WOBURN, MA--(Marketwire - May 16, 2011) - While a leader can make the right decisions, will others in the organization follow suite and make the hard, ethical choices in his/her absence? Creating a workplace that reflects a leader's vision is known as "climate shaping" -- and it's increasingly important as organizations face pressures that can lead to employee shortcuts and other undesired actions.
To help leaders build a workplace that guides and reinforces the right choices and behaviors, Aptima, the R&D company which applies expertise in how people think, learn and behave, has created CLIMATE™, a new leadership development training suite.
Built on the latest academic research and business practices, CLIMATE will teach leaders how to actively share and propagate their vision, shaping the actions and decisions of workgroups throughout the organization. Launching at the 2011 ASTD International Conference & Exposition (May 22-May 25), CLIMATE is designed to help leaders to assess their workplace climate, to role-model and articulate standards, and keep them in place through reinforcement.
The CLIMATE suite includes the Climate Workshop, a facilitator-led, story-based discussion with simulation exercises; the ClimateCard, a pocket reference guide with quick tips for practical daily use; and the ClimateApp, the mobile application for Apple™, Android™, and BlackBerry™ smart devices.
"The common wisdom that 'people make the place' recognizes the fact that values drive the organization, and leaders need to imprint their vision if they want those values mirrored throughout the workplace, particularly if they're inheriting an adverse climate," said Zachary Horn, Ph.D., manager of Aptima's leadership solutions. "Leaders can't be present to directly manage all people all the time, but they can create a workgroup mentality where employees clearly understand and do the right thing in alignment with their expectations."
The demo at Aptima's booth #2002 will include a browser-based, intelligent training system for leaders to practice their skills and receive individualized feedback. Facing a simulated dilemma, the leader encounters a series of vignettes that require climate-shaping decisions, which result in cause and effect consequences.
CLIMATE was developed since few, if any, formal strategies exist for training leaders how to shape climate in either commercial or military organizations. The majority of CLIMATE's training focuses on teaching the strategy and practices to create the desired workplace environment, with a portion dedicated to specific topics, such as reinforcing ethical behavior or inspiring innovation. For more information, visit http://www.aptima.com/capabilities/leadership/leadershipsolutions.
CLIMATE & 2011 ASTD International Conference & Exposition details:
Aptima Booth # 2002, West Wing Orange County Convention Center, FLA, May 22-May 25.
The CLIMATE Workshop: Available as part or full-day facilitator-led workshop. Includes experienced based discussion forum, exercises that empower leaders to apply climate-setting techniques to real-world settings, and a browser-based intelligent training system.
ClimateCard: An easy-to-reference, tabbed pocket guide with tips and techniques for leaders to put into practice during their workday.
ClimateApp: A mobile app version of the ClimateCard, designed to guide leaders while on the job, will be launched at ASTD 2011. Versions will be available for download in the iTunes Store, the Android Market, and the BlackBerry App World.
Aptima delivers programs, workshops, and distance learning software to help train leaders to create ethical climates, lead multi-cultural and multi-national teams, manage virtual and distributed workforces, and develop value-based decision-making skills for complex settings. More on Aptima's advanced leadership competencies can be found at http://www.aptima.com/leadership.
Members of Aptima's Leadership Solutions will also be presenting "Monitoring the Ethical Pulse in Organizations" on Sunday, May 22 at 1:45PM at the ASTD Conference. Kara Orvis, Ph.D. and Kerri Conning Chik, M.A., will discuss how being an ethical organization is a competitive advantage, not just a moral obligation. This session will present tools and methods for leaders to monitor and measure the ethical climate of their organization, and teach both formal and informal methods of measuring the direction and strength of the ethical climate. The importance of timing when applying various methods to monitoring ethical climate of their organization will also be discussed, along with various strategies for influencing the climate based upon assessment results. The presentation will be held in Room W 104 AB (West Concourse) of the Orange County Convention Center.
The ASTD 2011 International Conference & Exposition is the premier event for workplace learning and development professionals, with over 8,000 attendees from more than 70 countries. These professionals manage all aspects of learning in their organizations. For more information, please visit http://www.astdconference.org/ice11/public/enter.aspx.
About Aptima, Inc.
Aptima is a leading human-centered research, development, and engineering company focused on improving the capabilities of leaders in mission critical environments. Aptima's multidisciplinary staff of leadership training experts, multimedia designers, and software engineers collaborate to design training solutions that increase the capabilities of leaders and leadership teams. Through blended-learning tools, leaders learn how to shape work environments that promote productivity across all levels of the organization. Aptima is headquartered in Woburn, MA, with offices in Washington, DC and Dayton, OH. For more information, please visit http://www.aptima.com/leadership.
Contact Information:
Aptima Media Contact:
Joel Greenberg
DCPR
202-363-1065
202-669-3639 cell