Academy of Organizational Excellence

Conflict in organizations is normal and can be productive, if managed properly. This session focuses on effective strategies to navigate and resolve disagreements in the workplace. Key conflict resolution concepts and techniques are discussed, including reflective listening, conflict reduction, problem solving, assertion, and interest-based negotiation. Conflict styles are also discussed as a means to understand motives and engage in collaborative problem solving. Interactive discussions and exercises provide practical tools to address conflicts constructively, promote collaboration, and maintain positive relationships. This session empowers participants to turn challenges into opportunities for growth and understanding.

After completing this session, participants will be able to:

• Compare different perspectives on conflict.

• Apply de-escalation techniques to bring others to a more resourceful state.

• Use a model and process for managing conflict.

• Discover their conflict style and how it affects interactions and decision-making.

Anyone can be a leader, regardless of position or title. This session reinforces that leadership is a mindset, not merely a position, and calls on everyone to contribute to leading the organization forward. Characteristics and key skills of leadership and management are discussed, compared, and contrasted, and participants discover their own unique style in their approach to interacting, directing, and motivating those they lead. Understanding these leadership styles helps to explain behaviors that are likely to repeat themselves under similar conditions. We discuss the wide range of styles that exist and learn to recognize the styles of others and what implications come as a result.

After completing this session, participants will be able to:

• Delineate between leadership and management, and their roles and boundaries.

• Identify the characteristics, value, challenges, and best uses of each leadership style, and recognize styles by observing and interpreting behavioral cues.

• Discover their own leadership style and learn to predict the style of others.

• Develop responses and strategies for interactions based on similarities and differences.

Goal setting helps create a growth mindset. Goals also provide a clear sense of direction and help prioritize efforts and resources, making it easier to stay focused on what matters most. In this session, participants learn to identify meaningful goals and see how those goals relate to desired outcomes. Participants use a comprehensive framework for setting and achieving meaningful goals. They develop detailed action plans using SMART criteria and identify key performance indicators to enable progress to be measured.

After completing this session, participants will be able to:

• Use the goal setting process to define goals clearly.

• Establish SMART goals and accountability measures.

• Develop an action plan and prioritize goals.

• Measure outcomes and implement strategies for overcoming challenges.

The more awareness we have of our own styles and preferences in how we interact, direct, and motivate others, the more likely we are to accurately read the situation and apply the appropriate approaches. In this session, participants assess their leadership styles and gain further understanding into best uses of the common leadership styles and approaches recognized today. With the goal of developing style fluency, strategies to flex to other styles are practiced, and participants learn to use situational awareness to read cues and apply tactics to adjust their style to get optimum results.

After completing this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify the value, challenges, and best uses of each style.

• Discover their own style and learn to predict the style of others.

• Develop style fluency and use strategies to flex and adjust as needed.

• Use situational awareness to apply the appropriate style.

Emotional intelligence (EI) proves to be a key indicator of success in leaders. This session covers key components of EI, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management, and is designed to enhance personal and professional interactions. Through assessment and interactive exercises, participants learn how to recognize and manage their emotions, improve relationships, and foster a positive work environment. This session equips participants with the tools to navigate challenges with emotional resilience and intelligence.

After completing this session, participants will be able to:

• Explain the basic framework of Emotional Intelligence, its key components, and its use in leadership.

• Enhance self-awareness by better understanding ourselves – emotions, behaviors, motivations, and goals – and their impact on behavior and decision-making.

• Manage our emotional impulses and hot buttons and respond appropriately to situations.

• Improve empathy skills and understanding of others’ emotions to create positive interactions and strengthen interpersonal relationships.

• Create a personalized action plan to continue developing emotional intelligence skills.

Creating clear and impactful interactions is essential for leaders. This session covers key concepts such as active listening, nonverbal communication, constructive feedback, and communication styles. Strategies to overcome barriers to effective communication are also discussed. Through practical exercises and scenarios, participants learn how to articulate ideas confidently, understand diverse perspectives, and build stronger relationships. This session provides participants with the tools and strategies to communicate with clarity and purpose.

After completing this session, participants will be able to:

• Use verbal and nonverbal communication skills to convey meaning more clearly.

• Use reflective listening skills to understand others, clarify meaning, and demonstrate attention.

• Compare style characteristics and understand how styles influence behavior and speech.

• Identify their own style and read the style of others.

According to surveys, managers rank giving direct feedback as the communication responsibility that makes them most uncomfortable. If done poorly, feedback can demotivate and cause tension, but when done well, team members and the organization can benefit. This session allows for practice in delivering feedback that results in meaningful change, strengthened employee relationships, and increased confidence for leaders. Participants also learn the importance of self-disclosure in building relationships and in assisting others in heightening their awareness and making change.

After completing this session, participants will be able to:

• Explain the challenges of giving feedback and why it is so critical to success.

• Identify the difference between feedback and coaching and when to do each.

• Practice a framework for delivering feedback that results in actionable improvements.

• Use self-disclosure as a vehicle for building relationships.

Time is a precious and finite commodity. Managing our time can not only increase efficiency and productivity but can also reduce stress. Through engaging discussions and practical exercises, participants learn how to prioritize tasks, set achievable goals, and utilize tools to optimize their time. This session is designed to equip participants with effective time management strategies to enhance productivity and reduce stress and participants leave with actionable techniques that can be implemented immediately in both personal and professional settings.

After completing this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify time wasters and common distractions and inefficiencies that hinder productivity.

• Prioritize tasks using prioritization techniques like the Eisenhower Matrix to focus on what matters most.

• Set SMART goals to enhance clarity and focus.

• Utilize time management and scheduling tools and techniques that aid in planning and tracking time.

• Implement strategies to maintain a healthy work-life balance while managing time effectively.

Foster collaboration while honing leadership and management skills. This program is designed to elevate emergent leaders ready to take their skills to the next level. Building on the Leadership Essentials program, this intensive program applies emotional intelligence and communication skills and focuses on advanced leadership strategies including giving and receiving feedback, problem solving and decision-making, and time management.

In today’s world, current issues and challenges require an innovative approach to decision making and problem solving. This session introduces creative and analytical tools and processes to assist leaders in gathering and using data to make informed decisions. Participants assess situations and choose appropriate models and tools to suit specific needs.

After completing this session, participants will be able to:

• Recognize and articulate the current issues and challenges that demand innovative leadership approaches.

• Examine the cultural and power dynamics within organizations and their impact on leadership practices.

• Apply various analysis and decision-making models to address real-world issues and solve complex organizational problems.

• Develop and implement creative problem-solving techniques that promote innovative decision-making.