Coaching with Courage: The Tough Conversations

Watching Olympic coaches operate, as we have for 40 years, makes one thing very clear: the courage to have a direct conversation when needed is vital to helping someone reach their potential. This is why we are pleased to share that our popular Managing Challenging Conversations program is now available in webinar and live keynote formats. Coaching with Courage: The Tough Conversations is a one-hour tour of the communication skills leaders need to tackle their toughest coaching conversations with confidence. Be among the first to experience this new session in a special preview event with Third Factor Principal Trainer Garry Watanabe on Thursday, March 6, 2025. Drawing on lessons from our 40 years of work with world-class coaches, we’ll explore how to:
  • Build the courage and mindset to initiate a direct conversation
  • Structure a clear opening statement that gets tough coaching conversations off on the right foot
  • Work through resistance and defensiveness using strategies to diffuse tension
  • Manage your own reactivity to stay composed under pressure
Whether you are an individual looking for help with your own challenging conversations, or a leader tasked with creating a culture of courage and continuous improvement within your organization - you’ll leave armed with the inspiration and practical tools to get started.

Coaching with Courage: The Tough Conversations


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About the presenter: Garry Watanabe is an expert on coaching and performance psychology with a wealth of experience working under the peak of pressure in both business and sport. As Principal Trainer for Third Factor, Garry has helped thousands of leaders apply the principles of coaching, collaboration and resilience in their professional and personal lives. His corporate clients include Deloitte, Toyota, RBC and the USGA.

Seizing the Opportunity in Wealth Management

Wealth management is undergoing an epochal change with an $84.4-trillion wealth transfer at stake. The hearts, minds and wallets of the next generation will go to firms that can:
  1. Level up field coaching and enable advisors to have new and more uncomfortable conversations
  2. Up-skill advisors to manage bigger teams with a diverse range of experience
  3. Become exceptional matchmakers using psychometric data to create winning advisory teams
In this webinar, Third Factor CEO, Dane Jensen, will outline how to make the move from investment advice to "Personal CFO" using examples from our work with some of North America's leading wealth management firms and based on the whitepaper he co-authored with Third Factor Principal Trainer, Garry Watanabe.. You should attend if:
  • You're responsible for leadership development or change management within a wealth management organization
  • You need new ideas for up-skilling advisors to engage in new conversations and navigate the changing industry landscape
  • You're looking for innovative solutions to enhance the succession planning process
  • You want to learn more about how top wealth management firms are navigating the fundamental shift in client preferences

Seizing the Opportunity in Wealth Management


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This event has passed, but it won't be the last. Be the first to know about future webinars from Third Factor by entering your information below.

About the presenter: Dane Jensen is the CEO of Third Factor, the author of The Power of Pressure: Why Pressure Isn't The Problem, It's The Solution, an acclaimed speaker, an instructor at Queen's University and the University of North Carolina, and a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review.

The Meta-Skilled Organization: Building the Capability to Evolve

Skills allow us to execute. Meta-skills like empathy, resilience, creativity, and self-awareness allow us to evolve. As organizations and industries face increasingly rapid change and disruption, in which job descriptions are fluid and agility is essential, these meta-skills are increasingly at the heart of sustained success. The ability to adapt is what makes us future-proof, and what separates individuals and teams that endure from those who are replaced. In this webinar, Third Factor CEO and author of The Power of Pressure, Dane Jensen, will illustrate how the capability to evolve can be broken down into six core meta-skills and outline practical skills and strategies you can use to cultivate your own ability to adapt. You’ll gain new insights into what’s really required for future-proofing yourself and your organization, and discover six core meta-skills across three categories that foster personal evolution. You should attend if:
  • You want to build your team or organization’s resilience to rapid change
  • You’re responsible for change management at a project or organizational level
  • You’re charged with building competencies of adaptability, flexibility, innovation, or problem solving
  • You want to build your own capability to adapt to an uncertain future

The Meta-Skilled Organization


Sorry we missed you

This event has passed, but it won’t be the last. Be the first to know about future webinars from Third Factor by entering your information below.

About the presenter: Dane Jensen is the CEO of Third Factor, the author of The Power of Pressure: Why Pressure Isn’t The Problem, It’s The Solution, an acclaimed speaker, an instructor at Queen’s University and the University of North Carolina, and a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review.

