Coaching and mentoring others

It is a truth that we hear so often that it starts to resemble a cliché, but the global pandemic forced even the most remote reluctant of us to find ways to be productive without assembling with colleagues in a shared space – accelerating a shift that may always have been coming and which is, at least to a fair extent, unlikely to go away any time soon.

In this workshop, we focus specifically on three key questions people ask as they look to harness the benefits of working virtually while reducing the downside.

• How to communicate effectively via technology so that you gain the advantages it offers while avoiding the risks that it also brings
• How to promote learning, innovation and thought generation in the absence of informal opportunities to share thoughts, give recognition and offer feedback
• How to protect motivation, resilience, ownership and team morale when we may get tired, may feel excluded, might lose out on the things that would normally give us a boost

LEADING WITH PURPOSE

The world continues to experience a crisis of trust in leadership – and perhaps even in the role of business in the world. This has been caused by the perfect mix of corporate scandals, the rise of digital and social media, and the growing imperative of sustainability. The impact of this is an accelerating focus on the role of purpose – both for organisations and for people who work in them. After all, purpose creates meaning, and it motivates through meaning rather than through fear. 

In the words of an influential whitepaper from the EY Beacon Institue, purpose is “an aspirational reason for being that is grounded in humanity and inspires a call to action”.

In this thought provoking workshop, we flook at why this is so important and how to find and embed it.

• History, definitions and examples of purpose
• The benefits of organisational purpose
• The current state of play: a greater need than ever for purpose
• Embedding organisational purpose
• Purposeful leadership for individuals

LEADING REMOTE TEAMS

It is a truth that we hear so often that it starts to resemble a cliché, but the global pandemic forced even the most remote reluctant of us to find ways to be productive without assembling with colleagues in a shared space – accelerating a shift that may always have been coming and which is, at least to a fair extent, unlikely to go away any time soon.

In this workshop, we focus specifically on three key questions people ask as they look to harness the benefits of working virtually while reducing the downside.

• How to communicate effectively via technology so that you gain the advantages it offers while avoiding the risks that it also brings
• How to promote learning, innovation and thought generation in the absence of informal opportunities to share thoughts, give recognition and offer feedback
• How to protect motivation, resilience, ownership and team morale when we may get tired, may feel excluded, might lose out on the things that would normally give us a boost

Presenting to
senior audiences

Presenting to senior audiences can be challenging for anyone. The stakes are often high, time is often limited, the audience can be inclined to challenge and jump to questions, and presenters can feel nervous and intimidated.

This workshop will help participants make the most of these opportunities, including looking at how to:

• Adapt your tone and the manner of your presentation to suit the preferences of this sort of audience
• Structure your content so you get attention quickly
• Prepare for questions and challenges and develop techniques to handle them
• Get ready, physically and mentally so you have optimal impact

TALKING TO THE MEDIA

Even the most seasoned and articulate of executives can become apprehensive at the prospect of talking to the media. After all, the risks can feel very high, and the associated pressures – especially on camera and with a confrontational interviewer – can be enough to have us all tripping over our sentences.

In this practical session, with lots of practice and feedback as possible, we demystify the art of taking control of an interview, giving the outlet (be they TV, radio or print) a story they will value, while making sure it is one that carries the messages we and our organisation wants to land. This will include:

• The rules of engagement that will put you in the driving seat when talking to the media
• Preparing and rehearsing your key messages
• Using stories and concrete examples for maximum impact
• Using the bridging technique to steer content to areas of confidence
• ‘Zooming’ techniques to move from the specific to the general (and the other way round) in order to take us to safer ground
• The art of the soundbite: what will stick and why
• Common media mistakes and how to avoid them

Difficult conversations and feedback

Not only are difficult conversations – including giving feedback – an inevitable part of organisational life, they are also incredibly important; without them, we can neither benefit from a diversity of perspectives, nor can we expect to build commitment and accountability in our teams.

In this workshop, after exploring the consequences of avoiding such conversations, we will find ways of establishing mutual trust, mutual respect and shared purpose in order to create the right conditions for the friendly push and shove of healthy conflict and transparent communication.

We will then explore the range of actions and techniques you might take before, during and after a difficult conversation in order to maximise your chances of success and to start creating a culture in which a team can truly become greater than the sum of its parts.

GREAT EXECUTIVE WRITING

Writing that is resonant, clear, well-structured, attention -holding and that conveys not just the facts but also why we should care about them is vital to support good decision-making – but it is a skill that can take many years of practice.

In this highly practical session, we start with the big-picture elements which are essential to address before the writing begins. This includes the ‘Who?’ elements, such as getting into the shoes of the reader – their expectations, preoccupations, style and personality. Equally, it is about the ‘Why?’: what the writing is trying to achieve and the key messages to land, etc.

