As we anxiously await the launch of Dane Jensen’s new book, The Power of Pressure, the Summer Reading List has arrived just in time to give us the distraction we need. This is our favourite summer tradition, in which members of the Third Factor team offer their best picks for your summer. Diverse as always, this list includes novels, nonfiction, a collection of short stories, and even an audiobook about dragons. Whether you want something lighthearted or something to chew on, your next favourite book is in this list. Here are this year’s picks.

Peggy Baumgartner, Chief Learning Officer

Think Again by Adam Grant

One book I am eager to dive into this summer is Adam Grant’s Think Again. For me, learning to stay curious longer and being less certain that I already have the answers will allow me to approach whatever the post-Covid world throws my way. Grant is an amazing storyteller with a great analytical mind so I am sure it will be an amazing read.

Dane Jensen, Chief Executive Officer

The Vanquished: Why The First World War Failed To End by Robert Gerwarth

A bit of a departure from my previous picks, The Vanquished is a thoroughly researched, thought-provoking, and highly readable look at the period of upheaval, bloodshed, and social re-ordering that followed WWI in the defeated countries. It upended my understanding of the inter-war period and, as one reviewer put it, “makes it easier to understand why order came to be a supremely desirable objective in 1930s Europe, trumping freedom.” If you’re a history buff, this is a book that will give you a ton of new insight without putting you to sleep.

Garry Watanabe, Principal Trainer & Sport Lead

The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell

I purchased the audiobook for longer car rides as a way to entertain my kids that did not involve staring into a screen, and I ended up getting drawn into the story along with them. As a parent, I loved the imaginative storytelling and positive messages. As a person, I was thoroughly entertained. An unexpected bonus: the audiobook is brilliantly narrated by Scottish actor David Tennant, who seamlessly switches between over a dozen distinct characters. Just a heads up – this is a 4 volume series but it flies by. We are (sadly) on the fourth and final volume.

Cyndie Flett, Principal Trainer

Lifespan by David A. Sinclair

This is a great opportunity to rethink a lot of what we think we know about our health. Sinclair really challenges many of the traditional notions about health and backs it all with stellar evidence. This is a great summer read – if you don’t mind digging into the science of things! Incredible insights, research simplified, great stories and some very practical advice. I particularly enjoyed the Longevity Now chapter. All told, I’ve made a few key changes since reading this book that has put a bounce back in my step, has me sleeping better, and more energized for the coming pivot back to whatever our new normal is.

Vladimir Oppenheim, Bookkeeper

Free to Choose by Milton and Rose Friedman

In this book, the economists Milton and Rose Friedmen promote (very eloquently) the idea of free market economy, originally introduced more than 200 years ago by Adam Smith. They discuss how the idea of a free market economy clearly manifested itself in a rapid and unprecedented development of countries like Great Britain and the United States in the 19th century – and how later, unwise interference of government bodies into the process caused more damage than help.

Jordan Lavin, Marketing Lead

The Witches by Roald Dahl

Over the past few years, most of my reading time has been spent sharing children’s books with my two young boys. As they’re starting to get to an age where they’re interested in novels, Roald Dahl’s The Witches has been a standout favourite. The story follows a young boy who falls victim to real witches – and exacts his revenge. The story is brilliant, the imagery fantastic, and the characters voices make it extra fun to read aloud. Bonus points for the many adaptations including the movies and graphic novel the kids will read to themselves.

Karyn Garossino, Associate Trainer

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

From the first page, the imagery, so eloquently described, becomes reality to my senses. I see, feel and smell the sweetgrass. The meaning and symbolism shared are the first of many lessons in life that grace the pages that follow. As I continue to read the stories, I accept Kimmerer’s invitation to understand the world from a different perspective. Not a new one. An old one, ancient in fact, almost erased. The remarkable transfer of knowledge on botony, language, culture and history flows easily and beautifully. Part wonderment, part awe become woven into painful reality as I try to comprehend the injustices on our Indigenous peoples. This book is a gift to the soul and a tender reflection on what needs to be understood by all who share this earth. As we come out of the pandemic and look to restore the lives we love I clutch my heart and hope that our future is informed by the hope of braiding sweetgrass.

