Workshops

Retirement is increasingly seen as an exciting new chapter in life, an opportunity to thrive and grow.  In workplace discussions about retirement, the focus is mainly on financial security, which is important but only one of the key factors for a successful retired life.

As people live longer and healthier lives, understanding the social, relational and psychological processes at play during the retirement transition are also essential. Many workers find the transition messy and new retirees feel they were unprepared for the personal, emotional and life changes retirement brings.

This course demystifies some of the ups and downs of life’s ultimate stage. Participants will explore key strategies for constructing the retirement they planned for, with a sense of purpose and accomplishment. In this course, you will be introduced to the opportunities and challenges for building new social networks and for combating social isolation and loneliness, as a pathway to keep you healthy, engaged and productive in your retired years.  You will discuss some of the psychological barriers to retirement, including the potential loss of identity, as well as the need to find a new purpose and to build new relationships. You will engage in a concrete seven-step life strategy process to increase your strategic thinking, find your own path and to help you create the life you want and navigate your transition to retirement.

Because your next chapter is about much more than money, let’s make sure you are equipped to build a retired life that is active, engaged and healthy, with enduring satisfaction and deep purpose!

As Winston Churchill said: “When you mix people and power, you get politics.”

Organizations are much more political than most people realize and simply being a dedicated, hard-working employee is usually not enough to succeed. For example, two managers at the same level in an organization may not be equal in terms of their power and influence. One manager may be more influential because he or she is well liked and respected by subordinates and superiors. In addition, he or she may understand the politics of the organization and how to “play the game.”

Influence, power and politics are on-going processes in day-to-day organizational life with important implications for organizational performance and employee satisfaction. Leaders must often act politically to gain and hold their powerful leadership positions. Thus, success in the workplace demands that an individual not only be competent in task and functional skills, but also in political skills. Political skill is a positive social competence that helps people network, influence others, demonstrate social astuteness and appear sincere in their dealings with others. Using political skill – motivating others, inspiring trust, orchestrating support- to influence these interactions is critical not only to personal and job success but also to the performance of the organization as a whole.

In this course, participants will be introduced to the concept of positive politics. Positive politics is a set of positive traits critical to contemporary work environments, which focuses on collaboration, diplomacy, contribution and cooperation. You will discover the powerful role that organizational politics plays in a corporate environment and the conditions under which political activity is most likely to occur. With two powerful case studies, you will be able to identify different types of political behaviors, both functional and dysfunctional.

Networking is not an easy journey for many people. Nonetheless, networking is a necessity in today’s hyperconnected world. Connection not competence is changing the world! The connection revolution rewards those who build bridges between people.

Research confirms that an open network is the biggest predictor of career success, leading to more job and business opportunities. Too often we favor a closed network – we prefer comfort and familiarity over discomfort and the unknown. However, a closed network limits our capacity to learn and grow. Open networks tap into cognitive diversity – the inclusion of people who have different styles of problem solving, with diverse perspectives based on varied demographics.  Investing in the development of an efficient and effective open network creates a robust trampoline for navigating successful personal and professional change.  Investing time and resources to make strategic connections has proven to be a n effective contingency plan if something goes wrong.

This workshop approaches networking as an acquired talent and explores popular misconceptions that impede professional success. Participants will become familiar with how to build and manage an effective network, and to troubleshoot their existing network. They will also analyze a popular case study and gain insight into the dynamic elements of networking, by outlining the steps taken to build and cultivate a network that is both broad and deep.

Organizations make decisions that affect the careers and values of female leaders. Often decision-making is charged with gender biases and stereotypes, whether consciously or unconsciously. One purpose of diversity management is working to achieve gender equality and to create a comfortable working environment for women. Women in leadership play an essential role in gender equality. They bring unique perspectives and experiences to leadership positions, and tend to be more collaborative and inclusive, resulting in a work environment that is more positive and productive. However, the path to leadership is filled with many challenges due not only to a biological gender obstacle but also a socially constructed gender challenge. Gender bias and stereotypes can cause women to doubt their skills and abilities and limit their opportunities to lead or take on challenging projects.

In this course, you will attain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges affecting women’s leadership careers. Both external and internal gender issues, at every level in organizations, will be explored including Second Generation Gender Bias (2GGB). You will discuss approaches designed to overcome gender barriers and explore how a lack of confidence can restrict your career opportunities and hinder your professional growth. With the help of case study that explores the challenges of building power and credibility in a new job as well as managing relationships with superiors and peers, you will explore the body language of power; the ways it influences how others see you; and you will review the best approach for you to harness your personal power. You will also learn the importance of giving and receiving strategic developmental feedback.

This workshop begins by exploring the challenges associated with clarifying and marketing the ‘change’ vision – a powerful first step to secure successful implementations.  Discussion explores the need to identify a Change Leader with the right fit and level of social capital.  Other topics include employee motivation and engagement, and the significance of delivering customized training. Successful implementations are scarce.  Organizational change is disruptive, it challenges the power of the status quo, and a comfortable, predictable routine. This ‘change’ triggers resistance, and resistance to change is normal. Change takes place in two ways: persuasion or force. The most effective, long-term change occurs through persuasion. The larger and older an organization the more resistant it is to change. Leading change is complex, demanding and a very energizing endeavor.

Implementation Success Stories

Workshop focuses on the exploration of three successful national change implementations – from operationalizing the vision to customized training.  Participants will learn that effective change is about patience and flexibility. The session explores the groundwork for ‘successful’ change and the ‘consequences’ if ignored. Novel tactics and the rationale for a customized approach are investigated Implementations assessed include both public and private organizations involving 3,000 to 20,000 employees.

Creative thinking is expected to top the list of skills predicted to grow in importance for workers over the next five years.  Creative thinkers possess traits like adaptability and curiosity – key abilities when facing unprecedented levels of change and complexity.

Traditionally, creativity was viewed as something mysterious, done by creative people. Today, research confirms that there are elements of creativity in everyone. Debunking the many popular myths surrounding creativity is an important first step in understanding that creativity is a process leading to the production of novel and useful ideas.

This workshop addresses both individual and group creativity. It explores the contributions of psychological research to the study of creativity focusing on cognition, emotion and problem-solving. Specifically, at the individual level, Csikszentmihalyi’s Five Stages of Creativity and Amabile’s Four-component Model of Creativity are reviewed. The Gough Creative Personality Scale will be distributed to offer insight into participants’ individual creative personality. Also, participants will explore the power of their curiosity by assessing curiosity on five distinct dimensions rather than as a single trait.

In today’s environment of ‘disrupted workplaces’ filled with new challenges and opportunities; teams are often the catalyst that drive new behaviours. This session examines the power of group creative problem solving and the consequence of creative personality, compares surface level and deep level team diversity and the influence of psychological safety and discusses the theory of creative contribution. Other areas of investigation include the power of the social environment and its effect on an individual’s creative expression, and the essential ingredient of creative leadership.

Topics include:

• Shatter the many popular misconceptions about creativity
• Demystify the creative process and its various influences
• Self-assess their creative personality
• Enhance their individual and interpersonal behavior to improve the group creative process
• Explore the qualities of effective leaders managing creative teams