Laurel Associates Course Desc.pdf

Descriptions of Proposed Laurel and Associates, Ltd. Workshops

Note: All workshops are highly experiential and interactive. Many of the half-day and one-day workshops can be offered either as instructor-led virtual or onsite/offsite programs. Our principal, Deborah Spring Laurel, is our core trainer and is responsible for facilitating all workshops.

1/2-DAY WORKSHOP:

What It Means to Be a Leader

This half-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed around the leadership skill set of self-reflection. Using interactive exercises, the participants will develop a working definition of leadership; discuss the competencies of a leader; experience the pros and cons of different leadership styles; review time management tips; assess their time management choices and plan how to better manage their time; and assess their leadership strengths and challenges to create a leadership development action plan.

ONE-DAY WORKSHOPS:

Active Listening Skills: Now Hear This!

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to assist employees and managers in improving their ability to actively listen on the job. It will provide information regarding the characteristics of good listeners and active listening skills. It involves interactive exercises that give the participants an opportunity to analyze and improve their poor listening habits and identify techniques to ensure that their communication needs are met so that they minimize their inclination not to listen.

The workshop includes an analysis of irritating listening habits to determine the benefit and consequences of those behaviors, as well as case situations and role playing to provide practice in applying active listening techniques.

917 Vilas Avenue • Madison, Wisconsin 53715 phone: (608) 219-3594 • dlaurel@laurelandassociates.com www.laurelandassociates.com

Workshop Listing and Trainer Resume

917 Vilas Avenue • Madison, Wisconsin 53715 www.laurelandassociates.com

Assertive Communication

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to assist employees who want to improve their ability to be assertive in job-related situations. The participants will identify the difference between assertion and aggression, examine assertiveness concepts, analyze and address the roadblocks to assertiveness, obtain the prerequisites for assertive behavior, recognize when assertive behavior is necessary, follow the steps in assertive problem solving, and use an assertive communication strategy.

The workshop uses interactive exercises, case situations, and simulations to allow the participants to experience how to assume control of their work lives.

Building an Effective Management Team

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop uses participative exercises to enable the participants to learn and experience the five essential elements for productive team functioning: (1) positive interdependence, (2) individual accountability, (3) face-to-face interaction, (4) collaborative skills, and (5) group processing.

The workshop also focuses on the use of quality improvement group problem finding and decision making techniques to identify and initiate a process to address issues.

Building Effective Interpersonal Communication Skills

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to help individuals who want to improve their ability to communicate effectively. It provides information and practice with the prerequisites for effective communication, strategies to meet the different communication needs of four personality types, and an interpersonal communication formula predicated upon the four R’s: rights, respect, responsibility and resolution.

The participants analyze their personal barriers to effective communication in order to identify techniques to overcome those barriers. The emphasis of this interactive workshop is to increase sensitivity to assume greater control over interpersonal communications to accomplish intended results.

Coaching Skills

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to coach experienced and novice supervisors and managers in developing and practicing coaching skills, and becoming more comfortable with their coaching role.

Using interactive exercises, participants: define coaching; discuss the benefits of coaching to the employee, supervisor and organization; explain when to coach- and when coaching is inappropriate; determine how to address coaching challenges, including self-confidence and employee defensiveness; practice active listening techniques; develop a coaching plan using the DO COACH model; and practice coaching.

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Communicating Non-Defensively

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop guides the participants through the five skills of non-defensive communication. Using interactive exercises, the participants recognize the negative impact of defensiveness on effective communication;

identify the signs of defensiveness in themselves and in others; explain the common causes of defensiveness; discuss how to break a defensiveness chain; and practice communicating non-defensively.

Coping, Surviving and Thriving: Handling Difficult Customers

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to help employees learn how to handle difficult customer interactions and remain calm and courteous during those stressful situations. The participants strengthen their ability to stay calm in difficult situations and use active listening to manage and redirect angry customers. The participants also have an opportunity to assess the scope and effect of stress in their lives, and then practice methods to prevent, reduce, and/or manage their stress on the job.

Customer Service and Regulatory Control: Combustible or Compatible?

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to assist regulatory staff to become more sensitive to the importance of customer service in ensuring better quality, consistency, and compliance. The workshop uses interactive exercises that allow the staff to experience the impact of poor customer interactions, develop more effective customer service skills, and build a greater sense of organizational teamwork so that one department is not contracting another department’s policies and procedures.

The workshop also includes a strategic planning session in the afternoon in which the participants develop quality standards both for customer service as well as for intradepartmental teamwork. All work session papers are compiled and distributed to the participants after the session.

