The Five Habits of High Performing Middle Managers

With Sally Foley-Lewis

Middle Managers are essential for an organisation’s success.

OPENING KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

Too many people are encouraged into middle management without the right preparation.

Too many leave middle management because they aren’t supported, developed or have clear direction.

Too many stay in middle management because they feel stuck, not getting a chance to step up.

Whether middle managers are unprepared, unsupported or stuck, they often unjustly get a bad rap. And I should know, I’ve been one, and I’ve also sat at every level of an organisation: from being at the front line to being the CEO, so I’ve seen middle managers from each vantage point. 

And there’s no other role in an organisation that is as perfectly positioned to lead up, down and across. 

In this opening keynote, you’ll explore how finding, harnessing and leveraging five core habits is the foundation of showing up, speaking up and standing out – being your best self.

Confidence is integral for success and I’ll show how a clear understanding of your value, and how being perfectly positioned, helps boost your confidence, amplifies your leadership and ensures greater employee engagement.

Sally Foley-Lewis inspires managers to be high performing, purposeful and productive. She ensures people reach their potential. Sally’s presentations and programs positively impact confidence, leadership and results. A multi-award winning global Certified Professional Speaker, Sally has also authored many books. The drive to support and skill managers comes from her own CEO and senior leadership experiences. Through presentations, keynote speeches, workshops and coaching – online and face-to-face – Sally skills managers, boosts productive, confidence and self-leadership.

How to make your workplace more LGBTQ inclusive

With Rikki Arundel

Understand how to personally be more LGBTQ inclusive

Research indicates that 20% of Gen Z interviewed (aged 18-26) identify as LGBTQ. For Millennials (aged 27-42) it’s 11% and Gen X and Baby Boomers around 3%. What this means is that new employees are far more likely to identify as LGBTQ than their managers, and this is just one major cultural change managers face in the workplace today. Currently 60% of LGBTQ employees cover, keep their identity secret – but not so with gen Z, 25% of whom identify as transgender and/or non-binary.

Rikki is themselves a baby boomer, one of the 3% and has lived through the dark days of secrecy, came out as trans, now identifies as non binary and has delivered awareness training and support for over 20 years. In this interview they will share their experiences, the good and the bad, and help us to understand how to make our workplaces more LGBTQ inclusive.

• Understand the challenges facing LGBTQ employees
• Understand how to personally be more LGBTQ inclusive
• Understand how to make their organisation/team more LGBTQ inclusive
• Be comfortable with using preferred pronouns
• Be comfortable challenging LGBTQ based discrimination and harassment

After 25 years in middle and senior management, Rikki Arundel became an award winning keynote speaker and founded the UK Professional Speaking Association. In 2002 their speaking career almost ended when they changed gender.

Faced with considerable discrimination, Rikki completed a master’s degree in gender research and established themselves as a social entrepreneur, diversity speaker and presentation skills coach, working with organisations keen to create a more inclusive workplace and delivering two successful TEDx talks.

How to stand out as a promising middle manager when things get complex

With Susanne Le Boutillier

How to achieve your goals faster, easier and sooner

• Understand why a one size fits all approach to problems won’t work
• Know what to do instead
• Know how the way you think can get in the way of your own success and how to avoid the common traps
• Know why and how to support your team to be safe to fail
• ​Know what happens when you ignore your team’s need for certainty and how to help them when you’re surrounded by ambiguity

TeamSynchronicity™

With Dr Philip Merry

Creating Quantum Results

We are living in a world of uncertainty and ambiguity which demands a change in the rules that teams live by. To navigate this new world of teams we must release the grip of Newtonian linear logic and embrace the Quantum mindset which recognises that human beings are at our core, connected energy. It is a paradigm shift that will unleash our creativity, curiosity, and adaptability, attract synchronicity and create quantum results.

To do this middle managers need to know how to create TeamSynchronicity™

THE 8 SECRETS OF TeamSynchronicity™ 

1. MISSION OWNERSHIP: each team member is committed to a meaningful team mission.

2. VALUES AND ALIGNED BEHAVIOUR: there is an agreed upon set of values and aligned behaviours to achieve the team mission.

3. HEART/BRAIN COHERENCE: brain and heart work together, and there is mental and emotional coherence throughout the team.

