Olivia McIvor
Keynote: Wednesday, April 26
Intentional Leadership
Description:
Being intentional is a simple concept – too simple, some might think to provide a solution to the complex challenges of work. But it is precisely this simplicity that gives intentionality such power to affect positive change from the frontline to the boardroom.
When integrated throughout a department or organization, it becomes a standard for decision-making with the power to lift the emotional culture up and enrich it. Being intentional provides an easily understood ‘benchmark’ for recharging individuals amid the daily changes of today’s transitional workplace.
This inspirational and thought-provoking session will bring to life the true value of being an intentional leader at work through the exploration of the 12 Character-Building Traits that raise one’s self-awareness and personal accountability for the development of a respectful and caring workplace. Your group will complete an “Intentional leader” assessment to be shared during the presentation. Truth be told, no one can motivate you but you. An individual’s habits, thoughts, and words become their character, which turns into positive or negative action. This session presupposes that everyone is a leader, and each is accountable and responsible for personally building a positive character and habits that translate into self-motivation. Selected character-building traits will be explored to build a strong foundation under the three themes of self, colleagues and community.
Biography
“There isn’t anything I haven’t seen that you could surprise me with.” says, Ms. McIvor, emphasizing that she doesn’t wear this as a badge of honour, rather, as a statement that brings her sadness and a driving motivation to be a social change advocate in organizations. Throughout her 34 years in Human Resources, she has witnessed the grief and joy that comes to work every day in the wake of suicides, divorces, bullying, addictions, mental, emotional and physical illness, and workaholism, all culminating in a lack of human civility. The fallout is a lack of individual and organizational resilience and unrest.
And, she will quickly add, she has also seen the power of healing that comes from workplaces that intentionally and tenderly take care of their emotional culture. As a social researcher, educator, author and speaker, Ms. McIvor uses the power of intentional understanding and implores a kinder, more optimistic approach to support organizations to get to the root causes of problems instead of only addressing the symptoms.
Olivia is the best-selling author of three books: The Business of Kindness, Four Generations-One Workplace and I See You and the Spring 2023 trade book, Disruptive Kindness: A Bold Approach to Doing Things Differently. As a subject matter expert on five generations gracing our workplaces, she believes that it is not our differences that divide us, rather, it’s our judgments. She ascertains if we can begin to release these divergent views and see the gifts each cohort brings to the workplace that building collaborative relationships and personal engagement will be the natural outcome achieved.
Her work has been embraced by industries including Healthcare, Technology, Government, Law, Education, Retail, Wholesale, Tourism, Hospitality, Financial, Utilities, Oil & Gas, Telecommunication and Manufacturing.
She is a post-secondary educator and teaches in the School of Business at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Her Philanthropic work has her serving as the Global Director for The Charter for Compassion Education Institute and as an Advisor for the Kindness Foundation of Canada.