Speaker Guidelines

The Centre for Engineering Leadership and Management has joined forces with Young Engineers Australia in developing the 2010 Leadership Conference. This conference will explore three concurrent themes - Leadership in Business, Environment & Communities and Pathways to Leadership. The three sub-themes of inspiration, agility and success describe three essential qualities of the modern leader. This document is designed to give potential speakers some prompting notes on what each stream aims to explore to assist when submitting an abstract or presentation.

The three main themes are intentionally broad to allow speakers to interpret them as they wish. For instance, you may understand the word 'inspire' to mean how you inspire others to follow your leadership. Alternatively, you may wish to discuss what inspired you to take a particular leadership role or direction. The organising committee for this conference has further broken the three main themes down into sub-themes. These are discussed below and it is hoped that they will aid in provoking your thoughts along the lines of the conference themes.

Timing
It is expected that each speaker will be invited to present for 20-30 minutes. After the program is finalised, speakers will be invited and time slots advised.

Audience
You will be speaking to an audience of up to 400 delegates if invited to address a plenary session or up to 100 delegates if presenting under one of the streams. The audience will consist of mainly engineers of mixed age along with some dignitaries and other senior leaders from business and government.

Leadership in Business Stream - Prompting Notes
The business stream is concerned with two main categories of leadership - both technical and commercial.

Business leaders are encouraged to share their vision of global business reality - have you experienced a downturn and if so how severe has it been? What have been your experiences in restructuring your organisation for recovery from the Global Financial Crisis and how have you positioned your organisation to take advantage of the next global boom? Are there emerging markets that you see crucial to your future growth? Or perhaps you have had to manage poor performance both at the individual and organisation level. Some view recent turbulence simply as necessitating a return to good business practice - managing cost and pursuing growth. Regardless of your take on this, the past 18 months will produce many leadership case studies for future reference - leaders have had to adapt their leadership style to match a changing business environment. What changes have you had to make? Case studies from past downturns and recovery strategies will be particularly applicable in this area.

For those that chose alternatives to downsizing, what solutions did you come up with and how did you handle sensitive communication processes with your employees? Do you feel this process has resulted in a more flexible & agile organisation? Were you required to find 'the right sized' organisation and if so what was it? We are interested to explore ideas around how a flexible and agile organisation is created and maintained. Additionally, there is evidence in research that we have the ability to structure our organisations and cultures in such a way as to foster leadership, creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation. A few organisations have been successful in leveraging their intellectual assets to drive leadership. Have you implemented specific strategies to achieve this?

Within private enterprise, business ethics and governance has become firmly fixed in the spotlight. The alignment of interests between the board and share holders is being increasingly questioned. Shareholders wonder if leaders are in tune with their organisation and if they know when and why to drive change.

Publicly, more engineers are becoming involved in politics and the formation of policy. How can engineers successfully transition to these roles and influence decision makers? Since the Federal election there have been many changes in the public sector and in national policies. We are interested to hear from those that are leading these changes as well as those that have had to shift strategies to fit in with them.

Many engineers desire to remain a technical leader. This may be in the form of a project manager, engineering manager or a pure technical specialist. We are keen to hear from those who have managed to avoid being dragged into corporate roles and the barriers they may have faced. Additionally, we are interested in learning about the role played by the technical leader in developing new products and processes.

For those that have been leading for some time, your experiences in effective and productive leadership will be invaluable. How do you facilitate effective decision making throughout your organisation? Have you used empowerment strategies, self regulated work teams or some other strategies? Importantly, for those in leadership roles, what do you see your next challenge being, what's next?

Environment & Community Stream - Prompting Notes
Showing environmental leadership is something that most claim to now be doing. In some cases, this may be true however the motivations of many organisations have been questioned. Using environmental credentials as a marketing tool is just as common as having nobler reasons for becoming more sustainable. Walking the walk is often far removed from talking the talk which leads to a questionable ethical position.

Of particular interest in this area is the politics of climate change. With so many conflicting opinions and governmental stances world wide, how can we lead in our policy development and set a high benchmark for other nations to follow? Do we need larger economies to take the lead, or can we show leadership here in Australia? We have seen that in most countries the economics of environmental solutions and mitigating climate change seem to drive decision making more so than net benefit to the environment. As engineers how can we influence policy formation and the decision makers in key positions? The over-arching question still remains, is it better to educate people about the need for action rather than just force them to change via legislation?