Carrie Drybrough, VP of Operations

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Eight people. A failed robbery. An open house. Anxious People centres on how a shared event can change the course of many lives. I found this novel a bland read for the first 95 pages as the writing did little to draw out the characters. But the story gains momentum as the captives’ lives and their relationships with the outside world and one another blend together. Backman’s philosophical insights and humour make the book worth a summer read.

Kara Stelfox, Associate Trainer

Heart Breath Mind by Dr. Leah Lagos, Psy.D.

This is a fantastic read if you’ve ever wanted practical strategies to help you manage stress and perform at your best (and, really, who hasn’t?!). In Heart Breath Mind, Dr. Lagos clearly explains her practical, 10-week breathing training protocol, which is based on the science behind heart rate variability (HRV). Your heart muscle is in a constant, two-way conversation with your brain and body via the vagus nerve. This book helps you learn to take better control of that conversation in stressful moments. I am 7 weeks into the 10-week training protocol, and I can feel the physical, mental, and emotional impact that resonant frequency breathing can have when practiced consistently over time. You may not give your breathing a second thought in everyday life, but this book shows you that it can be a powerful tool for better performance, stress management, and increased mental clarity!

Lori Quinn, Account Executive

The Birth of Loud by Ian S. Port

This book offers great insight into the history of American music between 1950 and 1970. It’s about ingenuity, hard work and perseverance. Learn about the rivalry between polar opposites, Leo Fender and Les Paul, while enjoying the joy ride of rock music. Lots of great stories about the humble origins of the tools that allowed rockers & blues players to get loud. We know the music – here is how it got there.

Sandra Stark, Co-Founder

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

This author is a great writer, researcher and story teller. The Book of Longings is a historical novel taking place in the first century during Jesus’ time. To read a book about this time period, that involves Jesus but is not about him, was really interesting. The protagonist is a bright, inspiring woman engaged in a bold struggle to realize her own potential in a time and culture where she has no power. Her life in intertwined with Jesus life in a completely unexpected way. Jesus is portrayed here from a very humanistic perspective rather than a spiritual one. Reading about their parallel journeys was fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was definitely a page turner.

Alexis Ullerick, Program Logistics Lead

Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje

My pick for the summer reading list follows the lives of three people, all on very different p aths but still intertwined. One becomes a con artist, so you know it’s good!

Jon Fraser, VP of Sales

Find You First by Linwood Barclay

I’ve enjoyed Linwood Barclay’s novels for a number of years, and his latest is no exception. He weaves great character development (including a ripped from the headlines rather despicable villain) with interesting plot twists and lots of action. As with most of his novels, this is a great blend of mystery and thriller.

Peter Jensen

Think Again by Adam Grant

I really wanted to recommend Transcend, which is a revisitation of Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of needs but that might be a bit heavy for summer reading! Not that Adam‘s book is light, but rather it’s a wonderfully easy read given his style and sense of humor. It’s basically encouraging us to keep an open mind and that if we have some humility and curiosity and reconsider our beliefs we can always reinvent ourselves. He’s a wonderful storyteller which makes for a great summer read. He and Brené Brown have a wonderful podcast that covers off some of the content as well. Many websites use affiliate links to make money when you buy something from Amazon – we don’t. Feel free to follow the links provided or pick up the book you want from your favourite local bookseller. Over the past year I have worked with hundreds of leaders across a range of industries. And the most common question they have asked is “How do I sustain the energy levels of my people?”. This year, more than any other in recent memory, has taxed the energy reserves of even the most resilient teams. Hugely disruptive changes, prolonged periods of uncertainty and the blurring of work and home have drained people’s batteries and made it difficult to recharge. When leaders try to step in and fill the energy gap, it’s not long before they find themselves starting to run out of gas. The key is to take on the challenge, without trying to do it all on your own.

