Workshops
STORYTELLING - CHANGE - SYSTEMS THINKING - THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - PURPOSE
HIGH-IMPACT STORYTELLING WORKSHOP
Storytelling is perhaps one of the most important things to know how to do. It is how you convey what matters in the way the audience can receive it, understand it and perceive the world they operate in according to that new understanding. Storytelling is an exchange of more than information, it is expansion of awareness, seeding new ideas, inspiring people to change or to be a part of change, and those should always be one in the same but are not always thought of in that way. Stories matter and crafting them is both art and science, technique and instinct. You can learn to craft stories that are influential, change inspiring, catalytic. You can also learn to craft stories that are more informing and relevant and help connect more dots in the ever-complex world we live in. Communication professionals to change leaders to business leaders alike need to understand how storytelling for impact works and know how to bring this into their work and into their roles correctly, strategically and use the right frameworks and tools to make it easy to implement.
If you are storytelling as a profession, we have a workshop for all communication professionals specifically. If you are storytelling for change, we have a workshop specific to understanding how to create change stories and the strategies for catalytic, systemic change. If you are a leader then you need to understand how to convey your ideas, your visions, your purpose and what matters most to an organization or collective of people and invite them into your world that you are there to create. Every story you share matters, from the way you lead everyday meetings to the way you present in annual meetings to the way you influence shareholders. Yes, you can influence your shareholders with better stories and not just bottom lines and data, in fact you should for too much is lost in those numbers and charts and without a higher-level story and overarching why you will lose opportunities to gain trust, investment and higher-level gains.
Stories matter at every level of a community and organization and to every person and the organizations and communities overall. Storytelling is at the heart of the human species and high-impact storytelling bridges this ancient artform with modern science and psychology to ensure everything you speak is spoken with intent, can influence and inspire.
Storytelling Workshops:
Storytelling for Communication Professionals
Storytelling for Change Leaders and Change Agents
Storytelling for Leaders and Organizations
Storytelling for Social Impact
Customized Storytelling Workshop – contact us to discuss your needs and we can tailor our curriculum and expertise to meet them.
Timeframe: 2 days
CHANGE WORKSHOP
Change is either a one-time event or an ongoing way of being. It can also be both. It should be both. You should have an adaptive organization or program and be able to transform it or evolve it when the time is right or the need is present. The idea of change is so difficult to understand, however, and that is because we as humans struggle to change and understand change ourselves that it behooves us to lead it, create it or participate in it in the places we work. That said, change is the natural order of life because life is evolutionary and so change is necessary in order to evolve. Evolve or die, that is the stark message at the heart of evolution. Evolve or stagnate is also a relevant way to think of it. In the modern world change is a necessary part of business (both private and public sector) and adaptivity is the key in this new, faster-pace, more demanding way of living and working.
Our change workshops are tailored to the different types of change, from ongoing change that requires an adaptive mindset and way of functioning and operating in any organization or program or change in general as it relates to change initiatives and efforts, or complete transformation that is systemic change. This last one is grounded in systems thinking and deep psychology for this is the type of change that a movement is designed to create, for that is the only way to attain it. We create movements at every level of change, however, for that is the way to inspire change in people and change is ultimately about people and then strategy and then process. Our workshops offer you deep understandings of change and how to enable it as well as tools, tips and frameworks and blueprints to put into practice immediately. Change happens from within and that is why consultants, though helpful in some ways, often lead organizations and leaders through change that never sticks. Change can be created from within through leaders, change leaders and change agents that are already in place in your environments, and we will show you how to identify them and task them appropriately to take on new, expansive roles that will invite their true talents to shine and they will thank you for it.
We believe in movements, not mandates. We believe in change that inspires and influences people by calling on their higher values, talents and gifts and active participation instead of pushing or pulling them forward creating cynical environments that deplete energy and resist change at every step of the way. We teach you how to invite individuals into the process so they have ownership and feel connected and invested. We provide more than frameworks and tools that empower, we offer purpose and clarity in the face of ambiguity and confidence and knowledge that enables you to have the impact you need to have.
