Mark McKergow – reflecting on his experience as TEDxKazimierz 2018 speaker
Mark on stage delivering his TEDxKazimierz talk on Host Leadership
We asked Mark McKergow to share his reflections on the experience of speaking at TEDxKazimierz. Our questions and his answers are below. You can see his excellent talk here.
TEDxKazimierz: Please tell us your main memories of TEDxKazimierz ?
Mark: Krakow is an amazing city, I had such a warm welcome, and appreciated the excellent and painstaking organisation of TEDxKazimierz.
TEDxKazimierz: What surprised you?
Mark: The range of presenters, the amazing venue, the price of beer (low), and how some presenters just turned up for their talks rather than participating in the full day and so missing out.
TEDxKazimierz comment We agree, and encourage our speakers to join us for the whole day. We will share this comment with speakers at our future events.
TEDxKazimierz: What did you learn?
Mark: Putting together the talk was very interesting – combining several strands of my work/life together in a new and unifying way – ‘The talk of my life’, as they say at TED.
TEDxKazimierz comment – it’s an honour for us to hear that we enabled Mark and other speakers to something new, go beyond themselves and their already high normal standards.
TEDxKazimierz: What was best about the experience, and what was the most challenging?
Mark: Going through the process of really honing the talk (unlike my usual fluff and waffle informal style – made an impactful talk (I hope!). Learning the talk was a big challenge.
TEDxKazimierz: What do you hope people will get out of your talk when they watch it on line, and its single biggest impact?
Mark: The importance of the role of the host in human society and leadership through history and in particular in the challenging circumstances we now find ourselves in.
TEDxKazimierz: Do you have any final message to or about TEDxKazimierz team and community?
Mark: Thank you very much!! It was a wonderful event, we were very well looked after, and I treasure the memories of my trip to Krakow.
TEDxKazimierz final comments
Needless to say, it was great to have Mark at our event and we value his appreciation and feedback. He invested a lot of time and energy coming to our event from Scotland, and in preparation of his perfectly delivered talk. If you learned anything from Mark’s talk, please leave a comment under the Youtube video of his talk, or write to us (or him) directly. We love feedback.
See other talks from this year’s event on the TEDx Youtube Channel here and talks from previous years here and over 300 photos of the day event here.
Mark also played Saxophone for our participants as they arrived in the morning. Having live music as guests arrive at our main events (and during the breaks) has always been part of TEDxKazimierz. This was the first time this role was played by a multi-talented speaker (although we have had main stage performers play music at our afterparties).
Mark playing the Saxophone for our guests as they arrived at TEDxKazimierz
More about Mark McKergow
Dr Mark McKergow started his career as a scientist and engineer in the nuclear industry and he has migrated into an international consultant, speaker and author, and director of the Centre for Solutions Focus at Work (SFWork). His first book, “The Solutions Focus”, has been translated into 11 languages. Mark is also heavily engaged in developing the practice of “the leader as host” – his most recent book is “Host: Six new roles of engagement for teams, organisations, communities and movements” (Solutions Books, 2014). Many people around the world have been inspired by his work, invariably presented with his inimitable blend of scientific rigour and performance pizzazz. Mark has been involved in an impressive range of positions and activities in recent years, having been a member of the Transformational Leadership Council in the USA from 2006-2016, director of the HESIAN research hub at the University of Hertfordshire from 2014-2017, and editor of the peer-reviewed journal “InterAction” from 2009-2016. He is an associate of the Taos Institute, USA and has worked on every continent except Antarctica.
August 2018
Richard Lucas
Curator TEDxKazimierz
