The Game Changer Network

THE DISCOMFORT ZONE: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations Into Breakthroughs  by Dr. Marcia Reynolds

Leaders, managers, and coaches are charged with getting people to stretch their limits but are often unsuccessful. Top leadership coach Marcia Reynolds says the problem is that when incorrectly handled, difficult conversations create more resistance than growth. Reynolds offers a model and methods for discovering what to say so people change their own minds. As a result, leaders equip people to find their own solutions, see situations more strategically, and grow beyond their limitations.

Reynolds explains how to pick the right time and place to enter the discomfort zone and how to create a “safety bubble” so that people will trust your intentions.

Marcia Reynolds, PsyD, organizational psychologist and certified master coach, is president of Covisioning, a training and coaching firm helping companies worldwide unleash the brilliance in their people. Her clients include American Express, GlaxoSmithKlein, Ernst & Young, and many others around the world. She is a past president of the International Coach Federation.

 In her spare time, Marcia accumulates degrees. Her doctoral degree is in organizational psychology with a research focus on high-achievers in today’s corporations. She holds two masters degrees in education and communications.

Marcia's website is http://outsmartyourbrain.com/

Marley Majcher was predestined to be an entrepreneur. Marley started selling Shrinky Dinks door-to-door at the age of 4, created a doll "repair" (word repair used very loosely) business, sold plums out of the backyard and by 7 was washing the neighbors' cars.

Her keen eye for chic trends and clever business techniques has made her a coveted speaker across the United States and around the globe, on subjects such as small business, entrepreneurship, all aspects of entertaining and her celebrated coaching programs. Majcher challenges entrepreneurs to not only think outside the box but to forget a box even exists.

Marley Majcher is the CEO of The Party Goddess!, a nationally acclaimed full-service event planning and catering company, and author of But Are You Making Any Money?, a witty and lauded business guide for entrepreneurs. Majcher has championed her unique approach to events and inspired many to create lasting memories through her featured articles and interviews in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Us Weekly, People, Women’s Day, BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur Magazine as well as multiple radio interviews including Martha Stewart’s Sirius Radio show.

Marley's website is http://theprofitgoddess.com/

Catherine Carr- Living Without Borders" for Médecins Sans Frontières’(MSF)

Catherine Carr compares being stuck in her work and life like constantly washing dishes. Dull, unchallenging and stagnant. That is, until she decided she was through being stuck and ready to dream big. Catherine’s metaphoric dishwashing days were over.

She went on the Doctors Without Borders website and, to her great surprise, found a job that fit her skills. It hadn’t even occurred to Catherine that there would be “normal jobs” like finance, operations and human resources within Doctors Without Borders. But just a few weeks later, she was hired as an HR finance coordinator and was off to Kenya to support the organization’s mission of international medical and humanitarian aid.

Amid the Parisian upheavals of May 1968, a group of young doctors decided to go and help victims of wars and major disasters. This new brand of humanitarianism would reinvent the concept of emergency aid.

"It’s simple really: go where the patients are. It seems obvious, but at the time it was a revolutionary concept because borders got in the way. It’s no coincidence that we called it ‘Médecins Sans Frontières’." MSF is known internationally in English as Doctors Without Borders. Bernard Kouchnermsk- Founder

MSF website is http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

To donate to MSF go to http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/support-us/donation-faq

Liz is the author of more than 30 books, with 4.5 million copies in print. Her latest release, The Women of Christmas, is a heartwarming Bible study wrapped inside a beautiful gift book. Verse by verse, Liz unpacks the biblical stories of Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna, who each welcome the Christ child into the world in a marvelous and miraculous way.

A sacred season is about to unfold for three women whose hearts belong to God.
Elizabeth is barren, yet her trust in God remains fertile. Mary is betrothed in marriage, yet she is willing to bear God’s Son. Anna is a widow full of years, yet she waits patiently, prayerfully for the Messiah to appear in the temple courts. Best-selling author Liz Curtis Higgs explores the biblical stories of Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna, unwrapping each verse with tender care and introducing you afresh to The Women of Christmas. Her messages are biblical, encouraging, and down-to-earth, helping both sisters and seekers embrace the truth of God’s amazing, unchanging grace.

In her best-selling Bad Girls of the Bible series, Liz tells ancient tales about infamous women in history.

Her website is http://www.lizcurtishiggs.com/

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 170 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber's novels have spent over 750 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.  Eight of these novels hitting the number one spot.

Macomber's beloved and bestselling Cedar Cove Series became Hallmark Channel’s first dramatic scripted television series. In addition, Macomber’s upcoming Christmas novel, Mr. Miracle, will be made into an original movie premiering on Hallmark Channel in fall 2014. Previously, Hallmark Channel has produced three successful Christmas movies based on Macomber's bestselling Christmas novels, Mrs. Miracle, Call Me Mrs. Miracle and Trading Christmas.

She and her husband, Wayne, serve on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, and she is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative.

Debbie's website is http://www.debbiemacomber.com/

Leading with Intention challenges you to make a profound, deliberate mark on both your organization and the world around you. Informed by over 25 years of experience with leaders in Fortune 50 companies, biotech start-ups, financial services firms, and non-profit organizations, Leading with Intention provides real-life examples and practical tools for increasing your awareness and being more deliberate in your choices.