How Leaders Enable High-Performing Hybrid Teams

The transition to a hybrid work model is replete with hazard and risk: Can our people adapt to yet another major change in the way we do business? It also presents a unique opportunity to create new systems that work for companies and people – a culture of high performance in which people are truly committed. To capitalize on this opportunity, organizations need leaders who are motivated by a compelling vision of what’s possible and can adapt their skills to shape their environment. In this webinar, Third Factor Principal Trainer, Garry Watanabe, will uncover the opportunity present in the transition to hybrid work and showcase how leaders can get the most from it. The session will explore the challenges and advantages of hybrid work from a leader’s perspective, present an approach for building consensus and commitment in the face of novel problems, and introduce strategies to overcome some of hybrid work’s biggest challenges. You’ll leave with an exciting vision for a high-performing hybrid culture, a clear understanding of your people leaders’ assets and challenges in a hybrid environment, and insight to how leadership competencies can be adapted for hybrid teams. You should attend if:
  • You’re responsible for maintaining employee engagement in the transition to a hybrid work environment
  • You’re responsible for developing leadership competency for a hybrid model of work
  • You’re a senior leader concerned about hybrid work’s impact on performance
  • You want new ideas and practical tools for leading your own hybrid team

How Leaders Enable High-Performing Hybrid Teams
Sorry we missed you

This event has passed, but it won’t be the last. Be the first to know about future webinars from Third Factor by entering your information below.

About the presenter: Garry Watanabe is a lawyer, an instructor at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, an inspirational speaker, and holds a Masters Degree in Sport Psychology. Whether he’s on the pool deck, in the classroom, or at the lectern, Garry is the consummate coach.

3×4 Coaching

As supply chain issues and staffing challenges continue to hammer organizations, there are two critical moments that determine whether people will stay committed and rise to the challenge: The crisis of engagement, when people realize their path forward is harder than they thought it would be; and the crisis of meaning, the emotional low that makes them question whether to continue. To stay committed and see the journey through, people need three things from their leader: clarity on what they’re supposed to be doing and why it matters; the skills and abilities to be confident in their job; and a sense that they’re seen and appreciated. In this webinar, Third Factor Principal Trainer, Garry Watanabe, will synthesize our 30 years of experience working with world-class coaches and reveal a simple framework to give leaders the mindset, skills and tools to keep people committed – and ultimately drive results. You’ll leave inspired with fresh ideas for addressing problems caused by the “great resignation” and other pandemic-related disruption, and a clear image of how you can use coaching at all levels of your organization to fight burnout and keep people engaged. You should attend if:
  • You’re responsible for maintaining employee engagement and retention despite serious disruption
  • You’re an L&D practitioner frustrated by other coaching programs that deliver poor results
  • You’re a senior leader looking to drive performance without sacrificing a positive culture
  • You want a new approach for getting commitment and results from the people you lead

Coaching in Critical Moments
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This event has passed, but it won’t be the last. Be the first to know about future webinars from Third Factor by entering your information below.

About the presenter: Garry Watanabe is a lawyer, an instructor at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, an inspirational speaker, and holds a Masters Degree in Sport Psychology. Whether he’s on the pool deck, in the classroom, or at the lectern, Garry is the consummate coach.
As people leave their jobs in record numbers, organizations are facing two urgent challenges: increase engagement to reduce churn; and prepare those who stay to adapt to the rapidly changing needs of the business. The solution to both of these challenges is to invest in people and get them excited about their own growth and development. People are more likely to stay – and more resilient to changing demands – when they feel a sense of growth, contribution and connection. But with 40% of employees saying they’re likely to leave their job within 6 months1, time is running out. Career Conversations is a highly interactive one-hour session that puts people leaders at the centre of a strategy for helping employees develop a clear and compelling view of their path forward in the organization. Leaders are introduced to the “why,” “what,” and “how” of career conversations, and begin engaging with their people before the hour is up. The program can be quickly implemented and scaled to the entire organization, effecting rapid, positive change. In this 60-minute webinar, Third Factor Associate Trainer Rishi Behari will introduce the Career Conversations program and unpack the leader’s toolkit for holding effective developmental conversations with their people. You’ll leave with a compelling image of what effective career conversations look like, new skills for converting that image into action, and a plan for holding career conversations with clear goals and accountability built in. You should attend if:
SORRY WE MISSED YOU

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About the presenter:

Rishi Behari is a professional coach, consultant, teacher, facilitator and speaker who has carved out an unlikely career path amidst adversity, pressure, and uncertainty, having grown up in an interracial family in the heart of the Canadian prairies.

