WHA Leadership Academy

Leading Change When Change Is Tough

Change. The mere mention of the word can cause some to feel uncomfortable. Resistance can be seen in the manager who procrastinates, or the stressed-out employee who keeps adding more to his plate. An effective leader must take on the challenge of change with skill and a sense of humor. This workshop brings together best practices from John Kotter, a leader in organizational change, as well as the work of Chip Heath and Dan Heath, whose research highlights the impact of the rational and emotional sides of our brain and how they must come together for change to occur. Through interactive exercises, participants will learn about the components of change, how to diagnose problems in a change effort, understand the emotional and rational sides of the brain and develop a plan to ensure an intended change endures.

Participants will learn to do the following:

1. Identify Kotter’s eight key areas of change: Explore a sense of urgency, form powerful guiding coalitions, create a vision, communicate that vision, empower others to act on the vision, plan for short-term wins, consolidate improvements and keep the momentum for change moving, and institutionalize new approaches.
2. Diagnose problems in a change effort you are currently undergoing to bring about the right solution
3. Understand the role of the emotional and rational sides of the brain in change and how both must be engaged to be successful
4. Create a plan to turn your change effort into something that lasts

Managing Conflict: Skillful Conversations to Build Trust

Do you struggle to manage your frustration or avoid difficult conversations entirely? Do you know how to effectively reach a resolution when approaching a conflict? This workshop focuses on common challenges people have with communication: being assertive, speaking with clarity, managing emotions, reflective listening, body language, recognizing “triangulation”, and communicating with different ‘conflict styles’. After this course, participants will have a solid foundation to demonstrate assertive communication and ensure that they get their message across in a confident and professional manner.

Participants will learn to do the following:

1. Self-assess for discovering your natural “conflict style”, exposing you to potential new styles for different situations
2. Recognize “triangulation’’ and how to avoid it
3. Implement tools to improve “A-to-B’’ communication
4. Help others improve their conflict resolution results

Navigating Peer to Leader Relationships

Are you a new manager who used to work right alongside the people you now supervise? How do you achieve success in this new role and manage the potential problems that can arise? Managing relationships, delivering difficult messages, avoiding favoritism and coaching for performance are all areas that can cause a new leader to want to run and hide. This workshop provides four strategies for navigating the changing relationship from peer to supervisor/manager. Those strategies involve setting boundaries, coaching and resolving conflict, knowing when to take action, and empowering staff. “Navigating Peer to Leader Relationships” uses group activities, discussion, video vignettes and action planning so that participants can lead with confidence and success.

Participants will learn to do the following:

1. Accept your new supervisory role
2. Establish clear boundaries
3. Communicate clearly
4. Take effective action

Mind Matters: How Perceptions Impact Success

Your subconscious holds the beliefs or programs that ultimately create the reality that you live every day. Do you look outside of yourself to explain what’s wrong with your life? Would you like to increase your confidence, improve your communication, handle conflict, dispel anxious feelings, create rapport with others, understand and use body language, and over¬all, be more effective in your life? Change the program and you change the result. Learn how to view yourself from the outside in and use your perceptions to be a conscious leader.

Participants will learn to do the following:

1. Learn how the conscious and subconscious mind work
2. Learn how perceptions are formed
3. Obtain tools to examine and reprogram areas of your life where you want change
4. Determine your work values to better create a successful environment