BUILDING BETTER LEADERS

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(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

Most people go through life thinking that we have a terrible memory. In addition, an even higher percentage of people feel like they have a difficult time remembering the names of other people. However, if you think about it, people who we know who have good memories are thought of by other people as being intelligent. People with good memories tend to do well in school, and they do well taking tests. People who remember the names of others who they met only once are also seen by others as being great people persons. When we remember a name (especially out of context), we are telling the person, “You are important.” So, if we forget a name, we are saying just the opposite. This course will help you remember names, and you can expect the following results from attending:

• A simple way to keep from forgetting a name in the critical first few seconds.
• How to build a “Name Library” so that you can remember hundreds and hundreds of names very quickly.
• Most often, participants are able to remember 100% of the first and last names of all participants in the class within the first 30 minutes.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

Ever feel like you are on a treadmill not getting anywhere? Without a clear vision for your future, you’ll likely struggle getting to your next major milestone. One of the most important ways to continue to grow as a leader is to set a clear and realistic vision of where you want to get to along with a clear and realistic series of goals to let you know that you are making progress along the way. An analogy that we like to use is taking a trip without a GPS or map. Most people wouldn’t think of just jumping in a car, pointing it in a random direction, and hoping that they get to the wanted destination. However, that is the way that most of us plan our careers. This session helps participants develop a clear vision of the end game and set goals to get there.

• Identify what your individual vision of “success” is.
• Set a series of measurable goals and milestones to track your progress.
• Reassess your vision goals to refine them as you make this progress.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

The “talk before the talk,” the way that you introduce yourself, is sometimes even more vital than the presentation itself. One of the biggest challenges when designing a presentation is to gain favorable attention from the audience right as you begin speaking. In addition, one of the first goals of the speaker is to establish his or her credibility. An effective talk of introduction can solve both of these challenges in the first minute of your presentation. A nice side-benefit of this skill is that this speech can also be used as an effective “60 Second Commercial” to explain to new acquaintances what you do. By attending this session, you can expect the following results from attending:

• Ten (10) simple ways to reduce public speaking fear.
• How to turn that nervousness into enthusiasm and energy.
• An easy habit that will help you look more poised and in control — even if you want to throw up.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

Ever feel like you are on a treadmill not getting anywhere? Without a clear vision for your future, you’ll likely struggle getting to your next major milestone. One of the most important ways to continue to grow as a leader is to set a clear and realistic vision of where you want to get to along with a clear an realistic series of goals to let you know that you are making progress along the way. An analogy that we like to use is taking a trip without a GPS or map. Most people wouldn’t think of just jumping in a car, pointing it in a random direction, and hoping that they get to the wanted destination. However, that is the way that most of us plan our careers. This session helps participants develop a clear vision of the end game and set goals to get there.

• A turn-key way to introduce your presentations.
• Get your audience to pay attention to your presentation from the beginning.
• Establish your authority and credibility as a speaker.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

Different leaders have different leadership styles. Many new leaders make the mistake of trying to mirror a former boss’ leadership style versus developing their own leadership strengths. In this session, participants will identify their own individual strengths (and weaknesses). By doing this, they develop their leadership style in a way that accentuates those particular strengths. In addition, participants will better understand how to communicate more effectively with others who have different strengths than we do. One of the best things about this session is that participants can use these techniques to help them communicate with their team members. So, this information can be helpful in the hiring and mentoring processes as well. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Identify your personal leadership strengths (and weaknesses).
• Uncover skills that will help you maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.
• Help you communicate more effectively with people who have different strengths than you.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

A person who has a good memory is often perceived by others as being intelligent or detail oriented. Even back in grade school, high school, and college, the people who had the best memories typically did better on tests. As a result, these people are often perceived as being smarter than those with less developed memories. The good news is that EVERYONE has a photographic memory. However, from the time that we were school kids, we were taught very poor ways to tap into the photographic memory. This session helps participants unlock the natural high-level memory that is inherit in every human being. Below are just a few of the benefits from this session.

• A time tested process that can help anyone increase their memory ten-fold in just minutes.
• How to use this technique to be perceived by others as being a better leader.
• Remember details so that fewer things fall through the cracks.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

Building trust and rapport with your team is the first of the four steps in becoming a more confident leader. This session offers seven (7) ways to build trust at work. By using these skills, participants will become more likeable leaders. In addition, partiipants can use these leadership principles to improve listening skills and reduce criticism in the workplace. In addition to the seven principles, participants will also discover the four levels of listening and identify 12 listening habits that have a tendency to raise resentment. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Seven (7) ways to build a team atmosphere.
• Become a more effective and active listener.
• Build more of a team culture among your group.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

Great leaders communicate effectively with their teams. Stories and examples are one of the best ways to explain ideas to a group. So, managers who are good at relaying stories are often described by others as being great communicators. In addition, leaders who are good storytellers build rapport, capture attention in a positive way, and are more relatable. This skill is also important to other great leadership skills that will be covered in later sessions like being persuasive and impromptu speaking. Below are just a few of the benefits from this session.

