Highlights from Engage Calgary 2018

Our annual speaker showcase event series, Engage Speaker Talks, kicked off in Calgary on September 7 in tandem with the Executive Travel & Corporate Planners Luncheon. We were honoured to host event professionals and stakeholders from all over western Canada. As with previous years, our featured speakers offered plenty of insights into some of the challenges facing Canadian organizations today.

Indigenous Leadership & Education Expert Gabrielle Scrimshaw’s presentation on the corporate responsibility to embrace and support indigenous people in the workforce was an emotional and inspiring start to the day. The Harvard Grad & Founder of the Aboriginal Professional Association of Canada made the compelling case for inclusive workplaces by weaving her own story into the narrative – discussing the effects of residential schools on her community, family, and career prospects. Acknowledging that the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action can be daunting to some organizations, Gabrielle used examples from some companies that got it right, including titans like Nike and Twitter. She touched on the main principles of what these initiatives successfully accomplished, including:

• Engage in a two-way conversation with Indigenous communities
• Promote equitable job access by investing in the potential of an applicant
• Let Indigenous communities be the ones to tell their own stories

Her outlook for the future is a hopeful one. Gabrielle operates with the aim of carving a path for future generations of Indigenous youth to succeed in the corporate world. Watch some of the highlights of Gabrielle Scrimshaw’s Engage Calgary presentation:

We’re all being asked to do more at work – faster, better, and in less time. Change is now a constant. Change management speaker Gregg Brown‘s presentation looked at how to use brain science to help you and your colleagues adapt to change. According to Gregg, it’s all about creating new neuropathways through new repeated practices. Here are his three key takeaways for leaders to help guide their team through change:

• Manage people’s expectations around what’s going on
• Avoid false positivity
• When people get stuck, look at the skills and abilities they used in the past to deal with change

Gregg’s message is relevant to employees at every level within a company – change doesn’t have to be so scary or difficult – we already have all the tools to deal with change effectively, we just need to avoid panic. Watch some of the highlights of Gregg Brown’s Engage Calgary presentation:

What our audience had to say:

“Thank you so much for the opportunity to hear both guest speakers, they were both inspiring in their own unique way.”
— Human Resources, TAQA North

“The showcase was great! Gabrielle Scrimshaw and Gregg Brown were excellent… I thoroughly enjoyed myself, the food was excellent, and the speakers were amazing. It is always inspiring to listen to incredible people who are gifted storytellers.”
— Manager, ATCO Power Canada Ltd.

The next stop on our Engage Showcase tour is Ottawa! If you or any event professionals you know in the area might benefit from this amazing morning featuring more experts, click below to learn more about our upcoming events.