KAI Symposium 2024 – review
Below are details of all the presentations, round tables and keynotes. Please Contact us for more information about the symposium or any individual topics.
Keynote Speakers
Keynote 1, Day 1 (Wed 21st Feb):
Guido Prato Previde
A Walk in the Park with KAI
There will be breakout rooms for 30 minutes after this keynote to discuss and reflect on the message.
More about Dr Guido Prato Previde
Dr Guido Prato Previde is a passionate business psychologist consulting leaders, teams and organizations at a local and at an international level. As a background, he is a medical doctor and a clinical psychologist. Guido has developed a number of professional collaborations with leading organizations (KAI Centre/UK; Creative Problem Solving Inc./U.S.A.; RHR/U.S.A.). He is Country Partner of the European Institute for Workplace Dynamics (IWD) and member of the Working with Resilience Consortium. Guido is the author of the Italian validation of KAI and a senior practitioner. www.decathloncons.it
Keynote 2, Day 1 (Wed 21st Feb):
James Pickles
From Breakdown to Breakthrough – Learning Valuable Lessons on the Importance of Failure and Collaboration, the Hard Way.
There will be breakout rooms for 30 minutes after this keynote to discuss and reflect on the message.
More about James Pickles
James Pickles is a 30 year veteran of high pressure sales and at the peak of success in 2019 (seemingly) without warning a public, severe mental and physical collapse changed everything for the better. He learned more about himself and what was really important to him during those dark months of illness than in all the previous professional years. https://www.jamespicklescoaching.co.uk/
Keynote 3, Day 2 (Thurs 22nd Feb):
Matt Marsh
Winning the Hearts and Minds of the Change Averse – a People-Shaped Approach
There will be breakout rooms for 30 minutes after this keynote to discuss and reflect on the message.
More about Matt Marsh
Matt Marsh has more than twenty-five years of experience providing the creative, empathetic and progressive leadership that helps organisations change, transform and innovate successfully. He has worked with strategy teams at Vodafone, Barclays, Lloyds, Microsoft, the NHS and Samsung, numerous SME’s and start-up’s, as well as served as Innovation Envoy for the UK’s Design Council. https://people-shaped.com/
Pre-Session Workshop with Iwan Jenkins:
How to Win Friends and Influence People – Using KAI Theory
When: 21st Feb, 11am-12 noon EST.
- Why working (or living) with irritating and frustrating people may be helpful to you!
- How to get these individuals on-side and cooperative
- See the world through the prism of cognitive diversity – and it will help you be more successful and happier
Read more about this workshop and book a place here.
Panel Discussion
Health and Care: Exploring the Links between Problem-solving Style, Motivation, and Stress
Wednesday, Feb 21
To lead change that matters, we must consider our own health and care, and the health and care of others. Problem-solving style is often not a variable considered in this equation. This panel discussion will explore the connecting points.
John Bryant
Panelists:
Guido Prato Previde
Megan Seibel
James Anderson
More about John Bryant
More about Dr Guido Prato Previde
Dr Guido Prato Previde is a passionate business psychologist consulting leaders, teams and organizations at a local and at an international level. As a background, he is a medical doctor and a clinical psychologist. Guido has developed a number of professional collaborations with leading organizations (KAI Centre/UK; Creative Problem Solving Inc./U.S.A.; RHR/U.S.A.). He is Country Partner of the European Institute for Workplace Dynamics (IWD) and member of the Working with Resilience Consortium. Guido is the author of the Italian validation of KAI and a senior practitioner. www.decathloncons.it
More about Dr Megan Seibel
More about Dr James Anderson
Round Table Discussions
Samantha Giridhar
Round Table Discussion: Understanding KAI Within the Context of the Creative Arts
Through this roundtable discussion, I would like to reintroduce a focus on understanding KAI within the context of the creative arts. I will share how I am planning to explore the impact of KAI on approaches to choreography and improvisation within the field of dance. We will also discuss possible applications of KAI to the arts as a whole.
More about Dr Samantha Giridhar
Tony Cevoli and Rob Samuel
Round Table Discussion: Is the KAI Framing of Opportunity Sufficient?
Recent studies have refreshed the exploration of opportunity discovery. A current debate is the identification of the opportunity itself to be addressed. This roundtable will cover current research; common areas of confusion when discussing opportunity; and areas of exploration to help refine our appreciation of opportunity.
