Kelly Odell to speak at TEDxKiruna 13 March 2014

TEDxKiruna proudly presents Kelly Odell as speaker at TEDxKiruna 13 March 2014. 

“The success or failure of change almost always comes down to the behaviors of the leaders”.

Kelly Odell is a management educator and author with long experience of executing change management, leadership and motivation. He has been hailed as a “master of metaphors” for his ability to transform complex concepts into simple, practical and actionable strategies. Most change initiatives fail – fortunately it does not have to be this way.

Change is part of our time, everything is spinning faster, regardless of industry. Yet most people fear change, why?

“Change is a part of our time, but it has also been a part of every time. I am not sure that “most” people always fear change, but certainly some people do fear change and most of us fear change sometimes. And let’s be honest, change isn’t always good or fun. Change in itself is neither good or bad, it is simply different. But the effects of change can be positive or negative for individuals. If I do not know the outcome of a change it wouldn’t be strange if I worried about it. If the change was initiated by someone else and I didn’t understand the reason for the change, I might fear the change. I might like things the way they are and have no need for change. Those of us who drive change need to take people’s fears and worries seriously if we want to be successful.”

What does the high pace of change mean for people and for businesses?

“We need to stop spending so much time thinking about how we can change our business to adapt to changes in our environment and instead focus on developing a high level of flexibility in our organizations – so that we can more easily adapt to and capitalize on changes in the world around us. Building in flexibility in your organization means you don’t have to change in order to adapt. Many organizations spend an enormous amount of time and money trying to change themselves in order to keep up and most of the time they fail. Organizations need stability in order to work. You don’t rebuild your sailboat every time the wind changes direction you just make some adjustments to the rigging and the rudder and keep sailing.” 

Ability to change is a frequent characteristic sought in recruitment advertisements. Can you describe the ability?

“Change management is all about behavior. When we change an organization we change the behaviors of the people in the organization and everyone can and does change their behaviors throughout their lives. Change management is not about changing personalities. Change management is about what we do, not who we are. There is a trend towards identifying and recruiting certain personality types which I find worrying. People come in all sizes, shapes, colors and personalities. Successful organizations understand their success is built upon great diversity of its people, not great similarity.”

You have experience of change processes in large, global organizations. What are the biggest challenges: for the leadership, for employees?

“The success or failure of change initiatives almost always comes down to the behaviors of the leaders. Leaders who understand how important their roles in the change are and who really commit themselves to actively driving and participating in the change are successful. The greatest challenge for employees is also leaders. Employees must take responsibility for their own behaviors, but in most organizations the employees have very little control over what changes management initiates. They find themselves often as the victims of change.”

What is the main message of your TED-talk in Kiruna?

“Most change initiatives fail. That is the cold hard truth. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. There is an enormous body of knowledge that can be learned and implemented into organizations that will radically change the way we manage change.  We can, if we choose, move from a world where most organizational changes fail to one where most succeed. This will result in significant improvements to our success as organizations and our satisfaction with our work.”

About TEDxKiruna 

On March 13th TEDxKiruna returns for the third time for an inspiring day full of amazing speakers sharing their ideas and energy inspiring discussion and perhaps new ventures. We welcome you to one of the world's northernmost TEDx events, hosted in Kiruna in Swedish Lapland, 200 km above the Arctic Circle - right under the magic of the northern light. 

TEDxKiruna is a cross-disciplinary event for people and minds who come together to listen to fascinating speakers inspiring new thoughts and stimulating discussions.The theme of TEDxKiruna 2014 is transformation and for the first time ever, the event is arranged under ground, in the LKAB Visitor Centre, 540 m below ground. 

In the spirit of “ideas worth spreading,” TED has created TEDx TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxKiruna, where x = independently organized TED event. At TEDxKiruna, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

Kelly Odell will be speaking at TEDxKiruna on March 13th 2014. 

For more information and to book your ticket visit www.tedxkiruna.com - we look forward to seeing you.