This year has given us good reason to rethink the way we do almost everything. We’re rethinking the way we communicate, the way we come together, the way we connect (and disconnect), and, not least of all, the way we work.
All this change can be scary and tiring, but it also represents an amazing (and fleeting) opportunity to build a better world of work. That’s why we kicked off the all-virtual 2020 NeuroLeadership Summit with the keynote session, “The Science of Change.”
“Change is inevitable—be intentional.”
In the session, Dr. Cindy Pace; Vice President, Global Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at MetLife; and Dr. Elliot Berkmann of the University of Oregon joined Dr. Andrea Derler, and Dr. David Rock of NLI. Their discussion focused on how organizations can build the habits and systems that support large-scale change—something many companies need, and need now.
Dr. Berkmann shared research that suggests “When things around [us] are shifting, it represents an opportunity” to create new habits that will make us more responsive to the new environment. If anything, 2020 has shown us that we can pivot much faster than we thought. But, it requires what Dr. Berkmann calls “planfulness.”
Planfulness can be understood as the ability to mentally time travel between what we’ve done in the past, where we’d like to go in the future, and what changes that requires of us in the present. The more planfulness we exhibit, the more likely we are to succeed in our desired changes.
Dr. Pace shared how Metlife has applied that science to not only survive the present, but thrive into the future. Dr. Pace explained that Metlife did the work of examining where they needed to go, what obstacles lay in their path, and what habits they needed to scale to surmount those obstacles.
NLI then helped Metlife enact the changes they envisioned using our researched-backed change model: PHS. The model defines three critical components of change (Priorities, Habits, and Systems) and gives organizations a framework to create coherent, actionable, lasting change initiatives. Metlife’s adherence to this foundational science has allowed them to create an agile culture that thrives through change.
Join the conversation
This morning’s keynote conversation set the stage for three days of insight-rich sessions running concurrently across three global regions: the Americas; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Asia Pacific.
Over the course of the next three days, attendees will hear from prolific scientists from Yale, Harvard, Columbia, and NYU; top executives from major companies like Microsoft, Netflix, Zoom and Patagonia; and NeuroLeadership Institute team members.
Presenters and attendees will delve into topics that tie back to the science of change and building new habits during this unique time. Among the 33 session topics are allyship, fairness and justice, inclusivity, equity, leadership principles, and crisis management.
To keep up with the 2020 NeuroLeadership Summit, follow the hashtag “2020NLS” on social media, or click below to visit the Summit website where you can purchase a ticket.
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