Kicks off February 24th, 2025 | 2:00pm - 5:00pm

Rising Leaders is a program developed to help your company’s current and future leaders take their impact and results to the next level.  By leading with knowledge and confidence, great leaders save companies time, money, and worry. By investing in their people, great companies retain and attract the best talent.

Part One: Focus on You

DEVELOPING YOUR LEADERSHIP MINDSET
It’s often the top performers that get promoted into leadership positions. Expertise is great, but leadership requires a generalist approach and the ability to step back and allow others to execute. This is more challenging than many anticipate. In this module, we focus on the foundations of leadership and the key changes you will need to make within yourself and your mindset to succeed through others. 

Objectives:

• Understand the mindset shifts you’ll need to make to embrace leadership. 
• Identify your behavioral style and those of the people you manage or work closely with. 
• Learn how to adapt your style to work with those that show up differently to you. 
• Determine what type of leader you would like to be and the steps to take to get there. 

TIME MANAGEMENT & PRIORITIZATION
For most leaders there’s no such thing as a completed to-do list. There will always be more you can do when it comes to people, time, cost, and quality. How you use your time – and that of others – can play a big role in setting you apart and improve the output of you and the team. In this module we will focus on the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of effectively using your time with intention.

Objectives:

• Understand how to manage your time AND intention, and the tools available to do this. 
• Appreciate the importance of prioritization and how to utilize the ‘Urgent & Important’ matrix to plan your week. 
• Identify your ‘time wasters’ and strategies to address them. 
• Learn how to run more effective meetings. 

HEALTH & WELLBEING FOR LEADERS
To be an effective leader, you must be able to manage yourself first. While some stress is good, too much can diminish your leadership capabilities and personal enjoyment in the workplace. Not making time for yourself is a false economy, but is a common trap leaders fall into. Do not let this be you! In this module, we uncover why health and well-being are so important and the unique ways you will each need to take care of yourself.

Objectives:

• Understand how stress shows up for leaders and it’s impact on performance. 
• Recognize the additional well-being steps leaders require - and why. 
• Develop a  plan to manage your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. 
• Learn ways to influence the wellbeing of your team.

Part Two: Focus on Others

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Failure to communicate effectively is often the root cause of workplace incidents and breakdowns – whether they involve people, products, or services. Planning your message and adapting your communication style are important considerations for getting the task achieved accurately, efficiently and effectively, and listening to understand can help avoid a range of headaches. In this module, we will focus on tools for effective communication with others in the workplace.

Objectives:

• Understand how verbal and non-verbal communication affect your interactions with others and impact your results in the workplace. 
• Appreciate how the best leaders 'lead with hearing,' and how to practice ‘listening to understand.’ 
• Learn how to communicate with people with different behavioral styles. 
• Identify considerations when communicating ‘upwards.’
  
  

UNDERSTANDING YOUR TEAM & BUILDING THEIR TRUST
Managing a team is not for the faint of heart. Each individual is unique and this will require you to adapt your approach depending on their character, and your time in the role. A focus on building trust with your team will increase the pace at which your team moves from ‘forming’ to ‘performing,’ and limit the time spent in ‘storming.’ In this module, we will focus on how to build a team, manage different characters, and build their trust. 

Objectives:

• Understand the different stages of team development, types of characters on your team, and strategies for managing them. 
• Discover how to build team norms. 
• Recognize why trust is the ultimate foundation for your success. 
• Learn models for building, maintaining, and regaining trust. 

DELEGATION, EXPECTATIONS & ACCOUNTABILITY
Effective delegation can both propel you forward as a leader and develop the skillset of your team. It can be uncomfortable to let go of the reins, but by effectively setting expectations of others and holding people accountable, you’ll both help to develop your team and free up time for you to focus on leading. In this module we’ll be focusing on how to delegate, set effective expectations, and lead others to success.

