Perth is the place for Leadership in 2012!

Curtin Graduate School of Business is hosting two international Leadership conferences in 2012.  See you there!

ANZAM 2012 -  26th Annual Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference 

5^th – 7^th December 2012 | Perth, Australia | Hosted by Curtin Graduate School of Business

**Paper submissions close 30^th June 2012**

The 2012 ANZAM Conference theme ‘Managing for Volatility and Stability’ complements the range of more traditional streams and the preceding ANZAM Doctoral Workshop to ensure a comprehensive and versatile Conference that allows you to share research, rekindle existing networks, establish new links and contribute to challenging conversations in a collegial environment.

For further details, registration and paper submission please visit the conference website: http://www.anzamconference.org/

The International “Studying Leadership” Conference

10^th and 11^th December 2012 | Perth, Australia | Hosted by Curtin Graduate School of Business

The 11th International Studying Leadership Conference (ISLC) will be hosted by the Maureen Bickley Centre for Women in Leadership at the Curtin Graduate School of Business, Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. The theme this year is 'Leadership at the Crossroads?' — reflecting the often conflicting demands, expectations and applications of leadership in increasingly globally complex and unpredictable climates.

For further details and to register your interest in attending, please visit the conference website 

Out on the Town - Reflections from a Conferencing Novice: the ACERE/DIANA Conference

At the Bickley Blog, we often post details of upcoming conferences in the worlds of leadership and gender research. Many of you may wonder about the benefits of conferencing - what comes from taking the time to develop an abstract or paper for a conference (which always seem to be due when you are at your busiest!), of putting your ideas "out there" in the public arena for comment and critique, or of attending networking events to meet other people in your area of interest?

This week, we thank Ali Sumner for her guest post - she offers a personal reflection on her recent attendance at the ACERE-Diana conference held in Perth, Western Australia in January 2012.  For further information on the conference, see a past BB post here.

About Ali
Ali has a background in teaching, community development and marketing.  She completed her Masters of Leadership and Management in 2004 while working at the Department of Education and Training in Perth, Western Australia, in the area of professional learning and development. In 2006, she became the inaugural CEO of the POWA Institute, WA's not for profit institute for new thinking, established in alliance with the not-for-profit de Bono Institute (Australia). Ali is currently completing a PhD, investigating what happens in the area of Complexity Leadership when work teams use Edward de Bono's thinking tools.

Reflections from a Conferencing Novice...
After five years of part-time study as a PhD student at the Curtin Graduate School of Business, I had grown accustomed to the solitary nature of my research. Encouraged by my supervisors I had become reasonably confident that somehow, sometime, in someway, my obscure area of research would make a contribution to knowledge.

Then the unexpected opportunity to present a paper at an international conference emerged out of nowhere, the ACERE-Diana 2012 Conference was coming to Perth. ACERE is the Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research Exchange and the Diana Project being the world's leading conference on women's entrepreneurship.

On a steaming hot day in February, I found myself standing in front of a room full of strangers ready to deliver my first academic paper at an international academic conference. Over the following four days I experienced what it is like to go from intellectual solitary confinement to a playground of ideas I was listened to, encouraged, taken seriously, challenged, argued with and ignored... all at the same time.

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This particular conference was co-hosted by the Diana Project and this gave me the opportunity to meet academic women from countries around the world.  My reflections as a novice conference goer are coloured by the memory of listening to and talking with these great women. Papers delivered as part of the Diana conference were wide ranging from issues relating to women starting entrepreneurial ventures in their 50's through to gender and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. the glue that bound the papers together however, was the female perspective, women exploring issues of importance to women.

I came away from my first international conference with an understanding of the wonderful work women are doing in the areas of entrepreneurial research and education. I also discovered to my complete surprise that my own obscure area of research is not so obscure at all. A wonderful African American female academic from Rutgers who sat in the front row of my paper presentation assured me that my work was "right on the button", and after several lunch time chats encouraged me to "publish as soon as possible". I came away understanding why conferencing is so important - you make amazing contacts and the encouragement from more established academics makes you feel great!

Do you have a story to share?
If you have attended an event that would be of interest to our readers and would like to share your experience,  please email us at the Bickley Blog, find us on Facebook or tweet us on twitter!

The Power of Motivation and Engagement

The Motivational Power of Progress and Meaningful Work

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One of the vital tasks of those in leadership or executive positions is to ensure that the people in their organisation are engaged. Engagement impacts employee wellbeing and the organisation's bottom line through it's influence on creativity, productivity and commitment.

In their book "The Progress Principle" and in recent Harvard Business Review articles, authors Terese Armabile and Steven Kramer reveal that the single most important influence in the level of engagement in people's jobs is making progress in meaningful work. Drawing on a multi-year research project, they argue that managers at all levels are routinely and mostly unwittingly undermining the meaningfulness of work for people in their organisations.

The authors outline a number of "traps" that senior managers fall into, that if avoided can "boost the odds of tapping into the motivational power of progress".

Trap 1 - Mediocrity Signals

Your company aspires to greatness as expressed in it's mission statement; your words and actions and tendency to be risk-averse signal that you are more comfortable being ordinary. Not very inspiring!

Trap 2 - Strategic Attention Deficit Disorder

You start and abandon strategic and tactical initiatives frequently. There is not enough time to discover whether initiatives are working and there is insufficient communication to team members when making shifts.

Trap 3 - Corporate "Keystone Kops"

You think that the everyday workings of your company or group are running smoothly, but you are unaware of the mayhem and chaos that actually exists.  Conflicts between company functions due to a lack of coordination and support makes it difficult for people to maintain a sense of purpose.

Trap 4 - Misbeggoten BHAGs

BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) express the goals of an organisation that connect with people's values and this helps infuse work with meaning. But if these goals are too extreme, or grandiose, or vague and confusing they create little meaning for people in the company.  This destroys a sense of purpose.

Can you recognise any of these traps in your organisation? Have you fallen into any of them yourself?  What can you do to avoid them and create meaning and purpose that motivates your people towards greatness?

Extreme Motivation

Following the theme of motivation - something fun from the TEDx Talk series.  This one features Diana Nyad, a long distance swimmer in the 1970's. At 60 years of age, she attempted her longest swim ever - from Cuba to Florida. She speaks about how to prepare mentally to achieve an extreme dream, and asks: What will YOU do with your wild, precious life?