The Need for Agility:  Best Practices for Decision-Making in Uncertain Times

Across industries, the two challenges cited by senior leaders that are amplified in the time of a global pandemic are a high level of uncertainty and the need to balance short and long-term needs and objectives. Leaders in independent schools face similar concerns. This session will discuss these challenges in the context of making strategic and organizational decisions effectively. We'll share five best practices that are important in "normal" conditions but are absolutely critical in a VUCA environment. We'll use current anecdotes to supplement empirical research and will engage in both large-group learning and breakout conversations.

Featuring Kathy Pearson

Kathy Pearson, Ph.D. is a strategist, Systems Thinking expert, and authority in decision making. She is President and Founder of Enterprise Learning Solutions, a firm focused on executive development and learning across industries. Kathy is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics and has served as an adjunct Associate Professor in the Operations and Information Management Department at The Wharton School, both at the University of Pennsylvania. In this academic capacity, Kathy taught operations management courses in the MBA program and Executive Master's in Technology Management programs as well as Probability and Statistics, Simulation Modeling, and other courses for the department and the University.

An award-winning educator, Kathy works extensively with mid- to senior level executives, including high potentials and executive teams. She works closely with Executive Education groups including the Wharton School, Duke CE, Smith College, and the Institute for Management Studies, as well as directly with global organizations. Kathy teaches on a variety of topics including Critical Thinking, Strategic Agility, Change Management and Strategic Execution. As Lead Faculty for many programs, she is responsible for overarching curriculum design, integration of the material, and the overall educational quality of the engagement. Kathy specifically likes to focus on application of the concepts covered in her content.

Kathy's work with executives spans a wide variety of industries and geographies, including health care and life sciences, financial and professional services, technology, consumer products, energy, aerospace and defense, and manufacturing. Her client list includes organizations as diverse as Bank of America, Cardinal Health, CASE-NAIS, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Citi, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Estee Lauder Companies, Federal Reserve Bank, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Google, Heineken, Juniper, Life Insurance Research and Marketing Association (LIMRA/LL Global), Lincoln Financial Group, Lundbeck, Microsoft, NYSAIS, SAIS, Schneider Electric, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SII/SIFMA), Temasek Management Academy, University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine), and the World Bank.

In addition to her executive development work, Kathy's industrial and consulting experience includes advising senior leadership teams in the areas of strategic formulation, leading under uncertainty, and bridging the gap between strategy and execution. She is the co-author of The Perceptive Leader: A Handbook for Leading in an Environment of Uncertainty.

Kathy received her B.S. degree in theoretical mathematics from Auburn University, her M.S. degree in Decision Sciences from Georgia State University, and her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering (concentration in statistics) from Northwestern University.

This program is for AISGW Heads of School, board chairs, and board members. We'll begin at 4:00 with introductions and virtual mingling, followed by the keynote at 4:30.

Cost: $70/person; $55/person for three or more registrants; to be billed separately after the event.

Click Here to Register for this Virtual Workshop

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The keynote will be recorded and shared with all registrants but real-time attendance is strongly encouraged.