Additional Leadership Training Modules

Module 1:  Strategic Leadership: 5 Questions Every Leader Must Ask

CDER managers face tremendous pressure to solve problems, achieve goals, lead change and improve productivity.  They’re told to turn to their team for input and ideas, but many aren’t confident in their skills to facilitate a collaborative session.  The model presented in this session will help managers generate great ideas and solutions in a team setting.

This module introduces a proven process called The Framework for Leadership, consisting of 5 questions, which, when asked in a specific order, enable leaders to engage their team in finding and implementing effective solutions.

The Framework keeps groups from getting bogged down in the issue itself and the things that aren’t working.  It focuses them instead on what is working.  Possibilities and solutions are generated from there.  The net effect is that:

• Ideas, answers and solutions are born from the people closest to the work.
• Conflicts are resolved and group dynamics are redirected in a positive way.
• Employees become critical thinkers and have a sense of buy-in.
• Ideas and solutions are successfully implemented.

Book:  Leadership Made Simple; Oakley, Krug

Streamed Training Video:  5 Questions Every Leader Must Ask

Module 2:  Crucial Accountability

One of the key aspects of resolving accountability issues is determining why the situation has occurred and what you can do to remedy and prevent it from happening again. Crucial Accountability will help you determine the motives or source influencers (six source model) contributing to the accountability issues. Remember the six source model demonstrates six different sources of influence: personal motivation and personal ability, social motivation and social ability, and structural motivations and structural ability. Once you are able to diagnose the contributing influencers you can develop strategies to remedy the accountability issues.

Training Objectives:

• Review the principles of Crucial Conversation or ACTION dialogue.
• Practice having a dialogue that addresses the gap between what was agreed upon and the inconsistency with the current deliverable.
• Discuss several strategies to make the “accountability dialogue” safe.

Book:  Crucial Accountability; Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzler

Module 3:  Communicating Non-Defensively

We are all naturally defensive to some degree, and nowhere is it more apparent than in our communications with others at work.  Often you have good reasons for believing you’ve been attacked; however, when you respond with defensive behaviors you reduce the trust, contribute to arguments and hostilities and ultimately reduce the effectiveness of your “team” relationships.  This can contribute to creating a defensiveness chain that causes serious communication breakdown and ultimately leads to reduced productivity.

This session will focus on key leadership communication skills that will increase your emotional intelligence, reduce your interpersonal conflict and lead to more open and honest communication. 

Training Objectives:

• Watch a video that reveals five essential steps to sending and receiving messages non-defensively.
• Learn how to disengage from a defensive position and depersonalize the issues.
• Practice using a five-step method to disarm a defensive person and focus on problem-solving and negotiating.

Streamed training video:  Communicating Non-Defensively

Module 4: The Leadership Challenge

The FDA states one of its strategic goals is to cultivate a culture that promotes teamwork.  Teamwork is the critical element that is at the very core of successful organizations. TLs play a significant role in modeling, leading and mobilizing their teams.  Effective teams consistently reach their goals when they share three critical elements.  First, all team members share a common sense of what their vision and organizational identity is and they demonstrate tangible evidence of this identity by their actions.  Second, teams understand the importance of empowering every member by offering free-flowing, relevant information.  Finally, teams recognize the importance of nurturing mutual respect and trust that in turn creates enduring strong work relationships. 

This training offers specific strategies to establish or reinforce this method of team building.  In today’s dynamic workplace, teams win by individuals synergistically working together to create innovative solutions.  Unfortunately, team members don’t always step up and take an active role with projects.  TLs need a battery of skills to effectively lead and support teamwork.  A key focus of this session will be on initiating, sustaining and evaluating team mobilization projects.

A final challenge to sustaining teamwork is how to lead change. This requires TLs to play a significant role in establishing team beliefs that support change, develop personal characteristics that focus on successful change management and avoid the blame game and shift focus to future goals. TLs will be offered a five-step tool to identify the behaviors they must develop to successfully launch small-scale or large-scale team change.

Training Objectives:

• Review the three critical elements of creating successful teamwork.
• Participate in a group discussion and facilitation activity to create group ground rules/group guiding principles.  In order to achieve this objective, TLs will practice group facilitation skills including:  workshop method, discussion method and ORID.
• Learn a five-step plan for coping with the emotional and intellectual challenges of organizational change.
• Practice using Lewlin’s Force Field analysis method to assess a current “change project” and best determine the next steps towards their desired outcome.
• Self-assess using a diagnostic questionnaire, individual commitment to the five dimensions of effective change.

Book:  Leadership Challenge; Kouzes and Posner

Streamed training video:  The Leadership Challenge

Module 5: The Power of Future Conversations

Approximately 80% of the average work-related conversation is a rehash of what’s already happened; what worked, what didn’t, and why. About 15% of the conversation is action based, focusing on what is happening now, and only 5% deals with the future, or the realm of possibility. This training teaches how to reframe day-to-day conversations so that breakthroughs can occur.

Training objectives:

• Prevents teams from being rooted in the past.
• Keeps meetings future focused and encourages creative problem solving.
• Teaches TLs a method of speaking that helps to move their team in the direction of change.

Streamed training video:  The Power Of Future Conversation

Module 6: Leadership From the Inside Out

Many leadership trainings focus on the external factors such as vision, drive, creativity and diplomacy.  The essence of leadership goes much deeper; true leadership is about expressing who we are as a person.  This presentation will help you grow as a person, which will enhance your growth as a leader.  The focus will be on the mastery of life, rather than the mastery of circumstances.  Be prepared to experience personal transformation with inside-out effectiveness.

