What does it take to lead change? - Leading the design and development of organisations is not positional

Leadership is hardly a new topic, and the industry that ‘develops leaders and leadership’ is vast. Less common is research and inquiry into what it takes to lead organisation design and organisation development. Whilst there is a literature on change leadership, it does not have much to say when it comes to those who are ‘leading’ the complex change that OD&D typically entails.

This raises a number of questions:

• What are the leadership roles in OD&D

• Are there different leader role at different points in the process?

• What are the respective roles of a business leader leading OD&D and an ‘expert’ leading the work?

• What impact does leader style or status have on the design and development work?

• What is it appropriate for the senior leadership in an organisation to delegate to a leader of OD&D, and what should they not abdicate responsibility for?

• Can the two roles ever be combined?

• What are the skills and competencies of a leader of OD&D and how, if at all, do they differ from any other kind?

• How is all of the above being impacted by emerging technology and the demands of leading in a Digital Age?

• When and where do OD&D consultants/specialist help or hinder?

• How does the nature of the system influence the leadership of change?

More broadly, have we got to the point where the specialists – those in OD&D, Change, HR etc – have created such a mythology and smoke & mirrors around their expertise that it is actively hindering the ability and permission that leaders within client systems have to take up responsibility for things that they could, and arguably should?

We will be joined by 2 provocatuers to help us dive deeper into the questions above and more:

Eva Appelbaum, is passionate about demystifying digital transformation - engaging business leaders and employees in change, developing new behaviours and mindsets and empowering people to thrive in the digital age. Eva is a frequent speaker and is published in two books, Creating Digital Culture and Building the Agile Business. As digital director at BBC Earth, Eva was pivotal in changing the way the BBC worked across television and digital content and products. She was also responsible for setting up the BBC Marketing Lab. Previous roles include digital director for Amnesty International, digital advisory board member at ActionAid and director of social media and digital production at GroupM. She has been in Marketing Week’s Vision100 and the BIMA Hot100 list and is a regular judge of sector awards, including the CIM, Lovies and Festival of Marketing.

Suzanne Lamont, is Managing Partner for Hanya Partners Ltd. She loves creating a healthy, fun, productive environment. Until recently Suzanne was Global Talent and Organisation Director for Standard Life Aberdeen. Suzanne has deep experience of global corporates, with SME's across multiple sectors and has enjoyed spells in niche consultancy and self-employment. She is currently serving a second term on Glasgow University Adam Smith Business School Strategic Advisory Board; and was founding board member of Organisation Development Network (ODN)Europe.

Join EODF and ODNE for an inquiry and discussion into the above questions.

We will be using Zoom for this event, the zoom link will be emailed to registrants and included in the 3 reminder emails. Please download and watch the tutorial videos if needed. We will begin sharply at 10am and finish by 4pm. We will include regular mini-breaks and a break for lunch around 12.30pm.

If you have any queries please contact the event organisers.