Leadership & Professional Development

Working with a program coordinator, you will help design the program that best meets the needs of your company, whether that is one session a month or more frequently. You may choose all of the topics below, or just the ones most crucial to your organization. If you have another training need, let us know. Each topic is a four to six-hour session and can be delivered at your place of business or at a college site.

When supervisors are new or haven’t had much prior leadership training, the Supervisor Roadmap session will provide a critical overview. The next session, which uses the DiSC Profile, gives participants greater self-awareness and a common base of knowledge that is reinforced throughout the other sessions.

Supervisor Roadmap to Success (Designed for new supervisors)

• Understand your role – what problems exist when moving from the group to the supervisor
• Review effective leadership skills and behaviors
• Increase ability to be assertive and identify detrimental aggressive behavior
• Learn how to measure performance and set goals
• Understand motivational techniques for improving employee performance
• Learn how coaching can improve productivity and moral

DiSC – Managing Your Communication Style

• DiSC Profile taken online prior to class
• Discuss the importance of building trust in effective leadership
• Understand the four primary styles of behavior
• Learn about your strengths and what happens if those strengths are overused
• Learn about how others interpret your behavioral style
• Develop a framework for effectively working with a variety of people/styles
• Explore adaptations you can make in your own communication style to produce the results you want

Communication Done Right

• Develop communication essentials and learn to diagnose communication barriers
• Sharpen your listening skills
• Understand how to create a climate of safety for challenging conversations
• Develop strategies to communicate with tough/difficult customers and employees
• Learn to communicate for results during the toughest conversations
• Understand how to express clear, accurate and authentic messages

Coaching for Improved Performance

• Learn how to define the performance gaps that matter
• Analyze the causes of performance problems
• Use a model to identify your coaching opportunities
• Understand the importance of setting clear expectations
• Understand how to use motivation and recognition to improve and maintain performance
• Learn how to conduct a coaching discussion and counsel employees
• Understand the dynamics of coaching a multi-generational workforce

Teams That Work

• Define what constitutes effective teams, using Patrick Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
• Understand how to use the common goal to keep a team focused and inspired
• Understand the impact of the individual players on the whole team
• Learn how to build trust in the team
• Define conflict and how to resolve it

It All Starts At the Top

• Learn how to model the way for managing change within the organization
• Learn what the best leaders do differently
• Examine the four top characteristics that followers say matter
• Learn how to get from principles to action; what to do to be the best leader

Decision Making and Problem Solving

• Learn how to be solution focused – not problem focused
• Involve people in solutions and change
• Understand and practice when to use autocratic, consensus, and democratic decision making
• Learn how to utilize the five basic steps in the problem solving process
• Understand the difference between continuous improvement and crisis management
• Practice using problem solving tools

What is it like to fly above the clouds – [SOAR]? You have a clear vision of the future, are focused on what matters, and can take responsibility for your actions. Why is it easier to fly below the clouds – [DIVE] – blame others, make excuses, and avoid taking responsibility for your actions? This class will look at both aspects of personal actions with an emphasis on learning to fly above the clouds. You will learn:

• What it looks and sounds like to take responsibility for your actions and behaviors
• How to avoid blaming others and making excuses for your actions and behaviors
• Language that triggers accountability
• The power of a culture that flies above the clouds

Learn the guidelines, techniques and exercises you need to improve your business writing skills. Topics may include:

• Using words, sentences, and punctuation to best convey your ideas
• Writing memos, reports, and proposals that are simple, logical and persuasive
• Using clear, concise writing that gets attention
• Using correct e-mail etiquette

Once team member performance has been assessed, the team leader identifies specific areas that need improvement. This training will show how to demonstrate the needed skills to the employee and how to motivate him or her to pursue them. Topics include:

• Counseling
• Encouraging/mentoring
• Training
• Confrontation

What do you do now that you are a Supervisor? What does it mean to Supervise? Learn the strategies of understanding and developing basic communication skills that Supervisors should use everyday. Topics may include:

• Supervising mixed generations
• Different ways of communicating
• Sending and receiving a communication

This program will help you learn how to increase your effectiveness and reduce frustrations in working with others so that everyone benefits — you, your colleagues, your teams and your organization. Using the DiSC Personal Profile System® participants will:

• Understand behavioral tendencies and develop an understanding of how behavior affects others
• Develop strategies for working together to increase productivity
• Enhance your effectiveness in accomplishing tasks by improving your relationships with others

Emotional Intelligence is an understanding of self and others. Studies rank emotional intelligence atop the core competencies of successful leaders and successful companies. There is a considerable body of research suggesting that the ability to perceive, identify, and manage emotion provides the basis for helping us be more effective workers and better communicators. Furthermore, as the pace of change increases and the world of work makes ever-greater demands on a person’s cognitive, emotional, and physical resources, this particular set of abilities will become increasingly important. You will learn:

• The five competencies of emotional intelligence
• How to relate more effectively to others
• How to develop and raise your emotional intelligence to a higher level
• How to use EI to improve your productivity and well being in the workplace

Do you know what role you play in serving your customers? Do you know who your customers are? This program is designed to empower you to deliver not just customer service, but exceptional customer service. Learn ways to better represent your organization and serve your customers. Items included in this program are:

• Introduction of the importance of Customer Satisfaction
• Identify who our customers are
• Costs of an unhappy customer – Why Customers Quit
• Barriers to good customer service
• How customers evaluate service
• Steps for Recovery Moments of Truth – any opportunity for an impressions to be made
• Customer Service and You – Self Check

This training is offered as a series of skills developed over several sessions. Companies customize the skill areas to be included in the training. Participants will use an assessment tool to help them understand the diverse ways of learning and interacting evidenced in the workplace. Training topics may include: leadership influence, effective communication, team building, problem solving, coaching, and time mastery.

You probably have wondered why some people can really annoy you and why you seem to get along really well with others. Is there a good explanation for these differences? How can you use knowledge about these differences to interact more effectively with others, be more productive, support and motivate others or just feel more content? Workshop participants will take the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory. This internationally used instrument will help you understand yourself, your motivations, your strengths, and potential areas for growth. It will also help you to better understand and appreciate those who differ from you. Awareness of MBTI types is self-affirming and enhances cooperation and productivity in the workplace. You will learn:

• The characteristics of the four preferences
• Your personality type
• How various types contribute to an organization in areas of leadership style, methods of communication, problem solving, and information gathering
• Appreciate the value of a variety of types within an organization

In today’s business environment, high performance work teams have become a necessity to improved performance and competitiveness. It is vital that team members gain the necessary skills to take action, solve problems, make improvements and achieve significant results. Topics covered may include:

• Team member roles
• Determining a shared purpose
• Making group decisions
• Team problem solving
• Facilitating groups
• Managing team conflict
• Managing team performance