Mindy Hall, PhD is the President and CEO of Peak Development Consulting, LLC. Mindy has over 25 years of experience in organization and leadership development.

Mindy's website is peakdevelopment.com/

UP! is the go-to resource for women who want to finally get out of their own way and get ahead in their careers. Author Aimee Cohen’s passionate approach is “like combining your best girlfriend and an elite career expert…in a powerful purse-sized package!” Her insights are a product of more than 20 years of experience and a nearly 100% success rate helping hundreds of clients. Woman UP! conveys a powerful and practical message that exposes seven self-sabotaging behaviors that keep women from success. Using real-life examples, shared experiences, and Aimee’s own guilty confessions, Woman UP! delivers the sage advice every woman wishes she had at the start of her career: put on your big-girl panties and take control of your career. Come on, girls.. It’s time to Woman UP!

Aimee’s “empty desk” story, featured in her debut book, WOMAN UP! was the defining moment in her career. She always says, “I wasn’t born a career coach, but I was born to BE a career coach!” The “empty desk” launched her into a 20+-year career consulting journey with a nearly 100% success rate. She has passionately empowered hundreds of clients in personalized one-on-one consultations, lead outplacement transition seminars for Fortune 500 companies, and deliver dynamic presentations to audiences of all sizes.

 

Aimee Cohen (1968- ) was born in New York City and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. She attended Boston University, graduated from the University of Michigan, lived in Spain, and has traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East. She started Cohen Career Consulting in 1998, is a contributing writer for the Denver Business Journal (DBJ), and has appeared as a career and women’s issues expert on Denver’s Channel 7 and Channel 4 News. She has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, Glamour magazine, and the Denver Post, was featured in Denver Woman magazine, and received recognition as a DBJ Outstanding Women in Business Award nominee.

She lives and works in Colorado.

Her website is https://www.womanuppower.com/

I call one of my values “wind in my face” because I value the spirit of adventure– the feeling I get when sitting on top of a safari vehicle with wind blowing in my face. Climbing Kilimanjaro aligns with my values and makes me feel engaged and excited. If your employees feel their job aligns with their values, they will feel engaged and excited too. How do you make that happen?

Do you want to be a future-focused leader? Are you looking for ways to increase employee engagement and improve organizational culture? Then focus on using purpose. Purpose-driven, future-focused leaders create a culture of purpose-driven work and employee engagement.

In this talk, you’ll learn

-how to define purpose,

-what is needed to create a purpose-driven DNA and

-how your own leadership values will add depth to work.

As a Generational Guru, Author & Transformational Leader, Anne thrives at the intersection of leadership, relationships, and connections. Her books, online learning programs, keynotes, and workshops seamlessly blend insights and experiences from Leadership Development and Management Development as she teaches clients how to leverage diversity in the workplace.

Put More Time on Your Side: How to Manage Your Life in a Digital World, sociologist, business, and relationship expert Dr. Jan Yager helps you to become more efficient in a work world that is more demanding and 24/7 than ever before.

In this concise and provocative book, you will learn:

The #1 factor you can control to revolutionize your time management.

How to deal with distractions and fragmentation.

Coping with time wasters like over-scheduling, inadequate pacing, poor planning, procrastination, or perfection.

How to master office relationships and politics to save time.

Cultural considerations.

Sociologist/time/people guru; author of 40+ books, Jan Yager has a Ph.D. in sociology from The City University of New York Graduate Center, where she had a pre-doctoral National Science Foundation fellowship.

Jan also has an M.A. in criminal justice from Goddard College Graduate Program and a B.A. in fine arts from Hofstra University where she was Art Student of the Year.

We are operating in a world defined by rapid-fire change, shifting markets, and a high demand for innovation. Yet, in spite of the world’s battle cry for newness and growth, businesses continue to suffer from net margin erosion, lack of productivity, and a decline in employee morale.

In DECIDE TO PROFIT: 9 Steps to a Better Bottom Line, Dorriah L. Rogers, Ph.D. – CEO of Paradyne Consulting Works, a firm serving Fortune 100 and 500 organizations, large government entities, and the U.S. military – argues that leaders and employees need a renewed focus on the very reason businesses operate if they want to thrive ahead of the curve. That is, a simple and clear-cut path to a profitable bottom line that anyone can implement.

“The key to adapting to increasingly tough competition and exceling within ever-changing markets is not the latest program du jour of management fads and language,” says Rogers. “Rather, it’s simply focusing all efforts on the money.”

DECIDE TO PROFIT demonstrates success is research-backed, uncomplicated, and democratic (that is, all ranks of an organization are aligned with common business goals). In writing the book, Rogers has already done the hard work on the back end for organizations in any industry to fall back on by vetting, curating, and codifying research, case studies, and intensive problem-solving with thousands of employees, managers, and executives experiencing an inability to tie innovation and growth to bottom-line profit. From her research and experience working with some of the largest and most complex projects and organizations across the continent, she offers a straightforward 9 step program built from both a bottom-up and top-down approach to maintaining and growing net profit: employees are empowered to follow a clear systematic process for decision-making related to the financial goals of their company and managers are offered a ready tool to continuously shape their organizational culture and business outcomes.