Workshops

Professional development is a collaborative effort to foster increased knowledge regarding leadership, team building, cultural humility, communication and conflict resolution. Through a process of inquiry, dialogue, and other tools, we will serve as a thought partner to help organizations to examine and develop decision-making, experiment with new ways of thinking and being, and commit to action steps that will help professionals to achieve their goals. Any one of the trainings can be customized to fit an organization's needs. Both virtual and in-person options are available.

Increasing Cultural Humility - Dealing with Diversity
Blue hair, pierced tongues, and economic status - How do they affect your decisions? How do they affect your reactions? When is being colorblind ever helpful? Everyone has biases; it is human nature to have ingrained stereotypes, but what part do they play in our leadership abilities or our decision-making process? Join us for a training regarding the barriers that influence our efforts to support others and tackle conflict. The training will explore tools to assist in putting aside biases, addressing stereotypes, and confronting roadblocks.

Addressing Implicit Bias

Implicit bias is a fact of life. Everyone harbors them and takes them into the workplace. Biases can be based on skin color, gender, age, height, weight, introvert vs. extrovert, marital and parental status, disability status, foreign accents, where someone went to college, and more. If you can name it, there is probably an unconscious bias for it. These biases cause us to make decisions in favor of one group to the detriment of others, and they naturally creep into the workplace. This workshop focuses on acknowledging those biases and offers tips on how to curb implicit bias.

Implicit Bias II 

This workshop takes a deeper dive into understanding implicit bias. The workshop offers tools to acknowledge and extinguish implicit bias from the workplace. Implicit bias affects our decision-making, our behavior and our interactions with others and can have harmful effects. Participants will explore their own biases and practice strategies to stamp out biases.

Inclusion and Belonging in the Workplace

Inclusion and belonging must coexist to create the best employee experience possible. When people are included, their worth is recognized and respected. Belonging is the feeling of security and support that results when an employee has a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and identity. This workshop will explore the key components of inclusion and belonging in the workplace, as well as, lay the foundation for trust and psychological safety between co-workers.

Building Inclusive Communities

Inclusive communities do all that they can to encourage diversity, promote belonging, and address inequities. When people are included, their worth is recognized and respected. Belonging is the feeling of security and support that results when a community member has a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and identity. This workshop will explore the key components of bias, inequities, inclusion, and belonging, as well as, lay the foundation for trust and engagement in communities.

Let’s Talk About Race

Race is hard to discuss. Some people whisper about it. Some people are afraid to talk about it – what if I make a mistake or say something wrong? If we do not talk about it, we are going to keep getting it wrong. This workshop leads participants through a guided discussion about race in America. Asking questions – Why is it so uncomfortable to talk about race? What is your accountability in discussions of race? How do you feel about systematic racism and privilege? The workshop strives to create an open, honest, and transparent conversation about race. 

Understanding the Influence of Our Stories – Narrative Bias

The narrative bias refers to people's tendency to interpret information as a part of a larger story or pattern, regardless of whether the facts support the full narrative. This workshop explores an individual’s personal story and how that influences their perspective on the world. Through stories, we share passions, fears, sadness, hardships, and joys, and we find common ground with other people so that we can connect and communicate with them. These stories also separate us, form prejudice, and promote discrimination. In this workshop, participants will investigate their own stories to uncover personal biases.

Understanding Privilege 

Privilege is societally granted, unearned advantages accorded to some people and not others. Talking about privilege is hard. Depending on proximity to privilege, participants may find that thinking about privilege makes their guard come up, and they begin to form counterarguments to resist the thought that they have benefitted from privilege. This workshop explores the societal construct of privilege and how it affects our communities, businesses, schools, and organizations. There are many reasons why privilege can be difficult to acknowledge and discuss. The workshop will address individualism and the roadblocks to accepting societal privilege. 

Courageous Conversations – Multiple Sessions

“Human conversation is the most ancient and easiest way to cultivate the conditions for change – personal change, community, and organizational change.” Margaret Wheatley 2002 Courageous conversations are a series of facilitated dialogue sessions on difficult topics. A courageous conversation can create an atmosphere of patient listening that blends the elements of honesty and reflection, thus facilitating more in-depth communication. The three goals of a courageous conversation are to:

1. gain wisdom to see from a more prominent/different perception,
2. advance understanding that will establish trust in the relationship,
3. and gain knowledge to take the next step.

A courageous conversation holds people accountable to their communities. Through a series of questions, participants are asked to reflect and propose practical measures for forward movement.

