We’re at it again … GSETA Workshop Repeats this Month!!

Posted Apr 17, 2021 by Rick

Again, in April, our Disruption by Design: A Leadership Series program is being offered by the GSETA Institute (the training arm of New Jersey’s Garden State Employment and Training Association, which is the professional association for the state’s workforce development system). The Workshop will be conducted in two virtual sessions and will include Adaptive Human Capital’s Individual Resiliency Assessment – a private, online, self-assessment that will help individuals better understand their natural response to change and uncertainty.

Richard (“Rick”) Maher will be facilitating the workshop and challenging participants to adopt a new mindset – a disruptive one – to meet the challenge of re-skilling millions of Americans as we exit the pandemic and prepare for the Future of Work (FoW). “If you think the pace of change in your organization is overwhelming now, hang on. We’re never going to change this slow again,” says Maher.

President of Adaptive Human Capital, LLC., Maher has been working on the issues of disruptive change and how people and organizations can better cope with change for nearly 30 years. He believes that unless leaders and workers become more resilient and adaptable, many companies - perhaps entire industries – will be at risk for failure. (Think Blockbuster and venerable retailers like Sears.) “It’s urgent that we work on changing the mindset of the American workforce and develop the skills it takes to adapt quickly in response to chaos and uncertainty.” In other words, he wants leaders to decide that disruption will be baked into their business model: Maher calls it “Disruption by Design.”

How can organizations increase resilience in their workforce? Maher focuses on 5 key traits to lead themselves and others through disruptive change – to create a more agile organization. A critical one, he says, is making your organization a safe place to experiment and fail. “We want people to fail; it means they’re trying new things,” he says. “But failure has to become a learning experience, not a performance issue. If we punish people for trying something new that didn’t work, we’re stifling innovation and inviting disruption by outside forces.

The April offering is GSETA’s second offering of the Disruption by Design workshop. Organizations interested in building a more adaptive culture can learn more here, or contact us for a no-obligation consultation.