INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT workshops
Managing Projects and Priorities
Setting priorities in managing projects is key to success. The problem is: focus! We when we focus on the wrong activity, or when we are shepherding so many activities that we cannot focus at all. To get the right focus, we need the right tools and the right human development.
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1 Day Program
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Describe the root causes of project failure.
Envision the ideal future for project completion (begin with the end in mind!).
Organize quickly and prioritize.
Anticipate “points of friction” or obstacles to progress.
Focus on the most important tasks each day.
Boost productivity by eliminating timewasters.
Conduct a project evaluation.
Meet deadlines better.
Building and Maintaining Positive Working Relationships
Better relationships mean better teamwork and productivity. How can we improve our work relationships? Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” If that’s true for changing our world, it’s probably true for changing our relationships. It starts with us. This workshop centers on proven strategies—techniques that we will learn and practice.
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1 Day Program
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Practice “Perspective-Taking.”
Assess work relationships and choose the ones to focus on improving.
Know and flex communication styles.
Improve their ability to communicate with and understand others.
Employ proven strategies to connect with others.
Handle challenging relationships better.
Improve trust and increase rapport with others.
Employ specific ways to show empathy and appreciation for others.
Enhance caring and respect in the workplace.
Working on Virtual Teams
“The human factor remains the biggest hurdle for virtual teams.” So says a recent study by a global consulting firm. But we didn’t need to read the study to know that success on virtual teams depends on people. Technology is key, but not the highest hurdle.
What to do? One approach is to make virtual teamwork, well, less virtual. Less virtual and more real. That’s what this workshop is all about: make the virtual team more real through better communications, connections, and caring.
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1 Day Program
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Describe the value of virtual teams
Describe the elements required to build a strong virtual team foundation
Use various techniques to enable the efficient execution of task-based processes
Develop strong virtual team relationships through interpersonal skills-based processes
Employ techniques to manage up to their supervisor and manage out to their team members effectively
Recognize the characteristics of a virtual team operating at optimal performance level
Controlling Chaos and Thriving Under Pressure
Some of what causes chaos is in your control. Some is not. Perhaps the old prayer applies: Grant me the courage to change the things I can, the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference. We can influence some aspects of our lives—which ones, and how? That’s what this workshop is about: gaining more control of chaos through proven methods to address it.
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1 Day Program
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Use the four quadrants of task execution to prioritize work.
Prioritize competing projects.
Plan well—prevent chaos!
Improve organization--mentally and physically.
Make progress more predictably.
Meet deadlines better.
Identify timewasters and avoid them.
Ease the transition between work and home.
Resolving Conflict
When people work together, conflict is inevitable. You don’t want artificial harmony, and you certainly don’t want destructive infighting. The ideal? Healthy debate. How do you foster that, and avoid the other extremes? That’s what this workshop is all about!
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1 Day Program
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Win people over by “reflecting on steroids.”
Communicate an opposing view—without raising tensions.
Use the Self-Management Two-Step to recognize their emotional triggers and control your reactions.
Help others gain control of unhelpful emotions.
Use the Interpersonal Cycle to change perspectives.
Identify the underlying interests of others’ positions.
Ask questions that will probe thinking and focus people on solutions.
Maintain relationships even in disagreement.
Avoid defensiveness.
Recognize conflict before it surfaces and short-stop it.
Use the C.A.L.M model to address conflict.
Negotiation Skills
More than 40% of U.S. employees don't feel confident in their negotiation skills, while a quarter admit to never having negotiated at all in the workplace. The results revealed that men feel more confident about negotiating than women, with 37% of males feeling self-assured in their abilities, compared with just 26% of females. --Business Daily, May 16, 2020
Do you ever:
Shop for a car or appliance? Buy anything from a private seller?
Discuss differences in personal behaviors or activities with a co-worker or family member?
Conduct or attend work performance reviews?
Need some help, advice, or tangible benefit from anyone at work – or at home?
Make joint decisions with work colleagues or people outside of work?
…then…you negotiate!
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1 Day Program
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Identify and explain basic concepts associated with the practice of negotiation
Discover one’s own negotiation style and identify situations in which each style is most effective
Examine key elements of negotiation planning
Examine how the concepts of power and need influence negotiation strategy and tactics
Assess how multi-party negotiations differ from two-party negotiations
Examine communication issues to enhance negotiations and foster positive professional relationships
Building Team and Personal Resilience
How do you adapt well in the face of adversity, trauma, or significant stress—in short, bounce back? Learn how to build resilience into your life—and on your team—even in the midst of trauma.
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1 Day Program
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Adopt practices to help adjust perspectives during setbacks
Prepare for setbacks emotionally and mentally
Benefit from colleague’s resilience strategies
Be emotionally intelligent about the way you and others react to change and trauma
Help yourself and others deal with setbacks with the “ A-B-C-D’s” of building resilience
Customer service
The Challenge: Some PEOPLE! Colin Powell famously said that when you are a leader, whatever you do isn’t going to be good enough for some people—so just do the best you can! The same could be true of service. When you serve others, do the best you can do. Give it your all, even when you have to deal with demands and emotions that can get in the way of doing your job!
The Solution: Know your customers and adopt behaviors to deal with them well! What is that little something extra you can do that will make all the difference? What are the best practices in service? How do you manage expectations? Emotions? What is a “service attitude,” and why should you care if you or others working with you adopt that attitude? That’s what this workshop is all about. Come get the answers to these questions and frame your own unique customer service approach.
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1 Day Program
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Apply the four keys to excellent customer service: Priority, Attitude, Consistency, and Teamwork
Appreciate the benefits of excellent customer service
Identify internal and external customers and assess their needs
Know what it takes to “delight” their customers
Model effective communication practices that render excellent customer service: face-to face, telephone, or email
Inspire others to deliver excellent customer service
Handle “difficult” customers and turn complaints into improvements
Write a “customer pledge” for their team to adopt
The Six Secrets of Politically Savvy People
Office politics—you may not like it, but it’s here to stay. The fact of the matter is, you need to be politically savvy in order to be successful! Discover the six secrets of politically savvy people. Mastering political savvy may be easier than you think. It is not smoke and mirrors, or back room intrigue, but a common-sense approach to maneuvering through office sensitivities for positive business results.
What is Political Savvy?
It is NOT politics!
It IS:
Knowing the landscape
Paying attention to people and what’s going on
Enabling yourself—and others—to best serve!
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1 Day Program
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By the end of this workshop, participants will be better able to:
Practice Situational Awareness
Focus on Relationships
Build a Dynamic Network
Partner with the Boss (and Bosses!)
Regulate Impulse Behavior
Anticipate Change
Training (and Leading) in a Virtual World
It’s hard enough to run a training or meeting session in person and get everyone engaged—now we must do it virtually. What to do? The first step is to replicate the face-to-face environment. How do you do that? Well, that’s what this workshop is all about. Working with proven principles, participants will learn and practice the top ten virtual training and leading behaviors that get right results.
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1 Day Program
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Engage groups in training
Increase team and individual learning and adoption rates
Influence others more effectively – virtually
Enhance their effectiveness in virtual presentations
Facilitate more productive meetings and work projects