Rick Maher to present “Your Brain on Change” at Pennsylvania Conference
Posted Apr 27, 2023 by Rick
The Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association (PWDA) annual conference kicks off again next week in Hershey, and AHC President, Richard (“Rick”) Maher will be a presenter again this year.
“Your Brain on Change: Manage your Mindset, Balance Your Life” is scheduled for Wednesday, May 3. Rick will be talking about the neuroscience of how individuals respond to change and uncertainty, while exploring skill-building activities to help build resiliency to change.
Maher has been involved in organizational change for nearly thirty (30) years in both public and private organizations. From the launch of O*NET in the U.S. to the deployment of high-speed cable modem service for Time Warner and working with 11 EU countries to advance regional economic development at Windsor Castle, he has first-hand knowledge on managing people through change. Maher holds a MS in Organizational Psychology and has focused his research on the traits of individual and organizational resilience.
“Over the course of my career I have been engaged in multiple, large-scale change initiatives and I’ve seen “humans” – at all organizational levels - both resist and embrace change. I’ve learned a bit about how to better prepare folks and organizations for change, about how our brains work under stress. I hope to be able to help folks find some peace – some better life balance – during these stressful times when we meet in Hershey!”
“Your Brain on Change” will explain how the brain processes uncertainty and the role of the primitive brain and emotions in our responses. Learners will understand how the primitive brain can “hijack” our response and cause us to try to preserve the status-quo by resisting change. Turning off emotional responses and engaging more positive thought processes is a key to minimizing stress and embracing potential opportunities for personal and professional growth.
The session will help folks better understand their “natural set point” for responding to uncertainty and “brain hacks” that can help them survive – and even thrive – through change and uncertainty. Resilience is the key to success today and Adaptive Human Capital’s research indicates that individual resilience is only about 50 percent genetic. In other words, resilience is a learned behavior that can be developed like any other skill.
The workshop will include Adaptive Human Capital’s Individual Resiliency Assessment – a private, online, self-assessment that will help individuals better understand their natural response to change and uncertainty. The Assessment helps folks understand what Maher calls their “natural set point” when coping with uncertain times and offers skill-building tips to help them better cope.
Organizations interested in booking Rick to speak can learn more here, or contact us for a no-obligation consultation.
Adaptive Human Capital applies the science of Industrial-Organizational Psychology to developing more adaptive human systems – at the individual, organizational and societal levels. In today’s global economy, organizations must move at the pace of change. We use proven, research-based approaches to helping people better manage change and foster a more open and risk-tolerant culture in the organizations we serve.