Showing leadership in securing sustainable energy is now considered paramount to lowering our carbon footprint. The emerging fields of coal seam gas and liquid natural gas are grabbing headlines as is the problems associated with energy storage as opposed to a supply and demand energy market. Efforts are underway to clean up existing technologies, integrate sustainable systems and retrofit improvements to existing plant and infrastructure. In some countries, just acquiring and maintaining a secure energy supply has led to calls for decentralised energy generation and geographically tailored energy solutions.

In contrast to mitigating the effects of climate change, many are now looking to adapt to the inevitable effects that will come. If your organisation has taken this stance or positioned itself for this outcome, what information and reasoning has led to this position?

Water has become a standout issue within Australia as well as many other locations globally. There now exists a plethora of technologies for treating water at all scales. Despite our desperate need, there is still a widespread bad perception within the community about the merits of 'recycled' water. What leadership have you and your organisation shown in this industry? Many of the recent large scale Australian water projects have been delivered via the alliance model. Questions still remain over value for money of this delivery method and quality of the materials used and workmanship. How have you approached these issues in such a way to reassure your clients?

Managing the fallout from an environmental crisis has become an area of practise in its own right. Events such as a fire, explosion, major chemical release, cyclone or flood can cause significant environmental damage, personal injuries, death and have considerable adverse business impacts, both in terms of money and reputation. Such events also can subject companies to significant legal ramifications resulting in remedial and natural resource recovery liabilities and obligations and in some cases major civil and criminal penalties. Those that have lead disaster recovery have been able to provide valuable knowledge and experience to help others move from a position of being crisis prone to crisis prepared.

A growing number of individuals and organisations are showing leadership within disadvantaged communities to help them improve their quality of life. Some of these volunteer their efforts, while others have managed to make such work part of their core business. It is a reality that each individual has the ability to make a positive impact in the world. However not all view this as their responsibility. Have you shown leadership in making other people conscious and concerned about such problems? If you have had hands on experience in using your everyday projects to benefit the communities near-by, we would be interested to hear your outcomes. Perhaps these issues are your focus and major area of attention - if so, please share your experiences with us.

Pathways to Leadership Stream - Prompting Notes
Engineers are increasingly taking on four distinct roles - integrators, specialists, innovators and change agents. Each of these roles has the potential for leadership opportunities and those that can successfully perform all four roles often make outstanding leaders. This stream aims to look at the capabilities and skill sets that make a leader - if in fact this is how a leader is made. The fundamental question is, what makes a leader - is it a skill set, a pattern of behaviour or something else? Does leadership come with a certain position or role, or is it possible to show leadership in any role, even one at a junior level? Exploring the differences between management and leadership will help to define the types of roles where leadership is demonstrated.

Of particular interest to this stream is the process of emerging as a leader - is it possible to influence this process and what career paths are typical to attain leadership? Are there alternatives to these familiar paths? For instance, is it necessary to stay in one position and one company for a long period of time, slowly working your way through the corporate ladder until a leadership position is gained? Or are there other paths to tread? Is it possible to fast track the process by gaining a particular set of experiences, qualities or positions? Will my chances of becoming a leader be affected if I take time off to travel or work outside the engineering profession? For many engineers, stepping into leadership positions requires a change of company. Is now the right time to be changing jobs?

Aspiring leaders are often interested in leadership styles and finding one that suits each individual. Are there differences in leadership style between genders, cultures and generations and if so, how does this affect the way people interact with leaders? It is often helpful to identify a skills gap and personality characteristics gap that can help aspiring leaders progress towards displaying enhanced leadership attributes. Detecting personality flaws that may block leadership potential is also vital. Examining case studies and particularly the lessons learned from failed leadership - what not to do, can help those transitioning into new leadership roles.

For those younger engineers still gaining the experience necessary for leadership, just being able to influence their immediate work group while not formally the leader can be difficult. What tips can you give to help these ones? Is there a particular area of professional development that will help young engineers to achieve their personal and professional goals?