Change Workshops:
Priming for Change: Add on for challenging environments (think stagnant, disengaged, complacent and resistant), priming for change is a short 1-day workshop to help leaders, managers and change leaders learn how to prepare themselves, their workforce and their environments to be able to handle the upcoming change with more agility and commitment. This priming workshop is delivered after the regular change workshop as the finale. You will want to understand change first and how to lead it before you can understand why you need to prime people and environments strategically first. If you are leading change and uncomfortable, this workshop is also for you because it will enable you to come into yourself as a change leader by overcoming the things that inhibit our ability to embrace and be confident in our ability to change or guide others along a journey to change. Timeframe: 1 day
Creating Adaptive Organizations Workshop: The adaptive organization is an organization that flexes to the current needs and demands, is naturally collaborative and co-creative, it is the foundation for innovation as well. It is still hierarchical but agile in ways that are not infusing an organization with methodologies that deplete an environment of creativity, innovation and individuality. You need to learn how to be agile without going to extremes that have more negative consequences than positive ones. You need to teach people how to be agile so agility can take hold and become the way. People are what make an organization and agility is something that can be taught and infused into every department at every level. If your organization is stagnant, struggles with change or is complacent or simply outdated and needs to be modernized, this is the starting point and ending point. Learn the basics of adaption at a personal and individual level, a team level, a cross-functional level and at an organizational level. Timeframe: 2 days
Creating Change Workshop: For organizations or programs that have a charter to change or embark on change initiatives, you will learn the how and why and more. From understanding change to identifying change leaders and agents from within to creating change charters and priorities to portfolio management to impact assessment, you will be armed with the how to do it from within without leaning too much on external consultants. Change always happens from within and your ability to understand it at a deep level and know how to go about creating it is what will set you up for success. This curriculum is informed by systems thinking, to enable you to create systemic change, and psychology, to enable you to learn how to change and influence others to change. It is an innovative approach to change that has been employed at organizations from small start-ups to fortune 100’s. It is the way to change that can be possible and sustained and become the new norm for your organization, sending you on a new trajectory that embraces change and remains agile and collaborative and more. This is the organization that can tolerate innovation and even breed innovation. You need a certain environment before innovation enters the picture and this is the environment for that to become possible. Creating change is a workshop that will support everyone at every level of change. Our curriculum teaches you how to build a movement through a network of champions and change agents at every level, resulting in a nimble and adaptive organization that moves forward with agility and purpose. Timeframe: 2-3 days
Transformational Change At-Scale Workshop: This workshop builds on the creating change curriculum and is for those who need to go deeper and higher and farther into the future. It also includes some additional strategies that enables deep systemic change to be possible. It will teach you how to manage complexity, lead people through the transformation at every level of your organization, see into what needs to be seen and understood and measured, assess impact correctly and strategically, create enough momentum to get the change going and able to be sustained for a long journey, how to handle dips in productivity and output, how to handle unexpected crises and challenges, how to make hard decisions that are actually easy decisions that are impossible to tell in the face of chaos that change creates, how to navigate the breakdown state with finesse and how to lead everyone simultaneously through the buildup stage with quickness and ease. All of this is possible if you understand it ahead of time and what is really going on and then suddenly, all that chaos and confusion that results in poor decision making or ineffective responses or paralysis or regression dissolves and you have clarity and understanding and the ability to navigate through the stages of the journey with more awareness and confidence. This workshop gives you a roadmap, a compass, a north star and a suite of tools and tips to help you on your own journey. Timeframe: 2-3 days
Maintaining Change Workshop: So, you have changed, now what? This workshop is designed to help you solidify new ways of thinking, acting and collaborating in order to ensure an organization or group of people are prepared to continue on in the new order of business. It is designed to help those people who have had to go through change initiatives stay anchored into new ways through the mindsets and strategies that enable more creative, innovative and agile thinking and working. Timeframe: 1 day
SYSTEMS-THINKING WORKSHOP
This systems thinking workshop teaches you to think like a systems thinker. It teaches you to see, perceive and understand things systemically. It teaches you how you operate in systems and why they operate functionally and dysfunctionally. It enables you to understand how to change the system and how to effect change in any system begins and ends with the human system. Humans are individual systems and collective systems and the way the human system interacts with the system they are operating in dictates much about how that system operates, be it an organizational system to a social system to a healthcare system to a community system.
Why does thinking in systems matter? Because we live and work in systems and they do not function well. We try to change systems (think organizational systems, education system, etc.) and we cannot create the change we want. We try to address perplexing and/or complex problems and struggle to find the right solutions. The reason all of this and so much more is so difficult is because the systems themselves are complex and interconnected and often broken in ways that are invisible. Systems thinking gives you a way to see things from a higher perspective, a deeper perspective, a more connected and whole perspective and understand complexity or how to begin to make sense of it.