We then move to the ‘What?’ and the ‘How?’. This includes content and style choices such as narrative structure, register, tone of voice, choice of language, sentence length and so on. We will also cover how to present data as well as the basics such as page layout, the fundamentals of good editing, the use of appendices, and so on.

PUNCH UP YOUR COMMUNICATION

A common piece of feedback is that people need to be ‘punchier’ in their communication – more concise, more precise and quicker to get to the point and move on.

In this practical session, we explore the inner and outer causes of this (from nerves to unhelpful speaking habits), and share a range of techniques, including:

• Setting up and framing comments, using structure and signposting
• Listening deeply and reading the room
• Avoiding verbal fillers, hesitations and equivocations
• Keeping language concrete and simple, not conceptual or loose
• Adopting the right mindset: it’s not about you but your ideas

IMPACT & PRESENCE

We know it when we see it. When a person walks into a room and heads turn. Or when they speak and you can see people immediately tuning in, dropping their guard and really listening.

In this energising workshop, delivered by a professional voice and drama practitioner, we look at the power of the ‘paraverbal’ – our voice and our body language – as a way not just to appear more present, but actually to be more present. This will include:

• Our breathing: regulating our breath so that our inner physiology remains calm, our nerves under control, and our voices supported by our diaphragm for maximum projection and tone
• Our face and body: calibrating our energy so that we convey positivity and calm, reducing physical areas of unhelpful physical tension and avoiding unhelpful body language in order to support our intended impact on others
• Our voice: using our voice to its full range of expressiveness in pitch, pace, volume and tone and with powerful pauses to bring emphasis and gravitas

SPARKING CREATIVITY

The topic of creativity is one that will come more and more sharply into focus as we recognise that people cannot be treated – or treat themselves – like machines, executing processes on demand, at a sustained pace and with sustained quality.

The modern workforce is made up of creative problem solvers – people who bring things into existence that hadn’t previously existed. And, as with all creative endeavours, there are muscles that can be built, as well as behaviours, practices and conditions that must be maintained in order to keep people both creative and happy. In this stimulating and often surprising session, our agenda will include the following:

• Defining creativity: what it means to be creative in the modern workplace
• The four P’s of creativity: Place, Person, Process, Product
• Personal and environmental blockers to creativity
• How to maintain a creative mindset (and manage the impact of distortions)
• Generating ideas and getting unstuck, including the power of lateral thinking

INFLUENCE & PERSUADE

In today’s organisations, we are unlikely to achieve anything unless we can truly master the art of persuasion. Even if we are in a position to compel others, the gains we get from bringing people with us – in terms of both discretionary effort and quality of application – are truly significant.

In this engaging workshop packed with examples, we look at six key levers of influence and discover how they might be used:

1. Reciprocity: we are naturally inclined to return favours
2. Commitment: we tend to follow through if we’ve openly stated our intentions and our world-view
3. Social Proof: we take a lead from others’ opinions in times of uncertainty
4. Authority: we respond to levels of status and seniority
5. Liking: we are more easily persuaded by people we like
6. Scarcity: we want things that seem to be in short supply

LEADING CHANGE

Some change sticks and some doesn’t, and often the reason why is not immediately clear. This workshop looks at different types of change (e.g. cultural or structural, immediate or gradual), giving participants the tools to understand exactly what they’re dealing with.

It then moves on to working interactively through one or two case studies of change, using a tried-and-tested six-part change process to help participants plan strategies for making change work – starting with the creation of a roadmap before moving to the recruitment of ambassadors and the conducting of experiments and research.

The process then covers how to identify the tools and resources people will need for the change to work before looking at ways to launch it and, finally, to evaluate its success – celebrating and reinforcing, while also learning from where things haven’t worked quite so well.

PRESENTING VIRTUALLY

Virtual communication has revolutionised the way in which we can scale up our efforts to attract and build relationships with external stakeholders – with easier logistics, with less cost, and with a significantly reduced impact on our commitments to reduce harm to the planet. Put another way, even as the pandemic pressures ease, it seems inevitable that we will continue talking to our clients and partners and presenting our ideas through a web-cam lens.

In this webinar, we will share practical insights from the world of behavioural science (and beyond) to help you try to match online the impact you would have had in the room. This would include:

• Adopting the right mindset and prioritising the right things
• Using good facilitation techniques in order to graciously bring structure and ease to the conversation
• Preparing in the right way so that conversations are both structured and free-flowing
• Tailoring your content so it works onscreen
• Being warm, expressive and impactful through body language and voice (and ways to warm up)

THE ART OF STORYTELLING

The power of the story in corporate life – and in our private lives – is hard to overestimate. From our infancy until the present moment, stories have been a major part of how we learn about the world and each other, about good and bad, about actions and consequences. We bond over stories, we become inspired by stories, and, through story, we can see the way things connect into a bigger picture in a way that would never have been possible through flatter, less lively text.

