The session was called Managing Accelerating Change…

And the panel was simply brilliant. My take was personal and focused on improving the leader experience to make the entire org better by instigating the change while in the midst of it.

After all this is a game of hearts AND minds.

We do that by , among other items I shared—

❤️vowing to banish the real villain in the plot— isolation, fostering connection and community which triggers oxytocin “the love chemical” in the brain and therefore in your org 🧠

❤️ which allows us to foster collaborative leadership, therefore boosting trust and more transparency.

❤️ investing (instead of cutting) more in communications and learning & development because if leaders don’t know what to expect and you aren’t investing in their growth, why should they work harder—because that’s what change demands. Our brains can be rewired for change because they have plasticity 🧠

❤️ aiming for likable leadership—it is quantifiable—so save the beer carts and mandatory fun— and aim for the willingness to admit you’re wrong when you are, authenticity and transformational leadership. Harvard Business Review revealed last year that these are the mandatory traits of likability. If you are a woman or one of color, this is a secret weapon in a subjective world of institutions that don’t center you. (Read my latest book, Yes Please! Ch 3: https://a.co/d/fxGyzdl)

❤️nurturing an environment that builds resilience and stretches fixed mindsets to flex new muscles to become growth mindsets—like fostering an environment that embraces fast failing. You may also look at where these different leaders are in the org and ensure the growth mindsets are where they should be in the org—leading.

Shoutout to my new friends: LA Opera’s board head, panel mate Keith Leonard, panelists David MacIntosh and Aubrey Bergauer; Florida Grand Opera’s CEO Maria Todaro, Hawaii Opera’s Stuart Zwagil and Jamie Oflenbach; my old friends at Opera Omaha including Shannon Walenta, Lyric Opera Chicago and Timothy O’Leary , Washington National Opera and The Kennedy Center.

A special thanks to OPERA America for flying me out and hosting me for this plenary, especially Marc A. Scorca who extended the invitation.