A team’s energy comes from within

A while back I was leading a Self-Aware Team program for the coaches and support staff of a team that was preparing to represent Canada at the Winter Games in Beijing. An important part the program is an exercise in which team members create “player cards” containing key insights they’ve learned about themselves through the program. The group then comes together in a Zoom call to share those insights and give and get feedback. Like so many others, this group had been through an incredibly taxing year. Because of the pandemic, the team had to expend significantly more energy than it ordinarily would to create effective training opportunities for the athletes. Quarantines and “bubbling” rules had forced individuals to spend months at a time on the road, adapting to new routines and away from their families. And uncertainty over everything from health and testing to the potential fate of the games loomed over it all.
“The ways they brought energy were as diverse as the people themselves.”
As the group shared their player cards, it quickly came to light that a number of different members of this team had been significant “energy givers” through this difficult time. And the ways they brought energy were as diverse as the people themselves.

Three energizing principles

In listening to the group share their feedback, I was struck by three things: Energy is found in diversity. During the discussion I heard multiple different ways that multiple different people infused the group with energy. Some provided big boosts, other provided steady nudges. Some energized all team members. Others were more critical in sustaining a handful of specific individuals. Some were helpful at the start to get the flywheel moving forward. Others stepped in during negative moments to break tension and redirect focus when forward movement was stalled. Each team member’s contribution could stand on its own, but put together they added up to more than the sum of their parts. Energizing the team is everyone’s responsibility. No single contributor can create enough energy on their own to sustain a team; the demands are simply too vast. Everyone on the team shares some responsibility for energizing their teammates. The team leader’s job is to create the conditions that allow it to happen. Feedback is of key importance. In many cases, the “energy givers” were surprised to learn the value of what they provided. In fact, some had mistakenly believed that the very behaviors that others found energizing were irrelevant or a distraction. If not for the reinforcement they received during the session, many had been planning to curtail some of those behaviors moving forward. And, if that had taken place, then valuable sources of positive energy would have simply faded away because people were unaware.

Energize your team

Every leader needs to create an environment that enables their people to perform. And energy is a critical part of that environment. But it’s not the leader’s role to provide that energy all on their own. Instead, the best leaders create the conditions for “energy givers” to thrive.
“Create a clear image of what it looks like to be an energy giver.”
Start by setting the expectation that energy is a team responsibility. Work with your people to create a clear image of what it looks like to be an “energy giver” and what behaviors will move the team’s energy level in a positive direction. Help your team surface the different ways “energy givers” sustain the team in tough moments. Make it a part of your regular check-ins to ask people what’s contributed to their energy over the past week and encourage open discussion when appropriate. Finally, provide opportunities for regular feedback and recognition so that each “energy giver” knows what to keep doing. This feedback can come from you as a leader, but people should also hear from their peers. Effective feedback recognizes the behavior, communicates its impact, and encourages the person to continue. With this approach, a leader can create more energy on their team than they could ever hope to do alone, while at the same time helping their people to stay engaged and motivated through whatever may come.

Bring the Summer Learning Series to your team • Request a call • Send this page to your manager or HR team

Energize your team as we move out of the pandemic with a series of three, one-hour virtual learning events. The months ahead will present new challenges as business needs change, blended working environments begin to take shape, and leaders are once again forced to adjust to rapid change and uncertainty. Help ready your people to lead and perform through the next phase with a series of virtual learning events.

TWO TRACKS TO CHOOSE FROM

Develop your people in the areas that will benefit them most. Choose our leadership track to build your team’s coaching and collaboration capabilities, or choose our resilience track to build your team’s ability to perform under pressure.

LEADERSHIP TRACK Develop high performing leaders.

RESILIENCE TRACK Enhance performance under pressure.

DELIVERED BY A WORLD-CLASS FACULTY

Our speakers teach at top business schools, have coached Olympic and professional athletes, been Olympic athletes, consulted at the highest level of business, and practiced law. Their strong personalities and unique personal experience draw audiences in and keep learners engaged.

Dane Jensen

Dane Jensen teaches at UNC and Queen’s University, is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review, and the author of The Power of Pressure.

