Success is great leadership, resilient employees, all wired for change
Karen Ferris is a self-professed organisational change management rebel with a cause!
She pushes the boundaries of the profession to make things better for all. She is driven to make a difference.
Acclaimed internationally as an author and speaker, with industry acknowledgement of her reputation as a thought leader, she provides both strategic and practical advice and insights to her audiences.
She has presented on stage to audiences in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, UK, USA, Sweden, and Norway.
Current Work:
2020 saw the publication of the revised edition of her celebrated publication Balanced Diversity – A Portfolio Approach to Organisational Change which introduces a new and innovative framework for ensuring that changes become embedded into the fabric of the organisation.
2020 also saw the publication of Unleash the Resiliator Within! A Handbook for Individuals and Unleash the Resiliator Within! A Handbook for Leaders.
Karen published her second book Game On! Tactics to Win When Leading Change is Everyone's Business in 2019. She has also written three business books for the Bookboon eBook platform.
In 2014 itSMF Australia bestowed her with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to the industry.
For the last six years she has been voted one of the top 25 thought leaders by HDI. In 2017 the Business Relationship Management Institute presented her with a Global Excellence Award and in 2018 Change Management Institute awarded her the Rebel Award for “The person breaking all the rules to make things better for all.”
Her clients include Motorola Solutions, Department of Defence, University of Melbourne, Sydney University, Datacom, NEC, Telstra, MMG, Australian Tax Office, Vicinity Centres, and Fujitsu.
Talking Points
The Walking Dead Amongst Us – Zombie Leadership
Many leaders cling to outdated ideas that have been repeatedly debunked but resolutely refuse to die. This is called Zombie Leadership. It lives on because it keeps leaders in their comfort zone. It avoids them having to admit that their ideas, skills, and capabilities are no longer relevant to leading today’s workforce despite the inadequacy of those ideas having been demonstrated repeatedly.The Walking Dead Amongst Us – Zombie Leadership
We have a leadership crisis right now. We have far too many walking dead amongst us.
The world is constantly evolving, and leaders must follow suit. To do that, they must be prepared to unlearn. That means eliminating what is not serving them today and learning what will serve them tomorrow.
American businessman and futurist Alvin Toffler made this prediction in his 1970 book Future Shock.
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”
Learning, unlearning, and relearning are continuous cycles that require leaders to be adaptable and open-minded. They involve gaining and applying knowledge, eliminating outdated information, and then gaining new knowledge and applying it.
Learning involves acquiring new knowledge, skills, and strategies. Unlearning is letting go of old habits, beliefs, and ideas that no longer serve us. This process can be challenging, requiring individuals to confront their biases and preconceptions. Relearning is the process of learning something new, often in a new or different way. Relearning is important because it allows individuals to update their knowledge and skills in response to new information and changing circumstances.
The process of learning-unlearning-relearning is a journey leaders must embark on.
There are three stages to the journey.
o Separation
o Initiation
o Return
Who is this for:
Team leaders, supervisors, and managers
Three key takeaways:
• Understanding zombie leadership
• The learn-unlearn-relearn process and the challenge
The Future of Work Is The Future Of Leadership. Are You Hybrid Ready?
The future of work is hybrid. Period. There is no going back to the way it was pre-pandemic. The genie is out of the bottle and the bottle has been broken.The Future of Work Is The Future Of Leadership. Are You Hybrid Ready?
Employees are demanding choice and a flexible way of working that they have become used to.
Are your leaders able to lead a high performing hybrid team?
73% of employees want flexible work options to stay (Microsoft 2021)
83% of workers prefer a hybrid work model (Accenture 2021)
41% of employees will seek employment elsewhere if they must return to the office (Citrix 2021)
We are being given the greatest opportunity to rethink how we work in generations and the greatest challenge.
The leadership skills that apply in a hybrid environment differ to those we need in face-to-face situations. Most leaders are not ready to lead a hybrid team and are not aware of the fundamental changes needed. They need new skills and the right mindset to lead the hybrid workforce.
Leaders must create practices that ensure employees in the office are in sync with those working from home and build fairness and flexibility into the workflow.
Who is this for: Upcoming and current leaders
Key Takeaways:
- Why the future of work is hybrid
- The proof that most leaders are not ready
- The hybrid leadership model and capability uplift
From Command and Control to Empowerment and Trust
The future of work is the future of leadership.From Command and Control to Empowerment and Trust
The new era of work has made employee empowerment and a foundation of trust an imperative for high-performing teams.
Many leaders provide employees with autonomy allowing them to shape their work environment so they can perform to the best of their ability.
There are many more leaders though, who either deny the necessity for employee autonomy or cannot comprehend how to move from a position of command and control to one of empowerment and trust.
