RESILIENCE, TRAUMA AND BURN-OUT

 

Claim Your Authentic Voice (MO)

Life experiences sometimes leave us believing that certain parts of ourselves are flawed and unacceptable. This mistaken conclusion caused us to feel different and less worthy than those around us. Expressing these pieces of our whole selves began to feel risky and frightening, and we, therefore, developed habits to silence them. (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4, or 8-hours duration)

 

This reflective and experiential class will lead participants in exploring and identifying the ways they have silenced themselves to the detriment of their well-being. They will look at these habits head-on, reflect on how they affect their lives, and create strategies for claiming their full, authentic voices. They will begin expressing an all-embracing version of themselves, so that their vitality, creativity, and passion may shine through in all areas of their lives.

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The class will provide a safe, supportive environment, and it will include instruction, reflective exercises, interactive discussions, and break-out groups.

 

Participants will:

• Recognize the ways in which they habitually silence parts of themselves, often without realizing it;

• Name the effects that this silencing has had on their lives and identify which circumstances precipitate and deepen this silencing;

• Develop strategies for reconnecting with and listening to the voices inside them that have gone unheard for a long time;

• Explore the concept of courage and how it relates to finding and sharing their voices;

• Learn practical ways to bring these often tentative voices into the light, and strengthen them; 

• Identify how these voices may enhance their lives, both personally and professionally.

 

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The Inner Critic

Stressed minds and bodies do not allow for fresh perspectives, and new conversations.  What many of us in the workplace don’t understand is that the source of our stress comes from the Inner Critic, aka the “Judge” or the “Bully.” When you are under the influence of the Inner Critic, you care way more about how others see you, so what you care about and what you are committed to changes and this negatively impacts performance and productivity. The Inner Critic is a major cause of low morale, and lack of resilience. This uniquely dynamic and interactive workshop is based on cutting-edge research from the fields of psychology and neuroscience. (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4 or 8-hours duration)

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Pivot to Thrive

There are many demands in the workplace and the virtual workplace. We need to have the energy and focus to do our best work every day, to behave like a leader at work, at home, to think ahead, to keep our immune system strong, and to keep our frame of mind in check. All of this can be exhausting, difficult to do and require us to go beyond being resilient. It is normal to feel challenged right now - sometimes just to get the day started. This workshop will teach you how to pivot from where you are into a place of productivity. (20 -25 people maximum; 8-hours duration)

 

​This webinar will provide the fundamentals for individuals and teams to thrive:

• Resilience

• Dealing with Uncertainty

• Effective communication

• Neuroscience of fear

• Breaking out of fear

• Growth from the inside out

• Discovering and staying in your personal balance

• Becoming a high performing team

 

Learning Outcomes:

• Tapping into your personal resilience

• Distinguishing between paralyzing and healthy fear

• How to pivot your mindset into constructively directed self-determination

• Effectively communicating to one another

• How to become a high performing team

 

When the going gets tough, the tough pivot.

 

Developing Resilience as an Everyday Practice (SG)

Introduces employees to the basic tenets and a few practices for increasing their emotional resilience.  This will be experiential, with at least 3 activities participants will do in their home/workplaces.  A few minutes upfront will be devoted to increasing participant awareness of our conditioned responses to stress such as fight and flight, followed by a basic framework for resilience as a counter to learned responses to stress and change.  There will be time throughout for questions and comments. (20 -25 people maximum; 2-hours duration)

 

Participants will:

• Gain an understanding of stress and resilience and the role the body plays in shifting stress

• Experience practices to reduce stress

• Reflect on what practices work for them and design a plan for building their resilience

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Thrive in the Workplace - Practical Insights From the Yoga Tradition (Leading Mindfully) 

Overwhelm and stress in the workplace are pervasive and decrease our effectiveness on the job.  Accumulated stress leads to increased anxiety levels, poor concentration, physical symptoms, and challenges with confidence. In this workshop, participants will learn simple insights, tips, stretches, and breathing exercises from the yoga tradition to help them get and stay relaxed and vibrant. The format is both instructional and experiential. Note: This workshop is not a yoga class; no special clothes, props, or experience with yoga are necessary. (20 -25 people maximum; 2 or 4-hours duration)

 

​The participants will learn:

• The ways that chronic stress affects our confidence, self-image, and performance, as well as insights to assist us in maintaining healthy mental states;

• How to identify the characteristics of physical and mental tension;

• The role our bodies play in creating and mitigating stress, as well as basic physical stretches that can be done anywhere and anytime to address the effects of stress on our well-being; and

• The importance of breath awareness in creating and managing stress, as well as simple, accessible breathing exercises that can be done anytime to address the effects of stress on our nervous systems.