Roy Rana

Roy Rana is an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings and one of the most decorated coaches in Canadian basketball history.

Cyndie Flett

Cyndie Flett is a successful leader of world-class teams in sport and business, a leading expert on coaching, and a former national team coach.

Garry Watanabe

Garry Watanabe is an inspirational speaker, former elite swim coach and an instructor at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.

Karyn Garossino

Karyn is an Olympian with a Master’s Degree in psychology and adult education and years of experience coaching executives.

Kara Stelfox

Kara is a biofeedback practitioner who is an expert on the mental and physical aspects of human performance.

LEARN MORE

Want to learn more about bringing our Summer Learning Series to your organization? Leave your contact information below and we’ll get in touch.

In this article

Explore our virtual leadership development options to meet your current needs.

In about 90% of our conversations with clients, the first question we’re asked is “what can you deliver remotely?” And – the answer is ‘a lot!’ We’ve spent the past six months transforming our product line and, since April, we’ve had more than 5,000 learners go through our programs remotely – from webinars on leading remotely for 500+ people, to immersive 6-week learning journeys to Coaching mastery for smaller cohorts, to building resilience skills in the EMBA class at Queen’s Smith School of Business.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Depending on your goals for virtual learning, different approaches are required. We’ve taken a ‘small / medium / large’ approach to our product development to meet the needs of a variety of scenarios:

 Large Group Experiences

Webinars or a-synchronous content to spark ideas and motivation for groups of any size.

 Targeted Group Programs

Learning journeys that integrate video, synchronous learning, 1:1 coaching and application to build mastery for up to 49 people.

 In-depth Cohort Programs

Half-day interactive instructor-led sessions for up to 18 people to build core skills.

Whatever your needs – we’re likely to have a virtual solution that hits the mark in terms of depth, duration and class size.

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Download a full summary of our leadership development programs.

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Timeless skills + the right tools for right now

Of course, we have a range of virtual options in our core competencies: coaching skills for managers, resilience skills for all, and self-awareness skills to enable more productive collaboration. And, we are continuously launching virtual programs that give learners the skills they need to be successful right now. Note that we are continuously developing new offers (and adapting our in-person programs to virtual delivery) so this list will be updated as new programs come online.

Coaching skills for managers

The 3×4 Coaching model explores the 3 plays and 4 skills consistently executed by world-leading coaches.

We have a full range of options for bringing our industry-leading 3×4 Coaching model to life virtually – with a specific eye to how to coach in a virtual environment.

In-depth Cohort Programs

3×4 Coaching Virtual Learning Journey

Coaches are leaders who do all they can to help people improve and succeed. It is a way of thinking and interacting with people that communicates high expectations, respect and caring. In this 4 – 6 week (depending on your desired pace) virtual program, individuals learn the concepts and skills of a coaching style of management that builds commitment, drives employee engagement, gets results, and integrates this learning into the flow of their work.

Get a feel for the learning experience in this 3-minute video overview of the program.

Targeted Group Programs

Coaching Remotely 1/2-day Virtual Program

Coaches are leaders who do all they can to help people improve and succeed. It is a way of thinking and interacting with people that communicates high expectations, respect and caring. In this 4 – 6 week (depending on your desired pace) virtual program, individuals learn the concepts and skills of a coaching style of management that builds commitment, drives employee engagement, gets results, and integrates this learning into the flow of their work.

Having Challenging Conversations from a Distance 1/2-day Virtual Program

Our practical, 4-step map for challenging conversations is rooted in our 25 years of experience helping elite athletes manage emotions under intense pressure. Participants explore methods of preparing to confront, learn an effective format for an opening statement, practice managing reactivity and discuss how to close the conversation with accountability built-in.

Large Group Experiences

3×4 Coaching Overview Webinar

Learning coaching skills is the best way to dramatically increase your people’s commitment level and performance. This interactive 1-hour online session starts your powerful coaching journey.