One of the greatest challenges of our modern age is the idea that everything is disconnected. Systems are designed for connection, for flow, for working in a way that enables certain factors to arise and operate correctly within the system and between systems. The challenge begins with disconnection and is exacerbated by many things, from lack of perspective to lack of the right kind of information to lack of flows to enable you to be effective and work together or create change. A broken system is problematic and creating change, from social to organizational, requires a basic and fundamental shift in thinking and systems thinking, or thinking in wholes, thinking in connections, thinking in flows, thinking in meta perspectives is the answer.
This workshop is not designed to make you a systems theorist or a systems thinker that models systems on a computer, it is designed to make you someone who can do more than think linearly or analytically, it is designed to help you think systemically and that is both a higher and deeper and more connected way of thinking. Connecting dots is what you learn to do. Finding patterns is inevitable. Seeing solutions to problems is the natural byproduct of this way of thinking. Think of a systems thinking approach to work and life as an integrated approach, as a more expansive out-of-the-box approach, and as an approach that offers you far greater awareness and understanding of how things, people and situations arise and operate and why. And, most importantly, what you can do about it.
Part of our workshop is designed to teach systemic problem-solving. Think of it as a new paradigm for problem-solving that helps leaders, groups, and organizations understand how to approach problems in a higher way and find the root of issues or see into the possible effects of courses of action so you are not employing solutions that are not effective or at worse, contributing to the problems you are trying to solve. That seems unlikely yet is one of the most common situations. Systemic problem solving as a framework gives you a tool that works like a thought partner that you can use to guide your own thinking or group thinking within your environment. This works across both business challenges and complex social challenges and is tailored to both depending on the focus of the attendees.
Timeframe: 3-4 days
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP
This workshop is for leaders of new vision, new ideas, emerging forces and dynamics they need to navigate, and advocates of change, causes and purpose. Thought leadership teaches you how to define what matters, why it matters, how to not only envision but design it as a forecast and then be the change and inspire others to believe in it. Thought leadership is not about you as a leader in a specific role, however this is especially helpful for leaders of various kinds, but those that lead through vision and example or are a leader of something new. That new can be anything, a new idea is a seed of potential and thought leadership is the cultivator through every action and word and deed. Thought leadership is about finding your voice and making sure that voice matters. You are not only translating what is in your mind out into the world, but making sure it matters to those who receive your messages and witness your actions so they can find resonance in it. Thought leadership matters today more than ever when we are trying to find our authentic voice and show up in the world correctly and with something to say and contribute. Authenticity is a must and that will come through as we learn to cultivate our thoughts and visions correctly and then give voice to them in a way that shines a bright light on what matters most. We can all become visionary in some way and this workshop will show you how. This is not a replacement for the high-impact storytelling workshop, but you can think of it as a great prerequisite if you are in a leadership role or tasked with driving something important or purpose-driven to do something important, or just important to you. Thought leadership is a workshop for the future because thought leaders create visions of the future, and you need to be future-oriented and lead from that emerging future as you move forward. This workshop will show you how to live with one foot in the present and one in the future and lead from there while maintaining that presence. Anyone that has ever led anything towards a future state understands how difficult this challenge can be. Thought leadership will offer you a framework for living as a leader and maintaining alignment to what matters and how to craft and do what matters most in the way that matters most.
Timeframe: 1 day
PURPOSE WORKSHOP
Not to be confused with mission or vision, purpose is the reason you exist. Corporate culture is a living organism that survives and thrives in a state of constant change, and this isn’t possible without a clear sense of purpose. Everyone wants to find room for expansion and meaning in their work and know they are creating value, but what they really want and need is purpose that their individual purpose can align to. And every organization or group seeking to improve its engagement and contribution, evolve, or inspire people to think and behave differently needs to start with purpose.
Because inspiration is the key to effective high-contributing action, it is important to understand that they key to inspiration is purpose and so organizations that embody a strong collective sense of purpose are inspiring for those who work in them. They are also inspiring for those who work with them and that increases your customer loyalty, market share and much more that is not only bottom line focused. Purpose-driven cultures are also more resilient, through inevitable times of change, uncertainty, and instability, purpose will help an organization find its way forward and help leaders illuminate the path ahead.
This program is designed to help guide you through the steps to find or reconnect with your purpose, articulate it effectively to inspire others, and help your people connect to the purpose behind their work. We will also look at how to create a purpose-driven culture overall. We provide strategies to elevate, align, and unify around a shared purpose, nurturing a purpose-driven organization and leadership.
Timeframe: 1 day