• How to use examples and stories to explain complicated ideas.
• Reduce public speaking fear by using better stories and examples.
• A quick and easy way to capture attention of your audience.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

This is kind of a tongue-in-cheek delivery of ten very simple meeting tips that will help you better organize and deliver meetings. Originally, this session was the introduction to Part B, the Group Problem-Solving process, but it was so popular, that we spun off the content into a separate session. Meetings an be challenging, but these tips will help you get more accomplished in much less time! By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Identify ten (10) easy meeting tips.
• How to gain a consensus during your meetings.
• Increase efficiency and effectiveness of your meetings.
• Leadership activities, leadership games, leadership quotes.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

Want your team to be able to solve perplexing challenges in the workplace? Then the five-step problem-solving process can help. When your group works together as a team, problem-solving meetings can be a fast and easy way to eliminate some of even the most debilitating workplace challenges. The best part about this process is that it gains a consensus from the team. So, once the step-by-step process is followed, your group will work together as a team to implement their solution. Below are just a few of the benefits from this session.

• Solve some of the most challenging problems facing your team.
• Reduce the time spent in problem-solving meetings.
• Get your group to take action once a solution is developed.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

Earlier in High Impact Leaders, we covered seven ways to build trust and rapport with your team. This session is part two of becoming a more effective leader. In this session, we cover seven (7) ways to resolve conflict. No matter how good we are at communicating, we will eventually end up in a conflict sooner or later. So, these skills will help reduce the severity of the conflict and help you resolve the conflict faster and with fewer challenges. The seven principles cover three ways to keep from getting into a conflict, three ways to resolve a conflict, and a final way to reduce the severity of the conflict. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Seven (7) Conflict Resolution principles.
• How to reduce the severity of conflicts with others.
• How to mend fences after a conflict to keep additional conflicts from erupting.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

This session introduces a three-step process to persuade an audience. If you want to be a great leader, you have to be able to persuade your followers. In order to persuade people, first, you have to be heard. So, initially, we help you create a concise message that your audience will pay attention to. Next, you have to give clear instructions that the audience will want to fulfill. This skill is so important, that we reinforce it in future sessions of the High Impact Leaders class. if you want to inspire and motivate your team to higher levels, then this session is for you! Below are just a few of the benefits that participants receive from this session.

• Three easy steps that will help you motivate and persuade your team.
• How to win people to your way of thinking using just your words.
• Be able to influence people in a positive way to be the leader of your team.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

Most presenters feel that they have to tell the audience every single thing that they know about their topic in order to deliver a great speech. However, in reality, your audience is only going to retain a small percentage of what the speaker says. So, a better strategy is to focus on just a few key, most important, points and cover each point really well. This session shows you how to design a very clear and concise presentation by focusing on the few key points that the audience needs to know right now. In addition, our instructors will show you how to be able to deliver the entire presentation without having to memorize the entire presentation. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Design your entire presentation quickly and efficiently.
• Design presentations that are “audience focused”.
• Be able to deliver your presentation without having to rely on notes.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

One of the most common questions that we get asked is, “How do I design a good PowerPoint presentation?” The big challenge with that question is that we assume that the PowerPoint IS the presentation. However, PowerPoint is just a visual aid for a presentation — not the presentation itself. Also, PowerPoint is just one of many types of possible visual aids available to a presenter. This session will show how to add good slides for your presentation. It also gives a number of additional types of showmanship and visual aids that you can use to enhance your presentation. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• How to design good PowerPoint slides.
• How to choose additional visual aids that can help you deliver even better presentations.
• Add showmanship to make your presentation more memorable.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

 In this session, we cover seven (7) ways to gain enthusiastic cooperation from your team members. These principles help you generate enthusiasm for your ideas and get your team to want to cooperate with you. The session will also uncover ways to improve communication within your team. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Gain enthusiastic cooperation from others.
• Improve two-communication within your team.
• Become a more persuasive leader.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

This is a transition session from gaining cooperation from your team and building confident leaders. This session helps you coach your team in a way that builds each team member’s confidence. We also show you how to anchor positive behavior in your team members so that when you catch an associate doing something correctly, you anchor that behavior. This is a very powerful session that helps you build self-confidence within your team. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Increased confidence within your team members.
• Improved morale among your team.
• Develop stronger leadership skills.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

Let’s face it. Sometimes we are asked to speak about topics that just aren’t that interesting. So, how do you generate enthusiasm for these types of topics? This session offers five (5) ways to add enthusiasm and energy to any topic — even if that topic is boring. In fact, one of the things that we often say about presentations is, “There are no boring topics. There are only boring speakers!” But by using the tips from this session, you don’t have to be one of these boring speakers. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Become a more charismatic speaker and presenter.
• Get your audience more enthused about your presentations.
• Get your audience to agree with your presentation conclusion.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

Most presenters focus quite a bit on their content, but many often disregard the entertainment value of the presentation. People retain information more quickly and for longer periods of time when they are involved in the presentation or when they are entertained. Presenters who forget this axiom do so at their own peril. This session will give you a number of very easy items to add into your presentations to make them more fun and interesting. When you use these items in your presentations, your audience will enjoy your presentations more. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Make your presentations more interesting.
• Help your audience members retain and remember your content.
• Reduce presentation jitters by getting your audience on your side.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

