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Upward Influence

Upward influence is a key success factor for every HR professional. Combined with listening, empathy and authenticity it’s what enables us to persuade senior/powerful people. While most of us are good influencing on a 1:1 basis, can we increase our upward influencing effectiveness in group settings? Can we be more effective coaching those who need to influence without authority or in cross-functional matrixed organizations?

Please join us to hear the latest research from thought leaders and most effective tools & techniques to influence life science leaders. Our speakers, Kara Halvorsen, OD/HR Consultant, and Tory Martinez, Senior Director, OD/ER at BioMarin, will share the key learnings from the upward influence leadership development workshop designed for BioMarin’s 80+ cross functional Core Team Members. Kara & Tory will also conduct an interactive Q & A session for peer learning.

Topics and discussion will include:

• The Upward Influence Roadmap: Steps to Plan, Prepare, Practice for Success & Prevent Roadblocks
• What “currencies” do others value and can be exchanged for reciprocity? Which ones do you have or can be obtained?
• The scientific basis for why influencing using just competency only gets to envy or passive support; why adding warmth achieves active engagement
• A framing model including shared goals, the best order and how to use data to get better influencing results
• Situational Influence: how to overcome resistance/barriers; influencing groups and influencing under pressure

Please bring your questions and upward influence challenge!

Pre-Registration: (by Tuesday, Nov. 12th at 6 pm)

BOLD Members: Free
Non-Members: $25

Onsite Registration:

BOLD Members: $20
Non-Members: $40

All are welcome.  Refreshments will be served.

Guest Speakers:

Kara Halvorsen Consulting LLC, is an organizational and human resources firm that provides solutions that accelerate achievement of organizational goals and results. For the past 12 years, Ms. Halvorsen has successfully completed engagements for a variety of emerging and established public and private life sciences, technology, financial service, and non-profit organizations. Prior to forming her consulting practice, she spent 15+ years in a variety of human resource management, executive search and commercial banking positions. A former banker and Human Resources executive, Ms. Halvorsen’s experience gives her unique insights into the root cause of the organizational, human, operational or financial barriers to success. Utilizing her business acumen and substantial organizational development/HR skills, she focuses on the developing systemic solutions that align people and systems to accelerate results. This experience and focus combined with strong social intelligence has long established credibility and value with board members, founders, executive management, scientific and technical professionals. She began her corporate life science career at Genentech where she was employed in one of the company’s first OD roles a Human Resource “Consultant”. In this role she directly advised the CEO, executive committee and commercial and administrative groups during the company’s pivotal launch of their oncology franchise. She also held the role of Director of Staffing and Workforce Planning for McKesson. Ms. Halvorsen currently serves on the advisory board of GrowBOLD, a professional organizational development organization and is a member of several other HR organizations. She holds a B.S. in Organizational Behavior from University of San Francisco. Her firm is based in the San Francisco Bay area.

Tory Martinez, Senior Director, Organizational Development & Employee Relations, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. With an emphasis in the biotechnology sector, 15+ years of broad HR experience and deep expertise in OD and ER, Tory Martinez currently leads BioMarin’s Organizational Development and Employee Relations groups. In her 10+ years at BioMarin, she has held successively responsible positions playing a key role in BioMarin’s growth from 250 to 1,200 employees in multiple Bay Area locations as well as supporting their global expansion into 26 different countries. In originating the OD function at BioMarin, she has implemented 360-feedback surveys to shepherd career development; partnered with manufacturing leadership to design jobs levels and change shift structures to better support the business; redesigned core management training customizing for supervisors on the job demands/experience; and played a key change management role in the company's successful 500-person move to a new campus. Prior to BioMarin she worked at Coulter Pharmaceutical/Corixa Corporation and a high-tech consulting company. Tory earned a BA in English Literature and Spanish from Indiana University and a MS in Organization Development from University of San Francisco. After living in San Francisco for more than 15 years, she and her husband recently moved with their 18 month old daughter to Marin County. They’re enjoying getting reacquainted with summer, ample parking, and the little critters that live in the ‘burbs.