ThoughtExchange is rewriting the script for leadership conferences with its upcoming Transform & Empower People Intelligence Summit™ scheduled for Sept. 11-12 in Vancouver, BC.

In fact, there will be no script. Or at least not in the sense of a traditional conference where speakers fill an allotted time slot to present on a topic they’re passionate about, then wait to see how their message lands by the kinds of questions that surface from the audience.

ThoughtExchange’s first-ever corporate leadership summit will be less about the presentations and more about the discussion that follows, says Dessalen Wood, ThoughtExchange’s new Chief People Officer.

Wood will take the stage at the summit along with a half dozen other trailblazing leaders from organizations across North America.

“The content and direction will be audience-driven,” Wood shares. “The question period will eclipse the actual speaking content. What happens there will be more lengthy, more rich, and more controversial than anything you’re going to hear in a 20-minute presentation.”

Wood’s career as an HR innovator, speaker and coach spans 20 years. Most recently she spent a decade as VP of Talent Development at Cineplex Entertainment, where she helped build a culture of collaboration, learning, and transformation.

At  #TeEmpowerVancouver, Wood and other speakers will use ThoughtExchange to empower attendees to drive the discussions toward topics and issues that are most important to them. It’s a format that promises to be both exciting and challenging for participants, Wood says.  

Dynamic, thought-provoking and occasionally controversial

When Wood reached out to her professional network about the summit, the instant positive response confirmed just how much bright leaders want to disrupt the conference space. They are ready to trade a stale, tightly-scripted format that leaves attendees cold for something much more dynamic, thought-provoking, rewarding and occasionally controversial.

“Most conferences are over-indexed on the content and under-indexed on the collaboration,” says Allison Dell, director of Learning and Talent for Cineplex Entertainment, one of the leaders also speaking at “#TeEmpowerVancouver. “This summit will be like a form of improv. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Audience-driven content will create more excitement and as a leader, I’ll be able to tailor my presentation to what people want to hear.” — Nicole Jensen, VP of Learning and Development, CI Investments

Fellow presenter Nicole Jensen, VP of Learning and Development at CI Investments, is also excited about a summit format that puts authentic sharing and learning at the forefront for the agenda.

“We all want successful companies and engaged employees,” Jensen says. “Audience-driven content will create more excitement and as a leader, I’ll be able to tailor my presentation to what people want to hear.”

According to Wood, if you’re expecting a conference where half the audience is distractedly tapping on phones, then this won’t be the event for you.

“This is what we need to be doing. We need to be challenging each other, we need to be talking more,” Wood says. “These leaders are at a point in their careers where they want to push themselves.”

You can learn more about #TeEmpowerVancouver and register here.