This is the fourth of four sessions related to building your leadership skills. The first three sessions were session #4 about building rapport, session #6 about reducing conflict, and session #8 about gaining cooperation from others. Once a leader gets good at these first three phases, the final step is to build both your own leadership skills and the leadership skills of those around you. This session offers seven (7) ways to build strong leaders throughout your organization. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Seven (7) ways to build strong leaders.
• How to motivate and inspire your team.
• How to build the confidence and skill of your team.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

One of the best leadership skills is being able to ask the right question of your team members, at the right time, to elicit an expected response. When we order people around, we might get our team to comply — at least temporarily. However, they won’t necessarily cooperate with us effectively. A better way to help your team is to ask good questions so that they can come to the best solution on their own. This technique also opens up lines of communication very effectively. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Create questions that help your team come to solutions on their own.
• Use questions to open lines of communication.
• Build confidence in your team members.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

A 40-hour work week has a total of 2,400 minutes to work with. So leaders either have to be able to get all of their responsibilities accomplished within these 2,400 minutes, or we have to work longer hours. This session helps participants better organize their time so that they get more done in fewer hours. The key aspect of this process is identifying the “time wasters” within our day and reducing the instances of these items. By the way, when you organize your time better, you often get a significant reduction in stress at the same time. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Better time management.
• Increased efficiency.
• Stress reduction.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

One of the hardest skills of a good leader is being able to coach and, at times, discipline your team members without harming the relationship. Our instructors describe the relationship between a manager and a direct report as being like a bank account. When we have positive interaction with our team members, we are making deposits into the bank account. When we have negative interactions, we are making withdrawals. The key to disciple sessions is to have a series of positive interactions with your team members over time. That way, when we have to discipline them, we have a reserve balance to draw upon. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Be able to create positive coaching sessions with your team.
• Be able to discipline your team members without destroying the relationship.
• Help your team members grow in confidence.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

One of the hardest types of speeches to deliver is the impromptu presentation. A leader who can stand up, and say what he or she wants to say, the way that he or she wants to say it, is exceptional. Especially, if that leader is speaking off the cuff. This session helps presenters think and speak more clearly when under pressure. The process also allows the speaker to be more persuasive in an impromptu speaking situation. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Think and speak more clearly under pressure.
• Design and deliver impromptu speeches quickly.
• Handle questions more easily.

(Approximately 1.5 hrs)

The final session of High Impact Leaders is designed to help participants begin to see the “real-world” application of all of the skills developed in the class. We first review each session covered in the 12 session class. Then, we divide the class into executive teams who will each get a case study of a challenge experienced by a real executive team. Each group will get 30 minutes to identify a step-by-step plan using skills from the class, to solve each challenge. By attending this session, you can expect the following results:

• Review all skills developed in High Impact Leaders.
• Use real-life case studies to reinforce skills developed in the class.
• Develop problem-solving skills for the business world.

 High Energy Classroom Team Building: Want to build trust and respect among your co-workers and managers? The Creating a Team Culture workshop can help your group identify characteristics that lead to better teamwork. The workshop helps your group build more of a team atmosphere and learn how and why people act “that way”. Ultimately, it shows team members how to deal more effectively with each other. Fun classroom team building is a fantastic way to generate a “behavior change” and build teamwork in a group of coworkers. People learn faster when they are having fun! 

• Have fun while building camaraderie and rapport.
• Open up lines of communication.
• Identify easy ways to disagree agreeably and resolve conflicts.
• Improve efficiency and teamwork.
• Build confidence in team members.

The Creating a Team Culture teambuilding seminar is composed of one-hour modules. It can be customized to fit any time-frame and can easily be tailored to the specific needs of your group. Individual classroom team building modules are perfect for breakout sessions as well. If you want to teach or reinforce personality temperament training, an alternative version of this program called Personality Traits that Influence Behavior is also available. One of our instructors can help you quickly and easily customize a program for your group.

• Introduction: How is a Culture Created?
• 7 Ways to Build Trust & Respect.
• Improving Communication and Listening.
• 7 Ways to Resolve Conflicts.
• Pointing Out Mistakes Indirectly.
• 7 Ways to Gain Cooperation.
• Anchoring Positive Behavior.
• 7 Ways to Build Leaders who Inspire Teamwork.

• Introduction: How is a Culture Created?
• 7 Ways to Build Trust & Respect.
• Improving Communication and Listening.
• 7 Ways to Resolve Conflicts.
• Pointing Out Mistakes Indirectly.
• 7 Ways to Gain Cooperation.
• Anchoring Positive Behavior.
• 7 Ways to Build Leaders who Inspire Teamwork.
• A Three-Step Process to Persuade Individuals and Groups
• Improve Your Memory 10-Fold in Minutes.
• 10 Ways to Eliminate Presentation Fear.
• Leading Powerful Meetings.
• Problem Solving Made Easy.
• How to Remember Names.
• Adding Energy and Enthusiasm to Projects.
• Gain a Consensus.
• Thinking and Speaking Under Pressure.
• Personality Temperaments.
• Adding Fun to Tough Jobs.