These half-day seminars may be taken individually or as part of the Certificate in Leadership Excellence. Each may be customized and offered onsite for an organization.
Please click on the title to learn more about each seminar:
Self Awareness:
Social Responsibility:
Communication:
Interpersonal Relations:
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Seminar descriptions:
Critical Traits and Strategies for Leaders
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Thurs., Mar. 28 |
This seminar will help new and aspiring leaders be more effective in today’s rapidly changing global marketplace. Participants will learn about the characteristics and traits of effective leaders, the role of a leader in an organization, and competencies involved in being a leader. They will complete assessment exercises to be more aware of their own leadership traits and how these traits can be enhanced. Strategies to achieve results as a leader will be discussed. (Seminar in Certificate in Leadership Excellence program.) Presenter: Andrea Lanese, MBA, has worked for nearly twenty years in human resources management and corporate human resources in a variety of functional areas. She is Corporate Director of Leadership, Staffing and Organizational Development at Barnes Group Inc. Prior to joining the Barnes Group, she worked as Director of Human Resources at United Technologies’ Pratt & Whitney and Otis Elevator divisions. In those positions she has developed corporate-wide strategies to enhance current and future talent and designed and developed leadership programs. Andrea began her career with the Travelers Corporation in their Corporate Compensation department. Her extensive background in leadership development and organizational planning is augmented by her MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 2008, Andrea completed the External Coaching Intensive Certification Program from Columbia University. Her undergraduate in Business Administration is from the University of Connecticut. She is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management, the Human Resources Planning Society and the American Society of Training and Development. |
Leadership Strengths and Blind Spots
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Fri., Apr 12 |
People often do not reach their leadership potential because they have blind spots that limit their ability to see themselves as others see them. Participants will learn principles, strategies and tools that help successful leaders see their blind spots and turn them into assets. With this positive outlook, participants will be able to modify outdated habits and behaviors to create new personal strengths. Each participant will have the opportunity to receive an individualized Blind Spot Finder Profile and leave with a Clear Sight Plan to turn any potential blind spots into leadership strengths. Additional fee of $50 for the online Blind Spots Profile. (Seminar in Certificate in Leadership Excellence program.) Presenter: Claudia Shelton, MBA, MA, MEd, LPC is president of The Hopewell Group and author of Blind Spots: Achieve Success By Seeing What You Can’t See (John Wiley, March 2007). She is a speaker, educator, and executive coach and worked previously as a senior executive for several Fortune 500 companies. She has taught courses and institutes at Michigan State University, Columbia University, Texas A&M, and City University of New York. |
Making Tough Ethical Decisions
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TBD |
Leaders with high integrity know the difference between right and wrong. But even good people get puzzled when they face tough ethical dilemmas. Moreover, organizational culture and structures impact the integrity of any business. This lively, interactive seminar offers insights into what can go wrong and why, the essential dimensions to building a culture of commitment, and the presenter's widely used "Guidelines for Ethical Decision Making", a six step process for understanding and resolving ethical "gray areas". Participants will learn to understand why ethics is essential to business success, identify specific ways to strengthen ethics in organizations, recognize ethical dimensions in business decisions, apply the Six Questions Guidelines to real-world management ethical dilemmas, and reflect on their own commitment to personal integrity and responsible leadership. Presenter: Michael Rion, PhD, is principal of Resources for Ethics and Management. He has developed company-wide ethics programs for Fortune 500 companies, presented keynote speeches and workshops to hundreds of managers and employees at every level, and lectured for universities and professional organizations throughout the United States. Rion served for four years as Director of Corporate Responsibility at Cummins Engine Company and served six years as President of Hartford Seminary. He holds a PhD in ethics from Yale University and is the auther of The Responsible Manager: Practical Strategies for Ethical Decision Making and Everyday Ethics: Putting Values Into Action. |
Make Your Point Effectively and with Confidence
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Tuesday, Apr. 2 |
To give effective presentations, leaders need to know strategies for preparing and presenting ideas and information. A successful presentation can be a catalyst for both action and decision making. With a few simple techniques, this seminar will teach participants to master their presentation skills and will boost their confidence about speaking before a group. Learn strategies to organize and prepare for presentations, to develop content, to design strong openings and closings, to “read” the audience and keep them engaged, to reduce stage fright and anxiety, and to become recognized as a subject matter expert in your field or topic. When, and how, to use Word or Power Point and how to use visual aids to communicate ideas and information will also be discussed. (Seminar in Certificate in Leadership Excellence program.) Presenter: Diane Winston, MBA, is a communications professional with over 25 year of corporate experience with companies that include Citibank, AXA Financial and Pitney Bowes. She has led global initiatives impacting internal and external clients as well as defined revenue-impacting strategies for products, projects and change management efforts. After several years as a freelance consultant, she established Winston Strategic Partners, LLC, a specialized business strategy and communications consulting firm based in Norwalk, Connecticut. The firm’s clients include large corporations, small businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals. At the individual level, Winston provides coaching on presentation and communications skills for executives, writes their speeches and develops their presentations. She earned a certificate from the Executive Education Program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago, and a BA in political science from New York University. |