4. SKILL SUFFICIENCY: the team has both the skills and styles needed to achieve results.

5. AUTHENTIC SELF: Each member understands and contributes their authentic self.

6. TRUST AND SAFETY: there is a trusting climate where all members are valued, can be depended on to keep their promises; and to speak up on difficult issues.

6. RESULTS FOCUS: there is a constant focus on achieving mission results.

8. QUANTUM MINDSET: members know how to navigate from a Newtonian to a Quantum mindset and how to look out for synchronicity.

In this cutting edge session Dr Philip Merry will introduce you to ideas that will transform your own team management and leadership as well as your team.

Dr Philip Merry, is the originator and world leader in TeamSynchronicity™,  has focussed on teams and leadership of teams since 1980; and has conducted team sessions in 63 countries with government and corporate organisations. British by birth Dr Merry has been based in Singapore since 1990, is a Master Belbin Educator having accredited over 400 facilitators as Belbin Team Role coaches. Dr Merry has a Master’s Degree in Business and Management Research from Henley Business School, and is the only person with a grounded theory PhD in Synchronicity and Leadership from as well as 22 further certifications in a variety of team and leadership tools. Philip is a Senior United Nations Team Facilitator, and was once a London taxi driver.

The Power of Inclusive Leadership: removing fear and taking action

With Jackie Handy

Making sense of DE&I!

• • Know how our unique map of the world influences us
  • Bust the myth about ‘privilege’
  • Understand why words matter and how we can adapt our language
  • Understand why allyship is so important
  • Be able to take small steps right now and create a better business for the future

Getting people to Say Yes when they would normally say No!

With Lindsay Adams OAM

Agreement, co-operation and influence!

Relationships are the single biggest factor underpinning all business dealings in the business world today. If you want to be a great middle manager, you need to be relationships focused.

In this session you will learn how to quickly identify anyones behavioural style and adjust your behaviour to fit their style. If you lean in close to their style, you will get into relationship quicker and be able to change others’ perceptions and attitudes and ultimately gain their agreement and co-operation.

• Understand the behavioural preferences of your staff and key stakeholders
• Learn how to influence their style
• Understand why people are different to you and how to get on better with them
• Understand the reasons why some middle managers fail in getting their point across
• Learn how to work with the strengths of each member of the team
• Achieve better results for your organisation as a whole through team work and communication

Lindsay Adams OAM is a practiced speaking professional, workshop facilitator and relationship marketing specialist. With over 20 years relationship marketing experience, Lindsay’s focus is on building effective relationships and generating more sales in less time by doing business by relationship.

Lindsay was awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia (OAM) on Australia day 2020 for his services to the professional speaking industry.

Leading in a World of Change!

It’s YOUR time to stand up and stand out!

THE MIDDLE MATTERS

6th, 7th, 8th July 2023

Sally Foley-Lewis is asking for this information for three reasons:

1. This is a global event so we simply want to know we’ve reached as many countries as possible.
2. Middle managers have a diverse range of job titles, this helps us to learn more about the diversity of this essential role.
3. These first two points will then also help us to understand if there are unique leadership and professional development issues pertaining to region and role.

Your details will not be shared or sold to anyone at any time.

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The Age Smart & Age Ready Manager

With Neerja Singh

Build trust and respect between generations.

• Understand the new diversity and reasons why
• Appreciate what it takes to connect the generations
• Learn the 8 benefits of age diversity in the workplace
• Examine how to integrate generational differences at work
• Dive into the art of reverse mentoring
• Begin to think mentor, not just manager

The Intrapreneurial Middle Manager: Key players in the new world of work

With Dr Irena Yashin-Shaw

Discover your intrapreneurial leadership potential

• Understand the concept of intrapreneurialism and why it is so important for them right now.
• Know how to develop and use their intrapreneurial skills to be even more effective middle managers.
• Discover their intrapreneural leadership potential.
• Be able to use their intrapreneurial talent to build a culture of intrapreneurialism in their teams and organisations.