 

 

 

HIGH-PERFORMING TEAMS AND SAFETY

 

Amp Up Your Team!

Do you want harmony on your team with team members that go above and beyond and with team dynamics that consistently produce top-quality work? Have you ever dreamed about doing great work and it being fun? ((20 -25 people maximum; 16-hours duration, delivered in four 4-hour sessions)

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Comskil’s Amp Up Your Team! interactive workshop transforms work groups into high-performance teams. These teams typically include members who enjoy working together and collaborate effectively in supportive, rewarding environments to create amazing results. In this workshop, you will learn practical tools and techniques—along with increased self-awareness—to get the most out of your teams and enjoy leading them.

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Amp Up Your Team! is based on decades of research and successful implementations. The workshop integrates two powerful tools – Visualize Personal Growth (a model for individual growth) and OrGro (a model for organizational growth). Although each model is effective on its own, their combination provides a powerful mechanism for individual and team transformation.

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Your team will learn to:

• Develop advanced leadership skills and model the newest language of collaboration

• Create a symbiosis between team members to move forward and reduce conflict

• Develop a deeper awareness of how you and your team are impacted by and can impact the workplace – top, down, and across

• Enhance your skills for personal growth and organizational growth

• Learn how to coach your team members to grow professionally

 

Topics:

• VPS, OrGro, and the interplay between the models

• Coaching your team

• Leading and affecting organizational and cultural change

• Enhancing leadership skills: managing stress, calmly and effectively communicating in complex situations, relationship building, team building

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SECURE Connection™

This interactive science-backed leadership and team development workshop draws on breakthroughs from modern neuroscience, mind-body research, and the physiology of stress resilience, providing fresh insights into the biology of collaborating with and influencing others, as well as tools for self-regulation in the face of challenge and stress.  There will be a focus on helping participants enhance interpersonal interactions based on what neuroscience tells us drives human behavior.  Participants learn a brain-based framework for cultivating an atmosphere of trust, partnership, and collaboration, in addition to science-based strategies for building stress resilience capacity important for self-mastery. To demonstrate the impacts of stress on team performance, a biofeedback demonstration will also be included. (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4 or 8-hours duration)

 

Several adult learning modalities consisting of a mix of lecture/presentation, video, discussion, and learning activities will be utilized to deepen levels of engagement and relevancy to improving leadership and team performance.

 

Learning Objectives/Outcomes:

• Describe what drives human behavior based on discoveries in contemporary neuroscience.

• Define the impacts of the deeply social brain on human performance and outcomes in teamwork environments.

• Apply the SECURE Connection™ framework, a brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others at the individual, team, and organizational levels.

• Utilize emotion regulation techniques based on the psychophysiology of cultivating stress resilience capacity.

 

 

Appreciative-based Facilitative Leadership (SG)

Research in Positive Psychology and collaboration points to the importance of affirmative and strengths-based approaches to building commitment. Appreciative Inquiry is an approach to planning, coaching, facilitating groups and building teams that fosters empowerment and ownership. Based on the notion that whatever a group or organization inquires into leads to discoveries about what is working well and what else needs to be created for a vision to become real. Tools and fundamental principles of Appreciative Inquiry are applied to group and team facilitation, coaching, strategic planning and leading. (20 -25 people maximum; 4 or 8-hours duration)

 

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the key principles of Appreciative Inquiry

• Practice Appreciative tools and techniques for group facilitation

• Practice appreciative techniques and principles in coaching

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Breakthrough Results:

• Within 6-8 weeks of mental fitness training, you should be able to see the results in MRI imaging:

• Increased grey matter in the PQ Brain region, home to your Sage (positive mental muscles)

• Decreased grey matter in the Survivor Brain region, home to your Saboteurs (negative mental muscles)

 

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Design Cycle Thinking:  A Framework to Design and Implement Change (JE)

Why do most brainstorming sessions result in a pile of ideas that are never implemented?  Brainstorming is just one component of change design and implementation.  Discover the framework that organizes the process from challenge to change in a way that maximizes creativity and minimizes waste. (20 -25 people maximum; 2 or 4-hours duration)

 

Masters of innovation follow the design cycle framework to progress systematically, to learn, to test, to prepare, to implement, and to analyze the success of the change.  Learn how to design cycle thinking can galvanize your team, smooth your transitions, deepen your learning, and maximize your outcomes. It includes several interactive mastery sessions that allow for practice and exploration. Learning Objectives:

 

• Explore the design cycle that architects, engineers, and other creatives use to foster innovation.

• Understand the applications for the design cycle in brainstorming, problem-solving and team cohesion.

