18 Action Learning Facilitator courses

Facilitating Effective Meetings (In-Person) Billions of dollars and exorbitant amounts of time are wasted annually across the globe because of organizations' meeting practices. This contributes to serious performance problems for both organizations and employees, and it has a serious impact on culture and morale. But despite the costs and consequences, every-day people in any role have the ability to change that. They can reduce cost, improve productivity, and enhance their workplace cultures by improving their meeting facilitation skills. And that is because facilitation skills start in the planning stage, not in the live meeting stage. In this course, participants will learn that their responsibility as a facilitator is to be a steward of time, money, relationships, and performance. To do that, they will learn to estimate costs of meetings and practice a variety of strategic thinking and analysis tasks to effectively plan results-aligned meetings. They will also apply several techniques and strategies to proactively prevent and deal with conflict in meetings, as well as give objective, constructive feedback to others in order to create behavior change during meetings. Participants must bring laptops with them and have internet access during the course (both virtual classroom and traditional classroom). The laptops are needed for specific activities. Also note that this course pairs well with IIL's Conflict Resolution Skills and Decision Making and Problem Solving courses, which go much deeper into related skills and tools that support effective meeting facilitation. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Estimate the financial and time costs of attendance for real-world meetings Use a performance formula to define the purpose of meetings Describe the responsibilities and qualities of an effective facilitator Analyze situations to determine when a meeting is necessary Articulate performance-driven meeting goals and results Align meeting goals and results Strategize to invite, involve, and exclude appropriate attendees Explain research-based best practices for meeting decisions and agenda development Create an effective agenda for a results-driven meeting Apply proactive tools and strategies for relationship-building dealing with meeting conflict Give constructive behavioral feedback using the Situation-Behavior-Impact® technique Getting Started The Business Case for Effective Facilitation Embracing the research on meetings Estimating the real costs of meetings Determining a meeting's performance value Clarifying the meeting facilitator's role Facilitating the Meeting Plan Determining if a meeting is necessary Aligning meeting goals with meeting types Identifying the right attendees Creating a strategically effective agenda Facilitating the Live Meeting Building relationships from the start Dealing with conflict proactively Giving feedback on unproductive behavior Summary and Next Steps

The Art of Delegation and High-Impact Feedback Whether you are a project manager, an executive, or simply someone involved in leading or helping others, a critical part of your work must involve delegating and giving feedback. These two skills, however, are not as simple as they seem. How do you know what to Partcipant? What kinds of feedback should you give? Knowing this and practicing this are two different things. Ultimately, delegating and giving feedback are skills that must be done mindfully, strategically, and meaningfully. They must be done in ways that not only positively impact performance, but also inspire growth, engagement, and motivation. When done poorly, they can create significant problems. But when done well, they can generate value for everyone and benefit future endeavors. In this course, you will learn to think more deeply about the importance of delegating and discover how to give better feedback. You will have opportunities to apply best practices and methodologies that you can use in the real world, ultimately paying off for you and for others. What you Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Explain why common excuses for NOT delegating are short-sighted Identify what needs delegating by using a proven methodology Utilize best practices in real world scenarios, delegating in a way that benefits you and the individual to whom you Partcipant Summarize key lessons learned in brain science which enhance the feedback-giving process Recognize the critical connection between feedback and performance Apply a proven model to deliver feedback that inspires growth, engagement, and motivation Getting Started What is delegation? What makes delegation hard? What do I Partcipant and why? How to Partcipant effectively Feedback Exploring the feedback process Why feedback is hard to give...and receive Why giving feedback effectively is important Feedback models

Facilitating Effective Meetings: In-House Training Billions of dollars and exorbitant amounts of time are wasted annually across the globe because of organizations' meeting practices. This contributes to serious performance problems for both organizations and employees, and it has a serious impact on culture and morale. But despite the costs and consequences, every-day people in any role have the ability to change that. They can reduce cost, improve productivity, and enhance their workplace cultures by improving their meeting facilitation skills. And that is because facilitation skills start in the planning stage, not in the live meeting stage. In this course, participants will learn that their responsibility as a facilitator is to be a steward of time, money, relationships, and performance. To do that, they will learn to estimate costs of meetings and practice a variety of strategic thinking and analysis tasks to effectively plan results-aligned meetings. They will also apply several techniques and strategies to proactively prevent and deal with conflict in meetings, as well as give objective, constructive feedback to others in order to create behavior change during meetings. Participants must bring laptops with them and have internet access during the course (both virtual classroom and traditional classroom). The laptops are needed for specific activities. Also note that this course pairs well with IIL's Conflict Resolution Skills and Decision Making and Problem Solving courses, which go much deeper into related skills and tools that support effective meeting facilitation. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Estimate the financial and time costs of attendance for real-world meetings Use a performance formula to define the purpose of meetings Describe the responsibilities and qualities of an effective facilitator Analyze situations to determine when a meeting is necessary Articulate performance-driven meeting goals and results Align meeting goals and results Strategize to invite, involve, and exclude appropriate attendees Explain research-based best practices for meeting decisions and agenda development Create an effective agenda for a results-driven meeting Apply proactive tools and strategies for relationship-building dealing with meeting conflict Give constructive behavioral feedback using the Situation-Behavior-Impact® technique The Business Case for Effective Facilitation Embracing the research on meetings Estimating the real costs of meetings Determining a meeting's performance value Clarifying the meeting facilitator's role Facilitating the Meeting Plan Determining if a meeting is necessary Aligning meeting goals with meeting types Identifying the right attendees Creating a strategically effective agenda Facilitating the Live Meeting Building relationships from the start Dealing with conflict proactively Giving feedback on unproductive behavior