Neurodiversity: What Middle Managers need to know

With Adele Selby

What is it and how you can lead team members with neurodiversity

• What neurodiversity is and isn’t
• Tips and strategies to onboard neurodivergent employees
• Getting past the ‘what can I say’ fear when working with and leading neurodivergent employees
• How to lead neurodivergent employees

FEEDBACK: Increase engagement by making performance conversations easy for both you

With Sally Foley-Lewis

Learn the simple steps to making feedback more effective and engaging: hybrid or face to face!

• • Discern what feedback is and what it really isn’t
  • The 3 A’s of feedback
  • Why feedback fails and how to fix it
  • The 3 secret keys to feedback success
  • Praise and corrective feedback using E.E.C.C.™
  • How to give feedback when you have a hybrid workforce

Why aren’t you coaching yet?

With Dr Stacey Ashley

Scale your leadership impact with coaching.

Stacey will introduce you to the Why, What and How of leveraging a leadership coaching approach.

1. Why having a Coaching approach is important
2. What coaching really is, and
3. How to go about adding a coaching approach to your leadership

In this session you will learn:

• The benefits to you and your people of adopting a coaching approach
• What it takes to coach the people around you
• Practical coaching tips you can use in your next conversation
• New ways of working across the generations
• An understanding of how adopting a leadership coaching approach will scale your leadership impact

Obsessed with Leading Possibility, Dr Stacey Ashley CSP is a Leadership & Coaching Expert. With over 30 years’ experience, Stacey has helped 1000’s to develop their leadership competence, confidence, and credibility. With 8 international Stevie awards, Stacey has been named twice in LinkedIn’s Top Voices. The author of five Amazon #1 best selling books on leadership, Stacey has a talent for translating complex concepts into simple & practical ideas for immediate application. Stacey is often described as the leader for leaders.

Transformational SHIFT for SUCCESS at work and life

With Jonathan Low

Learn to leverage change

Change in our lives is mostly reactive, triggered by a crisis, a choice or just by chance. In either situation, we must make a choice – do we make the change, or not. This session will inspire you to leverage change as a key differentiator to stay relevant in today’s competitive and VUCA landscape.

• Leverage Change and a Shift Mindset as a key differentiator to stay relevant in today’s VUCA world
• Embrace change and overcome resistance from within with pragmatic tools
• Be empowered to make decisions that will shift these restraining forces to change

Jonathan Low centers his conference keynote speaking and leadership coaching work with organizations and senior executives to measurably improve their leadership effectiveness, growth development, and business performance, especially in the areas of Sales Performance, Service Quality, Leadership Communication, and Team Development. He believes that “Increased self-awareness accelerates professional relations and business success”.

Jonathan has more than 30 years of in-depth executive experience in leadership, sales management, customer experience, and has successfully delivered his high-energy, engaging, and transformational keynotes to audiences globally.

Self-Leadership: The Art of Managing Up

With Nejat Abdurahman

How to elevate beyond delivering business as usual.

Join us for this impactful and informational session featuring Nejat Abdurahman, Founder of N-BAC. Nejat will share what it means to effectively manage-up and five actionable insights to take charge of your career, plus more.

Great leaders do not leave the management of their career to chance, they are proactive and manage up effectively. They do not do it by bragging or arrogantly sharing their achievement, nor by tooting their own horn, and definitely not by kiss-a**ing their boss.

There is an art to managing-up and Nejat will walk you through the steps you can take to manage-up and be in charge of the direction your career takes.

At the end of this session, you will walk away knowing what it means to effectively manage-up and with five actionable insights to take charge of your career and

• Get recognised, appreciated and most importantly compensated for the value that you and your team add to the organisation 
• Ensure that your boss and other leaders in the organisation sponsor you, invest in you, and present you with opportunities that are right for you, and
• Influence decision making and inspire others (even if you do not have a title)

Nejat Abdurahman is the founder of N-BAC, a business advisory & consulting firm that helps organisations transform the way they lead to transform their business and create a sustainable impact. Nejat facilitates Leadership Development programs at N-BAC Academy to equip managers and leaders at different levels with the needed skills to transform the way they lead. She serves on the Board of the Association for Talent Development Metro DC Chapter as Director of Programs. Nejat earned her MBA from Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst, and her BA degree in Economics from Addis Ababa University.

Big Presence on the Small Screen

With Pamela Wigglesworth

Demonstrating your executive presence in the virtual world

While the global economic climate continues to remain uncertain, one thing is certain. Business transactions and meetings will continue to be conducted online.

