Leading When Energy Is Low: Self-Leadership Tools for Change, Stress, and Uncertainty (2026 Fall NOW Encore Series)

Event details Date: Thursday, October 15, 2026 Time: 11:30 AM Location: Virtual Classroom Type: Lecture / Workshop Audience: Faculty,Staff About this event 2026 NOW Encore Series Periods of change, constraint, and constant adaptation place invisible demands on all of us—especially those in leadership and informal leadership roles. When energy is depleted, even highly capable professionals can find themselves reacting rather than leading, withdrawing rather than collaborating, or questioning their effectiveness. This session introduces an energy-based self-leadership framework that helps participants understand how they show up under pressure—and how that impacts decision-making, communication, and change readiness. Rather than focusing on fixing people or increasing output, we'll explore how energy and mindset shape leadership behavior in real time. Participants will examine common stress-response patterns that emerge during high workload, uncertainty, or organizational change, and learn how to interrupt unhelpful cycles before they cascade into burnout, disengagement, or conflict. Through reflection, live polling, and applied examples from higher education and healthcare environments, attendees will gain practical tools to lead themselves more consciously—even when circumstances are not ideal. This session is especially relevant for supervisors, managers, and staff who influence others without formal authority. The emphasis is on self-leadership as a prerequisite for sustainable leadership: cultivating awareness, flexibility, and agency so individuals can respond to change with clarity rather than depletion. Participants will leave with actionable strategies to stabilize energy, improve communication under stress, and lead with intention during times of ongoing change. Learning Outcomes: –Recognize how stress and burnout influence leadership behaviors and communication. –Identify their default energy patterns during pressure and change. –Apply at least one self-leadership strategy to respond more intentionally in challenging situations. Registrants will be sent a Zoom link and bCal invite as the virtual workshop date draws near. Official event details: https://events.berkeley.edu/hr/event/327957-leading-when-energy-is-low-self-leadership-tools-for-