Introducing

COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR LEADERS

A practical workshop to enable you to get your message across and enhance performance.

Learn to:

• Present ideas with confidence;
• Manage conflict;
• Be assertive with regard to your expectations;
• Run outstanding meetings;
• Train people;
• Delegate and empower;
• Getting buy-in and commitment to change;
• Give feedback to others when their performance doesn't meet your expectations.

BACKGROUND

Chances are your organization is placing a greater emphasis on teamwork in its effort to meet the needs of its demanding customers. Experts consider communications to be the backbone of effective performance of individuals and teams. So make sure that the people around you are all shooting in the same direction and focusing on similar goals. This workshop will show leaders how.

A recent study looked at differences in how managers and staff viewed the managers' communications. Test results showed that the managers rated their own communications skills higher than the employees rated the manager's skills. Furthermore, these differences in perception were found to affect employee job satisfaction.

Having consulted with many leading coaches, we have identified a number of success factors in their communications. Effective leaders:

• Project a "can-do" attitude
• Set challenging goals
• Give regular feedback to people
• Focus on getting things done
• Strive for continuous improvement and never set ceilings on performance
• Provide ongoing training to develop skills and confidence
• Give increased responsibility to enable people to grow
• Communicate, communicate and communicate still more!
• Involve people in decisions that impact them
• Respect and earn respect by acting as a role-model for the behaviour and performance that they expect
• Maintain harmony with and between people in their team

Now we're offering these proven coaching and leadership skills to you. But we've concentrated them into a fast paced, skill-packed session. So this is your opportunity to gain vital communication skills, guaranteed to make you more effective and your people more motivated and productive.

TRAINING PROCESS

The training will be customized to incorporate role-plays and simulations as close to real life as possible. It will incorporate state-of-the-art adult education techniques. People will learn by listening, seeing and above all, using hands-on practice. They will also gain from ongoing feedback from their peers and the trainer. Participants will benefit from an informal, enjoyable learning environment that will encourage active participation and openness.

We will challenge participants to use the skills right away. They will have the ability to call on us informally at any time for help regarding the use of any tools that they learned in the workshop.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Leaders, working in a customer-driven environment, who are dependent on people to get results

LENGTH OF PROGRAM

2 days.

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES

By the end of the workshop participants will be able to:

• Communicate your needs clearly;
• Get people interested in your message;
• Get buy-in to difficult and challenging ideas;
• Involve people in decisions that impact them;
• Get your ideas accepted and implemented;
• Reinforce your spoken message with the unspoken one;
• Give instructions that are crystal clear;
• Avoid conflicts by taking preventive action;
• Coach your people on to higher performance;
• Delegate tasks effectively;
• Train people to do things right the first time;
• "Read" people like a book, to be able to respond to non-verbal cues;
• Build your team;
• Run great meetings to solve problems, make decisions, share information and develop plans;
• Prevent conflict from taking place and deal with it assertively if it does.

THE AGENDA

LEADING IN A FAST CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

The purpose of organizations. Using the Mission, Vision and Values to lead people. Managing a new generation of people with high expectations. What people expect from a leader.

LEADERSHIP

A definition of leadership. Evaluation of your leadership and communication styles. Four strategies to influence people and improve their performance. Deciding which is right for you. How and when to monitor performance. Why people resent "helicopter management".

KEY COACHING SKILLS

Key skill #1: setting goals. Using the S.M.A.R.T. formula. A day to day system to encourage improved performance. An annual plan for goal setting: using a balanced scorecard. Involving your people in identification of indicators, collecting the data and setting goals. Organizing mini teams to find creative new strategies to improve performance.

DAILY COACHING

Key skill #2: reinforcing achievement. The one-minute praise and 10 other strategies that will send clear signals of what you expect from your people. Catching people who have met or exceeded your expectations. The four steps to recognize improved performance.

DEALING WITH POOR PERFORMANCE

Key skill #3: giving feedback when performance doesn't meet agreed upon expectations. Why and how assertive and aggressive communications are different. The 10 golden rules of the feedback process.

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE THROUGH TRAINING

Key skill #4: training. A step-by-step road map for success. The key steps in training that we usually neglect. How to customize your training for each person. Documenting instructions to make the training easier. 4 elements of the training process that will lead to improved performance.

DELEGATING & EMPOWERING

Key skill #5: delegation. The six excuses for not delegating. Things you can delegate and others you should not. The 5 key steps to delegation. Picking the right person. What to do if a person doesn't want extra responsibility.

COMMUNICATING IN A TEAM ENVIRONMENT

Key skill #6: running great meetings. Formal and informal meetings: what they are and when to use each type. The problems we encounter in most meetings and simple ways to overcome them. Managing and facilitating compared. A demonstration and analysis of an "ideal" meeting. The four types of meetings and the process associated with each. Working by consensus: how to get everyone to agree in no time at all. The two golden rules of facilitating. Communications skills needed to deal with quiet people, the overbearing person and difficult behaviour.

CONFLICT PREVENTION AND RESOLUTION

Key skill #7: managing conflict. The nature of conflict. The five most common strategies of dealing with conflict. Preventing conflict by dealing with issues before they get out of hand. How to let people know when they have done something that has upset you. Separating the person from the problem. Dealing with conflict between two of your associates. Using a facilitative approach to mediate differences between people.