that policy changes and enforcement alone could not solve the problem. Leona will discuss her work with a large telecom company that focused on the quality of client interaction rather than customer service processes.