Blog Archives

Persuading, Negotiating, and Collaborating

Successful negotiating is not about coming out on top and being the “winner.”

Description

Successful negotiating comes from ensuring all parties get what they need to keep the relationship – and the work – going. It is about creating working partnerships that last, both internally with other departments or externally with vendors, suppliers, and other entities.

The key focus of effective negotiations is partnering with others to develop mutually beneficial outcomes. When we help others get what they want, meeting our needs becomes easier. In this hands-on experience, participants will practice collaborative skills based on listening, learning, and leveraging all resources. Program discussions will focus on advancing both parties above “power,” achieving short and long-term wins, and overcoming stalemates through creative means. Skills to better persuade and remain composed in tense situations will also be shared. Participants will walk away with tools to better plan and execute negotiations after practicing the concepts and skills in situations that relate to their work.

Audience

Professionals at all levels in any industry such as sales associates, consultants, or sourcing specialists who want to improve their negotiation and collaboration skillsets.

Outcome

Participants will walk away with these skills:

  • Understand the 8 steps to planning effective negotiations of various sizes
  • Identify 5 key elements of partnered and principled negotiations that lead to mutually beneficial outcomes
  • Adopt a collaborative mindset to create stronger connections and positive, lasting partnerships
  • Discover strategies for overcoming impasse and mastering emotions
  • Develop a strong and confident approach to persuading and negotiating with others

Venue

Cintas Center
1624 Musketeer Drive
Cincinnati, 45207 United States + Google Map
Phone:
513-745-1094

Maximizing Productivity

As responsibilities increase and feelings of burnout grow, professionals must find the ideal balance between personal needs and professional performance.

Description

In today's dynamic work environment, the ability to maximize productivity is crucial for individual and organizational success. This program offers participants a comprehensive toolkit rooted in waste elimination and process streamlining to optimize productivity across various work settings. By integrating Lean Thinking Principles with productivity challenges, participants will be empowered to drive meaningful change and achieve sustainable success within their organizations.

The session will begin by defining productivity, exploring post-pandemic and current workplace trends, and addressing burnout. Then, critical elements of workplace and workforce success are discussed. Tools to enhance communication, coordination, and cooperation will be presented such as the Place-Time Matrix. Finally, participants will develop plans to implement these new tools and measure their success.

Audience

Professionals at all levels in any industry who want to improve their productivity and efficiency.

Outcome

Participants will walk away with these skills:

  • Differentiate between being busy, being productive, and making meaningful contributions
  • Explore strategies for maintaining healthy relationships and boundaries with technology and colleagues
  • Understand and apply Lean Thinking tools to any workplace environment
  • Create unique action plans for adopting new tools and techniques in specific business settings
  • Identify opportunities for continued improvement

Venue

Cintas Center
1624 Musketeer Drive
Cincinnati, 45207 United States + Google Map
Phone:
513-745-1094

Presenting with Impact

Confidently and effectively presenting work to others is a must-have skill in today’s competitive and ever-changing environment. Yet, almost 3 out of 4 people feel anxious or afraid when publicly speaking.

Description

It can be guaranteed at some point in someone's career, they will be asked to present their ideas in front of people. This could be speaking during a team meeting with colleagues, delivering an elevator pitch at a networking event, or reporting data for higher management. No matter how intimidating speaking in front of others may be, confidently sharing your ideas is key to success.

This one-day program will help participants prepare and deliver formal, informal, virtual, and in-person presentations. They will learn best practices to present with impact and control any anxious or nervous feelings they experience.

Participants will be asked to bring a real-world example, either an upcoming or previous presentation, to directly apply many of the program's concepts to their work.

Audience

Professionals at all levels in any industry who want to become effective presenters will benefit from this program.

Outcome

Participants will walk away with these skills:

  • Customizing a presentation for various audiences
  • Understanding the differences between presenting in person and virtually, and how to prepare and deliver both methods
  • Recognizing the importance of practicing before delivering a presentation
  • Identifying the best use of visual elements
  • Knowing the importance of body language and non-verbal cues
  • Saving a presentation if nerves or anxiety get in the way
  • Responding to questions from your audience

Venue

Cintas Center
1624 Musketeer Drive
Cincinnati, 45207 United States + Google Map
Phone:
513-745-1094

Elevate Leadership Certificate Program

Effective leaders continuously enhance their skill set to make an impact on the people and organizations they lead. The journey is defined by experience, self-awareness, and personal development. As leaders rise in organizations, they must elevate their skill sets to see the organization from a higher viewpoint, entrusting their colleagues and reports to manage everyday tasks.

This interactive learning experience enables participants to learn in a smaller, more intimate cohort. The program will explore the characteristics of great leaders from a human-centered and business acumen approach. Participants will learn new tools to help them grow into more senior roles, lead teams through change, inspire a workplace built on collaboration, and develop actionable plans to achieve long-term success.