Yet despite having two years spent doing meetings online, individuals still struggle to make an impact in the virtual world.

Big Presence on the Small Screen aims to show Middle Managers how to make an impact during online meetings by elevating their executive presence specifically in the virtual world.

Learn technique to demonstrate leadership gravitas; become an effective communicator when you make the most of your voice & content; and level up your appearance and surroundings to set the stage for a productive and engaging meeting.

• Have a clear understanding of what executive presence is
• Know why exuding executive presence is advantageous for your career
• Learn how to virtually demonstrate leadership gravitas
• Use your voice and message content strategically to overcome short attention spans
• Show up like a leader: Enhance your overall appearance and surroundings online

Communication Consultant, International Speaker, and CEO of Experiential, Pamela Wigglesworth, CSP, has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by senior leaders, small business owners, and corporate executives when making business presentation.

As a presentation coach, she works one-to-one and through in-house trainings with clients across multiple industries. She has helped hundreds of individuals within companies across 11 countries to develop their executive presence; structure a clear presentation message delivered with style, confidence, and authority.

Powerful Insights about Imposter Syndrome

With Self Worth Sam

Strategies for Middle Management

Defining imposter syndrome: This section would explain what imposter syndrome is and how it manifests in individuals. It might also discuss some of the common triggers for imposter syndrome and how it can affect an individual’s work and personal life.

The prevalence of imposter syndrome: This section would delve into the statistics surrounding imposter syndrome and its prevalence among professionals, particularly those in middle management positions.

The impact of imposter syndrome: This section would discuss the negative impact that imposter syndrome can have on an individual’s career, including reduced confidence, increased stress and anxiety, and difficulty with decision-making.

Strategies for overcoming imposter syndrome: This section would provide practical strategies for individuals to use in overcoming imposter syndrome, including techniques for managing negative thoughts and emotions, seeking support from trusted colleagues and mentors, and setting and achieving goals.

Case studies: This section would provide examples of individuals who have successfully overcome imposter syndrome and share their stories and strategies for doing so.

Overall, the presentation will provide valuable insights and practical strategies for middle management professionals to overcome imposter syndrome and succeed in their careers.

From this session, Middle Managers will be able to use an effective strategy for eliminating imposter syndrome so they can advance confidently in their careers.

Self Worth Sam, Imposter Syndrome Expert, is an Inspired Educator. He’s really passionate about reading the richest forms of human knowledge ever written and teaching it to the world, especially relating to self-mastery and self-governance. Some of the things he’s been able to do is help clients overcome all kinds of self-judgment, self-loathing, resentment for others, resentment of themselves, feelings of worthlessness, business confidence issues, brand vagueness and disempowerment, re-connecting with their vision and, eliminating imposter syndrome.

No more snore-worthy meetings!

With David Price

How to create and lead meetings that are highly productive and people want to attend.

• Understand what makes up the foundation stones of great meetings.
• Know how to structure a productive agenda.
• Know how to keep things moving.
• Have strategies to handle difficult or tricky situations.
• Have the techniques to harness the collective skills, experience, knowledge and wisdom to build real collaboration.
• Develop the skill to ask insightful questions that keep things moving forward.
• Know how to harness the power of curiosity to build engagement.

The New Leadership Playbook

With Andrew Bryant

Learn the strategies to being human whilst driving accelerated results!

• How to set better expectations.
• The FIF model for feedback.
• Putting the fist on the table.
• Understanding motivation.
• What to STOP, START and CONTINUE.

Creating “Best Possible” Results.

Maximising the effectiveness of your team (& your relationship with your boss!)

With Helen Mac

In three simple steps!

Is your team producing the results you need? Are they delivering to their capabilities?

As we continue the process of stabilising business operations after the recent tumultuous times, middle managers need to maintain a mindset focused on maximum output while minimising stress for themselves and their teams.

This presentation will introduce two key questions and three specific steps to give you the power to mobilise your team and enhance your relationship with your manager & peers. You’ll gain ideas to support your team to boost their results and learn an extra layer to add to your next goal setting session.

