Leadership and Management Workshops

Giving Tough Feedback — and Getting Tough Responses (1/2 day)

“No, I didn’t.” “It was no big deal.” “But I had to do it!” Do these responses to unwelcome feedback sound familiar? In this workshop, managers learn how to give tough feedback in the best way possible and to deal with any challenging responses.

Coaching for Stronger Results (1/2 to 2 days)

How can managers get better results from their employees? The number one method is coaching. In this workshop, managers learn how to use the three forms of coaching: Tutoring, Counselling and Mentoring, as well as the GROW model for coaching. Managers learn to distinguish between feedback and coaching, and when each tool is most effective for producing results with employees.

Conducting Performance Reviews (1/2 day)

The essence of a great performance review is in the discussion, not the writing. Yet many managers are never trained to hold a performance review discussion that: a) provides crystallized feedback for the past performance period, b) establishes the next set of priorities and c) develops the employee for the future. In this workshop, managers learn how to do all of this, while steering their way through any potential landmines in the conversation.

Holding People Accountable (1/2 to 1 day)

A recent McKinsey study listed accountability as one of the top three challenges of CEOs. In this workshop, leaders and managers learn how to hold people accountable for their results— no matter what the circumstances — as well as for their mistakes.

The Delegation Dilemma (1/2 to 1 day)

What’s the delegation dilemma? It comes down to this: leaders and managers want to let go, but when they do, the work often doesn’t get done the way it should. In this workshop, managers develop skills for overcoming this dilemma and learn how to use our delegation matrix that provides guidance on when and how much to empower their employees to produce the results they want.

Managing Performance Challenges (1/2 day)

There’s nothing more frustrating and baffling for managers than when employees don’t perform. In this workshop, managers learn a step-by-step process for managing performance challenges, even when those challenges cross the line into non-performance.

Fair but Firm: Managing Difficult Discussions (1/2 day)

“Why can’t I have a salary increase?” “Why is David rated higher than I am?” “Can I have an unpaid three-month leave of absence?” These are the difficult conversations that managers are rarely trained to have, yet they can be the defining points of the manager-employee relationship. Employee motivation, engagement and productivity hang on these conversations. In this workshop, managers learn a specific process and set of skills for conducting these difficult discussions.

Creating Goals to Produce Results (1/2 day)

Do you want to set your employees on the right track to producing positive business results? In this workshop, you will learn to align your team’s performance to your business strategy by creating SMART goals. You will also learn to develop effective goals that cascade down from your strategic plan and how to measure them in a way that makes work and development expectations clear to your employees. Finally, you’ll get great tips for difficult-to-measure objectives and practise writing real life objectives for your own employees and team.

Leading Employees through Change (1/2 to 1 day)

Are employees just paying lip service to your organization’s change project, or are they really on board? In this workshop, managers learn to deal with employee reactions and resistance to change, develop strategies for leading employees through the stages of change and become change agents themselves, all while managing their own reactions to change.

Building a Great Team (1/2 to 1 day)

Great teams don’t just happen – a proactive approach is required for successful team building. In this workshop, managers learn to identify their team’s current stage of development and accelerate it to the next stage through deliberate action, including setting team goals, and managing performance and specific issues or dysfunctions that may arise.

Resolving Conflict at Work (1/2 day)

When a manager is faced with conflict on a team between two of their employees, or between an employee and someone outside the team, finding the right way to resolve it is key. In this workshop, managers learn positive actions for resolving conflict, including direct intervention techniques and more.

Interviewing for Success (1/2 day)

Interviewing is a critical step in finding the right people for your organization. This workshop provides the opportunity for managers to refresh their behavioural interviewing skills, including how to analyze responses to questions by using the CAR (Context, Action, Results) approach. They also learn the fundamental dos and don’ts of interviewing others, as well as using objective decision making to identify the right candidate.

Finance for Non-Finance Professionals (1/2 day)

Do your employees understand the key financial measures that drive your company’s performance? In this workshop, participants learn how to understand and state why those measures are important and how they are calculated. Most importantly, they learn to relate financial measures to their own roles and understand how they can use them to improve their competencies and results.

Project Management for Non-Project Managers (1 to 1½ days)

Project management isn’t just for project managers. This workshop takes the discipline of project management and makes it accessible and relevant to anyone who has to manage a project but doesn’t want to over-engineer it. Participants learn from a menu of tools that includes charters, Gantt charts, the DACI model, risk management, change management and post-mortems, and understand how to apply them to their own upcoming project. Most importantly, participants learn how to scale their approach for “project lite.”

Manage Your Time, Priorities and Productivity (1/2 day)

Do your employees know the difference between time management and priority management? After taking this workshop they will! Participants begin by identifying the personal time management pitfalls that most impact their day. Using our tips and techniques, they then learn how to list, prioritize and plan to complete daily tasks, as well as plan for emergencies and interruptions.

Managing Personal Change (1/2 day)

Do your employees resist change but have no skills or tools for managing their own reactions? In this workshop, employees learn to recognize their own barriers to change and develop a personal action plan for surmounting their resistance to business and organizational change.

Brand You: Successful Career Management (1/2 day)

Career management is important for everyone, no matter where they are in their careers. In this workshop, employees and managers learn to develop career goals by creating ‘Brand You,’ and then developing an action plan to meet their goals. They also learn how to network and plan for the short and long term, and get trained in development planning and internal networking techniques.

Customer Intimacy (1/2 to 1 day)

In this workshop, employees learn the difference between customer satisfaction and customer intimacy, and much more. They learn to use practices and processes that will enhance customer intimacy, including how to tailor their communication to produce impactful, positive first impressions, initiate and maintain conversations, and quickly establish rapport with customers they meet in person or over the phone.