This fascinating session, filled with examples of storytelling in action, will stimulate and surprise while giving participants the tools and inspiration they need to start telling their own stories at work. Core elements include:

• The hallmarks of a story – and why they are so powerful
• Story structures that take us on a journey
• The role of personal narrative in leadership: connecting our story with the stories of others
• Hidden stories: metaphors, similes and analogies
• Visual storytelling and presentations: using the art of storytelling in business presentations

PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
& WELLBEING

This session is all about identifying small changes that could achieve a big impact for participants in their professional lives: a big impact in terms of their ability to achieve what really matters, and a big impact in terms of the extent to which they can thrive while doing it.

Drawing on psychology, we will share stories and examples and will look at common barriers to change. We then move to talking through the following practical framework, bringing it to life with tips and suggestions to help participants form and refine their own commitments to making a change that will really matter.
This would include:

1. Start with the end in mind: what’s the end goal
2. Be smart: break down longer-term goals into specific units
3. Think big: be bold and target areas for big impact
4. Think small: it’s about the aggregation of small steps
5. Think slow: sustainable changes can take time
6. And just do it: don’t be a perfectionist; instead, embrace failure and seize the power of experimentation

MOTIVATE & INSPIRE

Motivating others is all about ‘activating, directing, and sustaining goal-directed behaviour’. Put another way, it’s about influencing what people choose to do, how much energy they put into doing it, and how long they will persist doing it in the face of other pressures. In this sense, it is a vital component of group performance.

In this engaging and interactive session, we will take you on a tour of the key theories of motivation from the last one hundred years, sharing what each one teaches us about how to motivate others: from Maslow and the universal human needs models, through to the role of goal setting, informal and formal rewards and incentives, personal confidence in one’s abilities (called self-efficacy in the science), and team-level factors such as psychological safety and leadership.

We will then engage with an interactive case study and experiment with constructing strategies of activity in order to boost or sustain the motivation of the people in those scenarios – reflecting on how this will transfer to the real world.

CRAFTING GREAT PRESENTATIONS

Presentations remain the single most important way in which we inform our colleagues, energise our stakeholders, win new clients, and (hopefully) gain approval for our projects and proposals. Indeed, presentations are so central to these things that a good one, delivered with charisma and clarity, can feel almost disproportionately influential over key decisions.

In a highly experiential and participative session, participants will work up their own materials in pairs, ready for presentation and feedback, as we take them through a range of tools and insights based on the following key areas:

• Setting objectives and agreeing a creative brief
• Refining your core argument and messages
• Targeting your audience
• Getting the right presentation structure
• Designing your slides
• Anticipating questions and challenges
• Audience pre-engagement
• Compelling personal delivery

HIGH PERFORMING TEAMS

Our most successful organisations are case studies in the power of great teams. With the right structure, the right remit, the right culture, and the right balance between clear direction and autonomy, high-performing teams have the power to turbo-charge our ability to achieve amazing things.

In this stimulating and provocative session, attendees will be asked to construct their own strategies for instilling the right spirit, and sowing the right seeds, for great team performance. This will include looking at:

• Psychological safety: protecting a bias for results while empowering others to speak up, innovate, challenge and experiment
• Trust: looking at the range of factors that help build within a team this most magical of all ingredients
• Conflict and challenge: equipping teams to approach conflict and challenge in a way that builds commitment and accountability without damaging relationship
• Ownership: devising team strategies that promote a shared set of values and clarity on what these values look like in action

BUILDING GREAT RELATIONSHIPS

Building and maintaining great relationships is how to get things done in the modern world. This is especially the case if you operate with an array of external stakeholders, or if you work across divisions and functions (and reporting lines).

In this workshop, we will give participants the tools they need to:

• Evaluate personal networks based on levels of warmth, trust, mutual value and mutual understanding – with techniques to address gaps and vulnerabilities
• Develop their personal narrative and brand
  Share information and insight in order to build rapport, trust and common ground
• Ask great questions in order to elicit quality insights from others while making them feel engaged
• Listen at three important levels: surface data, emotion and core motivation

COMPELLING LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION

The world can be a complex, unpredictable place. This brings with it lots of opportunity – but only if we can cut through the noise and bring people together around shared purpose and values.

In this thought-provoking session, packed with tools and examples, we start by looking at the power of great communication, sharing examples of key role models in the field.

We then look at three key principles of compelling leadership communication:

• Be simple (before being clever)
• Make people feel (not just think)
• Talk with people (not at them)

For each principle, we discuss common barriers to success before sharing tools, techniques and repeatable strategies that people can use in order to dial up the impact of their communication without sacrificing personal authenticity.