3×4 Coaching Asynchronous Video Program

The 3×4 Coaching Video Program is a self-paced, asynchronous learning journey that unpacks the 3 plays and 4 skills of exceptional coaches. It provides learners with a powerful, easy-to-understand model for coaching people to higher levels of results and engagement.

Watch a brief sample of the 3×4 Coaching video program

Resilience skills for all

Building Resilience is aimed at giving participants a toolkit of inner skills to navigate their high pressure realities.

Rarely has resilience been as relevant as it is right now. We take our 30+ years of experience in resilience, and bring it to life in a way that gives people the insight and skills needed right now.

In-depth Cohort Programs

Building Resilience Virtual Learning Journey

The virtual Building Resilience program synthesizes 30 years of science-backed and performance-proven strategies into a practical toolkit that participants can use to stay healthy under pressure and recover when they are thrown off balance. Our approach to resilience draws on work in elite sport, teaching and research in academia, and work with thousands of people in organizations of all sizes. Building Resilience is a transformative experience that allows participants to learn in the flow of work while changing the way they relate to pressure.

Targeted Group Programs

Building Resilience 1/2-day Virtual Program

A leader’s ability to stay resilient through setbacks and be predictable under pressure is the #1 indicator of how their team will weather the storm. Learn practical techniques for staying even-keeled when it matters most in this 1/2-day online workshop.

Large Group Experiences

Building Resilience Overview Webinar

This online session equips participants with an understanding of how uncertainty and pressure impact their performance and health, an awareness of the choices they have to enhance their resilience under pressure, and a guided, applied exercise that will specifically tackle how they are framing and taking direct action on the areas that will most impact their performance and resilience.

Topical skills leaders need right now

Our Maintaining Team Motivation Through The Troughs program teaches leaders four allies for fighting disillusionment.

A collection of fit-for-purpose programs that address hot button issues like motivation through prolonged periods of uncertainty, challenging conversations from a distance, and the imperative for agility and personal ownership over re-skilling.

Targeted Group Programs

Maintaining Team Motivation Through the Troughs 1/2-day Virtual Program

As the pandemic drags on, maintaining motivation and engagement will become a primary challenge for leaders. Learn practical techniques to keep people energized, resilient and motivated, inspired by Olympic coaches and athletes, in this 1/2-day online workshop.

Large Group Experiences

The Meta-Skilled Organization

Meta-skills are the connective tissue that allow people and organizations to let go of the skills that have anchored their successful past and master and embrace new ways of working – in other words, to evolve. Packed with ideas on both how to foster the development of meta-skills for yourself, and how to build meta-skilled organizations as stewards of talent, this keynote lays out a framework for six key meta-skills that allow individuals and organizations to see clearly, move quickly, and stay the course.

Self-awareness & collaboration

The “player’s card” is one of our favourite tools for helping learners translate self-awareness to communication and action.

The Attentional and Interpersonal Styles Inventory (TAIS) was originally developed to help Olympic athletes and elite military units optimize performance in high-pressure situations. Every day, these individuals must make critical decisions under pressure with less than perfect information. Since its introduction, business leaders have recognized that their people face similar, if not identical, problems and have made the TAIS their assessment of choice. Our work with the TAIS and fostering self-awareness has never been more vital – or easier to deliver. 1:1 coaching and self-awareness work is a natural fit for a virtual environment.

Targeted Group Programs

The Self-Aware Leader Virtual Program

The Self-Aware Leader program combines the TAIS assessment, three one-on-one coaching sessions, the creation of a personal action plan to address a real business challenge, an ability to chart your progress and adjust your approach through the guidance of a coach. It will help leaders understand and leverage their strengths under pressure and identify what changes if made, would matter the most.

Large Group Experiences

TAIS Assessment + 1:1 Coaching

Whether you want to build self-awareness for a few executives or all of your people managers, the TAIS can help them identify environments and performance situations in which they will thrive and excel, when and how they are most likely to make mistakes and what they can do to ensure you will perform well under pressure. Participants receive an individual report detailing 18 personal styles as they relate to attention, information, leadership, social and communication and have the opportunity to build further clarity with a 1:1 coaching call.

