- Explore how design thinking principles apply specifically to the context of organizational change and creative transformation
- Define the Current State and Future State of your team or organization within a changing landscape
- Use Design Sprint methodology to generate innovative, creative solutions designed for the new conditions ahead
- Leverage principles from positive psychology to frame organizational change as a source of possibility and creative opportunity
- Develop an action and implementation plan for strategic and creative transformation
Times of Change
Shift Happens: Innovation in Times of Change
Leveraging Design Theory
for Strategic and Creative Transformation
Innovation does not happen in stable, predictable conditions. Some of the most transformative thinking emerges precisely when the old playbook no longer applies, when familiar approaches stop working, and when a team is pressed to find genuinely new solutions. Change is not just something to survive. In the hands of the right team with the right tools, it is one of the most powerful catalysts for innovation available.
This innovation and change leadership workshop applies design thinking methodology to the specific creative and strategic opportunities that arise during organizational transformation. Shift Happens: Innovation in Times of Change focuses the lens specifically on leveraging design thinking innovation during change: how to generate creative solutions when circumstances are shifting, how to prototype new approaches before fully committing to them, and how to build a team culture that sees change not as a threat to manage but as a source of possibility to explore. Participants move from the current state of a changing organizational landscape to a future state defined by creative, implementable solutions built specifically for the new conditions they are navigating.
What You'll Learn
During this innovation and change leadership workshop, participants will:
Leadership Behaviors You'll Develop
As a result of this session, participants will be able to enhance their leadership capabilities through the following behaviors:
- Reframing organizational change as a catalyst for innovation, creativity, and strategic possibility
- Challenging the status quo and generating outside-the-box solutions designed for new and emerging conditions
- Setting others up for success when executing a shared vision through a period of organizational transformation
- Maintaining a culture of positive, collaborative brainstorming and open communication during change
- Embracing a YES, AND mentality to build forward momentum and creative confidence in uncertain conditions
Who Is This Workshop For?
This workshop is ideal for leadership teams, innovation champions, and cross-functional groups navigating significant organizational change who want to approach that change as a creative opportunity rather than a disruption to manage. It is especially powerful for organizations at a strategic inflection point where genuinely new thinking is needed and the conditions for that thinking need to be actively designed.
Related Workshops
Learning Objectives:
- Define the concepts of positive psychology, trust, and resilience, and explore the building blocks that allow this to prosper in an individual level and within a team environment
- Explore the five common traps where individuals get stuck, and practice the escape route strategies to help ourselves and others to break free
- Design a team environment where trust can thrive, and open dialogue is encouraged
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Emotional Intelligence
- Adaptability
- Effective Communication
Learning Objectives:
- Determine personal approach to conflict conversations, and discover the five differing conflict styles
- Identify benefits and potential obstacles for each style to clarify effective conflict communication strategies
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Effective Communication
- Adaptability + Assertiveness
- Consensus Building + Alignment
Learning Objectives:
- Define the concepts of positive psychology, trust, and resilience, and explore the building blocks that allow this to prosper in an individual level and within a team environment
- Explore the five common traps where individuals get stuck, and practice the escape route strategies to help ourselves and others to break free
- Design a team environment where trust can thrive, and open dialogue is encouraged
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Emotional Intelligence
- Adaptability
- Effective Communication
Learning Objectives:
- Determine personal approach to conflict conversations, and discover the five differing conflict styles
- Identify benefits and potential obstacles for each style to clarify effective conflict communication strategies
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Effective Communication
- Adaptability + Assertiveness
- Consensus Building + Alignment
Learning Objectives:
- Differentiate between the topics of CHANGE and TRANSITION, exploring “the people side” of change
- Identify key actions to successfully navigate each phase of transition
- Develop an action + implementation plan, fit with details of specific steps to support others during times of ambiguity
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Change Agility + Adaptability
- Increased Empathy + Awareness
- Team-Focused Strategy + Mindset
Learning Objectives:
- Experiment with improv exercises to embrace the concept of “YES, AND” in an effort to effectively build upon others in ideation and prototyping
- Explore key components of design theory and design thinking practices
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Creativity + Innovative Thinking
- Effective Communication
- Collaboration + Trust
Learning Objectives:
- Differentiate between the topics of CHANGE and TRANSITION, exploring “the people side” of change
- Identify key actions to successfully navigate each phase of transition
- Develop an action + implementation plan, fit with details of specific steps to support others during times of ambiguity
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Change Agility + Adaptability
- Increased Empathy + Awareness
- Team-Focused Strategy + Mindset
Learning Objectives:
- Experiment with improv exercises to embrace the concept of “YES, AND” in an effort to effectively build upon others in ideation and prototyping
- Explore key components of design theory and design thinking practices
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Creativity + Innovative Thinking
- Effective Communication
- Collaboration + Trust
View More Workshops
View More Workshops
Frequently Asked Questions
How does positive psychology inform this innovation and change leadership workshop?
Positive psychology frames organizational change as a source of possibility rather than a problem to diagnose and fix. This approach helps teams move out of reactive, defensive thinking and into the generative, curiosity-driven mindset where real innovation lives. The Design Sprint work that follows is richer and more creative when participants approach it from a place of strength and possibility rather than anxiety about what has been lost.
What does a team produce during this workshop?
Teams leave with a set of prototyped, creative action plans built specifically for the new organizational conditions they are navigating. The Design Sprint process ensures those ideas are concrete and implementable rather than purely visionary, so participants have something actionable to bring back to their work immediately after the session ends.
Is this workshop appropriate for teams in the early, middle, or later stages of organizational change?
It is effective at all three stages, but it is especially powerful for teams in the middle of change who need creative, forward-looking solutions right now. The design thinking process is nimble enough to work with whatever is currently in motion and help teams find genuinely new ways forward within the reality they are already navigating.
How does Shift Happens connect to other change leadership workshops?
It pairs powerfully with Taking Charge of Change, which provides the conceptual frameworks for understanding the difference between change and transition, and with Resilience Through Change, which builds the trust and emotional foundation needed to do creative work in uncertain conditions. Together, the three sessions offer a comprehensive approach to leading through organizational transformation.
Jacob Goldstein
Jacob Goldstein is the founder of The Leadership Laboratory, and leverages his experiences in education, the performing arts, and corporate learning & leadership development to his work. As a performer, Jacob has sung as a backup vocalist for musical artists such as Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, and Patti LuPone, as a recording artist for Netflix series Sense8, and at venues including The United Center, The Chicago Theater, and Chicago Symphony Center. In the education space, Jacob has served as an educator for high school, undergraduate and graduate students, and has been a Guest Lecturer at Northwestern University since 2016. As a Learning & Leadership Development Consultant, Jacob has worked as a one-on-one coach and group workshop facilitator to organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies in diverse industries, including technology, healthcare, non-profit, and fashion/apparel. Jacob holds a Bachelor’s degree from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master’s of Science in Communication from Northwestern University.
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