Wednesday, September 30
PRE CONFERENCE HALF-DAY WORKSHOPS
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
PRE-CON A Energy Management: Building a Regenerative Organization
Jennifer Walinga, PhD
Professor of Organizational Communication
Royal Roads University
Consultant
Integrated Focus Consulting
This management workshop is ideal for senior and middle managers seeking innovative methods for tackling the challenge of human, financial and environmental sustainability within their organizations. Sustainability has moved to the forefront of corporate thinking as the implications of human, environmental and economic strain and depletion become frighteningly apparent. In an increasingly fast-paced, constantly changing corporate landscape, it can be difficult to find the time, the clarity or the focus to refill the tank let alone re-read the map. Organizations can waste a great deal of time, energy and resources solving the wrong problems or putting out fires. Yet, adversity and change can also fuel performance. More than ever, it is crucial to create a "thriving" culture as opposed to a culture of coping. Reconciling the costs associated with employee health and well-being with the financial demands of running a profitable yet socially conscious organization is a long-standing, systemic challenge. An integrated organizational strategy requires an integrated focus. Energy management is about managing energy, not time. Drawing on considerable research in the field, this Energy Management session will provide tools for gaining strategic focus, understanding the barriers to sustainability, developing regenerative strategic plans and practices, and building organizational systems to optimize personal and organizational performance. With the tools of Energy Management, your organization will learn to thrive amidst uncertainty and become poised to effectively navigate the turbulence of change.
PRE-CON B Tapping Creative Juices: A Positive Way to Respond to the Economy
Sharon Bronstein, MSW
Creative Arts Therapist and Actor
Director
Open Hand Teambuilding, Coaching and Retreats
Alan Caplan, MA
Coach, Mediator and Actor
Director
Open Hand Teambuilding, Coaching and Retreats
What happens when things don't go as expected? How do we greet the unexpected with a creative and collaborative response that brings out new solutions and benefits? What would happen if, instead of blocking the strange or unfamiliar, we accepted it as an offer to interact with new possibilities? The economic realities we face today require us to develop unprecedented responses to new situations. The presenters, who have over 20 years of experience as creative arts therapists, will help participants expand their capacity to think outside the box, tap their own creative resources and discover new solutions to everyday work challenges.
PRE-CON C Hard Wiring for Health
Marie Mac Donald, BSc, MSW
Speaker, Coach, Facilitator
Marie Mac Donald Consulting
We live in times of rapid worldwide transformations and ever advancing technological capacity. A personal transformative change is necessary in order to develop a framework for adaptability and resilience, and in order to change our behavioural patterns to help us move towards what we want. Neuroscience is leading the way in making the connections between how our brains are wired and how we behave. This session is designed for people, who are interested in learning about leading-edge neuroscience, as well as in acquiring practical skills of how to integrate sustainable health and wellness practices into their lives. The presentation will focus on learning techniques to rewire thinking patterns in order to make daily choices to support health and wellness. Participants will assess where they want to focus, and use the skills of visualizing to attract what they want into their lives. The session is a facilitated, energetic and playful combination of theoretical and interactive learning. An array of individual, small and large group activities will be used, along with video and audio resources.