Training Objectives:

• Discuss and participate in self-analysis activities based on Kevin Cashman’s seven pathways to leadership mastery.
• Make a personal commitment to work on key areas of authentic self-expression.
• Develop action plans with specific steps to move towards personal growth and authentic leadership.

Book:  Leadership From The Inside Out; Cashman

Module 7:  A Leader’s Role in Team Building

In this module TLs will be challenged to define behaviors that can enhance team trust.  They will assess their team’s level of trust, and design a “team trust enhancement plan”.  Special attention will be given to the concept of “group think” and how to incorporate specific behaviors that guard against group think and move toward creative team problem solving.  A four step model will be taught that leaders can use to facilitate the “creative problem-solving process”:  defining opportunity, brainstorming creative solutions, making plans for building the idea and ultimately, ensuring effective implementation.  This module challenges TLs to define team purpose, develop skills at creating a strong “teamwork” culture and fostering individual alignment around the team’s mission/goals.

Training Objectives:

• Evaluate the degree of teamwork existing with a specific work group utilizing a polarity management graph.
• Break down “group think” behaviors by increasing team trust using the “creative process” method.
• Create a “team trust enhancement plan” for a current work group.

Book:  Polarity Management:  Identifying and Managing Unsolved Problems; Johnson

Stream training videos:  The Clarity Imperative and The Abilene Paradox

Module 8:  Working With You is Killing Me:  Managing Difficult People

From chronic complainers to idea stealers, boundary pushers to just plain “toxic” co-workers can make your job as a manager tough.  Based on the book by the same title, this session helps you free yourself from emotional traps at work.  You will learn to increase your emotional intelligence by:

Training Objectives:

• Examining how your reaction can enable a situation.
• Internalize a series of proven responses to problem behavior.
• Improve interpersonal relations and reinforce healthy work boundaries.
• Develop action plans or strategies for working with “difficult people”.

Book: Working With You is Killing Me: Freeing Yourself from Emotional Traps at Work; Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster

Streamed training video:  Working With You is Killing Me

Module 9:  Balanced Decision Making

Knowing what’s right, fair, honest and legal is just half the battle.  The focus of this module is on the belief that good beliefs lead to good behavior.  The most difficult ethics challenge is doing what’s right.  When you think ethics, think behavior.  Ethics are displayed in everything you do and everything counts.  You will be challenged to look at the importance of modeling and making ethical decisions about everyday choices.  If it’s true that you are what you do, and then let’s make sure you and your team do it right.

You will be exposed to the concept of boundary maintenance.  When this concept is applied at work, it can lead to the experience of having healthy, respectful work relationships.  This training will expose you to several strategies on how to establish healthy boundaries, identifying characteristics of boundary violations and offering instruction on how to make ethical decisions.  Making ethical decisions can be easy if there is one “right” answer.  When there is no clear “right” answer staff need skills and strategies to succeed.  Ultimately, your ability to successfully juggle political agendas, conflicting opinions and the mission of your organization can influence and predict your reputation as a leader.  Mastering the critical skills taught in this module can reinforce or lead to a permanent shift towards creating a culture of respect, trust and teamwork.  When your goal is to create a culture of respect, trust and teamwork, then boundary maintenance is the critical skill needed to ensure a permanent shift in work culture.

Training Objectives:

• Practice making every day ethical decisions using a four-step approach.
• Create a general working definition of professional boundaries and apply the three Rs of ethics:  respect, responsibility and results.
• Practice saying no with tact.
• Discuss how to make effective ethical decisions when you are confronted with two “right” answers.
• Set up team ground rules to establish an atmosphere of respect.

Book:  Ethics for Everyone:  How to Increase Your Moral Intelligence; Dobrin

Streamed training video:  Ethics for Everyone

Module 10: Developing Coaching and Mentorship Skills

A high performance team is made up of many diverse people.  When these diversities and strengths are celebrated, teamwork is enhanced.  This workshop focuses on how to enhance employee skills through the use of effective coaching.  A key component of this training is promoting positive teaching/mentoring skills.

Objectives:

• Assess your personality styles and roles of team members to maximize team collaboration.
• Recognize the five levels of student practice from novice to expert.
• Identify the four adult learning styles and incorporate this into presenting an educational demonstration.
• Learn the COACH method: C – conduct one to one meetings regularly, O – offer feedback and assistance, A – avoid overlooking the “middle-stars”, C – create an “everyone is a coach” environment, H – help others succeed.

Streamed Training videos: “Now Let’s Get Coaching”

Module 11:   Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) 360° Assessment

ALP utilizes the leadership practices inventory (LPI) assessment tool.  The LPI 360° assessment tool is administered online and is based on Kouzes and Posner’s (Leadership Challenge) five practices of Exemplary Leadership model.  The five practices of the Exemplary Leadership model approaches leadership as a measureable, learnable and teachable set of behaviors.  The LPI assessment also complements the OPM ECQ leadership competency model.  The LPI measures individual leadership competencies and offers insight into how leaders see themselves, how others view them, and what actions each student can take to improve their leadership effectiveness.   The 30 items LPI profile is completed by the student and six selected individuals, including:  immediate supervisor, manager, two direct reports and two identified co-workers.  A critical component of the LPI assessment process is to increase the student’s emotional intelligence (EI).  EI is a concept often credited to Daniel Goleman.  He identifies five distinct competencies critical to the development of high EI:  self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, empathy and effective relationships (social competency).  The LPI assessment focuses on increasing a leader’s self-awareness.  Through this assessment process students identify personal strengths and challenges which lays the foundation to develop more effective work relationships and concurrently increasing EI.