Hello again! It's Dr. Jean Latting.

I’m now back to working on a webinar for the launch of our updated ChangeMakers course (formerly Agile Leaders). This is our premier course that we originally offered in person and now online. 

It’s been three years since the curriculum was updated, and I’m now doing the updating as well as creating a webinar to announce it to the world. The excitement and glow of creating the webinar has gone away, come back, and now mostly worn off again and I’m back at the drudgery stage. 

You know how it goes. When I start a new project, I’m filled with possibilities and excitement and have fun picturing how beautifully everything will turn out. 

With the webinar, I imagined excited former clients and amazing new leaders all eagerly working their way through the curriculum, gaining insights and ahah!s as they formulate new ways to make a difference in their worlds.

That glow has again passed and I’m now plowing through slide after slide, trying to make sure I build momentum, insert humor, and include the exact right words so that the exact right people will resonate with the content. 

I’m plagued with periodic doubts about the credibility of what I’m doing, yet still I’m propelled forward, hour after tedious hour, sustained by deep knowledge that this is what I’m supposed to do.

Serendipitously (as often happens with me), this week I found an online workshop on Staying the Course, by one of my closest long-term friends, Dr. Darya Funches, who specializes in transformational leadership.

She asked the participants to reflect on when they had a call, direction, vision, or destination and came to a decision point: Stay the course, even in the face of obstacles or dangers, or deviate and stop believing in the direction.  

One person’s answer resonated with me: “I find deep wells of flexibility when I’m staying the course as opposed to when I’m not staying the course. When I’m not staying the course, I’m rigid and inflexible.” 

Deep wells of flexibility. Yes, that fits. This webinar has been in development for over a year through multiple ups and downs. And still I persist. 

Another participant said, “When I’m not staying the course, I feel unmotivated, tired, just resistant and almost de-energized.” 

Yes, that also fits. The webinar sat on the shelf for several months. It was as though I couldn’t find the energy to work on it. I kept giving precedence to other things.  Yet, the call to do the webinar and launch ChangeMakers never left me. Like a beacon in the dusk, I was pulled toward a vivid image of leaders in multicultural teams, embroiled in the stress of their jobs, finding guidance and growth in the skills we teach. 

And so, about two months ago, I started again working on the webinar.   

It feels like a homecoming.   

You may be wondering what this ChangeMakers program is all about.  

In today’s divided work climate, people in multicultural and diverse organizations often have trouble figuring out how to talk honestly and openly together to solve difficult work problems or take on new initiatives.   

People walk on eggshells, afraid to offend. Or if they risk saying what they think, they worry about being labelled insensitive or even as troublemakers. Some fear their ideas will be shot down or their careers put in jeopardy if they speak up when they witness bias, exclusion, or unethical behavior.   

ChangeMakers is our premiere online program for leaders who want to create workplaces where everyone feels included, valued, and able to contribute their best.  The goal is a productive organization where people know how to leverage their differences so they may thrive, grow, and excel in achieving their goals together. 

The Conscious Change framework used in ChangeMakers was developed after years of research and experience. The program will soon launch to provide leaders with a clear vision into what’s possible and the skills to make it happen. 

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