Description

Program Components:

The journey begins with a virtual group introductory call to meet the program facilitators and cohort members. Participants will have reflective work in between each in-person session to encourage learning, skill development, and reflection outside of the in-person sessions.

Session 1: Engaging Strengths

  • Recognize existing leadership strengths and development opportunities
  • Identify what a good leader looks like and how to elevate oneself into a more senior role
  • Differentiate between micro- and macro-levels of management
  • Understand how self-awareness impacts relationships and an organization's overall success
  • Create a plan to build a board of advisors and network with other senior leaders

Session 2: Empowering People

  • Determine ways to coach, mentor, and develop others
  • Strengthen organizational trust
  • Implement best practices for effective delegation
  • Explore a leader’s role in decision-making

Session 3: Embracing Change

  • Develop a holistic perspective of an organization and realize the overall impact change can have
  • Become familiar with the phases of change
  • Explore strategies for leading oneself, individuals, teams, and organizations through ongoing change
  • Discover how to inspire a culture of adaptability

Session 4: Executing Forward

  • Create and communicate an organizational-level strategic plan
  • Implement and measure strategic initiatives
  • Establish succession plans

Virtual Group Reflection Calls

Following the in-person sessions, the cohort will meet for two virtual group check-in sessions to discuss how they have incorporated their learning into their lives and how they can continue to improve and sustain their new practices.

Audience

Upper-level managers preparing for the next level or those new to senior leadership roles who are responsible for a division or overall organization.

Outcomes

  • Shift from a task-oriented management mindset into a “big picture” perspective
  • Capitalize on prior leadership experience to develop an authentic leadership aspiration
  • Effectively interact with all levels of an organization for maximum impact
  • Develop strategic and long-term thinking
  • Guide an organization through change
  • Establish habits and behaviors for continued improvement to retain leadership skills

Venue

Cintas Center
1624 Musketeer Drive
Cincinnati, 45207 United States + Google Map
Phone:
513-745-1094

Maximizing Social and Emotional Awareness

“A workplace that encourages self-awareness is an environment where the most productive, curious, and innovative people thrive.” – Neil Blumenthal

Description

More than ever, professionals must develop relationships across a complex and ever-changing landscape in order to be effective and achieve success. Connecting over coffee in the office is not enough when a workplace is hybrid, virtual, or global. Relationship building is an important skill set that is often underdeveloped, resulting in unnecessary challenges and inefficiencies.

The best outcomes result from a highly connected team. In this program, participants will learn critical skills to help develop the human side of business—the social and emotional awareness to both develop and sustain great professional relationships. The importance and business impact of social, emotional, and self-awareness are discussed. Participants will then gain tools to maximize and enhance their existing awareness skills.

Audience

Professionals at all levels who want to improve their awareness skills in order to achieve better personal and organizational results.

Outcome

Participants will walk away with these skills:

  • Understanding self-awareness and how it impacts relationship building and the organization's overall success
  • Viewing leadership through a human centered lens
  • Building capacities to demonstrate social awareness through empathy and stakeholder mapping
  • Becoming more situationally aware by considering various perspectives
  • Intentionally managing relationships with peers, direct reports, and leadership
  • Creating a positive and psychologically safe environment through language and behaviors

Venue

Cintas Center
1624 Musketeer Drive
Cincinnati, 45207 United States + Google Map
Phone:
513-745-1094

Influencing in a Business Environment

Professionals become frustrated, aggravated, and discouraged when they feel like they are limited in what they can do, are not being heard, or their ideas are not grasped or appreciated.

Description

Organizations oftentimes have many different departments that work together to achieve the overall mission and vision. However, these departments can become siloed and develop agendas of their own. How does a professional get buy-in from colleagues at all levels of the organization in this type of business environment?

The key is influencing. This one-day program will provide strategies to influence others no matter their position or title to achieve common goals that will propel the overall organization toward success. Goal setting, preparation to be persuasive, and crafting an effective message for specific audiences will all be discussed through conversations and experiential activities.

Audience

Employees at all levels who need to effectively influence others up, down, and over in order to achieve personal, team, and organizational goals.

Outcomes

Participants will walk away with these skills:

  • Understanding and leveraging various ways to be influential
  • Creating a plan to become a trusted advisor that colleagues seek out for guidance
  • Strengthening the ability to have a voice that is heard
  • Defining clear outcomes and identifying objectives, obstacles, strategies, and tactics
  • Responding to concerns and hesitations in an impactful way
  • Maintaining commitments to earn trust and credibility

Venue

Cintas Center
1624 Musketeer Drive
Cincinnati, 45207 United States + Google Map
Phone:
513-745-1094

Feedback and Conflict Management

Effective communication and conflict management skills are essential for lowering stress, mitigating arguments, and improving productivity.