Enhancing Leadership Skills

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to help managers and supervisors develop or improve their leadership skills. Participants will discuss the competencies of a leader; experience the pros and cons of different leadership styles; assess their leadership strengths and challenges; analyze what employees need to successfully perform their jobs; determine the keys to successful delegation; assess their delegation effectiveness; discuss the three phases of coaching and when they are appropriate; practice giving coaching feedback; and report three leadership actions they plan to take as a result of the session.

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Interpersonal Communication Strategies want to improve their ability to communicate effectively. It provides information concerning the prerequisites for effective communication, strategies to meet the different communication needs of four personality types, and an interpersonal communication formula predicated upon the four R’s: rights, respect, responsibility and resolution.

sensitivity to assume greater control over interpersonal communications to accomplish intended results.

Leadworker Training: If You Lead, Will They Follow?

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to be an introductory program for individuals new to the role of leading work or project teams or a refresher course for individuals with moderate experience.

The workshop uses participative exercises to allow the participants to learn and experience the skills necessary to effectively build a team, delegate, motivate, and communicate with different personality types. Based upon their workshop experiences, the participants will ultimately define the role of a leadworker.

Lightening Up for Creative Management

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to provide opportunities for the participants to experience different techniques that move thinking into the open, more creative mode for more effective problem solving and decision-making.

The workshop closes with an opportunity for the participants to apply what they have learned to generate creative options to address typically closed mode work-related situations.

Managing, Understanding and Motivating Employees-1 day

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to help the participants, through interactive exercises define leadership; explain the steps in the leadership task; analyze four types of personalities and how to meet their different communication and trust needs;

apply a mutual problem solving approach to communication predicated on the 4 R's: respect, rights, responsibility, and resolution; review the tools in the manager's motivational tool kit;

discuss techniques and prerequisites for establishing an effective work team; and plan to apply the six keys to effective performance management, using a standard-based performance evaluation system.

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Optimizing Leadworker Effectiveness

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed for supervisors who have leadworkers or team leaders under their direction. The workshop uses participative exercises to allow the participants to define the five functions of a leadworker, review how they currently use their leadworker, clarify how to delegate effectively, assess why they do not delegate to their leadworker, plan how to manage different leadworker personalities, and prepare a delegation plan to more effectively use their leadworker. Ultimately, they define the role that they want their leadworker to play.

Persuasive Communication Techniques want to improve their ability to communicate persuasively. It provides information and practice with the prerequisites for effective communication, strategies to meet the different communication needs of four personality types, and an interpersonal communication formula predicated upon the four R’s: rights, respect, responsibility and resolution.

sensitivity to assume greater control over interpersonal communications to accomplish intended results.

Pre-Supervisory Training: So You Want to Be a Supervisor?

program for individuals who are interested in becoming supervisors and brand new supervisors.

It assists them in exploring their ability to define problems, generate solutions, and make the often difficult decisions that supervisors face. It includes information regarding the role and responsibilities of a supervisor, the importance of communication, team building and conflict management skills, and a six-step supervisory model.

The intent of this workshop is to provide a situational experience for the participants so that they can not only define and explore the skills they need, but also determine their personal ability and comfort level in using those skills. The content of the workshop is structured around those roles or responsibilities identified by the participants as most difficult for them. The workshop also assists the participants in identifying the skills in which they may need additional training to better prepare them to function in a supervisory capacity.

Providing Quality Customer Service

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to sensitize participants to the “moments of truth” when clients come into contact with the organization and form their impressions of its quality and service. The workshop uses interactive exercises to help the participants identify: how it feels to be a customer, what gets in the way of good customer www.laurelandassociates.com service and the degree to which the participants can affect these barriers, and techniques to improve customer service.

Supervisor-Friendly Performance Management program for individuals new to the role of supervising less effective employees for improved performance or a refresher course for individuals with moderate experience. The workshop includes an analysis of the reasons that motivate poor performance, as well as degree to which the participants’ characteristic response to poor performers is effective. It assists the participants in identifying what employees need to be effective performers and then provides the skills and techniques to meet those needs.

The workshop incorporates interactive exercises and simulations to give the participants an opportunity to learn and apply a six-step performance management strategy to their specific employee problem situation.

Supervisory Tools program for individuals new to the role of supervisor or a refresher course for individuals with moderate experience. It will provide information about the basic skills a supervisor needs to fulfill basic responsibilities to plan, guide, assign, train, evaluate, hire, fire, and serve as the first step in the grievance process.

