2022 Strategic Leadership Conference

Dewey Gottwald Center | Science Museum of Virginia | 2301 W. Leigh St. | Richmond

COVID Protocols: Masks are encouraged.

Join us Thursday, October 20 at the Gottwald Center for the 13th Annual Strategic Leadership Conference. The conference offers a full day of compelling speakers, networking, and both SHRM and HRCI recertification credit opportunities – especially those hard to obtain business credits. We pride ourselves on bringing speakers to you who are true thought leaders including national keynote speakers.

Conference Agenda

Speaker Bios

Conference Sponsors & Exhibitors

Session Summaries

Visionary HR Leaders: Tap into a Hidden Talent Pool with Career Reentry Programs

Carol Fishman Cohen

CEO & Co-Founder
iRelaunch

During this session, Carol Fishman Cohen, CEO and Co-founder of iRelaunch, will discuss why now is an excellent time for forward-thinking HR leaders to propose launching a career reentry program, and the key steps required. Career reentry programs enable employers to tap into the hidden and high caliber pool of mid-career professionals returning to work after multi-year career breaks. iRelaunch refers to this experienced population as "relaunchers." This talent pool is primarily female, and consists of those who have taken career breaks for a range of reasons unrelated to their work performance, childcare, eledercare, pursuing a personal interest, time as a military spouse, "trailing" spouse or partner living as an ex-pat, time taken after military service, extended travel, or "un-retiring." Tactical, practical, and emphasizing the latest innovations and best practices, this is a rare opportunity to learn directly from the global expert on career reentry programming.

During this session you'll learn:

Why leading your employer's career reentry program pilot can be the ultimate opportunity for you to impact lives and gain visibility from senior management
The business case for an employer career reentry program
Relaunchers and the value they bring to employers

Organizational Health: The Key to Employee Wellbeing

Patti Rittling, PhD, CHES

Principal, Total Health Management
Mercer Health & Benefits LLC

The world has experienced a pandemic disruption that will result in permanent changes for both employers and employees. Long standing issues are being brought to the forefront as the balance of power shifts from employers to employees. And while employee wellbeing remains a key topic in the C-suite boardroom, the conversation needs to change. Employers much shift their thinking from a transactional health and wellness program focused on individual behavior change to a transformational holistic and inclusive well-being strategy that addresses the work issues that lead to poor wellbeing in the first place. To address this gap, an organizational health framework focused on humanity in the workplace will be introduced.

Learning Objectives:

Describe the post-pandemic workplace and how to best support employee wellbeing
Recognize the root causes of poor health
List the pitfalls of conventional wellness programs
Identify organizational strategies to support a human-centered workplace culture

Supporting and Encouraging the Person Inside of the Professional

Christopher D. Lee, Ph.D., SPHR

Managing Director
Storbeck Search

The primary role of 21st-century leaders is to focus on the person inside of the emmployee and to provide them with tailor-made support that enables them to thrive. Why would an employee care about their supervisor and organization if their feelings were not reciprocated? How can the average employee sustain themselves amidst the chaos, stress, and endless change due to the pandemic, economic turmoil, as well as societal and world events? In good and difficult times, part of the solution to success at work is having a support system that helps one navigate their individual circumstances effectively. Learn a management framework that will equip the leader to empower, engage, and encourage each team member to get better, perform better, and feel better about their work.

Learning Objectives:

Understand how to develop positive rapport and relationships with employees to enhance results
Outline tools for improving employee support, retention, and performance
Learn how to adapt management approaches to individual using a feedback-feedforward-frequency model

Hybrid Work: An Inclusion Opportunity and Challenge
Matthew Freeman

Founder
Dialectix Consulting

As the pandemic eases, all of the changes in our office configurations are being re-evaluated. But before we make snap decisions on returning 100% in office, or embracing work from home forever, what do we know about how hybrid and remote work arrangements affect belonging and inclusion in our workplaces? Are our efforts at building diverse and cohesive teams bolstered or diminished? We will discuss key considerations in how your organization approaches this topic, and empower you with critical categories to consider in deciding what's best for your organization.

Learning Objectives:

Understand what research says about impacts of hybrid work environments on inclusion
Recognize key factors to consider in discerning whether hybrid and work from home environments work for your organization
Identify key factors for making remote work successful

Ignite Engagement: Science Backed Solutions for Your Workplace

Don Rheem

Speaker, Author, and CEO of E3 Solutions

Today's employers are facing an unprecedented shifting landscape in the workplace. Recent findings in collective neuroscience and behavioral science teach us how to create a culture where employees look forward to coming to work and thrive when they get there, whether your organization is remote, hybrid, or in-person.

Join Don Rheem, CEO, author, and TEDx speaker, as he reveals the prosocial conditions most likely to increase employee retention and engagement, and offers proven strategies to put this knowledge into motion.

Learning Objectives:

Learn the hardwired drivers of employee behavior through the lens of neuroscience and behavioral science.
Develop relational leadership strategies to ensure their employees feel safe, connected, and productive whether you are fully-remote, fully in-person, or hybrid.
Understand the importance of emotional velcro and collective neuroscience and apply those findings to their unique workplace setting.

Building Elastic Organizations

Aaron Montgomery

Managing Partner
The Montgomery Development Group

Aaron Montgomery is the Managing Partner of The Montgomery Development Group, an investment firm. Prior to his current role Aaron was Chief Strategy Officer of Mission Lane, a Forbes Top 50 FinTech and Co-Founder of CarLotz (NASDAQ: LOTZ) a disruptive innovation in the used automotive retail market.

Using his experience creating sound businesses, Aaron will outline the concept of organizational elasticity and the benefits of it, identify the conditions and environmental factors necessary for building organizational elasticity, and provide a high-level case for an elasticity program.

Registration Types

In-Person WITH On-Demand

Provides the attendee with access to all on-site conference-planned sessions, activities, meals and breaks for the full conference and all credit hours of on-demand content available for two weeks after the conference ends.

On-Demand Only

Provides access to all credit hours from the 2022 conference sessions for two weeks after the conference ends. It does not include any live virtual or in-person access.