XBO Schedule
Integration for the Next Generation
Introducing the XBO Experience, a new collaboration between NSCA and Ignite, taking place on November 12-13 in Atlanta, GA. This event is designed by and for emerging talent in the system integration industry.
Level Up Your Career
Whether you’re new to the industry or rising fast, XBO offers industry-specific development and networking opportunities made for the next generation of integration leaders.
XBO 2024 Schedule
The XBO Experience will bring a new focus to ongoing and emerging trends, as well as educate newer professionals about the industry’s best practices and most proven methods.
Powered by NSCA’s Next Gen Academy curriculum with support from NSCA’s tried-and-true business insights, we’ve built this schedule to aid in prepare new leaders for the generational shift underway now.
Check out what the NSCA team has planned with the schedule below.
The XBO’s schedule is chock-full of great content. Here’s what you can expect:
- Emotional intelligence
- Communication styles
- Workplace conflict
- Organizational culture
- Trust and vulnerability
- Organizational behaviors
- Change management
- Financial literacy
View Schedule Below!
7:00 am
7:45 am
8:00 am
9:00 am
9:15 am
10:30 am
10:45 am
12:15 pm
12:30 pm
1:30 pm
2:30 pm
2:45 pm
4:00 pm
Breakfast
Opening Session: What Emotional Intelligence Is and Why All Leaders Need It
Leadership isn’t solely about exerting authority. The ability to understand, express, and regulate emotions is something every strong leader needs to develop. When you advance your emotional intelligence (EQ) skills, you’ll be equipped to make better decisions, solve problems more effectively, build strong teams and relationships, and more. We’ll help you evaluate your current EQ so you can see where and how you need to improve. Learn how to adapt to rapidly changing situations and face stressful events with confidence—all while keeping your emotions in check.
Breakout 1: Can You Repeat That? Understanding Communication Styles to Avoid Misinterpretation
Everyone has heard the saying, “You know what happens when you assume!” This applies especially well to communication within integration firms. Working with a mix of technical and non-technical team members and clients means that everyone brings different skills and strengths to their roles, and everyone has different communication approaches. Understanding, accepting, and working with those differences is key to effective teamwork. Leaders must be open to adapting to differences in communication styles and preferences based on what their team and clients prefer. Learn how to actively listen and ask questions to uncover communication styles and acclimate to them.
Breakout 2: Having Tough Conversations: How to Navigate Workplace Conflicts
Conflict in the workplace is inevitable. But conflict isn’t bad—in fact, it’s fundamental to business. As a leader, you must resist the urge to avoid conflict and instead understand how to effectively address difficult situations as they arise. Rather than hoping problems will disappear on their own, we’ll show you how to approach difficult conversations, resolve them quickly, and mitigate unproductive and disruptive exchanges.
Sponsor Table Talks
Lunch
Keynote: Becoming a Globally Competent Leader to Boost Organizational Culture
With remote work at the forefront, and as integrators expand their footprints, you must be adept at being a competent leader in an interconnected world that transcends borders. By understanding and appreciating different cultures, experiences, and viewpoints, you can foster inclusive action within your teams. By incorporating strategies like active listening and curious questioning, we’ll talk about how to cultivate cross-cultural collaboration to drive a positive culture.
Breakout 3: Financial Literacy: Approach Problems with Confidence
Whether you work with numbers or not, understanding company finances is critical to success as a leader. Financial literacy is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to being business savvy. Do you understand how your decisions will affect finances, your team, and the company as a whole? We’ll discuss the value of being able to project the financial impact of your daily choices, as well as the business and financial KPIs you should always know.
Breakout 4: Organizational Behaviors: Shaping a Foundation for Future Success
Fostering a positive work environment and enhancing employee satisfaction comes down in part to organizational behavior. Supporting the right employee interactions and organizational processes can help you create a more efficient and cohesive workplace for long-term success. Find out how leaders have a direct impact on building healthy organizational behavior as they work to make sure every employee understands their role in achieving organizational goals that align the company’s mission, purpose, and vision. The result: a company brand that radiates confidence and capability.
Cocktail Hour
7:00 am
7:45 am
8:00 am
9:00 am
9:15 am
10:30 am
10:45 am
12:15 pm
1:15 pm
1:30 pm
2:30 pm
Breakfast
General Session: The Domino Effect: One Small Change to Help Everything Fall into Place
Learning how to constructively suggest and implement change and make decisions as a new leader can be a challenge. You want to ensure that the changes you recommend will be the best for your team and the company, but you don’t want to make changes that are too big or go too fast and cause more harm than good. We’ll discuss problem-solving methods that help you identify issues and their underlying causes. We’ll also evaluate the importance of making decisions based on data, how to measure the outcomes of those decisions, and the best ways to encourage others to embrace the change you suggest.
Breakout 5: From Doing to Delegating: How to Lose Control Without Losing Control
Moving into leadership or management means taking on more tasks and responsibilities that have company-wide impact. To keep up, it’s often necessary to delegate some of your work to your employees. But delegation isn’t about assigning tasks. It’s about developing trust, growth, and a shared vision. Before you delegate, you need to help your team members learn new processes, learn and grow from their mistakes, and build their confidence so they can succeed on their own. We’ll examine the shift from employee to leader, the mechanics of delegation, and how to set yourself up to focus on culture, people, and data.
Breakout 6: Trust in the Workplace: Leadership Can Make or Break It
Leaders’ words and actions can build people and organizations up or tear them down. They have the authority to make decisions and implement changes—but they must also know how to use that authority constructively. Otherwise, leaders run the risk of losing the trust they’ve built with colleagues and creating dysfunction. We’ll explain how to use your authority as a leader (without overstepping), along with your personality and strengths, in a manner that fosters a safe environment of trust by being transparent and demonstrating vulnerability.
Sponsor Table Talks
Lunch
Closing Session: Find Your Why: The What and How of Leadership Development
Being named a manager or director doesn’t make you a true leader. Instead, leadership starts with the right mindset. The first step toward being a leader is deciding you want to be one—and understanding what it means. Leaders have a desire to change things for the better and inspire others, while improving themselves along the way. Learn what being a successful leader really means, the tactics and strategies involved, and how to measure their impact.
Event Closes
Book XBO Early and Save
NSCA members are eligible for a reduced XBO Experience rate by registering early! Don’t miss your chance to experience this new must-attend event for emerging professionals in the system integration industry.
