Another success: The director of operations with another company happened to stick his head in during a Leadership Training for Supervisors. He was so impressed with the message he overheard regarding “effective supervisor communication” that he decided to show our video on that topic to 150 top leaders in his organization. This was an accidental positive impact for dozens of company employees. We look forward to hearing from him.
– Robert Winter
The Pop-In
January 9, 2012 By 1 Comment
Contagious Skills in Leadership Training
November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
During a recent session of Leadership Training for Supervisors, a participant mentioned that the program had made a big impact on a supervisory interaction on the job. He said that because of coaching process he learned in the program, what might have been a 1-1/2 hour, emotional discussion with an employee was in fact a successful, 15-minute conversation with a positive outcome — for himself and for the employee. By using the “pre-planning process” for carrying out this meeting — which we teach in the Leadership Training program — the employee was not only “not defensive” but quickly bought into supervisory feedback The reason for his success: the supervisor had done his homework. “Doing homework” is a key aspect of our Leadership Training for Supervisors program, and can make a big impact on what might be difficult supervisor-employee interactions.
Another client, who has re-upped for another year of Leadership Training for Supervisors for his managers and supervisors, said there’s been a marked change in supervisor attitude and behavior in the workplace. He also noted a significant department-wide improvement that has positively impacted the morale of frontline workers.
Trinity Training and Development’s Leadership Training for Supervisors continues to be our most popular training program for reasons like these. Practical, hands-on, results-oriented training truly impacts the way managers and supervisors interact with their reports. Our consistent positive feedback from participants reinforces our commitment to this program, and inspires us to spread the word more widely about what we have to offer. We are also reminded that leadership ultimately boils right down to communication skills — both listening and hearing — with managers and supervisor as role models for these contagious skills.
– Robert Winter
Zydeco, Rhythm and Blues: Diversity Training
November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Workplace diversity is yet another dimension of our changing demographics: as our neighborhoods, churches and communities change so do our ompanies, factories, schools and other organizations. If we’re going to do professional training the right way, we mut adapt our programs to reflect this burgeoning diversity. We must break down real and perceived barriers and to dissipate stereotypes. As trainers, we have to educate ourselves and explore our own values in order to educate managers and front-line staff about diversity on the job.
Since the mid-90′s, I have been lucky to have diverse training groups. No surprise, perhaps: since in my area of Texas the Hispanic population outnumbers all others. But our Latino population is not just Mexican, and our nighbors and employees are not just recent immigrants. Many are second- or third-generation Latinos, with solid roots in the region’s communities, schools, churches and businesses. They come from numerous Latin American countries with their own distinct cultural and ethnic uniqueness: El Salvador, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and other countries.
As we began incorporating Spanish language training into our professional development programs we had to learn the nuances of and between different cultural groups, so we went to work getting oriented. To ensure our trainings were conveyed most appropriately, we hired a translation company that not only specialized in business terminology, but also used translations that reflected the linguistic style of the majority of Latin American countries. Mexican Spanish, for instance, is not Spain Spanish.
From there, we set out to achieve training goals in multi-cultural classrooms where respect is front and center. We recognize differences by encouraging participants to discuss training concepts from their own unique perspective. We manage classrooms so that no one group is identified as the “problem.” We find engaging ways to allow people to share their differences. We find ways to communicate, look each other in the eye and engage.
One of our success stories was with a Texas school district, where we worked with a diverse group of custodians, with great results.
For instance, in one multi-cultural class, we had the participants bring their favorite native foods to share at lunch. I like to play music between sessions and during breaks, and I asked participants to provide their favorite tunes – and we had zydeco, bagpipes, rhythm and blues.
Ethnic diversity is just one element of what diversity really means today: Diversity also refers to age, gender, sexual preference, disability, religion, socio-economic class and any other wide array of real and perceived differences. The simple solution to addressing any strains or barriers between such groups: Engagement and communication.