Today's business climate is characterized by hyper-competition. Organizations are continually being challenged to develop new market strategies, improve response time, and stave off untraditional competitors. Effective implementation of strategy, critical for a company to remain competitive, calls for change, and change in turn requires the best of employees, managers, and executives.

Change, however, rather than resulting in versatile behavior, often results in people who become frozen by the change and who subsequently lose their energy. This loss of employees' discretionary energy results in a slow, reactive organization.

To capture the discretionary energy of its workforce, an organization must understand how energy is lost and what managers, leaders, and individuals can do to re-gain it. People need to understand their reactions to change, communicate those reactions, and identify steps to effectively move through change.

Working in Challenging Times (one-day) and Leading in Challenging Times (two-day) help participants understand how people lose energy in times of change and what can be done to regain it. These programs focus on providing the skills and strategies to help leaders and individuals deal with the day-to-day aspects of change. Both programs provide practical and actionable tools and skills to help the workforce be at its best and effectively move through change.

Working in Challenging Times and Leading in Challenging Times are each comprised of four units: Facing Challenging Times, Exploring Discretionary Energy, Taking Stock, Going Forward.

Working in Challenging Times Program Overview

This one-day program helps individuals understand their own reactions to change and how those reactions can impact their energy. Participants learn how to discuss their reactions with their manager, team leader, or peers and begin to take actionable steps to address the challenges.

Facing Challenging Times

This unit focuses on organizational and individual challenges that appear as a result of change. It also discusses discretionary energy and what happens to it when events disrupt periods of stability.

Exploring Discretionary Energy

This unit introduces a model for understanding the influence change has on energy. The issue of gain versus loss, the types of loss, and its implications on individuals and organizations are also explored.

Taking Stock

In this unit the focus becomes restoring energy by taking stock of what participants and others they work with are experiencing. Participants learn strategies and skills to move them and others through change.

Going Forward

This unit provides the skills and tools to help participants seize accountability for going forward. As participants learn what their change opportunities are, they then learn how to build a mindset focusing on the context of opportunity. Finally, they develop a set of personal strategies for going forward, which will make the change positive and successful.

Leading in Challenging Times Program Overview

This two-day program helps leaders understand their role in implementing business strategy, taking charge of the change process, and helping re-focus peoples' energy. A leader in this program is anyone who influences others – either formally or informally.

Facing Challenging Times

This unit focuses on the imperative for linking human capabilities with business strategy and the critical role leaders play in achieving this during times of change.

Exploring Discretionary Energy

This unit focuses on how change impacts the leader's energy and the energy of others. Leaders learn the significance of loss versus gain, the types of losses, and skills and strategies they can use for themselves and for helping others adapt to change.

Taking Stock

The focus of this unit is on restoring energy. Leaders learn how to use tools to take stock in what they and others are experiencing. They learn how to provide appropriate leadership and coaching to help others move ahead. A self-management tool is provided to aid the leaders in confronting their own reactions to change.

Going Forward

This unit helps leaders take accountability for creating a mind-set for themselves and others to move forward in the context of opportunity. Leaders gain tools and skills for engaging and coaching others to advance the business strategy.

Benefits

Upon completion of Working in Challenging Times, participants will:

• Realize how they react to change, what they feel they have lost, and what they would like to gain.
• Apply self-management techniques and identify steps they can take to deal with their reaction to change.
• Use communication techniques with colleagues to help them refocus and restore their energy.
• Develop personal strategies for going forward. Upon completion of Leading in Challenging Times, participants will:
• Have a more progressive and powerful model of leadership that goes beyond "participative management."
• Empower themselves and others to restore their level of energy and take personal accountability in times of change.
• Gain commitment and engage others in advancing the organization through strategy implementation.
• Develop personal strategies for going forward.

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