Description

At some point in any professional's career, they will experience opposing thoughts, opinions, and beliefs. Disagreements about how projects are executed, decisions are made, or colleagues behave can all lead to conflict. Feedback discussions can be especially tense if communication is not clear.

This program begins by exploring the major causes of conflict in the workplace. Then, strategies are discussed for building psychological safety and managing emotional reactions during difficult and critical conversations. Next, participants will gain the confidence to deliver and receive feedback in a respectful, yet honest, way. Through experiential learning and real-world examples, participants at any level will be able to alleviate conflict before it becomes a serious issue.

Audience

Any professional in any industry will benefit from learning tools for managing conflict and better communication.

Outcome

Participants will walk away with these skills:
  • Developing the ability to communicate effectively, even in difficult situations
  • Understanding when a conversation could turn critical and how to prepare for it
  • Incorporating strategies to create and maintain good working relationships
  • Learning methods to remain calm, respectful, and rational during heated discussions
  • Creating psychologically safe environments that encourage healthy communication
  • Delivering honest feedback confidently while treating the other person with dignity
  • Receiving feedback with a self-growth mindset

Venue

Cintas Center
1624 Musketeer Drive
Cincinnati, 45207 United States + Google Map
Phone:
513-745-1094

Time Management and Accountability

Days only have 24 hours but to-do lists are getting longer and longer—how does one keep up and complete all of their tasks?

Description

Professionals must decide how to prioritize and complete their assigned tasks to meet personal and managerial expectations. Everyone has unique working styles, habits, and needs when accomplishing their responsibilities, so time management and prioritization must be customizable skills anyone can adopt.

This program aims to provide practical tips, tools, and strategies to help individuals approach their use of time wisely and help managers lead their teams more effectively. Oftentimes, procrastination sets in because a certain task seems daunting or emotionally taxing. Participants will explore ways to manage their energy and mindsets to aid in their productivity. Finally, the program will discuss how accountability is created between managers and their teams, among colleagues, and within oneself.

Audience

Professionals at all levels in any industry who want to discover better methods of managing their time and learn ways to hold colleagues and themselves accountable.

Outcome

Participants will walk away with these skills:

  • Distinguishing between the urgent and important uses of time and prioritizing different tasks
  • Acknowledging the value of personal energy through the emotional fuel tank
  • Interpreting the hidden patterns of everyday life, both personally and professionally
  • Exposing five “time robbers”
  • Discovering organizational strategies to better budget one's use of time
  • Formulating accountability methods to keep oneself on track
  • Developing habits of mutual accountability

Venue

Cintas Center
1624 Musketeer Drive
Cincinnati, 45207 United States + Google Map
Phone:
513-745-1094

Motivating Top Talent Across Generations

The most important asset to any organization is its people. Leaders must find ways to support top talent in order to achieve higher retention and performance success.

Description

Workforce trends and workplace culture has changed dramatically in recent years. Understanding what motivates employees from different generations, helping them strengthen their well-being, and developing top talent to support their performance are all critical for today's leaders.

Discovering one's purpose behind their work is a guiding theme in this one-day program. Participants will explore the new psychology of how work is seen and valued; the critical elements of well-being, self-care, and individual motivators; and how to align employees' performance with overall organizational performance. Conversations, discussions, and experiential activities are interwoven throughout the session.

Audience

Team leaders, managers, or anyone in a position to support their colleagues will benefit from this program.

Outcome

Participants will walk away with these skills:

  • Understanding the foundation of new motivational norms
  • Developing mindsets to shift from old motivations to the new motivational norms
  • Identifying best practices to support a high performance/high retention culture amidst the new psychology of work
  • Recognizing practical ways to embrace the cultural development necessary to attract and retain top talent
  • Establishing next steps to win the war for talent in this competitive labor market

Venue

Cintas Center
1624 Musketeer Drive
Cincinnati, 45207 United States + Google Map
Phone:
513-745-1094

WordSmith Online Writing Program

American companies spend over $3.1 billion annually to train employees in basic writing. Strong, confident writers perform well and add value.

This online program empowers professionals, and quite possibly helps them get promoted, by offering lifetime access to engaging, highly relevant case studies and examples from actual business settings.

Description

Wordsmith includes 32 video lessons, 5 case studies, and 25+ pages of downloadable resources, all focused on translating grammar and style best practices into better workplace writing.

Participants will learn to write correctly, clearly, concisely, and with an awareness of context and culture.

Audience

Professionals looking to improve their writing skills.

Outcome

Participants will walk away with these skills:

  • Write clearly and concisely
  • Transform into error-resistant writers
  • Complete writing tasks more efficiently
  • Share ideas logically & creatively to maximize impact
  • Consider their audience’s perspective
  • Write in ways that inspire others to take action

Venue

Online