LEADERSHIP
Seizing the opportunities
Dr Janet Lapp’s inspiring keynote on how HR and relocation professionals could help their organisations to prepare for new opportunities by promoting a culture of openness to change set the tone for the Canadian Employee Relocation Council’s conference in
Montreal.Re:locate’s managing editor,Fiona Murchie,was there.
K
eynote speaker Dr Janet Lapp inspired her audience of 300 delegates at the Canadian Employee Relocation Council’s 2015 annual conference, held in Montreal.
“Change can either be a force to fear, or an opportunity to seize.
The choice is yours. I would seize it,” she said. What a treat. A powerful presenter full of warmth and energy, Dr Lapp
immediately made a strong connection with her audience of global mobility professionals, who work every day with people experiencing change and transition. Dr Janet Lapp is a registered nurse who also holds a PhD in
psychology from Montreal’s McGill University. An author and a consultant in workplace transformation, she is an acclaimed international speaker. She is also a flight instructor, and has flown her aeroplane throughout South America and Africa on medical and rescue missions. Highly entertaining, with a generous dose of humour, she was able
to inject her audience with energy, purpose, and a real sense that they could be a positive force for change in their workplaces. I have rarely seen delegates so willing to embrace the interactive
element of a session, swapping stories of their own experiences. “Even if you can’t see the future, you can anticipate the skillset that you’ll need to get there. Start now,” Janet Lapp urged.
Thriving through change Dr Lapp spoke about the mindset required to thrive under change. In global mobility, this is applicable at many levels, from corporates
embracing their organisation’s changing marketplace and HR’s more strategic role in guiding the people impact of their business, to the assignees taking on a new role in a new location, and their families coping with new homes and schools, leaving a life behind and building new networks. Added to this are the relocation industry professionals required to
analyse bigger-picture economic, social and political drivers globally, plus the variations of response to change required to satisfy a myriad of clients with different corporate cultures. As Janet Lapp explained, her approach is to “help understand who we
are, so that we can embrace how we can be better”. Putting her global audience at the heart of organisations with the power to change, she spelt out the importance of accountability and ownership – a positive attitude where looking for the opportunities was paramount, with a smile and the human touch. Dr Lapp communicated direct to each individual the belief that they
could make a difference. In this fast-changing world, she said, “CEOs need you more that ever before, because nobody else knows how to do it. Valuing your own knowledge and expertise is critical. “Hold up a telescope to the eyes around you. Let them see what you
see more clearly,” she recommended. “Immigration needs you, pay and benefits need you, the experienced Baby Boomers need you, and those embarking on their first assignment need you.” For a Canadian audience coming to terms with recession against a backdrop of plummeting demand from the oil and gas sector, a hard-hit
38 | Re:locate | Canada Spring 2016
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