Let’s talk!

If you’re interested in any the above – or anything that you don’t see here – let’s chat! You can get in touch at hello@thirdfactor.com.
Download the catalog.

Get a complete overview of our coaching, collaboration and resilience programs.

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In this article:

Three imperatives for L&D during COVID-19

Our Building Resilience program opens by teeing up the ancient curse “may you live in interesting times.” These are interesting times indeed. The COVID-19 outbreak is the third time this century that we have collectively dealt with significant disruption and uncertainty – following the terror attacks on September 11th, and the great recession of 2008-09. The COVID-19 situation is particularly challenging for those of us in learning & development, whose work often centers on bringing groups of people together. Prohibition of non-essential travel and meetings, policies requiring self-isolation before returning to work, and even wide-scale office closures, such as those happening at major U.S. tech companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook and Twitter, create significant challenges to ‘business as usual’ when it comes to learning. At the same time – periods of uncertainty and change are precisely the times at which learning is most vital. And, as anyone in adult education knows – relevance is critical to adult learners. When the need is real and present, adult learners are most open to learning new skills. Right now people are in acute need of skills to both handle the pressure they are facing and adjust to new ways of working.
“L&D teams can provide unique value and directly influence how the organization weathers the storm”
Connecting pressure to personal growth is vital for resilience over the long haul. If, as a leader, I feel like the pressure is just a weight on my shoulders that I must endure, it will have a significantly more negative impact than if I see how rising to this challenge can help me become stronger and better. Growth gives meaning to pressure – and our ability to help people see this tough period as a growth experience is a significant imperative for maintaining engagement at work.

Growth gives meaning to pressure.

Taken together, this makes the coming months a time when L&D teams can provide unique value and directly influence how the organization weathers the storm. The coming months will undoubtedly be a period of great pressure – but how heavy that pressure sits, and how skillfully it is navigated, is within L&D’s circle of influence. By rising to meet this challenge, learning and development organizations can support their risk management teams, build esteem for the department among senior executives, show the ability of the department to deliver in critical moments, directly influence performance outcomes, and directly support an entire workforce through an extremely challenging time. So, how can L&D navigate the choppy waters of risk mitigation policies while seizing the moment to step up and shine? We see three major imperatives:

1. Demonstrate agility + resilience – leverage technology to continue “regularly scheduled programing”

Personal growth and development is a major driver of satisfaction and engagement in the workplace. When other drivers of satisfaction and engagement are compromised, continuing to invest in learning is vital. And, as learning organizations – we want to model the behaviours we are asking leaders to engage in: resilience, adaptability and flexibility. If we are asking others in the organization to continue to do their jobs in the face of disruption – it’s up to us to do the same.
“Think deliberately about a learning journey that is designed to sustain energy and support application”
Depending on the measures in place in your organization, this may include continuing to run in-person programming in small-medium sized groups – perhaps modified to focus on local attendees. In many cases, however, policies will necessitate the conversion of regularly scheduled programming into virtual delivery. Speaking from the perspective of an organization focused entirely on the development of leadership, collaboration and resilience skills – there are two imperatives we see to getting this right:

Think Fortnite, not Netflix

There is a reason in-person, instructor-led training continues to deliver the best learning outcomes: it gives people a chance to engage directly with an expert, to learn from peers, and to debate, dialogue and practice. In short, it’s a participative experience. While it is tempting to replace in-person programming with self-paced programs and video libraries – think Netflix – when it comes to executive function skills like coaching, collaboration, and resilience, getting strong learning outcomes requires collaboration. This is the ‘Fortnite’ model: we’re in this together, working alongside each other, in constant communication, and working towards a common goal.

Think Fortnite, not Netflix – virtual learning should be interactive and participative.

