Overview:

Regardless of the size or type of organization that you work for, there are common skills required for success. This seminar is designed to equip the newer employee with key strategies and tools to succeed in the workplace. The seminar will introduce skills to increase effectiveness in time management and decision-making, along with personal skills such as increasing resilience and credibility. In addition, each participant will come away with a Success Reference Guide that they have worked with throughout the day.

Seminar Delivery:

This seminar will be participative with the introduction of tools and exercises that will be practiced and discussed in the classroom. Real-life examples will be used to illustrate key concepts.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this seminar, the participant will be able to:

• Plan for and respond to a variety of situations that occur in the workplace to facilitate a successful career

• Clearly identify the nature of problems in terms of cause and effect

• Use appropriate problem-solving or decision-making models for different situations

• Convert decisions into actions

• Explain and work with office politics
  

Maria Saley, MBA, CEC

Maria is an accomplished facilitator with her own coaching, consulting and training business. She focuses on developing leadership talent and strategies for companies and individuals. Previously, her career included multi-million dollar corporate responsibilities with leading companies such as PepsiCo, Campbell Soup, and Lipton (Unilever), where she provided significant contributions in management, training and marketing roles. In addition to her MBA, she has her Certified Executive Coach designation from Royal Roads University, and is a credentialed member of the ICF (International Coach Federation).

Maria coaches and develops workshops for organizations on a variety of topics such as personal strategy, coaching skills for leaders, emotional intelligence, employee engagement, interpersonal communication, sales strategy and strategic planning. Her clients come from industries such as oil and gas, telecommunications, insurance, foodservices and technology. She also teaches business courses at the University of Calgary and has previously taught and facilitated for Dale Carnegie.

Maria’s presentation style is very participative as she helps her audience to learn by doing. Theory is combined with interactive exercises and discussion to ensure that participants leave with new valuable tools to assist in their success.

Overview:

Strategic Planning is critical for all organizations since it provides the guide to ensure that they achieve their overall goals. This seminar is an introduction to the key concepts of the Strategic Plan and how to effectively participate in building the plan. Participants will be provided with a Strategic Plan outline and will work with the key elements during the day.

This seminar will be participative with the introduction of tools and exercises that will be practiced and discussed in the classroom. Real-life examples will be used to illustrate key concepts.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this seminar, the participant will be able to:

• Explain the strategic planning process

• Contribute to the preparation of a strategic plan

• Identify critical success factors

• Define core strategies

Maria Saley, MBA, CEC

see above

Overview:

During this interactive workshop, we will examine and discuss the struggle we often have in balancing our needs while maintaining or improving the working relationship. In looking at this “Negotiator’s Dilemma,” we will look at the effect our assumptions have on the way in which we interact with the other party during a negotiation.

We will explore a number of strategies for “creating value” for both sides by using the concept of “interest based negotiation,” and contrast that with the less effective traditional “positional bargaining” we often use. Participants will be provided with a template that can be applied to any negotiation and will be invited to participate in two case study negotiations. .

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Manage the struggle with meeting our needs in the negotiation to maintain or improve the working relationship

• Explain how our “assumptions” affect the way in which we interact with the other party during a negotiation

• Recognize the differences between traditional “Positional Bargaining” and the more effective “Interest Based Negotiation”

• Apply a format for the negotiation, provide structure during the actual negotiation and evaluate the process for the session debriefing

• Differentiate between alternatives, interests and concerns, options, benchmarks, standards of fairness

Gary McDougall

Gary is a retired police officer who served the law enforcement community for 25 years, where his focus was in the area of communication and, more specifically, hostage and crisis negotiation. In 1997, Gary successfully completed a Certification Program to become a qualified Hostage and Crisis Negotiator. Between 1997 and 2006, Gary was involved in 47 high-risk hostage/crisis situations.

Upon retiring from law enforcement in 2006, Gary formed a company called Conflict Solutions and is currently on the speaking circuit, delivering workshops and interactive seminars in effective negotiation skills, conflict management, dealing with difficult clients, ethics in the workplace and workplace violence issues.

Gary has also acted in a consulting role for the FBI in the area of Hostage/Crisis Negotiations. Gary is both a graduate of the FBI Hostage Negotiators Training School and has also served as an Instructor at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Overview:

How well do you understand the work of other professionals who are working to achieve the outcomes of their numerous large or complex projects? This workshop is about team building and harnessing the power of high performance group brainstorming and problem-solving through simple structures, and is aimed at MITs who work in or with multi-disciplinary teams.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this seminar, the participant will be able to:

• Apply team problem-solving skills

• Identify how the work of others can contribute to problem resolution

• Work with diversity, including technical, professional and basic thinking differences

• Frame a problem in different ways to identify different solution sets

• Explain business and social issues in addition to technical challenges

• Balance relative priorities of time, cost and performance
  Dr. Francis Hartman, P.Eng.

Dr. Francis Hartman

Dr. Francis Hartman heads a small management consulting practice (Quality Enhanced Decisions Inc.) that specializes in complex project management. He has over 35 years of international experience in industry on capital and other projects. He was a Professor and the Endowed Chair in Project Management and past Director of the Project Management Specialization at the University of Calgary. He has held Adjunct Professorships at the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia, as well as Sydney University in Australia. He has working relationships with a number of other universities and research institutions around the world. Dr. Hartman has held various other executive positions in industry in engineering, construction and high technology enterprises in Canada and the United States.

Dr. Hartman’s contributions through journal articles, books, chapters, invited papers, presentations, conference proceedings and reports number well over 220 from the past two decades. Dr. Hartman serves on the editorial boards of several journals in North America and Europe. Dr. Hartman is currently working on his fifth book.

Dr. Hartman has been recognized for his contributions to the fields of management, engineering and education through fellowships of professional associations as well as awards from government, industry and not-for-profit organizations.

Overview:

What makes a presentation amazing? What frustrates you about presentations that you know you could have done a much better job delivering? Why do you avoid every opportunity that is available to be the presenter/facilitator/speaker?

In this one-day session we will look at, examine and discuss what makes a presentation amazing. We will share our experiences. Throughout the day, we will look at various aspects of presentations including the introduction and the conclusion, the use of slides, handouts, how we can interact with the audience and even how we can use the seating arrangements to our advantage. We will look at how each component of a presentation needs to work together so that it becomes amazing and powerful by design and action. We will learn how to speak more effectively and overcome those butterflies in order to become more confident and powerful speakers and presenters. We will look at ways that will set you and your presentation skills above others.

We want to enhance your skills, creativity and your ability to be a powerful presenter. 

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this seminar, the participant will be able to:

• Speak with confidence and passion

• Overcome fears about presentations

• Explain the importance of planning, practicing and doing presentations

• Translate that boring, mundane presentation into one that everyone remembers and talks about positively

Gary Peckham

Gary is well-known for his enthusiastic, informative and stimulating presentations and seminars. His sessions furnish valuable lifetime tools usable not only for the workplace but also for our personal lives. He has provided workshops and presentations as well as instructed at numerous organizations, businesses and educational institutions.  

In addition to operating his own communication business, Peckham Communications, Gary is a member of the Alberta Transport Safety Board. He is also the Vice Chair of the Strathcona Bylaw Enforcement Review Committee. He is a qualified Arbitrator and has a love for mediation and community service. Prior to retiring, he was employed with the Government of Alberta for over 34 years.  He has been honored to be the recipient of the Alberta Achievement Award, three Premier Awards of Excellence and the GTEC Gold Distinction Award.