Leadership qualities are often honed in the not for profit or volunteer sectors. Working in these arena's presents many challenges including motivating the work group to achieve desired goals. Often without much leverage over individuals, a leader must inspire and coach others to make progress. How can this be done successfully?

EEA Pre-Conference Workshops

The Engineering Leadership Conference 2010 is pleased to be working with Engineering Education Australia Pty Ltd to bring delegates of this year's conference a choice of three optional pre-conference workshops. These workshops and their presenters have been carefully chosen to complement the theme of the conference and provide a unique opportunity to undertake intensive professional development in conjunction with the conference. They will be held on Wednesday 5 May 2010 at the conference venue. If you are travelling to Brisbane from afar, why not come a day early? And don't forget to go the conference welcome drinks after the workshop.

Please book directly on the EEA website http://www.eeaust.com.au/eea/page/72

About EEA
Engineering Education Australia Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Engineers Australia. It provides Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Corporate Learning Programs for individuals and organisations within the engineering industry. EEA's programs provide 'whole of career' professional development to 5000 members of the profession annually.
EEA provides high quality, relevant and up to date programs which are increasingly being offered in flexible ways. The programs offered support the Engineers Australia (EA) Stage 2 / Stage 3 Competencies and this assists clients to develop and implement learning and development programs for their employees while they move towards achieving professional credentials such as Chartered Status.
EEA also supports Professional Development Partner organisations by providing "The Graduate Program for the Engineering Profession' , a series of modules over three years, which supports the achievement of Chartered Status.
During 2010 EEA will focus on delivering its suite of programs in Project Management, Technical Development, Leadership and Business Management and Communication.
The Professional Year in Engineering program, new in 2009, will continue in 2010. This program is aimed at international students who have completed their engineering degree in Australia and who want to gain employment and apply for permanent residency.
Visit EEA's web site www.eeaust.com.au for further information about programs.

Workshop Information

Workshop 1 -
Title: Business Acumen
Presenter: Geoff Rip
Date: Wednesday 5 May 2010
Place: Plaza Room 2, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Time: 08:30 - 17:00
Price: $660.00 - includes lunch, morning & afternoon tea

The Need
In today's turbulent and challenging business environment, engineers need to have more than technical ability to succeed, they also need business savvy. They need a good understanding of the financial dynamics of business; how economic value is created and how business leaders (and shareholders) keep score.
Put simply, it is vital that engineers understand how non-financial variables (especially their decisions and actions) affect financial variables, and how the financial variables are interrelated. It's not enough just to understand financial jargon, one must be able to use this knowledge to identify and action profit creating opportunities.
In particular, engineers need sufficient financial know-how to be able to fully participate in discussions that relate to financial goals or priorities and to communicate effectively with executive managers and financial specialists.

Workshop Content
This workshop has been specifically developed to provide engineers with a good grasp of the financial fundamentals of business from a wealth creation perspective.
The workshop consists of four sessions, which build on each other. They are: (1) Business Acumen Defined, (2) Fundamentals of Finance, (3) Keeping Financial Score, and (4) Leveraging Financial Results.
These sessions will cover a wide range of important concepts and principles, including:

• A high-level systems view of organisations.
• Funding of assets and financial leverage.
• Working capital, cash flow and profit.
• The format of Income Statements and Balance Sheets.
• Shareholders' ROI and return on capital.
• The minimum profit required by shareholders.
• Key variables for managing return on capital.
• The importance of 'free credit'.
• A useful hierarchy of financial measures.
• The productivity-quality-profit link.
• Good vs bad costs and hidden costs.
• The deadly wastes that exist in all businesses.
• A practical approach to applying business acumen.

During this workshop you will be introduced to unique financial models, gain practical insights, analyse a financial case study, get to grips with financial jargon, look at the business from an executive's perspective, learn how to interpret key financial statements, and much more.

Benefits
The following are just some of the benefits you can expect:

• Good grasp of the interrelationship of financial variables and metrics.
• Increased business acumen and orientation to financial goals/priorities.
• More confidence in communicating with senior managers and financial people.
• Ability to ask sensible questions about commercial issues and performance.
• Better able to justify proposals/recommendations from a financial perspective.