Mastering Critical Conversations We will explore various obstacles to delivering 'challenging' messages effectively, including those that come from the external environment as well as those we encounter internally. After gaining insight into the brain science behind the biology of conflict and emotion, we will then examine a 5-step framework for delivering difficult messages. Paired and small group activities comprise a large portion of this interactive course, which culminates in a role play. What You Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Recognize how a perceived threat by the brain translates into a physiological response of fight, flight, or freeze Utilize various techniques to mitigate an 'amygdala hijack' state Leverage a 5-step model to deliver 'challenging' news effectively Managing Difficult Conversations Obstacles to managing difficult conversations Understanding human nature Brain Science and the Biology of Emotion The unique challenge of social and emotional learning The limbic system and the amygdala hijack Self-regulation strategy for the amygdala hijack Delivering Challenging Messages Managing difficult conversations 5 steps for delivering a challenging message Verbal active listening techniques Preparing to deliver a challenging message (scenarios) Conversations Involving Emotion and Conflict Two types of conflict Spectrum of responses to conflict Psychological type preferences and conflict Creating an action plan

Mastering Critical Conversations: In-House Training We will explore various obstacles to delivering 'challenging' messages effectively, including those that come from the external environment as well as those we encounter internally. After gaining insight into the brain science behind the biology of conflict and emotion, we will then examine a 5-step framework for delivering difficult messages. Paired and small group activities comprise a large portion of this interactive course, which culminates in a role play. What You Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Recognize how a perceived threat by the brain translates into a physiological response of fight, flight, or freeze Utilize various techniques to mitigate an 'amygdala hijack' state Leverage a 5-step model to deliver 'challenging' news effectively Managing Difficult Conversations Obstacles to managing difficult conversations Understanding human nature Brain Science and the Biology of Emotion The unique challenge of social and emotional learning The limbic system and the amygdala hijack Self-regulation strategy for the amygdala hijack Delivering Challenging Messages Managing difficult conversations 5 steps for delivering a challenging message Verbal active listening techniques Preparing to deliver a challenging message (scenarios) Conversations Involving Emotion and Conflict Two types of conflict Spectrum of responses to conflict Psychological type preferences and conflict Creating an action plan

Develop the commercial awareness, financial knowledge and strategic thinking capabilities, to influence the direction of the business Course overview Duration: 2 days (13 hours) This course is aimed at managers who want to develop their commercial awareness, financial knowledge and strategic thinking capabilities, so that they can influence the direction of their business and deliver to their full potential. Day one of the course provides the skills and insights to make sense of your company’s financial position and performance. Day two helps delegates to consider the strategic thinking tools required to plot the forward course needed to maximise the potential of the business. As well as looking at how to make effective business decisions, this course gives a good grounding in finance and profitability. As a two day programme, day one provides the skills and insights to make sense of the company’s financial position and performance. Day two then considers the strategic thinking tools needed to plot the forward course needed to maximise the potential of the business. Objectives By the end of the course you will be able to: An understanding of the balance sheet, profit and loss account, cash flow and statutory and management accounts Learnt to correctly employment key financial ratios to analyse your business A practical definition of strategy analysis tools to examine the current environment and capabilities Steps to devise a mission and vision statement Recognition of the skills and resources needed to achieve the vision Generation of appropriate strategic and tactical commercial objectives Content What is Strategy Defining Strategy Strategic thinking Strategic models Commercial thinking – what is money? Where are we now STEEPLE analysis SWOT Analysis P&E forces at work Political distortions in capitalist markets Where are we trying to get to Setting the mission and vision Creating a BHAG Strategies for deflation and inflation The role of banks Commercial and investment banking Fractional reserving Securitisation How to get there Skill gap analysis Business Process Re engineering The role of creativity How to get there Getting the team on board Individual and team motivation The power of the brand Overcoming challenges Debt and deleveraging Change management Creating value Discounted Cash Flows Building the business case Asset Valuation techniques Making it happen Turning Strategic Thinking into Strategic Plans Scenario planning for an uncertain future Creating commitments and lock in Discussion and review Time will be set aside during the course for review sessions with time for questions, answers and action learning.

