When the business decision to close the Call Center was announced, Amy St. Clair, the Center's Senior Manager, knew she was in for a turbulent three months.  The task: Outplace 300+ employees and managers, and continue to hit productivity and quality targets until the final day.

Amy knew that to manage others with dignity and integrity through such a significant change while maintaining the business operation, was contingent on her own leadership capacity. Did she have what was needed? After all she too would be out of a job in three months.  She was about to find out.

When asked how she used her experience in the 3-Month Leading Without Limits™ Mastery program to meet the demands of the moment, Amy said:

When you're going through a lot of chaos and change, you have such high expectations of yourself. Mastery provided me a safe place to examine who I was as a leader.

As I became more able to effectively recognize and take care of my own needs, I was better able to listen to and respond to my employees' needs. And that made a significant difference in the way they managed the change.

The support from my peers in the program was invaluable.  It's amazing what a group of like-minded people can do to support and encourage you in moving forward. With group counsel, I was able to continually examine my own strengths and weaknesses and adjust almost in the moment.

Coaching and peer discussions helped me make the mental shift from viewing the closure from a place of fear, to seeing it as opportunity. Once there, I asked myself, "What am I doing?" and, "How do I want to be remembered?" It was from that point when how I showed up as a leader changed. Once I was no longer gripped by the fear of knowing I was about to lose my job, I saw the closure as an opportunity to create something valuable for myself and for others. I then was able to help others see the closure differently as well.

Mastery caused me to ask, "Where am I?" "What is holding me back?" "Where do I want to go?"  We always think about these things, but rarely take the time to stop, think, and then take action on our insights. The program gave me the roadmap and then kept me focused on taking action.

Having a plan to get there was important. Having a coach to support me through it was critical.  Coaching helped me stay grounded and be mindful in the moment - taking one step at a time and realizing that I really was making progress.  My coach clearly saw my blind spots and pointed out where I was getting in my own way. It was amazing.

In times of change, if you're taking care of yourself as a leader, it's amazing what you can do for your people. Along with the invaluable organizationally-related content, Leadership Mastery focused me on my individual and personal leadership. That, in turn, positively impacted my team, our organization, and the business result.

The end result...

1. Over 80% of the 300 people had secured jobs or had alternative plans firmed up.
2. Exceeded all productivity and quality goals right up until the day of closure.

Amy created a new role for herself within the organization. Her position is fully in line with her career goals and offers a higher value contribution to Capital One.

What's unique about the Leading Without Limits® program?

The set-up. You come together, you meet, you go through the content, and then you have ongoing support from the group and the coaches.  Usually you go to an event and that's it. But in this program, you go through the content and the support is in place to retain and apply it immediately to your life.

It's hard work and that's why it's far more rewarding than other leadership programs. The focus is not on having the instructors be the experts; it's on how we're building our own knowledge and using the collective group insight to learn.  As participants, we have to be very present and fully engaged in order to make sure we all achieve the program goals we've set for ourselves. Great immediate application to the work we do with others in the organization.

Amy St. Clair eventually moved to Southern California where she now is involved in leadership development.