Objectives:

• Overcome your objections to delegating. Understand how to delegate effectively. 
• Learn how to effectively set expectations, so you get ‘what you think' you asked for. 
• Appreciate the importance of accountability and how to hold yourself and others accountable.
  
  
  

PROVIDING FEEDBACK & COACHING OTHERS
Many say that ‘feedback is a gift’ but a surprisingly high percentage of leaders dread both giving and receiving it. Done well, feedback can enhance trust in your team and benefit their professional growth. As team members grow, coaching can then become a powerful tool to develop their leadership muscles. In this module, we will focus on ways you can give feedback more effectively and understand when and how to transition to a coaching conversation. 

Objectives:

• Overcome your ‘feedback fears.’ 
• Learn a model for providing effective feedback – and practice it! 
• Develop strategies for handling resistance to feedback. 
• Understand the difference between feedback and coaching, and how to turn your feedback into a coaching conversation.

MANAGING CONFLICT & DIFFICULT EMOTIONS
Tension in the workplace is inevitable… and sometimes disagreeing can be good for business! Management of conflict with and between others, and handling difficult emotions is essential to ensuring effective outcomes and ensuring the future health of your team. In this module, we will focus on ways to resolve conflict and deal with emotions that may show up.

Objectives:

• Understand different types of conflict in the workplace. 
• Learn strategies and tools to manage conflict. 
• Appreciate how emotions affect the workplace - the good and the bad! 
• Learn tools for managing emotions in yourself and others. 

"I enjoyed the opportunity to hear that there are others with similar experiences and problems, and help each other on how to tackle them."

Part Three: Focus on the Business

NEGOTIATION FOR THE WORKPLACE
Whatever your role, the ability to negotiate is an important skill for any manager. You require it with your team, your leadership, your customers, and your suppliers. In this module, we will focus on the basics of negotiation and how to start practicing it in everyday situations. 

Objectives:

• Learn some of the basic principles of negotiation. 
• Understand different negotiating styles and approaches. 
• Develop an understanding of your negotiation strengths, weaknesses, and biases. 
• Identify informal and formal workplace negotiation situations and how to respond.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FINANCE & PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR ALL
You might not be in finance or marketing, but you will likely have more influence on these areas than you realize. Your day-to-day decisions and actions can have consequences for the future of the business,; actions and decisions need to be taken with this in mind. In this module, we focus on the fundamentals of finance and PR, what matters to your business owners, and how you can utilize this knowledge directly to enhance the company’s success.

Objectives:

• Understand the financial metrics that matter to business owners. 
• Appreciate how the decisions you make impact the bottom line of the business. 
• Recognize the link between PR and a healthy business future. 
• Learn how to get your team to care about finance and PR.
  
  

CONFLICT RESOLUTION WITH CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS
While you may not be responsible for negotiating contracts, your day-to-day activities will no doubt be affected by them. It is also important that leaders understand what has been negotiated so they can manage the inevitable deviations and conflicts between contract and execution. In this module, we will focus on what to consider when handling challenging situations with customers and suppliers and how contract knowledge affects this. 

Objectives:

• Identify additional things to consider when negotiating with customers or suppliers. 
• Learn ways to ensure there are ‘no losers’ through the power of compromise. 
• Recognize the situations where you need to hold your ground when in conflict with a customer - and how.
• Understand how to manage frustrated suppliers or customers.

"I liked the real life situations and scenarios that applied to my job and type of work."

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE: GROW YOURSELF, GROW YOUR TEAM
Among the day-to-day hustle and bustle, it can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. You may have your own goals, but a goal without a plan is just a wish. When we get clear on the future that we want for ourselves and others, create development opportunities, and and appreciate how our actions today can create a more successful future, it can be highly motivating for both leaders and their teams.  In this module we will focus on setting yourself and your team members up for a promising future.

Objectives:

• Get clear on your ‘why’ and your long-term goals. 
• Determine a plan of experiences, training, and mentoring to take you to the next level. 
• Understand where to focus your time and energy when it comes to developing team members. 
• Identify ways to support your team members to grow and develop.