Command and control, or micromanagement, stifles creativity and productivity and will hinder organizational success due to lack of cooperation and a lack of trust.
Often, micromanagement is not undertaken by choice, but is an unconscious behaviour driven by a lack of leadership development and a lack of exposure to good role models of leadership.
It is possible to both prevent and eliminate micromanagement in the workplace and build stellar organizations that people clamour to work for.
Key takeaways:
- The need for empowerment and trust
- Understanding empowerment, autonomy, and delegation
- How to move from command and control to empowerment and trust
Game On! Change is Constant. Tactics To Win When Leading Change is Everyone's Business
It's match day. Your team is playing a big game. You can feel the anticipation and excitement increasing around you. The crowd is getting louder and as your team appear, the crowd erupts with a tumultuous roar.Game On! Change is Constant. Tactics To Win When Leading Change is Everyone's Business
This game, as all those before it, is different. The ground condition, the weather, the supporters, the opposition, the game tactics, the team composition, and player positions, have all changed. All the changes have one purpose to win the game.
Your team is fast, nimble, agile, and constantly adapting to the opposition's moves. They are brilliantly innovative and creative, and the opposition is struggling to respond. It's a decisive win! As you relish in their glory, you reflect on way the game was played.
What if, my organization could play the game like my winning team?� you ask.
What if, we could out play the competition like my team?�
What does my winning team have that my organization does not?�
The answer to that last question slowly dawns on you.
My team adapts to constant change. They don't resist it. They are resilient in the face of it. Constant change is their norm, and they say, Game On'.�
Now, how to make that happen.
Key takeaways:
- New constructs - An enterprise approach to organisational change
- The roadmap
- The Four C's assessment
Unleash the Resiliator Within
The next great disruption is right around the corner, and we will not see it coming. We just need to be ready for it. Organisational survival depends on it.Unleash the Resiliator Within
In the face of constant, uncertain, complex, and unprecedented change, we need a workforce that is prepared, enabled and game ready.
It is time to Unleash The Resiliator® Within!
A workforce of Resiliators is equipped with the superpowers they need to combat the concern, stress, and anxiety that comes with unrelenting and often volatile change.
Resiliators take charge, self-manage, lead, inspire and motivate. They innovate, create and experiment. They operate in an environment of collaboration and cooperation. These are competencies organisations need today if they are to thrive in the face of constant disruption.
The Resiliator has a holistic, contextual, and individualised portfolio of superpowers to pull upon to address the adversities and challenges they face at any given point in time.
Key takeaways:
- Busting myths about resilience
- Why we need a holistic and contextual approach
- The superpowers of The Resiliator for individuals and leaders
Feedback – The Breakfast of Champions
“Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions” is a quote associated with Ken Blanchard – a management expert.Feedback – The Breakfast of Champions
As we all know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. As the name suggests, it breaks the overnight fasting period and replenishes your supply of glucose to boost your energy levels and alertness.
The same applies to your organisation. Without feedback, it will starve. It will operate in a vacuum and cannot improve, adapt, or evolve.
Feedback is not an option – it is a necessity – at every level of the organisation.
This presentation explores what it is and how we do it effectively. It uses the CEDAR model, based on real-life conversations between managers and their people. It considers what each feedback receiver needs for the feedback to be successful.
CEDAR: Context; Examples; Diagnosis; Actions; and Review.
The presentation also introduces the audience to the things to avoid, such as the feedback sandwich.
Active listening is a critical skill for successful feedback, and each supporting pillar of active listening is examined.
Those giving feedback must be prepared to model desired behaviours, proactively ask for feedback and be open to receiving it.
The presentation concludes with advice on how to ask for feedback. Creating stability for the team — and success for the organisation — depends on the ability to learn what needs to change.
Who is this for:
Team leaders, supervisors, and managers
Key takeaways:
• How to prepare to give feedback.
• Using a successful feedback process.
• Learning to be an active listener.
• How to ask for feedback and receive it.
Video
Karen Ferris | Change Management Rebel WITH A Cause | Saxton Speakers
Clear. Concise. On-point. Relevant. Practical. All we've all come to know, respect and rely on from the insightful mind of Karen Ferris. Your fans are always surprised by you and how you sho ... keep reading The Ken Blanchard Companies
Great to work with Karen on team development focusing on change and adaptive leadership. Karen has a style that puts the team at ease and is pragmatic and can relay practical organisational applications.
The workshop was an outstanding success, and feedback received from Change Advisory Group members included the following: - Your presentation style was energetic, inclusive and professional - The material you presented was highly relevant for the Group and our organisation - The tools you provided were practical, and easy to understand and use The group came away quite energised and motivated by the session. We are looking forward to working with again so that we can equip more people, and in particular our leadership group, to manage the ongoing change within the organisation.