The workshop uses interactive exercises and case situations to enable the participants to learn the underlying theory and practical techniques relating to interpersonal communication, listening, time management, team building, delegation, motivation, and conflict management.

Taking the Pain Out of Delegation

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop uses an interactive participatory approach and practical work examples to help participants: identify why supervisors should delegate: explore why they don't; and explain how to delegate effectively. As a result of this workshop, the participants will be more comfortable making delegation decisions and will leave with a specific delegation plan to implement back on the job.

This program is unique in using a self- analysis module, in which the participants identify and attempt to address any assumptions or beliefs about themselves as individuals and as managers that can get in the way of their willingness to delegate.

Team Leader/Facilitator Training

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop uses interactive exercises to introduce the participants to the three R’s of team leadership (respect, responsibility and resolution) and provide practice in techniques designed to implement and achieve them. The participants will: define the ideal team leader/group facilitator; describe current facilitation www.laurelandassociates.com challenges that underscore the need for strengthening their group facilitation skills; assess facilitation strategies to set their groups on the right path; explain facilitation tools to keep the group discussion on track; review how to address people issues; analyze how to best intervene and manage conflict; and discuss how to recognize interim and ultimate successes (scoreboard, project process map, celebration of group’s choice.

The Supervisor’s Motivational Tool Kit

This one-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to assist supervisors and managers in improving their abilities to get employees to want to do what they want them to

do. The workshop provides practical information and practice with the two major factors that have an impact on employee motivation: (1) their personal motivators and (2) their need for a clear understanding of what is expected of them.

Using interactive exercises, the participants will learn when to use the seven tools in the supervisor's motivational tool kit to accomplish desired results. They will also learn a six-step performance management process.

TWO-DAY WORKSHOPS:

Building Positive Partnerships

This two-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to provide information about group process, group dynamics, the roles people play in groups, the dynamics of constructive controversy, and group problem solving and decision making techniques.

The workshop uses participative exercises to allow the participants to learn and experience the five essential elements for productive team functioning: (1) positive interdependence,

(2) individual accountability, (3) face-to-face interaction, (4) collaborative skills, and (5) group processing.

Day One focuses on enabling the participants to understand team dynamics. Using interactive exercises, the participants: assess the characteristics of an effective work team; experience the benefits of group process; analyze individual behavior that contributes to dysfunctional group behavior; explain the function of different group roles; assess the importance of positive interaction; apply guidelines for constructive controversy; review the dynamics of controversy and their effect on decision making; and identify the four types of communication styles and recognize their own style;

Day Two provides practical skills the participants can use to make their teams work. Using interactive exercises, the participants: explain the basic steps in the rational problem solving/ decision making process; identify the two criteria by which to evaluate the potential effectiveness of a decision; describe three different techniques to identify the potential source of a problem; experience and assess seven different decision-making models; assess factors that interfere with effective listening and techniques to minimize or eliminate their effect;

www.laurelandassociates.com explain the three key concepts that define win/win negotiation; discuss the steps in an effective communication strategy; and list the five elements that are essential for productive team functioning.

Managing, Understanding and Motivating Employee-2 day

This two-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to develop and/or strengthen the participants’ skill sets for delegating, managing performance, communicating, problem solving and decision-making, motivating, negotiating, and team building.

Day One uses interactive exercises to enable the participants to: identify what employees need to be successful performers; explain the three prerequisites for effective delegation; describe the six steps in a performance management model; analyze and meet the communication needs and trust issues of four different personality types; and determine the impact of self-concept on managerial effectiveness.

Day Two uses interactive exercises to enable the participants to: apply rational problem finding and solving techniques to identify effective solutions to human resource situations; explain what motivates employees; apply the tools in the manager’s motivational tool kit; use win/win negotiation techniques to identify mutual interests; assess team characteristics and their impact on organizational effectiveness; and discuss the techniques and prerequisites for establishing an effective work team.

Presentation Skills: Be Your Informative or Persuasive Best!

This two-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to develop and/or strengthen the participants' persuasive presentation skills. Through interactive exercises, they:

identify tips to overcome the six major speaking faults; describe seven different ways to organize a presentation; organize and prepare a brief persuasive presentation; and make a series of impromptu and planned presentations, which are video-taped for their later review.

Day One focuses on having the participants: identify the characteristics of effective presenters;

discuss tips to overcome the six major speaking faults; analyze seven different ways to organize a presentation; organize and prepare a brief persuasive presentation; assess effective stand-up presentation techniques; give an impromptu stand up presentation; and discuss the presentation expectations for Day Two.

