 What Got You Here Won't Get You There
Marshall Goldsmith, PhD
Tuesday, April 20, 8:30 am
In this fast-paced, interactive session, Dr. Goldsmith will describe classic challenges faced by successful leaders and how they can use "what to stop" in personal development and coaching. Participants will practice feedforward--a positive, focused tool for development that has been successfully implemented by leaders around the world. He will then share a proven process for leadership development and coaching--along with published research involving over 86,000 respondents from eight major corporations. Finally, Marshall will have participants practice peer coaching and share exciting new research on how it can produce great results--at very low cost to the company. As a world authority, Dr. Goldsmith helps successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior: for themselves, their people, and their teams. In November 2009, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith was recognized as one of the 15 most influential business thinkers in the world in the bi-annual study sponsored by The (London) Times and Forbes. The American Management Association named Dr. Marshall Goldsmith as one of 50 great thinkers and leaders who have influenced the field of management over the past 80 years. Major business press acknowledgments include: Business Week -- most influential practitioners in the history of leadership development, The Times (UK) -- 50 greatest living business thinkers, Wall Street Journal -- top 10 executive educators, Forbes -- five most-respected executive coaches, Leadership Excellence -- top five thinkers on leadership, Economic Times (India) -- five rajgurus of America, Economist (UK) -- most credible executive advisors in the new era of business and Fast Company -- America’s preeminent executive coach. Marshall’s PhD is from UCLA. He teaches executive education at Dartmouth’s Tuck School and frequently speaks at leading business schools. He is a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources (America’s top HR honor) and his work has been recognized by almost every professional organization in his field. In 2006, Alliant International University honored Marshall by naming their schools of business and organizational studies -- the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management. He is one of a select few advisors who have been asked to work with over 100 major CEOs and their management teams. Marshall is co-founder of Marshall Goldsmith Partners, a network of top-level executive coaches. He served as a member of the Board of the Peter Drucker Foundation for 10 years. He has been a volunteer teacher for US Army Generals, Navy Admirals, Girl Scout executives, International and American Red Cross leaders -- where he was a National Volunteer of the Year. Marshall’s 24 books include: The Leader of the Future (a Business Week best-seller), Coaching for Leadership, and Succession: Are You Ready? Marshall is a world authority in helping successful leaders get even better -- by achieving positive, lasting change in behavior: for themselves, their people and their teams. Over two hundred of his articles, interviews, columns and videos are available for viewing and sharing online (for no charge) at www.MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com. |
 The Wisdom of Positive Performance
Diana Whitney, PhD
Wednesday, April 21, 8:30 am
In the midst of the many economic, social, and environmental challenges facing us today, there is a glimmer of hope. A positive revolution in human organizing and change management is underway, offering new possibilities and practices and for the field of performance improvement. Research into positive psychology concludes people flourish and perform at their best when surrounded by positive emotions. Teams, departments, and entire organizations thrive in an environment of positive communication. Strengths-based research puts forth the benefits of learning and development in areas of strengths rather than weakness. And Appreciative Inquiry, a high-engagement process which focuses on what works has emerged as a wildly successful process for creating large scale alignment for innovation and positive change. At the nexus of these three emerging fields: Appreciative Inquiry, positive psychology, and the strengths based movement is the wisdom of positive performance and a new vision for performance improvement. In her presentation, Dr. Whitney, award-winning author, international consultant, and Appreciative Inquiry thought leader will address: - What positive psychology suggests people need to perform at their best personally and collectively;
- How to use Appreciative Inquiry to focus on what works, get to the root cause of success, and facilitate large scale positive change;
- Five strategies of appreciative leadership derived from her research into what people want from leadership.
She will also share practical examples and stories from her experience as a leading consultant and executive advisor.
Dr. Diana Whitney is an inspirational speaker, provocative educator, and pioneering thought leader in the growing field of Appreciative Inquiry and Positive Change. Through her work, her teaching, and her writing she has positively influenced the lives of millions of people around the world. Diana is an award-winning author. Recognized in 2004 by the International Organization Development Network (ODN) for her contribution to the field through writing she is the author or editor of 15 books, as well as dozens of articles and chapters. She is President of Corporation for Positive Change, an international consulting firm specializing in the application of Appreciative Inquiry -- the revolutionary process she helped develop and spread -- to resolve the most pressing challenges of our time. In fields ranging from health care to education; from peace-building to business; from community development to government, Diana coaches executives and their teams in support of organization culture transformation, strategic development and leadership capacity building. With over 30 years of experience, her clients include Merck, British Airways, Verizon, J&J, Calgary Health Region, University of Virginia Health System, Idaho Department of Education, and Sisters of Good Shepherd. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) recognized her Appreciative Inquiry work at GTE (Verizon) with their Best Culture Change of the year award. Diana is a Founder of the Taos Institute, a center for dialogue among family therapists, educators, and organization consultants. She is a Fellow of the World Business Academy and an ongoing advisor to the United Religions Initiative, a global interfaith organization dedicated to peace. Diana is a Distinguished Consulting Faculty at Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center where she teaches and advises PhD students. She is an expert faculty for the NCR Picker Patient Centered Care Institute. Diana received her PhD from Temple University in the field of Organizational Communication. Her early research into the dissemination of educational innovations funded by the National Institute of Education created an agenda for the ongoing development of educational R&D laboratories throughout the United States. |
 We are the Right People at the Right Time, But Who Knows That? A Call to Action
Deb Page, Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement
Thursday, April 22, 3:30 pm
We are the Right People for the Right Time. In a time of unprecedented global change and challenge, we who define ourselves as practitioners of performance improvement, as well as those of us who focus our careers on developing new knowledge to advance improvement practices, are the right people with the right skills at the right time to make a difference. Amid this powerful confluence of economic, demographic, social, and political changes, our talents are needed more than ever. As business models adapt to changing realities, work and workplace conditions are changing rapidly. Organizations must reinvent fluidly, innovating at the speed of learning of their workforces.
To survive and thrive organizations need workers with the right technical skills, creativity, and problem-solving skills. They need talent that can work in teams, analyze effectively, learn, unlearn and learn again, flexing as conditions change. Organizations have to up-skill workforces which were developed for different business models. Schools and universities have to prepare workers for jobs that may not currently exist and to solve problems that are not yet imagined. The education process must change to match the needs, the pace, and the learners of the 21st century and beyond, requiring dramatic and difficult changes in the institutions and practitioners that support learning.
The ability to respond to change and meet these challenges will shape the future of individuals, organizations, communities, and nations. Our field's research and our toolkits hold the keys to support and lead these changes and meet 21st century demands; however, to be able to get the chance to make a difference, we must convince decision-makers of our value. In order for our worth to be recognized, to gain a seat at the senior leadership table where decisions are made, and to attract the type of investments needed to fund our work--grants, fees for service, or our fair share of the ever-shrinking budget--we must maintain the discipline of value-based practice: Define: the value we bring, the results we can help achieve, and the detectable difference we will make, supported by evidence of past performance;
Promise: clearly offer the unique services and results we bring, making our intangible expertise and our mastery of the craft of performance improvement tangible and desirable;
Deliver: apply effectively the disciplines of human performance technology and research to guide organizations to purposefully improve, implement with fidelity and sustain results and improvements;
Remind: provide proof of results and our stewardship of investments, develop reciprocating relationships, and build in opportunities to keep our value and relationship top of mind with those we influence and support.
Deb will share tips and techniques, as well as stories, that remind us why we are committed to this work and the difference we can make working together across sectors. She will help us define, promise, deliver, and remind others of our unique value so that we are positioned organizationally to lead the change process. |