• Understand how to empower your team to manage priorities more effectively
• Be more assertive in workload conversations with your manager
• Build on successful outcomes and maintain productivity levels
• Identify the missing piece in most goal setting strategies
• Tap into an achievement mindset to boost results

Helen Mac is passionate about maximising opportunities for businesses and people. With a Bachelor of Psychology followed by decades of experience developing leaders and team members around the Asia Pacific region, Helen has worked with thousands of people to improve results in their work and their lives. She has authored and contributed to six books, including “Secrets of Business Builders Exposed”, and written & delivered hundreds of customised presentations, workshops & seminars.

Boosting your resilience at work

With Donna Thistlethwaite

Facilitating Positive Mental Health at Work

Supporting positive mental health in the workplace is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a business imperative and a legal obligation.Many middle managers grew up in organisations where employees were expected to leave their ‘personal stuff’ at the front door and put on a mask for the day. The dominant leadership style was authoritarian and structures were usually hierarchical.

We now know that this style of culture limits the outcomes that organisations can achieve. Results include disengaged employees, increased costs and minimal innovation.

Facilitating positive mental health in the workplace is not as hard as you think. Sure it can be a minefield if you get it ‘wrong’ but it doesn’t have to be that way.

In this session you will learn the fundamentals of creating positive mental health for you and your team. We will share stories, strategies and tools that will equip you and your people to thrive.

• Appreciate the importance and benefits of positive mental health at work
• Understand the mental health spectrum
• Be able to recognise signs of poor mental health in themselves or others
• Have a model for a mental health conversation
• Have a process for supporting an employee experiencing poor mental health
• Understand leader actions to facilitate positive mental health

Donna Thistlethwaite was a corporate HR professional at the peak of her career when the unthinkable happened … In a new leadership role, she experienced a workplace challenge that triggered an unravelling of her life … ultimately leading to a suicide attempt. Today Donna is an award-winning entrepreneur and an accomplished speaker and facilitator specialising in mental health and resilience. She passionately shares evidence-based tools and strategies to equip leaders and teams to THRIVE.

When storytelling becomes the greatest tool to connect with your team

With Jennifer Leone

When WHAT you say makes all the difference!

• A better understanding of the benefits of storytelling in the workplace.
• How storytelling has its place in the workplace.
• Understanding what and how to say what you are wanting to convey with your team.
• How to ask better questions in achieving a better response from your team.
• Understanding each component of storytelling and its use in the work place.

The Benefits of a Holistic Approach to Cybersecurity

With Melissa Crossman

Education and empowerment leads to a safer workplace.

Taking a holistic approach to cybersecurity can benefit not only your company’s security but also your workplace culture and employee happiness. When employees are encouraged to report potential cybersecurity incidents, such as clicking on a suspicious link, without fear of repercussions, it creates a culture of transparency and trust. This empowers employees to be proactive in their role as the first line of defence against cyber threats, which can improve employee morale and job satisfaction. Furthermore, by creating a culture of security, employees are more likely to follow cybersecurity best practices, reducing the risk of data breaches and other cyber incidents. By prioritising employee education, empowerment, and a culture of security, companies can secure their business while promoting a positive work environment that supports happy, motivated, and productive employees.

• A holistic approach to cybersecurity can benefit your business by reducing the risk of cyber attacks and improving customer trust and brand reputation.
• A culture of security that empowers employees to become cybersecurity advocates can improve employee morale, job satisfaction, and retention.
• Employee education and training on cybersecurity best practices are crucial components of a holistic cybersecurity approach.
• Encouraging employees to report potential cybersecurity incidents without fear of repercussions creates a culture of transparency and trust, empowering employees to be proactive in defending against cyber threats.
• Taking a holistic approach to cybersecurity can create a positive work environment that supports happy, motivated, and productive employees while also securing your business.

Melissa Crossman is the CEO of Cryptoloc, a cybersecurity company that specialises in providing secure data encryption solutions for businesses. With over 20 years of experience in the technology industry, Melissa has a deep understanding of the importance of protecting sensitive information from cyber threats. She has led Cryptoloc in developing innovative encryption technologies that ensure data remains safe and secure, even in the face of sophisticated cyber attacks. Under her leadership, Cryptoloc has become a trusted provider of data security solutions for businesses around the world.

Make the Most of your Muster learning

With Sally Foley-Lewis

Tips and strategies to make your learning stick