Addtional Topics Include:

Living without Resources: Exploring Class Systems
Making Connections & Building Relationships: Understanding Class Systems
Challenging Perceptions: Discovering the Hidden Rules of Class

 Effective Communication

What is your communication style? Are you direct or indirect in your conversations? This workshop focuses on the methods used to hold the most effective conversation. The participants will learn how to utilize a questioning process to facilitate conversations, as well as how to use reframing to clarify, specify and depersonalize information. 

How to Have a Difficult Conversation
This interactive workshop develops skills and introduces practical processes that can be used during a difficult conversation. People are often reluctant to discuss difficult topics for fear of the consequences. Learn how to get to core issues within a conflict and find resolution. Participants will practice raising and clarifying the issues, learn how to gather information within difficult conversations, and enhance problem solving skills. As a group, participants will discuss and illustrate how people “get stuck” in a position which is just at the surface, like the tip of the iceberg. There will be an opportunity to role play and practice difficult conversations.

The Elephant in the Room - Dealing with Unacknowledged Conflict
Do you sense the presence of the “elephant in the room” at staff meetings, with administrators, or with parents? This workshop explores the most effective responses to unacknowledged conflict and the five styles of conflict management. Participants will investigate the style they are most comfortable with and the styles that create more conflict. Proactive strategies for addressing and resolving conflict will be identified. Activities include Iceberg Theory, Medicine Wheel, and Addressing and De-escalating Techniques.

Fostering Change: Combating Negative Attitudes
Day in and day out dealing with challenging behaviors and pessimistic beliefs? Do your colleagues, students, or family members approach every situation with a negative attitude? This workshop will explore the causes of what instigates negative perceptions, the spectrum of attitudes and how to foster change by promoting a positive environment. In addition, participants will explore tools to assist in putting aside biases, addressing stereotypes, and confronting roadblocks.

Conflict Management
This training leads participants through a variety of experiences to explore their most effective responses to anger and conflict. This workshop will also explore the five styles of conflict management. It is an experiential introduction to alternatives to violence based on community-building, cooperation, communication, and conflict resolution. Whether the attendees are working with youth or parents, participants will gain skills as current/future leaders to enter into and negotiate conflict in creative ways that work toward win-win solutions.

Respectful Workplace

Building a respectful workplace is essential for any organization. A respectful workplace is one where all employees are treated fairly, difference is acknowledged and valued, communication is open and civil, conflict is addressed early, and there is a culture of empowerment and cooperation. Participants will lay the foundation by first defining respect. This workshop will continue by exploring the key components of establishing a respectful workplace. Attendees will participate in activities examining the importance of psychological safety, engagement, and accountability in the workplace. 

Additional Topics Include:

Asking Effective Questions

Facilitating Conversations through Circle Dialogue

 Team Building & Wellness

For many people, the pursuit of a healthy work/life balance seems like an impossible goal. With so many of us torn between juggling heavy workloads, managing relationships, and squeezing in outside interests, it's no surprise that more  than one in four Americans describe themselves as “super stressed.” And that’s not balanced—or healthy. In these situations, we are also charged with “getting along” with people at work. This workshop will explore how to build a strong team, while still managing to take care of ourselves.

Resilience in the Workplace

Employees identify work as the number one stressor in their lives (Forbes). Strong resiliency skills are essential for a healthy workforce. Challenges can range from organizational change to workplace conflicts and resiliency gives you the capacity to deal with ongoing stress. This workshop introduces the eight key areas of resilience and hands-on practical strategies to boost personal resiliency.

Resiliency & Self-Care

This workshop explores several key components of resiliency – optimism, control, and gratitude; and through that lens applies concepts of self-care. Engaging in self-care and applying resiliency skills has been proven to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, while increasing personal health and stronger relationships. Attendees will participate in activities to increase resiliency skills and investigate tools to boost self-care.

Work-Life Balance

For a lot of people, the pursuit of a healthy work/life balance seems like an impossible goal. With so many of us torn between juggling heavy workloads, managing relationships and family responsibilities, and squeezing in outside interests, it's no surprise that more than one in four Americans describe themselves as “super stressed.” And that’s not balanced—or healthy. While we all need a certain amount of stress to spur us on and help us perform at our best, the key to managing stress lies in that one magic word: balance. Not only is achieving a healthy work/life balance an attainable goal but workers and businesses alike see the rewards. When workers are balanced and happy, they are more productive, take fewer sick days, and are more likely to stay in their jobs. (http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/work-life-balance)

Resilience

Resiliency is the ability to cope with adversity and has been described as the human capacity to face, overcome, and be strengthened by life’s adversities. This workshop will explore where resiliency comes from, how to build resiliency, and how to apply strength-based thought processes in our everyday lives.  Participants will investigate the benefits of practicing gratitude and promoting positivity. 