Divide and conquer

With dates already reserved on learners’ calendars, it can seem logistically easy to replace a 1-day in-person program with a 1-day virtual session. Even the most expertly designed and facilitated virtual sessions begin to lose their energy, however, after the two-hour mark. Instead, take advantage of the luxury of dividing learning up into more manageable modules. Freed from the requirements of a group of 25-30 learners traveling to one location for a short period of time, virtual sessions give you the opportunity to think deliberately about a learning journey that is designed to sustain energy and support application. The best designs involve modules that don’t require prolonged periods of attention, include interactivity and discussions that invite participation and reduce the temptation of distraction, and close with a clearly actionable outcome that learners can practice prior to the next module (i.e. an action learning-oriented approach). Virtual instructor-led technology has come a long way in even the past 12 months. In the face of COVID-19 we’ve been working directly with many of our clients to use a technology stack focused on interactivity and collaboration to ‘convert’ their in-person experience into virtual ones – complete with breakout rooms, lively discussion, whiteboard sessions and polling. Take advantage of new technology to demonstrate resourcefulness.

2. Build resilience in all corners of your organization

Ultimately, resilience is built in the troughs, not the peaks. And, not only is this a time in which resilience skills are vital – it’s also the perfect time to support your people in building resilience. In my forthcoming book, tentatively titled The Power of Pressure, I argue that the two key factors that ramp up pressure are importance (“this matters to me”) and uncertainty (“I don’t know how this will turn out”). The threat posed by COVID-19 delivers an unhealthy dose of both these ingredients.

Changing policies and sparsely populated offices are just two sources of uncertainty.

In the face of this pressure, learning and development teams have an opportunity to show that the organization cares not just about physical safety but also about people’s psychological wellbeing, and stands ready to help them learn the skills they need to not just survive but thrive through this period. There are two key imperatives here:

Support physical resilience

Employee wellness programs have never been more important than they are right now. Sleep, nutrition and exercise are the basis of not just a healthy immune system but also a resilient individual. Now is the time to promote awareness of the programs available to your teams.

Build inner resilience

Resilience isn’t a genetic gift – it’s a set of skills that can be learned and mastered. Often we assume that resilience will be built naturally as a by-product of tough times – but just like an athlete needs a good coach to reap the developmental benefits of sport, so too do individuals need support in learning how to channel pressure into growth.
“In times of challenge, what’s often most challenging is that the old pressure doesn’t go away”
In our Building Resilience program, we do this by giving participants an understanding of how uncertainty and pressure impact their performance and health, and then grow their awareness of the choices they have and skills they can use to enhance their resilience under pressure. I led a 90-minute virtual session on resilience for leaders at a major cruise line last week. As you can imagine, the pressure they are facing is immense. In our opening exercise, I asked them to identify the things that make this “interesting times” for them. Here is a random sample of the 46 responses I received: What’s most interesting to me is that the responses weren’t simply “coronavirus” 46 times. In times of challenge, what’s often most challenging is that the old pressure doesn’t go away – we simply add more to the pile, further compounding our already high-pressure lives. In acute scenarios such as this one, people need to have a clear sense of: These choices apply to your learning organization as well. Most consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak are outside of your control. Policies will be handed down from senior executives. Despite best efforts, people may become ill. There may be disruption to supply chains, operations, and other critical components of your business. Having the discernment to identify the things outside of your control and the ability to let those things go is a critical aspect to resilience. A leader who can paint a clear picture of where we are going to focus our attention and what we are going to ignore is invaluable in any crisis. How you prepare your workforce for this challenge, however, is within your control. Investing in resilience skills for your organization is an easy way to demonstrate empathy and support, improve performance and productivity, and arm your workforce with the skills to rise to the occasion. The coming few months may not be enjoyable, but with the right tools everyone can emerge with the satisfaction of knowing that they were up to the challenge. This will greatly increase engagement with their own jobs as well as appreciation for an organization that cared enough to address the situation in a proactive, skill building manner.

With the right tools, everyone can emerge knowing they were up to the challenge.