• Utilize the four stages of the design cycle to design and implement meaningful, useful, and durable change.

 

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​​CREATIVITY, AUTHENTICITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY​

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Possibility Thinking©

Better than brainstorming, Possibility Thinking, developed by Comskil's Galina Knopman, is a complete pragmatic framework that solves immediate and future problems either by yourself or with a team. The Possibility Thinking framework is superimposed onto your thinking with proven results every time. Possibility Thinking has 7 steps; 1) identify the subject, 2) identify the obstacles, issues and risks, 3) look for and identify the targeted outcome, 4) be open and creative and share ideas that emerge, 5) blending the outstanding ideas into a resonant solution, 6) Identify actions, and 7) implement the actions. Tada!

Course Content:

• Review scenario’s for applying Possibility Thinking

• Walk through the 6 steps and their neuroscientific basis

• Select scenario’s and apply Possibility Thinking in small groups

• Share with larger group and assign actions and follow-up

• Handout/take-away guide for participants to use in running their own Possibility Thinking sessions

 

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MOTIVATION AND NAVIGATION

 

Coaching and Mentoring Staff
Traditional top-down direction can clearly signal organizational priorities, indicate needed change, and define objectives. However, relying on this one-direction management style can obscure possibilities.  Advice is easy to give and can be just as easy to ignore.  Coaching skills allow us to partner with others to unlock opportunities that neither partner would discover alone. Learning to ask powerful questions, unlock tactful curiosity, and defer judgment offers the dynamic leader options for managing and developing their staff. ((20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4 or 8-hours duration)

 

Likewise, mentorship is a powerful tool for transmitting lessons learned and sharing knowledge and resources.  Advice is an expectation but other methods of discovering new possibilities are equally powerful in mentorship.

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Participants will engage in hands-on learning, small group discussions, and exercises to explore concepts, tools, and techniques presented in the learning portion of the workshop.

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Learning Objectives:

• Discover the potential for exponential results unlocked by a strong partnership

• Determine the appropriate boundaries for coaching and mentoring interactions

• Understand the role of a mentor in career development.  Who should be a mentor and when?

• Learn coaching skills to facilitate collaborative solutions and to unlock potential 

• Shift priority from direction to inquiry, from judgment to curiosity, and from delivering quick solutions to asking powerful questions

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Managing Up, Political Savvy
This course covers how you can successfully navigate an organization. Only you can change yourself in areas such as improving assertiveness and strategic thinking.  (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4 or 8-hours duration)

 

When new to an organization, navigating includes the basics from locations of the restrooms to introducing yourself to all of the potential stakeholders you will interact with. That is the ‘what’ that you have to do to integrate yourself into the organization's wheel as a new cog.

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However, after the first six months, you have mastered the ‘what’ and now you are left with ‘how’ to navigate all of these personalities, belief systems, values, and behaviors. That’s where it gets complicated and leadership training picks up for years to come as the intricacies of navigating the soft side require reflection and self-awareness.

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This course will add to your already vast toolbox as you continue your journey to navigating, not only your boss, peers, and colleagues, but manage the ever-changing organization. It will help improve participant’s assertiveness and strategic thinking. 

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Learning Objectives:

• Recognize when you may have different opinions, ways of thinking, and ways of shaping messages (i.e., listening to your inner voice)

• Moving from being reactive to being reflective, responsible, and responsive.

• Gain choices for how to respond (managing your and others’ emotions)

• Gain and practice the use of a questioning mentality (moving from statements to questions)

 

 

​Emotional Intelligience (EQ)

​Emotional Intelligence differentiates the average leader from the exceptional leader.  Increased self-awareness and emotional intelligence enable exceptional leaders to not only manage themselves but to also be able to understand, connect, and work more effectively with others.  (20 -25 people maximum; 4 or 8-hours duration)

 

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the benefits of Emotional Intelligence

• Assess personal effectiveness in emotional intelligence competencies

• Employ strategies to promote personal awareness and balance

• Identify opportunities to utilize EQ in leadership roles

• Apply EQ skills to address daily challenges in the workplace

 

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​CONFLICT MANAGEMENT, COMMUNICATION, AND COLLABORATION

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Inclusivity Intensive Dialogues are designed to have maximum impact in a short time frame. Participants will meet each week for two hours, for 6 weeks with their facilitator who will provide a blend of lecture and participation. This course provides participants with an explicit learning and sharing experience and an opportunity to reflect on and expand/shift their mindset. Topics covered are multiculturalism, implicit bias, different perspectives and vocabularies for current and relevant painful Inclusivity concepts, curiosity vs. insensitivity, dialogue as a tool for learning about one another versus excluding one another, and, listening, questioning, and gaining comfort with differences and seeing similarities. Designed for small groups, 8 -10 people maximum.