Additional Topics Include:

Empathy & Gratitude

Building Personal Wellness

Setting Boundaries

Time Management

Team Building - Working Collaboratively with Colleagues
How do you build collaboration? Do all staff “buy-in”? This workshop can be implemented with individuals or customized to work with groups. Attendees will explore their own work style and how to work more cohesively with others. Participants will analyze program outcomes to clarify a common goal. After determining common goals, attendees will participate in hands-on activities that can be easily transferred back to the program. Activities will also include identifying the fallacies of leadership, how to have a difficult conversations and positive communication skills.

Teamwork, Power, & Accountability: Your Role in Collaborative Teams

What are the characteristic of effective teams? How do you build collaboration? This workshop explores the roles we play and the relationships we foster to create collaborative teams. Teamwork is based on communication, trust, and valuing diversity. Participants investigate various work styles and determine how their own style affects group dynamics. Attendees explore how the management of power and accountability in teams can result in either the success or failure of the team. Participants analyze program outcomes to clarify common goals. They also participate in hands-on activities that can be easily implemented in the workplace. Activities include addressing hidden expertise, managing conflict, and fostering positive communication skills.

Authentic Leadership
Authentic leadership is knowing and acting on, what is true and real inside yourself, and your organization AND knowing and acting on what is true and real in the world. Credibility/Authenticity is key to leadership. We must believe that leaders' words can be trusted, that they'll do what they say, that they're personally excited about the organization, and that they have the knowledge and skills to lead. This workshop will address the six pillars of character, four dimensions of trustworthiness and self-restraint.

Collaborative Leadership

“None of us is as smart as all of us.” Edward C. Register, 1915

This workshop is a 9 hour interactive training series on Collaborative Leadership. Collaborative leadership is a mutually beneficial and well-defined relationship entered into by two or more people to achieve common goals. This model of leadership promotes shared concern, adds diversity, overcomes gridlock, increases the ability to handle complex issues, and pools power and resources from multiple sources. The participants will increase their knowledge of collaborative leadership through small and large group work, print materials, and hands on activities. Attendees will have the opportunity to reflect on current practice, as well as design a Development Action Plan (DAP) to determine next steps towards implementation of the model.

Additional Topic Include:

Examining Work Styles - Medicine Wheel

Professionalism

Transformation Through Reflection – Transformational Leadership

Collaborative Project Management

Grab Bag - Bag of Tricks Activities

Grab Bag ~ Bag of Tricks Activity Training is for anyone who comes in contact with youth. This hands-on interactive training teaches activities that require little or no materials, keep children and youth engaged, and foster teamwork and collaboration. It is a simple, open-ended method for dealing with learner diversity while engaging all learners. Participants will learn a variety of games to be used with groups of varying abilities: such as, Weigh Both Sides, Truth or Fiction?, Color Your Day, Find Your Partner, Cave In, Pattern Ball, and many more. Each game has a specific purpose: to get acquainted, to raise energy, or to provoke thought. These games require minimal props and can be used in any setting.

How to Make the Move – Transitions in and out of the classroom

Transitions provide opportunities for supporting social skills and emotional competencies. What are your students doing when the going from one activity to the next? What do your students need to learn before they transfer into another classroom? This workshop explores the expectations and outcomes as children move through various classrooms. The workshop will review daily structures and routines to determine appropriate transitions within the classroom.

Building Positive Parent-Teacher Relationships

Research states that building positive parent-teacher relationships contributes to children’s success in school. Outside of the immediate family, teachers are one of the most important people in a child’s life. Children need the support of both teachers and parents in order to succeed academically, physically, and emotionally. This workshop explores the importance of building positive parent-teacher relationships. Participants will investigate the benefit and challenges in maintaining these relationships. Attendees will have the opportunity to share personal experiences and participate in hands-on activities.

Nurturing Resiliency in Children and Youth

Resiliency is the ability to cope with adversity and has been described as the human capacity to face, overcome and be strengthened by the adversities of life. Key places where a child develops resiliency are in the family and at school. This workshop will explore where resiliency comes from, how to build resiliency, and how to apply strength based programming in a classroom setting. Participants will also enhance skills in reaching stressed and anxious children and youth.

Caught Doing Good

Positive behavior management is assessing patterns in children and making proactive changes to prevent challenging circumstances. Positive behavior management is a community based approach that involves learning about the environment of the program,  working collaboratively with everyone in that setting to design strategies for promoting positive social and communication skills in children. This workshop will examine all aspects of programming to provide a setting where children are interacting in positive and meaningful ways. Participants will practice effective praise and positive reinforcement. The workshop will also include hands-on tools to work with children as well as provide information on building resources.

Additional Topics Include:

Experiential Learning

Spark Creativity

Interactive Academics