More about Dr Robert Samuel
More about Dr Tony Cevoli
Sarah Bush
Round Table Discussion: Bridging Research and Practice: Working Smarter, Not Harder
This roundtable will cover the need for continued research that supports KAI theory and builds the case for continued practice. We will discuss opportunities for researchers and practitioners to collaborate on study design and data collection that will increase scholarly outputs and proof of KAI theory related concepts.
More about Dr Sarah Bush
Deborah Pettry
Round Table Discussion: Sharing Examples of Adaption-Innovation from Today’s World
What examples of Adaption-Innovation are in the world around you? What have you used in helping others identify preferences and apply A-I theory and practice as they interact with people in their daily lives? In this interactive roundtable we will share our real examples and create a collection for the KAI network.
More about Dr Deborah Pettry
John Bryant
Round Table Discussion: Change that Matters – Developing Integrated Systems of Care and Health
More about John Bryant
Networking Activity
Strategies for Surmounting Team Resistance to Necessary Change: Leveraging Problem-Solving Styles to Achieve Results
Hosted by Anika Davis and Jessica Prater
Overview: In this interactive breakout session, participants will delve into effective strategies for overcoming team resistance when change is deemed necessary. The session will be facilitated in small breakout groups, each led by its members to foster dynamic discussions. By exploring insights into problem-solving styles, attendees will collectively generate innovative solutions and share their perspectives while building new relationships with fellow attendees.
Throughout the breakout groups, participants will collaboratively identify key takeaways, distilling their discussions into three actionable points. Each group will contribute to the general session participants a list of ideas and lessons learned, providing a diverse range of valuable insights. As the session concludes, attendees will leave with a rich compilation of practical strategies, fostering a collective pool of knowledge that can be readily applied in various professional settings.
More about Dr Anika Davis
More about Jessica Prater
Presentations
Nicolas Uwitonze, Hannah Sunderman & Thomas Archibald
Potential Application of Kirton’s Adaption-Innovation (A-I) Theory in Program Evaluation
This presentation delves into the integration of Kirton’s Adaption-Innovation (A-I) theory into program evaluation. It introduces program evaluation, A-I theory, and explores potential applications in diverse fields, emphasizing its relevance in evaluation consulting and entrepreneurship. The goal is to initiate a discourse on A-I theory’s application in program evaluation.
More about Nicolas Uwitonze
More about Dr Hannah Sunderman
Dr Hannah M. Sunderman is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech in the Department of Agricultural, Leadership, Education, and Communication. Dr. Sunderman received a Ph.D. in Human Sciences – Leadership from the University of Nebraska in May 2020. Her work focuses on leader(ship) education and development and seeks to answer the question: What processes and experiences (e.g., being a mentor) affect leader(ship) development and why?
More about Dr Tom Archibald
Paul Erricker
The Impact of Cognitive Style Gaps when Leading Change
Paul’s presentation is informed by case studies in supporting transformation teams understand the impact of their collective and individual cognitive style. Paul will focus on the cognitive gap between “change agents” and “change receivers”. Hints and tips on communication style to influence change will be a feature of his talk.
More about Paul Erricker
Anne Collier and Cynthia Shaffer
Upgrade Critical Thinking Skills with Style
Numerous clients lament the dearth of critical thinking skills and the reliance of staff on their managers to solve problems. We explore how to improve critical thinking skills by utilizing KAI to gain insight into biases and assumptions and the coaching process to critically think through a problem.
More about Anne Collier
More about Cynthia Shaffer
https://arudia.com
Ben Atkinson
KAI, Ideation and a System of Theft
Creating change that matters requires motivation, effort and a range of problem-solving styles. If leaders are aware of the spectrum of problem-solving styles, and have cultivated a diverse organization, they increase the likelihood of delivering innovative solutions.
Better still, if leaders can organize problem-solvers into a system of theft, they may connect change that matters with the problem-solving that matters most to an individual – increasing idea viability and decreasing the time to customer ‘thank you’.
This presentation uses metaphor to caricaturize problem-solvers and a communication tool to identify idea engagement points where, when and with whom it matters most.
More about Ben Atkinson
Jerald Walz
Teaching Change that Matters: Lessons from a Graduate Course on KAI
Teaching Change that Matters focuses on the lessons learned while teaching a graduate-level course entitled Cognition, Problem-Solving, and Preference for Change (LDRS 5534) at Virginia Tech. The purpose is to bring to light challenges that students face while learning A-I theory, focusing especially on objections students raise while learning KAI theory.