The MERIT Annual Summit is kicking off on 5 February! We are only a week away from this concentrated learning experience in historic Seville. Are you ready to find out how HR can leverage culture to drive innovation through people?

If you haven’t already, now is a good time to familiarise yourself with the programme and select MERITalks from the two streams, People Development and Leadership, that you do not want to miss.

You can hear case studies by global heads of HR at Bayer, Nestlé, Vodafone, and ING, as well as research by faculty from the business schools at UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, and Tel Aviv University. These thinkers and doers at the cutting edge of their fields can help you solve current challenges, excel in your role, and accelerate your career.

So how do you choose?

It is best to approach the conference with a plan. Be sure to map out in advance the talks that will be of most value to you for your work and your personal development.

Here are a few suggestions you can start with.

Highlights from the People Development Stream

In a competitive employers’ market for skilled professionals, it is especially important to leverage your employees’ potential.

People leaders at the Summit are here to give you practical tips on turning HR and L&D into an in-house accelerator that drives innovation. Here are a few talks that will set you up for success.

Anna Walther, Senior Global HR L&D Lead, Nestlé, will describe the process of upskilling a global workforce of 330,000 to seamlessly handle new roles and processes. Changing an organisation’s mindset at this scale is as big a challenge as one can get in the field. Anna will reveal how she used learning to incentivise employees to focus on business outcomes, thus increasing speed and agility. You can hear her case study at 11:05 on Day 2 of the Summit.

Christophe Vanden Eede, Global Head of Talent Management, ING, will share lessons from ING’s transition into an agile organisation and the takeaways for people leaders. How do we develop talent and establish consistent HR processes in a continually disrupted environment? Christophe will relate the hurdles he has encountered along the way and what challenges still remain. His practical tips will be of use to anyone striving to apply agile principles to HR. Do not miss Christophe’s case study at 15:20 on Day 1.

James Purvis, Head of HR, CERN, will outline a bold vision of how HR can lead people to achieve more in the 21^st century. Just like CERN’s physicists, HR should think big, James argues. He will propose a scientific, experimental approach to HR that can help us push the boundaries of our profession. Why do we need HR today? How can HR generate ideas, iterate, and innovate? Find out James’s answers to these fundamental questions at 10:50 on Day 1.

Highlights from the Leadership Stream

Data by Gallup and academics such as Margarita Mayo shows that flawed leadership practices impede innovation and produce dysfunctional cultures.

How can we promote outstanding leadership and spark transformation from the top down? These practitioners and experts have answers you would not want to miss.

Jeff Lindeman, Group Director, Operations at the WD-40 Company, and Richard Hargreaves, Commercial Director, Corporate Research Forum, join forces to demonstrate how we can shift from developing individuals to leading company-wide culture change. In a live dialogue, Jeff will share a case study of WD-40, while Richard will provide data and research that substantiate Jeff’s experiences and show how you can adapt them to any organisation. Catch their session called “Clean the Water, Not the Fish: Creating an Environment Where People Can Flourish” at 15:20 on Day 1.

In a talk that packs a lot of punch, Luis Vives, Deputy Dean, ESADE Business School, will review the five key leadership behaviours that create an environment in which people can fulfil their potential. Outstanding leadership can be taught, and Luis will share some essential lessons. You can hear him at 10:30 on Day 1.

Finally, Delphine Jumelle-Paulet, Head of Faculty, Mazars University, will tackle the issue of leadership and digital transformation. Delphine will make a case for the importance of emotional intelligence (EI) in an AI world. She will explain how EI and AI can reinforce each other, opening a new frontier in learning and leadership. Listen to her visionary talk at 10:45 on Day 2.

These MERITalks in both streams are only a small part of the MERIT experience. Also in store for you are keynotes by global cross-disciplinary thought leaders, hands-on workshops, unconference sessions in which you can lead or take part in breakout discussions, and a gala dinner on a terrace by the Guadalquivir River with a panoramic view of historic Seville.

What are your personal MERIT highlights? Take some time today to make your selection from our rich programme.

By Ani Kodjabasheva