Jenni Jepsen

Redefining leadership

Shift from a culture of permission and waiting, to intent and action

Our old ideas of good leadership is where the leader knows all, tells all and is always in control. In fact, it’s difficult for us to change because those old habits are so hardwired in our brains! Intent-Based Leadership offers a way for us to rewire: to give control, trust and learn to be okay with not having all the answers. It’s a way of leading where the leader sets the environment for others to excel and act to the maximum extent of their creativity and intellect; where team members come to the leader describing what they see, what they think, and what they intend to do. The result: the culture of the organization shifts from one of permission and waiting, to intent and action, and people feel more valued and come to better solutions.

Jenni shares the principles of Intent-Based Leadership – what it takes to give control and achieve excellence in your organization.

Going beyond frameworks – Redefine leadership to discover and deliver value

Today’s workplace depends on having highly motivated people who work together to get great things done. As more of us go beyond the frameworks to realize the benefits the Agile principles promise, we need leaders at every level who understand how to create an environment where people feel empowered to discover and deliver value. But how? Intent-Based Leadership is a proven way to redefine leadership.

It’s a way of leading where the leader sets the environment for others to excel and act to the maximum extent of their creativity and intellect; where team members come to the leader describing what they see, what they think, and what they intend to do. The result: the culture of the organization shifts from one of permission and waiting, to intent and action, and people feel more valued and come to better solutions.

Jenni will share the principles of Intent-Based Leadership – what it takes to give control, support your people and achieve excellence in your organization.

Empowering people is impossible

The neuroscience of intrinsic motivation

Agile leaders don’t empower people, they create spaces where people thrive and deliver value faster. It’s up to individuals to feel empowered, not for leaders to empower the individual. How can we create this environment and break old habits that get in the way? Agile leaders can give control and increase people’s intrinsic motivation by taking advantage of how we are wired – and by increasing technical competence and organizational clarity. Jenni will share the neuroscience of empowerment; as well as how we can re-wire our brains to create new habits that make it possible for us to grow and succeed.

Stop giving feedback!

Create an ask for feedback culture for continuous improvement

Training people to give feedback better doesn’t bring the results we want because the receiver must be willing to accept it. In fact, telling people how they can improve may actually stop people from improving. So, rather than figuring out how to get better at giving feedback, we need to solve for asking for feedback instead. That’s what creating an ask-for-feedback culture is all about. Jenni will share the latest neuroscience about feedback. Learn how our brains react to feedback, and how you can change the way you treat feedback to continuously improve yourself and your organization.

Experiment your way through change

Research shows that leaders who fail to involve and engage people in change cause increased uncertainty and fear. But how can leaders stop their people from feeling that things are “happening to them,” and instead feel they are a vital and valuable part of the change? Simple. Experiment your way through change!

Experiments are a great and underused technique to reframe how we implement change – breaking down what might be big organizational changes into smaller, measurable actions that bring value, are
understandable, and in the long run, easier to carry out. Jenni shares the neuroscience around change and how to run data-driven experiments at every level in your organization. Learn why experiments are a concrete way to act your way to new thinking, as well as a way for leaders to create lasting change.

Customer-centric mindset – what gets in the way and what we can do about it

We know why putting our customers in the center of everything we do makes sense. After all, the processes we’re developing are to expand our reach and create closer relationships. The question then becomes HOW? How can we involve and engage our customers in our processes? How can we get the feedback we need to improve our interactions with them? How can we deliver the value our customers expect from us faster? Surprisingly, some of the obstacles to achieving our HOWs lie deep in our brains. Jenni Jepsen will share the neuroscience around creating a customer-centric mindset, along with some easy ways to involve and engage customers to get solutions that meet their (and our) needs faster.

The secrets of high-performing teams

Leading researchers point to psychological safety as the foundation of high-performing teams. But what does that mean in practice? How do we get there and understand why high-performing teams welcome conflict, welcome failure, welcome any kind of feedback? They’re the kind of things most of us would rather avoid. Jenni Jepsen will share some “secrets” to building great teams, where people feel valued and are focused on getting great things done together.

Your brain on Agile

Agile works to deliver the right product faster and to increase people’s motivation. Often, though, the focus on individuals and interactions lead to push-back from management. What if we could prove this focus is the reason we reap the benefits of agile and create lasting change? Jenni Jepsen found the proof – and she’ll share the neuro-scientific evidence of why Agile works – a far more accurate view of human nature based on breakthroughs in how our brains function, how we are motivated, and how to create lasting change.

Wired to Connect

Creating great relationships is human nature

Are you reluctant to start improving your relationships with customers and stakeholders because it takes too much time and energy? Did you know, however, that relationship building is something we humans do naturally? Jenni will share the neuroscience (yes, hard evidence) behind why our brains are wired to connect with others, and how we can put that into use to delight our customers and stakeholders every day. In this interactive session, we’ll put theory into practice and look at what changes we can make in our daily work to focus even more on strengthening these key relationships in the workplace.