 

​Polarity Mapping

When you are stuck in a vicious cycle where today's solution becomes tomorrow's problem to fix and then back again. (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4, or 8-hours duration)

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Polarity Mapping addresses the overarching issue of polar opposite opinions that are entrenched in passionate, well-thought-out viewpoints. A common thread, such as the organizational mission can be the connection that establishes a common ground to proceed constructively and respectfully.

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Conversations are difficult when all involved parties feel strongly about the topic, have very different fundamental beliefs, a different understanding of the situation, a challenge involving two or more “right” answers/solutions that are interdependent and need each other over time and polar opposite solutions. It can seem impossible to find a way towards an agreeable solution. 

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This course goes beyond basic conflict management and provides another tool to address conflict with Polarity Mapping. Polarity Mapping has been used with unequivocal success in the workplace, in coaching, and in managing social issues.

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Learning Objectives/Outcomes:

• Successfully identify live issues participants are experiencing that have polarized opinions

• Recognize one's own and others' passion, fortitude, and dedication in accomplishing the mission

• Actively lean in and engage with one another comfortably using Polarity Mapping to arrive at solutions with respect

• Add a tool to participant's toolbox to use when they need to turn conflict into collaboration

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5 Steps to Powerful Conversations

The Latin root of the word conversation means, literally, to turn together. How can we utilize our communication together to allow our teams to turn towards collaboration and to allow our work to turn towards progress? (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4, or 8-hours duration)

 

By understanding our role as listener and speaker, we can begin to unlock the power inherent in an exchange of perspectives and ideas. By learning skills that enhance our abilities in these roles, we can unlock conversations that strengthen our teams, accelerate our progress, and amplify our results. It includes several interactive mastery sessions that allow for practice and exploration.

 

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the way in which our approach impacts our ability to listen.

• Explore the key elements of empathy in listening.

• Uncover obstacles that often discourage learning.

• Learn to organize communication for better understanding.

• Utilize the six categories of speech to build better agreements.

 

 

Success With Stressful Communication (MO)

Virtually all jobs involve the presentation of ideas that sometimes make us nervous and apprehensive. How we present ourselves and our ideas affects our work relationships, our reputations, and our potential for advancement. We all sometimes feel stressed anticipating times when the spotlight will be on us and what we’re saying, including important meetings, critical phone calls, and presentations of all sizes. This experiential workshop will explore the importance of both external and internal preparation to achieve successful communication and offer tangible strategies customized to each participant. (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4, or 8-hours duration)

 

Participants will:

• Learn how to develop a definition of successful communication that’s specific to them, their workstyle, and their responsibilities;

• Gain insight into how to prepare for challenging work interactions, including both actions and mental and emotional preparation;

• Learn how to remain calm and confident during the delivery of their ideas; and

• Become skilled in using a highly personalized, constructive system to objectively assess how the communication event went so that they can both identify areas of strength and learn lessons for continued improvement.

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Communication (JE)

Communication is the cornerstone of the trust necessary for leadership, collaboration, and progress, particularly in fast-moving situations and variable environments.  In this immersive, engaging, and enjoyable session, we will explore the ingredients of good communication, hone speaking and listening skills, and understand how to utilize different communication styles to deepen understanding and build trust. (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4, or 8-hours duration)

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Learning Objectives/Outcomes:

• Context, Frame, and Assumptions:  Learn how our perspective influences the success of our communication. Identify the key influences that determine the speaker’s starting point for communication and utilize techniques for modifying this frame.

• Communication and Trust:  Prepare for powerful communication by putting in place the necessary components for trust. Identify the components of team building communication.

• Communication Styles:  Explore different communication styles and how they impact the transmission of ideas and information in one-on-one and in group conversations. Recognize communication style differences and accommodate those differences in conversation.

• Listening as Skill and Mindset:  Discover the elements that impact our ability to listen. Demonstrate enhanced listening skills.

• Impromptu Speaking:  Learn methods for organizing clear, concise answers to unexpected questions. Deliver clear, concise answers to impromptu questions.

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Listening Effectively (MG)  How do you get to the heart of the matter?

Active listening is critical for establishing trusting relationships. It helps you to engage attentively to what is being said. The goal as a listener is to truly understand the speaker’s perspective (whether you agree or not) and to communicate that understanding back to the speaker to confirm accuracy and understanding. To accomplish this, it is important to first be silent. (20 -25 people maximum; 2 or 4-hour duration)

 

After this session, participants should be able to:

• Focus on the speaker.