Rishi has dedicated his professional life to helping others discover and realize their passions, dreams, and potential. He is known for injecting personality, humor, wit and infectious energy into his work and teaching. He draws from his and his students’ personal experiences in order to create an open, engaging and safe environment for leaders at all levels. His relentless desire to explore, innovate and challenge the status quo have made him a multidisciplinary force for igniting positive change in people and organizations.

Rishi comes to the Third Factor team with an impressive and eclectic background across industries, having worked with some of the top schools, businesses, and organizations in the world. His range of experiences include raising ten thousand dollars at the age of nineteen to fund his first entrepreneurial venture, appearing as a business expert on live international television, helping to establish the world’s first premier business program in artificial intelligence, sitting on the advisory board for Canada’s first student-run AI startup incubator, working in the not-for-profit sector to fight systemic inequality and discrimination, teaching in academia and over five years as the VP of a multinational consulting firm.

Rishi is a former university athlete in soccer, and an avid sports and travel enthusiast, having traveled to two World Cups of Soccer, the European Cup of soccer, and the Winter Olympics. His academic credentials include BAs in psychology and sociology and an MBA from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University and IE Business School in Madrid, Spain.

1 Source: McKinsey

Join Third Factor CEO, Dane Jensen, to celebrate the launch of his new book: The Power of Pressure: Why Pressure isn’t the Problem, It’s the Solution.


In this virtual book launch event, Dane Jensen will tell unforgettable stories of pressure, teach practical skills for performing in peak moments and over the long haul, and leave you with renewed energy for tackling the biggest sources of pressure in your life.


Registration is $29.99 and includes participation in the live event on September 1st or 8th, 2021, access to a recording of the session, and a hardcover copy of The Power of Pressure.


You should attend if:
SORRY WE MISSED YOU

This event has passed, but it won’t be the last. Be the first to know about future events from Third Factor by entering your information below.

About the presenter:
Dane Jensen is the CEO of Third Factor, an acclaimed speaker, an instructor at Queen’s University and the University of North Carolina, a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review, and the author of The Power of Pressure (HarperCollins).

Maintaining Team Motivation Through The Troughs
Available on demand
Register Now

As the pandemic drags on, maintaining motivation and engagement is an increasing challenge for leaders. Significant prolonged uncertainty, a relentless volume of work, the collapse of a separation between work and home life, and – in some cases – the absence of traditional sources of motivation like raises, promotions, and informal camaraderie in the office, means motivation has rarely been harder to come by. In this 60-minute webinar, Third Factor CEO Dane Jensen will uncover research that will help you zero in on your team’s emotional state, and introduce four allies leaders can tap into to fight against the tide of disillusionment and keep people energized, resilient and motivated through the months to come. You’ll leave with a better understanding of your team’s emotional state, and practical ideas for maintaining motivation that you can start using right away. You should attend if:
Maintaining Team Motivation Through The Troughs

There are no lives sessions of this webinar upcoming. Fill out the form below to register to watch this webinar on demand.

About the presenter:

Dane Jensen advises senior leaders and their teams on how to perform under pressure in our disruptive world.

Dane has worked with executives in 23 countries on 5 continents. As CEO of Third Factor, Dane oversees delivery of the firm’s leadership development programs throughout North America. Dane is Affiliate Faculty with UNC Executive Development at Kenan-Flagler Business School in Chapel Hill, NC. He also teaches in the full-time and executive MBA programs at the Smith School of Business, Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.

In addition to his corporate and academic work, Dane advises athletes, coaches, leaders, and boards in the Olympic and Paralympic sport systems. He is author of The Power of Pressure: Why Pressure Isn’t the Problem, It’s the Solution (HarperCollins, 2021), and a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review. He lives in Toronto with his wife and their three children.