Moving from Disagreement to Dialogue: The Fine Art of Healthy Conflict Management
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Tues., Feb. 26 |
While “my way or the highway” is often the position taken by people during a disagreement, it is almost always a one-way road to resistance, confrontation, or disengagement. Alternatively, by engaging in productive dialogue and seeking to understand differing perspectives and conflicting needs, disagreeing parties can create a climate of mutual respect and a positive foundation for collaborative problem-solving. This half-day interactive workshop will involve participants in exploring and identifying strategies to transform professional disagreements into opportunities for mutual understanding and effective conflict management, both as parties to a disagreement and as mediators in other parties’ disagreements. The workshop will focus on leveraging participants’ “emotional intelligence” to examine three types of disagreement: misunderstanding, negotiable disagreement, and non-negotiable disagreement. Participants will learn to differentiate underlying needs and stated/apparently unmovable “positions”, to suspend judgment and seek mutual understanding, and to use the “5 A’s” of productive conflict resolution. (Seminar in Certificate in Leadership Excellence program.) Presenter: Deanne Shapiro, MA, is the founder and president of Life Skills Associates LLC, a training and consulting firm specializing in organizational development and effectiveness. For 25+ years, she has provided professional services for organizations in the for profit, nonprofit, and public sectors, in such areas as supervisory/managerial skills, leadership development, executive coaching, staff development, workforce diversity, teambuilding, change management, communication skills, conflict resolution, and stress and time management. She has presented seminars for the Center for Professional Development, University of Hartford for many years and previously taught at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, Capital Community College, and Bryant University Center for Management Development. |
Managing Upward: Towards a Mutually Supportive Relationship with Your Manager
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TBD |
While many popular books and movies focus on "how to manage your boss", their emphasis is often on ways to out-maneuver your manager and neutralize his/her impact on you. This negative approach reinforces the idea that relationships with managers are inherently difficult and characterized by the "3 R's of resentment, resistance and revenge" rather than on the "3 C's of clarity, cooperation, and commitment". In the real work world, it's far more productive to focus on building a solid working relationship with your manager that is mutually supportive for you both in achieving your professional goals and contributing to organizational success. This half-day seminar will provide several key strategies for developing and maintaining a positive relationship with your manager and responding to several of the challenges that may arise between a manager and an employee. These strategies and challenges will include: understanding your manager's work situation, work style, and work priorities; examining your manager's expectations of you and your expectations of your manager; dealing effectively with a manager who micromanages, intimidates, or bullies; anticipating and addressing emerging issues or problems in your relationship with your manager; and influencing "upward" to gain attention and acceptance for your ideas and vision. Presenter: Deanne Shapiro, MA, is the founder and president of Life Skills Associates, LLC, a training and consulting firm specializing in organizational development and effectiveness. For 25+ years, she has provided professional services for organizations in the for profit, nonprofit, and public sectors, in such areas as supervisory/managerial skills, leadership development, executive coaching, staff development, workforce diversity, teambuilding, change management, communication skills, conflict resolution, and stress and time management. She is an adjunct instructor at the University of Hartford and previously taught at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, Capital Community College, and Bryant University Center for Management Development. |
Strategies and Tactics for Leading Change
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Fri., Dec 7 |
In the past decade, organizations and their leaders have been bombarded with constant changes – new technologies, a younger workforce with different values, web-based competition, expanded global competition, new approaches to the customer, mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing, networked and partnered organizational structures, and the usual myriad of “fads” purported to solve all the problems faced by organizations. This seminar prepares leaders and managers to assess their organization and department and to create personal and organizational strategies and action plans for leading change. Participants will also learn and practice several change models and tools that help explain resistance to change and facilitate participation in the change process. (Seminar in Certificate in Leadership Excellence program.) Presenter: Sandra Morgan, PhD, is Professor of Management, Emerita at the Barney School of Business, University of Hartford. Her consulting practice focuses on leading change and creating learning communities in non-profit organizations and banks. She has worked with adult learners for over 27 years, including a variety of roles at Charter Oak State College’s innovative programs. Her research interests include organization development, storytelling, and learning environments. She teaches leadership, organization change, managerial skills and organization behavior. Dr. Morgan is a Past President and Fellow of ABSEL, the Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning. She has published articles on experiential learning in publications such as the Journal of Management Education, Simulation & Gaming, and the Organization Development Journal. |