3. Give People the 1:1 Learning They Crave (Without Breaking the Bank)

“The next few months provide a real opportunity for learning organizations to invest in the 1:1 learning that people crave”
All of the research into learning tells us that providing individualized, coaching is among the best ways to help people learn, achieve their goals, and feel satisfied with their progress. And yet, the cost of providing individualized coaching is often prohibitive at scale. The next few months provide a real opportunity for learning organizations to invest in the 1:1 learning that people crave. The travel challenges posed by the COVID-19 threat will mean a dramatic reduction in travel expenses, and 1:1 coaching is uniquely suited to virtual delivery. Taken together, this provides an opportunity to invest in personalized coaching for your high potential talent at a cost that’s similar to what you would spend on a per-person basis to bring people together for a workshop. Depending on how your organization calculates the overall cost-benefit of leadership development, reduced time away from the field for participants can also support your case for making this kind of investment. So, how do you do this effectively? Two ideas:

1 goal, 3 months

Unlike traditional executive coaching, which is often an open-ended partnership between a coachee and a coach, have people pick a meaningful goal in conjunction with their coach and give them 3 months of support to move towards it. Framing coaching around time-bounded outcomes makes for more deliberate, action-oriented partnerships, gives you a measuring stick for demonstrating ROI to the organization, and ensures that you don’t add on-going cost into your budget.

Build self-awareness + self-responsibility

As we all know, adults don’t change because a coach tells them to. They do it because they develop the self-responsibility to change. In our experience, the best way to build self-responsibility in a short period of time is to kick off a coaching partnership with a strong self-assessment tool. We use a tool called The Interpersonal and Attentional Styles Inventory (TAIS) that lends itself perfectly to this kind of individualized development. The TAIS was originally developed for Olympic athletes to better understand their tendencies under pressure and make conscious strategic decisions about how to play to their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. It was then adopted by the US Navy SEALS for the same purpose and is now very highly regarded in the business community as a tool for building self-awareness and high performance in the corporate environment. The TAIS looks at 18 different metrics to help people understand how they are most likely to behave under pressure and how their unique traits compare to their teammates and contemporaries. As an example, the TAIS results may show that someone has high needs for control – that is, they are less comfortable with uncertainty and like to have a clear view of what’s coming. In the current climate, this tendency has the potential to create significant additional strain for both the individual and anyone they lead as they attempt to exert control in a situation that is largely impossible to influence. Working with a TAIS coach in a one-on-one coaching call, the employee can gain a better understanding of how that tendency is likely to manifest and develop strategies for mitigating its impact. By combining the online TAIS assessment with one-on-one video coaching, you can create an opportunity for your high performing talent to gain a better understanding of themselves, adapt more readily to changes in their environment, and actually enhance their learning through the downturn rather than merely mitigate the impact.

Team Canada Captain Hayley Wickenheiser shares her TAIS experience.

Want to Learn More?

Your opportunity to make an important contribution to your organization over the coming months is a brief one and you will need to move quickly to succeed. We are committed to supporting you in seizing this moment and readying the workforce for a period of disruption. If you want to get started right away, we have two turn-key ways for you to roll out 1:1 virtual coaching, and resilience skill-building. For your executive team, mid-senior leadership and high-potential employees, we offer TAIS self-assessments and coaching calls that can be scaled for teams of all sizes and begin delivering to participants in a matter of days. For teams and business units that are most affected by your organization’s COVID-19 response, we are offering an adapted version of our Building Resilience program, delivered entirely online and available in a modular format comprising 1 to 5 modules. Give us a shout if you’d like to know more. For further reading on some of the subjects discussed here, we have a few whitepapers that are especially relevant. And finally, if you have any questions or want to speak with us directly about your organization’s learning and development needs in the face of COVID-19, we are here to help. You can reach us at any time at mail@thirdfactor.com. In the summer of 2019, we changed our name from Performance Coaching to Third Factor. We’ve heard so much positive feedback on the name change, but there’s a big question I’ve been asked many times over: what does third factor mean? I have the privilege of teaching in the Executive Leadership program at Queen’s University, and I took some time to explain the concept in a recent class. If you’re curious to learn more about the concept of Third Factor, this video will shine some light.