Lunch and Learn, One-Day and Two-Day Programs

Creativity in Business Canada offers many short and customizable program topics in areas relevant to leadership and organizational success. Each program incorporates innovative learning methods in the spirit of the Stanford Creativity in Business Program. Each one- and two-day program also incorporates one half-hour of individual follow-on coaching.

When Your Assets Have Feet – Measuring Corporate Culture

There are effective ways to build organizational cultures into environments that are productive, healthy, and enjoyable. These include establishing real, common values, developing individual potential, learning how to relate to others effectively, and building work-groups into teams. In this program, you will gain:

• Knowledge and understanding of assessment and development tools and processes, including the Hall-Tonna Values assessment, KEYS®, the Dennison Organizational Culture Survey®, the Gallup Organization Q-12 Survey®, and the Kairios Group Metaphor Survey® and others.
• Strategies for using aggregate data from individual assessment theory and instrumentation, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation-Behavior), the Discovery Learning Change Style Indicator®, the Gallup Organization Strengths Finder®, and others.
• Behavioural tools for developing individuals and groups toward a productive and strong culture, including values alignment, projective image, organizational metaphor and story, developmental feedback and dialogue.

Understanding the Values Continuum

Many organizational leaders understand the value of values in aligning behaviour with organizational goals. However, few understand the dynamic nature of values or how to manage the way values link together. Every individual, team and organization exhibits an interrelated set of three types of values: foundation values, focus or day-to-day operational values, and the “vision” values that exert a pull toward the future. These values represent a set of both conscious and unconscious priorities that drive organizational outcomes. Gaps in this set can result in vulnerabilities to both internal and external pressures: a ‘house of cards.’ Understanding the values continuum results in sound personal, group and organizational structures and guides effective decision-making under pressure.

• In this workshop, you will be introduced to values by first working with individual (your own), and then with group, and finally with organizational values. As a result of attending this workshop you will take with you a working knowledge of values and how to apply that knowledge to your own behaviour and goals.

Strategic Mentorship

When your assets have feet, it becomes imperative for organizations to develop strategies to build and sustain a climate in which retention and succession planning are foundational. This seminar provides a comprehensive and practical introduction to understanding the importance of mentoring. It shows how mentoring mediates between organizational values, behaviour change and effective decision-making, and shows how all of these elements are vital to accomplishing ongoing professional development. Strategic Mentorship uses a strengths-based orientation to leverage both the natural strengths and abilities of the mentor as well as those of those being mentored. This seminar includes:

• philosophy and intention in the mentoring relationship
• selection and implementation of fundamental assessment strategies and techniques for augmenting the mentor-mentee relationship;
• development of the long-term mentoring relationship to develop in the mentee capacities essential for higher leadership responsibilities and positions in organizations.

This seminar is offered both as a workshop and on a mentor-the-mentor basis.

Managing Disequilibrium

The cost of constant disequilibrium in society and the work environment personally affects managers’ effectiveness in the organizational context. It directly affects relationships with superiors, peers, reports, clients and external partners as well as family and friends. Each person’s response to environmental stress is unique and requires an individualized strategy. Effective behavioural change likewise requires recognizing both the unique triggers to disequilibrium and recognition of the moment of opportunity to change one’s response to the situation. This workshop will address both recognizing and sustaining effective coping strategies. You will learn to effectively manage disequilibrium by:

• recognizing your unique behavioural stress-indicators;
• recognizing your disequilibrium profile (fight, flight, paralysis);
• identifying an individualized creative strategy for coping with disequilibrium in the workplace;
• identifying behavioural markers for applying strategy;
• identifying measures of success.

Leading Change in Turbulent Times

Traditional approaches to change management do not address the increasing complexity and chaos of a global environment. It is increasingly clear by the unpredictability of our environments, the increasing need to depend on networks, dramatic and unexpected change, and the need for innovation, all characteristics of turbulence that traditional approaches to organizational management and leadership are not sufficient for current needs. By learning to look at these challenges using the focus of creativity, participants will learn competencies that afford new possibilities for leadership.

• This seminar will explore the nature of change and complexity, as well as the style of creative approaches that and develop creative applications to participants’ own situations, using their own style of creativity.

Developing Coaching Skills

Developing people through coaching is a key organizational competency. Research shows that few organizations practice coaching, mostly because managers do not know how to do it. Effective coaching is a two-way street, involving active and attentive listening as well as timely and actionable feedback. This workshop will provide you with:

• understanding of the basics of coaching: why, when and how
• practice with case studies and construction of real life cases
• facilitated coaching practice and feedback
• honing interpersonal and communication skills
• action planning for effective coaching

Influencing Skills

In flatter organizations and fluctuating economies, managers are compelled to do more with less, very often carrying responsibility for large-scope projects without formal authority over the people they will need to mobilize to accomplish work. Increasingly managers must learn to influence: to be persuasive, negotiate conflicting interests and work demands, to motivate others in order to succeed. This workshop will deal with:

• “currencies” of power and influence
• personal influence styles and targeted communication
• basic conflict management and negotiation skills
• personal and project vision-setting and motivation based common goals

Learning: The Essential Competency

In a global business environment that is increasingly chaotic, unpredictable, ambiguous and complex, there is one competency without which no-one can succeed: the ability to learn new information and integrate it into the workplace. Managers need to gain and sustain competency in accessing new information as well as communicate it effectively. In this workshop you will:

• understand your own unique learning style and how to leverage it (4MAT Learning Style Instrument)
• learn strategies for effectively targeting communication to other learning styles

Storytelling Changes the World

Even when corporate values are articulated, they often do not lead to aligned behaviours. Part of what is missing is example: walking the talk and providing meaningful examples for employees at all organizational levels. Part of what is also missing is a meaningful way to create shared passion for corporate values. Storytelling sets examples, inspires, and elicits stories in response --- in other words, shared passion and aligned values. In this workshop, you will learn how to become an effective organizational storyteller by:

• recognizing the tacit values of your organization in your corporate stories;
• understanding the relationship of corporate values, behaviours and corporate stories through the constructive power of authentic storytelling;
• practicing a fourfold coaching model that applies not only to storytelling but to coaching and mentoring;
• giving and receiving feedback to enhance your natural storytelling strengths; and
• you will leave with a story you can tell.