If there is anything the last year has taught us, it is that knotty and novel problems have no easy or obvious solutions. This has been an especially hard lesson for leaders, consultants and change agents who often pride themselves on using their past experience and research savvy to chart the path forward. The idea of not knowing can feel uncomfortable and disorienting. It leads us to question our professional identity and status and worry about our career trajectories. Not knowing can also make us feel afraid.
But what if we could make it comfortable and even joyful not to know? What if we reimagined uncertainty and lack of clarity as an opportunity for deep learning? How would our work feel if we focused more on questions and less on answers? And, importantly, how can we build inclusive cultures that thrive on testing possibilities rather than getting things exactly right? During this session, we will use the foundation of neuroscience as a tool to address the paralysis and fear that often accompany the need to try something new or navigate through profound uncertainty.
About the Presenters:
Catherine Lilly is an accomplished facilitator, speaker, and senior organization development consultant and while at the University of Michigan, served as a NCCI Board member and President. She has over twenty-five years’ experience in successfully addressing people and organizational issues, primarily in Higher Education. She has consulted to leaders at every level and in many types of institutions, having designed and facilitated hundreds of projects focused on assessment, strategy, leadership development, positive organization culture, talent management and diversity and inclusion. Recently she has developed a deep expertise with a body of work known as Liberating Structures, and the Zoom features which enable those to work in a virtual environment.
Allison M. Vaillancourt, PhD is a Vice President & Senior Consultant in the Organizational Effectiveness practice at Segal, a North American human resources and benefits consulting firm. As an organizational strategist, she partners with corporate, higher education, public sector, and nonprofit organizations to increase their impact and effectiveness. Prior to joining Segal in early 2020, Allison was a faculty member and Vice President for Business Affairs and Human Resources at the University of Arizona. She is a regular Chronicle of Higher Education columnist and author of The Organizational Politics Playbook: 50 Strategies to Navigate Power Dynamics at Work.