This intensive one-day IACCM-approved programme helps participants develop the skills, knowledge and competencies required to plan for and carry out effective negotiations in a range of different environments. By the end of the programme participants will be able to: Understand the basic concepts of negotiation and how it adds value to the organisation Recognise the stages of negotiation and the skills required at each stage Make use of tried-and-tested negotiation planning tools Apply a range of negotiation tools and techniques to support the organisation in obtaining value for money, quality and fit-for-purpose outcomes Set negotiation objectives Appreciate the importance of interpersonal skills in maximising the opportunities for reaching win/win agreements 1 Welcome Introductions Aims and objectives Plan for the day 2 Why negotiate? Understanding the negotiation context Negotiating with suppliers Negotiating with stakeholders 3 Understanding the process The phases of negotiation and what to do in each phase Before During After 4 Planning Appreciating the importance of planning Different approaches Identifying the key variables Setting objectives for each of them Practical negotiation planning exercise 5 Doing The key skills required, Communication Numeracy empathy Applying these skills in a role play: practical exercise 6 Close Review of key learning points Personal action planning

Wouldn't sales be a 'walk in the park' without challenging customers? Why is it that some customers are so difficult to please, so quick to call 'foul' at the slightest blip and so mean with their gratitude after we've bent over backwards to accommodate them? Whether we are looking at prospective or existing customers, there is a toolkit for dealing with the most challenging of them. This course will help participants: Use broad open questions to give the customer a platform for their opinions or issues Improve listening skills to really understand what's behind the customer's challenging style Probe specific phrases to show listening and earn deeper disclosure Use silence to let challenging customers 'blow off steam' Understand the negative impact of certain phrases on a challenging customer Summarise effectively and reassure the customer of our understanding of their needs Recognise the 'behaviour cycle' and avoid emotional escalation Understand 'transactional analysis' and how to bring people from 'child' to 'adult' state Create loyalty in customers who are slow to give trust 1 What makes a customer 'challenging'? Why customers challenge us - understanding their drivers 'Wearing their shoes' - seeing things from their perspective Understanding our own personality style How to flex with a style that is different from our own Ways to quickly recognise a customer's style The benefits of flexing with a challenging customer's style 2 Practical exercise - forum theatre Participants take it in turns to deal with the trainer (who plays the role of the challenging customer) Observers stop the action when they hear or see something they deem wrong The participant in the seat gets a chance to use a suggested alternative line The participant who makes the suggestion has the chance to occupy the seat and deliver it themselves Frequent feedback from the trainer as to how the participant's words are making him feel Opportunities to rewind the action if an ill-advised line is suggested and delivered Flipchart for capturing what worked, what didn't work and why Mehrabian principle - the importance of body language and tone over words used 3 Questioning and listening skills How to use open questions to get the customer talking What questions to avoid and why The use of pauses and silence to reduce tension and build trust What listening is and what it isn't Question funnelling - how to earn deeper disclosure through probing The power of summary 4 Transactional analysis explained What is transactional analysis (TA)? Exploring the TA states and why people behave in that way under pressure How to bring challenging customers to 'adult' state to reduce tension How 'parent' or 'child' behaviours can be inadvertently triggered Understanding the 'behavioural cycle' and how to break it Mini-role play 'vignettes' to demonstrate real time impact of ill-chosen words 5 How to build trust with challenging customers Techniques for placating current challenging customers Methods that the participants have already used effectively - understanding why those methods worked and how other participants can model them Participants' experiences of trust having been lost - understanding why those experiences had that negative outcome How to 'go the extra mile' with challenging customers 6 Bringing a 'real' challenging customer to life Participants give the trainer a brief profile of a specific challenging customer of theirs 5-10 minute roleplay in which the trainer brings that individual to life Observing participants - without interrupting - make notes on what is and isn't working Trainer stops the action half-way through to give feedback on how he is feeling Participant goes back into the roleplay having recalibrated their approach based on feedback Observers give feedback on what did and didn't work Trainer comes out of character to explain the impact of the participant's words and behaviours 7 Wrap-up Key learnings from each participant Individual action planning - steps that can and will be implemented in the workplace