Making Your Business Case (1 day)

This interactive and hands-on workshop is designed to sharpen employees’ skills in developing and presenting crisp, compelling business recommendations. To keep it relevant, we use real work from current projects, peer feedback and mock presentation scenarios. Employees learn how to apply models and frameworks to clarify business goals, uncover the “right” insights to help them make decisions and synthesize information and data into concise recommendations. Finally, they learn how to make a strong business case by delivering compelling written and oral presentations of those recommendations.

Creativity and Innovation (1/2 to 1 day)

Innovation is often a top strategy or buzzword mentioned by senior executives. But how is innovation supported and encouraged throughout your organization? This workshop gives employees the tools, skills and techniques they need to generate creative ideas individually and in groups.

Mind Mapping for Business (1/2 to 1 day)

Our Mind Mapping workshop stimulates your ability to think both creatively and logically. A powerful visual tool, Mind Mapping works by first focusing on the central idea, issue or topic and then branching out to add details, including inspiration, facts and thoughts. The uses for Mind Mapping are almost unlimited and include planning, brainstorming, taking notes, gathering ideas and studying. The technique can be used individually or with groups of any size, and it has been applied to many high-level topics such as strategic planning, engineering projects and facilitating board meetings.

Design Thinker (1/2 Day)

It’s time to re-think thinking. Today’s business leaders face unprecedented complexity and change. As a consequence, traditional analytical thinking alone cannot deliver tomorrow’s breakthrough strategies, offers and organizing systems. Design thinking accelerates innovation by using the creative methods and tools of successful innovators to divine the future and deliver solutions that confer competitive advantage. Design Thinker is an inspiring game created by ExperiencePoint in collaboration with IDEO, the celebrated innovation and design firm. In Design Thinker competing teams flex their design thinking skills to solve a complex yet realistic challenge, learning the techniques and thought patterns of successful innovators.

Positive Power and Influence™ (2 to 3 days)

Do your managers and leaders work well only when they have hierarchy and authority on their side? Do they need to work better through influence? Or is your organization highly matrixed? In this workshop, participants gain the skills to meet their objectives for influencing others, while keeping their relationships intact. Participants learn how to develop a flexible style so they become more influential in a broader range of situations.

Myers-Briggs (1/2 day)

Myers-Briggs provides a framework for employees to understand and appreciate others’ differences — instead of being aggravated by them. This workshop trains employees in this most widely used and valued of all the personality testing tools. Managers can learn how to motivate, communicate and work more effectively with employees. Teams can also learn how to create a plan to work together effectively through a better understanding of each person’s working styles.

Managing the Boss (1/2 day)

Most people think they only need to manage a bad boss. But everyone can get more out of the most fundamental work relationship they have. In this thought-provoking, challenging and practical workshop, participants learn tips for managing the boss. Employees from all levels of the organization benefit from developing an action plan for creating a more productive relationship with their boss.

Navigating the Matrix Organization (1/2 to 1 day)

In this workshop, participants begin by identifying the barriers to effective navigation of the matrix organization. They then move on to create a personal action plan for steering through the organization, drawing upon a menu of tips and techniques used successfully by others within the organization. Managers learn how to influence decisions and develop skills for coaching employees to work effectively within the matrix.

Understanding Emotional Intelligence (EI™) (1/2 Day)

Emotional intelligence is the capacity to recognize and manage emotions in ourselves — and in our relationships. Workshop participants will be introduced to a compelling business case for developing EI as a competitive advantage and become familiar with the four-quadrant EI framework as a platform for leadership development. Finally, they will complete and debrief the Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment.

Emotional Intelligence (EI™): Managing Yourself and Others (1/2 Day)

This workshop focuses on self-management and awareness of others, two of the four emotional intelligence quadrants. Participants are introduced to the concept of the Amygdala Hijack and explore their ability to control their impulses in the interest of managing relationships and conflict. Finally, they examine how assumptions and beliefs can interfere with engaging others, while working on understanding others’ needs and developing empathy.

Resolving Conflict at Work (1/2 day)

Does dealing with conflict make you uncomfortable? You’re not alone! Resolving conflicts — from minor misunderstandings to serious disagreements — is part of almost every job. Whether you’re dealing with an issue with a peer, a customer or your manager, it’s helpful to have an approach that resolves conflicts in a positive way. In this highly interactive workshop that uses “real life” scenarios that you may face in your day-to-day work, you’ll practise applying various strategies and a simple process to resolve conflict.

Consulting Skills for Internal HR Consultants (1 to 2 days)

This workshop moves HR professionals further along the business partner continuum. Participants learn how to take a collaborative approach to identifying the underlying causes of issues. Next, they learn how to apply an organizational performance model to diagnose issues or opportunities and create options that identify the impact to the business. Finally, they learn how to employ a coaching model to facilitate and influence problem solving in order to reach the best solution.

Facilitation Skills and Processes (1 to 2 days)

Many employees are required to design and/or facilitate a process to produce an outcome, yet many organizations confuse facilitation with training, assuming the process and skills are the same. In this workshop, participants learn how to distinguish between the two and learn the specific skills required for successful facilitation. As a bonus, they take away practical templates for some of the more common facilitation processes.

Train the Trainer (1 to 2 days)

When organizational projects require new skills and approaches, it’s often most efficient to train key employees to train others. In this session, employees learn how to design and/or deliver training. This workshop provides real-world practice: participants design a piece of upcoming training and/or deliver it, getting valuable feedback on their skills throughout the process and building confidence.