Ultimately, by applying your learning, you will strengthen your professionalism, personal effectiveness and credibility.

About the Presenter:
Geoff is Managing Director of ChangeLever International and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Professional Facilitators. His company works with large private and public sector organisations in leveraging workplace performance.
Geoff has extensive experience in the provision of consulting and training services, both in Australia and overseas. He is well known for designing innovative and highly effective training programs and facilitated performance improvement processes. These include products in the areas of financial acumen, service improvement, safety culture assessment, teamwork, thinking skills, and values alignment. All have a track record of producing outstanding benefits for clients.
Geoff also has a reputation as a talented facilitator. He believes that learning should be stimulating and engaging, and is enriched by humour. As a result, he consistently receives excellent feedback on the programs that he delivers.
He has a Bachelor of Business Science (Hons) and an MBA degree (with a focus on Organisation Development).

Workshop 2 -
Title: Engineering Planning & Design
Presenter: David Nixon
Date: Wednesday 5 May 2010
Place: Plaza room 4, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Time: 08:30 - 17:00
Price: $660.00 - includes lunch, morning & afternoon tea

Overview
The process of engineering planning and design will be explained with a definition of various stages from desk studies to detailed engineering and what should be achieved at each stage. This will lead into the major part of the topic of problem solving including problem definition, options analysis, assessment criteria, options evaluation and ranking. It will include considerations of scope development, value management, risks and opportunities, safety in design and constructability.

About the presenter:
David Nixon has extensive experience in study and project management in the mining industry. He worked on world scale mining projects for Rio Tinto in Australia and overseas for 30 years followed by 10 years for many varied clients. He has also overseen a range of major technical and feasibility studies, mine planning, process engineering, financial evaluations and participated in project review teams. He has provided advice on EPCM contracts, project execution strategy for both brownfield and greenfields mining projects internationally (Iran, Russia, Kazakhhmys, PNG, Indonesia, Madagascar, Guinea) as well as in Australia, together with current advice to BHP Billiton on their project development strategy.

Currently, David is chairman of Flagstaff Engineering Services, a principal of Flagstaff Consulting Group and director of Australian Tailings Consultants. David has a degree in civil engineering from the University of Melbourne and is a Fellow of The Institution of Engineers Australia

Workshop 3 -
Title: Fear Free Presentations
Presenter: Barry O'Sullivan, Sustainable Change
Date: Wednesday 5 May 2010
Place: Plaza Room 3, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Time: 13.00 - 17:00
Price: $380.00 - includes afternoon tea

Overview:
As you move up the organizational ladder, the ability to influence effectively, in all forms of presentations, is an essential skill. Few are naturals. This four-hour workshop is a highly interactive and practical learning activity (without the dreaded role plays used in many presentation skills courses). The content combines business, coaching and acting elements in a way that even the most introverted personality will enjoy.

Target audience:
Anyone who seeks to influence an audience - on any topic. If your role requires you to influence another individual, a team meeting, a Board, a potential client, an important stakeholder or indeed a large assembly, then each incremental improvement in your presentation skills has a dramatic payback in outcomes.

Learning outcomes:
At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will:

• Have increased self-confidence
• Have less self-consciousness
• Be comfortable in the presentation space
• Be able to prepare quickly and effectively for any presentation opportunity

Preparation:
Reflect on the number of presentation opportunities that arise in your day to day role and the importance of influencing skills in achieving your individual targets and goals. Come armed with some of your typical presentation scenarios, so that you will be applying the new skills to practical advantage.

About the presenter:
Barry O'Sullivan has provided leadership coaching to over 350 leaders in the past eight years, following 22 years as a partner with KPMG. From 2001 to 2004, he attended night classes at The Actors Conservatory covering 12 intensive subjects. He brings business, coaching, acting and personality type insights and skills to this workshop. High-profile successes from his Fear-free presentations coaching include the coaching of National Champion University teams and preparation of finalists in Innovation Competitions. However, he draws greatest satisfaction from the development of hundreds of individuals who have shifted from being fearful of any presentation opportunity to being able to deliver with confidence and being truly comfortable in the presentation space.