Creating the Future of Communication Leadership: what's in store for #23September

An “Open Conference on the Future of Communication Leadership” - what do you folks actually mean by that?

A worthy question - one I am joined by Open Conference Facilitator Ian Andersen in answering.

This Open Conference is intended as an effort to turn the game of communication conferences and events upside down in a effort to help move the profession forward.

Rather than having a bunch of predetermined presentations on a closed-ended topic, we’re offering an open agenda around an open-ended topic: the future of communication leadership.

“Communication leadership” is very intentionally open.? It's designed to encompass questions ranging from how communicators can better project themselves as leaders and thought leaders, to discussing how to promote the economic value communication professionals add, to how to turn IABC around from its ongoing membership decline.

I’ll give the only set remarks - a welcome to the event and a discussion of the three-part #WeLeadsComms research conducted with communication leaders earlier this year, which can be found here.

For more insights about what we are doing, here’s my interview with Ian, who is taking on facilitating this inaugural #WeLeadComms Open Conference following his retirement from an illustrious 35-year career with the European Commission - the last five of which he spent driving participatory innovation as an internal process consultant across the EU institutions and bodies: ?

1) ? ? What do we mean by an “open conference?”

“Open Space Technology (OST)” is the proper name for the “operating system” for our Open Conference on 23 September.

OST was developed in California more than 40 years ago, based on the realization that the most productive parts of a conference are almost inevitably the discussions over coffee or lunch.?

The method is geared towards stimulating participants to identify potential actions or even to agree to take actions as part of the event - a key reason why the format is appealing to #WeLeadComms.

OST works very well as a stand-alone process, but for complex issues, I often use it after first exploring in more detail the real or underlying issues groups or organizations are faced with. Again, a shared understanding of why something needs to be done is essential for a group to work constructively on the what.??

We’ll be sending registrants a quick questionnaire before the event to help us set the context in a way that really empowers participants.

2) ? ? What is it that happens when you get a group of people into a room (physical or virtual) and why do you think it catalyzes so well?

The starting point is a question of importance to the group.?

Open Space does not work well as an academic exercise. You would want to engage with a question participants feel passionately about, where motivation is not an issue and people feel compelled to put away their phones.?

The genius of OST is its tightly defined process. It provides maximum freedom for participants to explore issues that are important to them, to leave a discussion if they no longer feel they are learning or contributing, and to draw on the full benefits of the collective intelligence in the room to create plans or solutions.

To my great surprise, lockdown and working from home has taught me that Open Space works equally well online as it does in a physical setting.?

The loss of side conversations over coffee is more than outweighed by the effortless reach that allows participants to log in from wherever they are without needing to travel.

3) ? ? What will be the running order of the Open Conference?

Essentially the open conference will go as follows.??

* ? ? ? There will be an opening session, where we will have a short framing of the concept of “communication leadership” and how it can be applied to areas of concern to participants.

?* ? ? ? Then we will present the format of Open Space and participants will be free to set up their own breakout sessions and choose which sessions they attend. There will be 2 x 10 sessions of 50 minutes length.

* ? ? ? After the breakouts, we will reconvene, each group leader will share the main learnings from the discussion, and any action points will be recorded and memorialized.??

* Then participants will be invited to join an online community to support their connections and the actions coming from the event.?

* ? ? ? An optional post event online party then follows to allow participants to meet and chat informally and share their Open Conference experience.

4) Is there anything more to it than that??

That’s about it.

?5) ? ? What kinds of topics can the group take on?

Open Space starts with a calling question, in our case “How can we create the future of communication leadership together?”?

\Anyone in the group can offer to hold and report on a session with a topic they propose. Obviously, given the composition of the group, we would expect something relevant to the overall question.

6) ? ? What could be some specific examples?

?It really is up to the participants. Off the top of my head I can think of a few I would like to explore:

· ? ? ? ? How does communication need to change to stay relevant in 2021/post-covid/in facing climate change?

· ? ? ? ? What personal practice would I need to deepen to become a more effective communications leader?

· ? ? ? ? How could we usefully contribute together as a group?

· ? ? ? ? Is anybody listening – and why would they listen to us?

· ? ? ? ? How can our communication leadership contribute to improving vaccine take-up/mitigating climate change/reducing carbon footprints/creating more social equality/combat ingrained racism … ?

* How can legacy comms associations make themselves more relevant, resonant and accessible to today’s communication professionals?

As I said, these are random examples. They do give you a sense of how wide or deep you can go in a question. And if we get – say – 20 sessions on the day, clearly we can cover a lot of ground together.? ? ? ? ? ? ?

7) ? ? Looking back on your career as a facilitator of participative events, what advice would you have for people attending the Open Conference on the Future of Communication Leadership?

Be prepared to be surprised.

8) ? ? What do you see for #WeLeadComms beyond this initial event?

As Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai allegedly said in the 1970s when asked what he thought of the French Revolution: “ I think it is too early to tell.”?

It very much depends on what emerges from the group as it comes together on 23 September.?

Whatever comes out that has the collective energy and determination of the participants behind it will get done. But, more generally, I am convinced this initial event will show the power of convening this particular conversation. #WeLeadComms Open Conferences could probably become regular events – possibly with varying calling questions to bring a wider or narrower focus to each discussion depending of the needs and interests of participants.

Register now for the #WeLeadComms Open Conference on Creating The Future of Communication Leadership. General admission EUR 91+VAT, discounted admission for students or "Open to Work" for EUR 31+VAT.