People don’t resist change; they resist how change makes them feel.

If you want to lead change with empathy, there's no better training ground than becoming a Certified Emotional Culture Deck Practitioner.

Change isn’t just a process – it’s deeply emotional.

Behavioural scientists around the world have shown that it’s not logic but emotion that governs most of what we do.

No matter how well-crafted a change strategy is, it can unravel if the emotions of the people involved aren’t understood, acknowledged, and supported.

This immersive one-day certification course equips you with the tools, techniques, and confidence to lead change with emotional intelligence.

💡 What makes this different?

I'm a PROSCI® Certified Change Management Practitioner and experienced communications strategist with a heap of training and certifications under my belt. This is the only tool I've come across that makes it easy to get to the heart of behaviour change – because humans don’t resist change; we resist how change makes us feel.

If you’re leading people or projects in any context and you need to create buy-in rather than pushback, this course will give you:
✅ Practical, hands-on tools you can apply immediately.
✅ The ability to navigate resistance by addressing emotions, not just facts and figures
✅ A structured, research-backed approach to embedding change that lasts

Why this matters

Change initiatives often fail, not because of poor planning but because people feel controlled, disheartened, and uncertain.

When emotions are ignored:
❌ People disengage and resist
❌ Morale nosedives, taking productivity with it
❌ Leaders struggle to get buy-in, stress levels rise, and everyday transactions get harder

It's a fast track to burnout and lost productivity.

This course gives you a better way - practical frameworks for navigating change with emotional skills so you can uncover what’s driving people’s behaviour, and everyone can feel human again.

What you’ll learn

🎯 A deep understanding of emotions in change – why they matter and how to work with them, not against them
🎯 How to use and apply the complete Emotional Culture Deck Change Toolkit – ready-to-use tools to facilitate and embed change with teams and clients, and how to customise them for different contexts
🎯 The power of rituals in change leadership so new ways of working actually stick
🎯 Practical strategies for leading change conversations that make you feel more like a human and less like a number

By the end of the day, you’ll not only be certified – you’ll be ready to apply what you’ve learned the very next day.

What you get (over $700 in value 🤯)

📜 Certification as an ECD Emotional Change Practitioner – a globally recognised certification to enhance your professional credentials

🃏 Your own Emotional Culture Deck (NZ~$166/US$99 if purchased online) – the core resource you need in your hands for leading change conversations

⚙️ Emotional Change Toolkit (NZ~$145/US$86 for a digital download set) – a riders&elephants exclusive, this includes the complete Change Strategy Bundle and a bonus Change Rituals Canvas (not currently available for purchase online)

🌍 90 day access to the online ECD Community – an exclusive space for certified practitioners where you can connect, learn, and grow with the best! Gain access to a rich library of downloadable resources and online meet ups (NZ~$166/US$99 for a quarterly subscription but your first 90 days are included)

💬 A 1:1 coaching session with Certified Consultant Kathryn Ruge – personalised support to embed your learning (scheduled 4-5 weeks after the course)

👥 A 60-minute bonus workshop – reconnect with your cohort, refresh and deepen your learning (scheduled 8 weeks after the course)

🌱 50% off future ECD purchases – save with an exclusive lifetime discount to help you build and expand your toolkit at a fraction of the cost

🥗 A fully catered experience – enjoy a barista coffee, fingerfood lunch, and all day snacks

🐦🪱 ~~Early Bird~~ – ~~$797+GST~~ ~~(save $100 until 11.59pm 7 July)~~ (sold out)
🐦 Standard Bird – $897+GST (available until 11.59pm 31 July or when tickets sell out – whichever comes first)

When you click on the Get tickets button, you have the option of paying immediately or via invoice. If you pay through Humanitix, there are often extra fees involved but we absorb those for you so there are no nasty extras! 🙌🏼 When you checkout, if the total looks bigger than you're expecting, it'll just be the GST added in.

I keep my group sizes small (max 10) to ensure you receive a premium learning experience 🏅.

🧠 Don’t just manage change - lead it with empathy. This is the last ECD Change Strategy Certification Course in Ōtautahi/Christchurch for 2025 – reserve your place now and take the next step in your change leadership journey.

Kathryn Ruge

Your facilitator

Kia ora, I’m Kathryn Ruge - an experienced communications and change strategist with a deep desire to see humans thrive at work.

After 16 years at one of the world’s most trusted and innovative airlines, I spent a decade helping leaders and organisations build trust through strategic communications - strengthening relationships, managing reputational issues, and leading change.

I specialise in developing trustworthy, emotionally skilled leaders and teams so you can communicate, innovate, and adapt to whatever is in front of you - and have a better time at work while you're doing it.

I'm a PROSCI® Certified Change Management Practitioner and have been a Certified Emotional Culture Deck Consultant for four years. In 2022 I became the first (and so far the only!) person in New Zealand to complete Gustavo Razzetti's Culture Design Certification, and this year I joined the MSc (Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health) programme at King's College London to further my understanding of human behaviour in the workplace.

With a mission to reduce workplace harm caused by psychosocial factors, I'm also one of a few people in New Zealand trained to use the Fearless Scan as a measure of psychological safety within teams, and equipped to facilitate conversations that enable better performance, stronger collaboration, and healthier team environments.

What others say about my facilitation and work with The Emotional Culture Deck...

"The course was very helpful for learning more about the different ways to use the cards. Kathryn is energetic and passionate about the ECD and what it enables, and I loved how much human connection was baked in throughout."

"A great, relaxed day of learning about a clever system and tool ... so relevant for creating awareness and trust, and providing a safe and easy opening to important conversations, whether 1:1 or in a group. Highly recommended."

"If you are looking to implement change on a big or small scale this program has a lot of things to be aware of."

"An excellent means to initiate the required thinking around preparing for change and hugely helpful in doing so. A highly worthwhile exercise delivered by a very skilled facilitator in Kathryn Ruge."

Contact the host of Emotional Culture Deck - Change Strategy Certification

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