Day Two is dedicated to having the participants: practice and assess stand-up presentation techniques for brief presentations they created regarding a key point from Day One; develop a persuasive presentation; make their presentation; and evaluate their presentation skills.

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Supervisory Skills

This two-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to build specific and observable supervisory skills build skills in the areas that most debilitate new supervisors. This is accomplished through four half-day workshops that are structured so that they are one part theory and two parts practice.

In order to minimize low staffing levels, half of the supervisors could be scheduled for a morning session and the other half scheduled for an afternoon session.

1. People Management uses interactive exercises that enable the participants to learn how to recognize, depersonalize, and meet the trust and communication needs of four different personality types; and to learn how and when to use seven different motivational strategies to meet real on-the-job challenges.

2. Personal Management uses interactive exercises that enable the participants to recognize and address personal needs and beliefs that adversely impact effective supervisory performance; and learn how and when to use five different conflict management strategies, with particular emphasis on collaboration.

3. Performance Management uses interactive exercises that enable the participants to learn how to assign work, manage, and monitor performance so that employees are set up to be successful; and practicing use open questions and active listening to help poor performers actively participate in planning how to improve.

4. Program Management uses interactive exercises that enable the participants to learn:

how to structure and conduct legally acceptable interviews to make the best hiring decision; and how to include employees in the change management process to maintain productivity and morale.

THREE-DAY WORKSHOPS:

Building Coaching Skills

This three-day skill-building participant-centered workshop is designed to coach experienced and novice managers in developing and practicing practical coaching skills. They will learn how to use a five-stage coaching model: (1) create a climate in which coaching can occur;

(2) identify the need for coaching; (3) develop a coaching plan; (4) coach the employee:

educate, develop, and/or problem solve; and (5) evaluate the coaching process. The workshop is most beneficial for managers who want immediate practical application of coaching techniques.

Requirements: Between Days Two and Three: the participants need to develop a coaching plan.

Post- course: the participants are expected to plan, conduct, and document two coaching processes with their employees, which they submit to their manager.

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Day One is devoted to setting the stage for coaching. Using interactive exercises, the participants: define coaching as a three-part learning process: training, developing, and problem solving; and discuss a five-stage coaching process. They then work with the first three stages: (1) create a climate in which coaching can occur; (2) identify the need for coaching; and

(3) develop a coaching plan. They ultimately have practice creating a coaching plan, which requires them to reference the last two stages: (5) coach the employee; and (6) evaluate the coaching plan.

Day Two focuses on developing coaching skills. Using interactive exercises, the participants:

identify a coaching opportunity; develop a coaching plan; discuss coaching challenges and propose possible solutions; practice active listening and providing constructive feedback;

review the fourth coaching stage, which outlines the C O A C H approach to providing constructive feedback to an employee during a coaching session; describe how to anticipate and handle employee defensive responses; and script a coaching session, using the C O A C H approach.

Day Three is probably the most significant of all three days, because it gives the participants numerous coaching opportunities. The participants take turns as coach, employee, and observer as they practice coaching in quartets. While in their quartets, they will coach in their own coaching session simulation (twice) and as the observer giving coaching feedback to the other two participants when they practice their coaching simulations (four times).

They will then be videotaped while they present their coaching session in front of half the workshop, after which they will receive coaching feedback from the observing participants.

During the videotaping sessions, they will coach in their own simulation (once) and as the observer giving coaching feedback to all of the other participants (probably at least nine times).

Building a Positive Partnership

This three-day skill-building participant-centered workshop provides managers with practical hands-on experience in the five elements essential for productive team functioning:

(1) positive interdependence, (2) individual accountability, (3) face-to-face interaction,

(4) collaborative skills, and (5) group processing. It differs from other team building workshops on the basis of its emphasis on developing and using group problem solving and decision-making techniques.

After Days One and Two, they are expected to use a Team Effectiveness Inventory with their employees to identify problem areas to be explored in Day Three. At that time, the participants will work together with employees to conduct problem analysis and planning.

In preparation for Day Three, the managers will have to select two employees to accompany them and teach them the problem finding techniques they have learned. The course will be most beneficial for managers who want immediate practical application of group problem solving and decision making techniques.

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Requirements: Between Days Two and Three: the participants need to conduct a team assessment with their employees and select and train two employees prior to the second session. Post- course: the participants are expected to conduct and document two different team-building processes with their employees, which they discuss with their managers.