• Monitor your self-talk.

• Seek first to understand, not just to look for an opening to speak.

• Demonstrate active listening by paraphrasing, asking clarifying questions and capturing the emotion.

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​Asking the Right Questions (MG)  How do you get to the heart of the matter?

The right questions depend on what you want to accomplish. Generic questions inspire new action, expand possibilities, and make a positive impact. Powerful questions empower, instill a sense of value and efficacy, and encourage the person’s development. The questions that get to the “heart of the matter” are the ones that help the receiver self-discover and uncover new and meaningful information for the questioner. (20 -25 people maximum; 2  or 4-hour duration)

 

After this session, participants should be able to:

• Discern the disposition of an effective questioner.

• Identify the types of questions.

• Describe the role of listening.

• Use questions to help self and others get closer to the “heart of the matter”

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Ready to Answer: The Power of Impromptu Speaking (JE)

The way in which we answer questions impacts our ability to connect with our audience, build trust, persuade, and demonstrate our competence—even when we are not entirely sure of the answer.  There are skills that can be learned and practiced that allow us to effectively field unexpected questions. (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4, or 8-hours duration)

 

Explore the three most important skill sets for impromptu speaking: effective language, masterful delivery, and organized content.  Building capabilities in these three areas allows us to be prepared for the unexpected and to answer questions with confidence and agility. It includes several interactive mastery sessions that allow for practice and exploration.  Learning Objectives:

 

• Understand the masterful use of words in six categories that support powerful, impactful language.

• Develop the key components of non-verbal communication that reinforce the message in an answer.

• Master three frameworks for mentally organizing content quickly and effectively to deliver valuable answers and to build speaker confidence.

 

 

Tell It Well: Utilizing Storytelling for Inspiration (JE)

Every speech is persuasive.  We speak to have an impact and that impact is only possible when the listener is engaged.  Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools for establishing a connection that fosters engagement. Humans crave stories. (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4, or 8-hours duration)

 

Learn to utilize the art of a well-told story to connect with your audience, teach with examples, generate enthusiasm, and drive home your point. It includes several interactive mastery sessions that allow for practice and exploration.

 

Learning Objectives:

• Unlock the power of story formats that your audience is already primed to understand.

• Understand the powerful role of a story in communicating the mission, in holding attention, in speaking to persuade, and in building consensus.

• Learn simple storytelling techniques to enliven communication and build connections with any audience.

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Communicating Feedback and Mastering Crucial Conversations
The conversations we have can enhance connection, spur powerful work, and generate important transformation.  These same conversations can also create division, spread confusion, and stall development. In this session, we will explore the tools and techniques for delivering effective, constructive feedback and for handling the critical conversations leaders need to master, such as challenging poor performance and setting clear goals and performance indicators. (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4, or 8-hours duration)

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Managing performance is one of the top challenges for leaders across the board.  This session provides a framework for preparing and mastering crucial conversations with success. 

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Participants will engage in hands-on learning, small group discussion, and exercises to explore concepts, tools, and techniques presented in this workshop.

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Learning Objectives:

• Identify and explore five steps to powerful conversations

• Understand the roles of speaker and listener

• Discover the impact of disposition and pre-disposition on communication

• Learn effective methods for giving constructive feedback that is well received and that fosters growth and improvement.

• Understand the necessary elements of good offers, requests, and agreements.

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Preparing to Receive Feedback from Direct Reports
In this class, we will explore the opportunities and challenges of receiving and benefiting from feedback. Feedback arrives in formal and informal settings. It may be delivered by a close friend or a perfect stranger. It may be communicated in a straightforward manner or obscured by differences in language, culture, or assumptions. It may be requested or unwelcome. (20 -25 people maximum; 2, 4, or 8-hours duration)

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When we recognize the feedback that we are being given we have the keys to make necessary, beneficial change. We also face a sometimes confusing, potentially uncomfortable, and often challenging task.

 

It is important that we recognize the fundamental information we are being given, process our feelings, navigate our relationships, derive the essential meaning, and devise a plan for implementation.

We will work together to uncover skills and insights that will equip you to recognize, receive, process, and benefit from feedback.

 

Learning Objectives:

• Discover important tools for navigating cultural and communication differences that you may encounter as you receive feedback.

• Learn to recognize feedback that may be hidden. Decipher what is being said and process potentially valuable information from confusing or difficult observations delivered by others.

• Discuss the natural barriers to accepting feedback that may obscure beneficial insights and prevent necessary development

• Learn to process feedback to secure the valuable core of what is being said.

 

Prepare to implement changes based on the most valuable part of the feedback for necessary growth and beneficial change.