The kids will be headed back to school soon – and it may be the perfect time for you to learn some new subject matter as well. Two of The Wunderlin Company’s most popular workshops are being offered this fall. See if one of them is just what you need to sharpen your facilitation skills.

ADVANCED MODELS OF FACILITATION
September 9-11, 2008

A master-level workshop for those interested in taking their facilitation skills to the next level.

For experienced facilitators, Advanced Models of Facilitation exposes you to the latest in facilitation practice. It also gives you hands-on experience with new and more advanced facilitation skills. You’ll come away rejuvenated with ideas, skills, and tools that you can immediately put to use with groups.
Click here to learn more and to register!

FACILITATING FOR RESULTS
December 8-10, 2008
An introductory workshop that provides critical skills needed to plan and facilitate great meetings.

Facilitating for Results is a three-day experiential training class with a participant to faculty ratio of 9 to 1. Persons completing this class will be ready to:
• Shadow facilitate an in-depth problem-solving meeting
• Assist in the organization and planning of problem-solving meetings
• Facilitate most day-to-day meetings
• Become an internal leader of the cultural change initiative
• Take a facilitative approach to his/her own work
Click here to learn more and to register.

Both workshops will be held in Louisville, exact locations to be determined. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact me, kw@wunderlin.com, or 502.895.3689.

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In an effort to affect change, we frequently begin by focusing on what’s broken. We systematically list the issues then go about identifying solutions to those issues. By starting with what is not working, though, we can make the job of change more difficult. Focusing exclusively on what is wrong or broken can drain the energy, enthusiasm, and optimism from a group in its earliest stages. There’s a new way of approaching the change process that has caught the interest of organizations around the world. It involves bringing employees together to talk not about problems, but rather about their greatest successes. What is it like they are asked, when their organization is at its best? Employees are asked to share stories and review them together to glean common themes. Together they then conceive a vision of what it might achieve when the organization works at its best and, working backwards from that, they devise the changes that are required to achieve that vision. (more…)

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Neither a high IQ, nor a prestigious business degree, nor technical know-how is a reliable indicator of professional success. Rather, the single most important factor in job performance and advancement is emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence refers to the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions in ourselves and in our relationships. Simply put, emotional intelligence is the intelligent use of emotions. It encompasses maturity, emotional health, and “grownupness.” You intentionally make your emotions work for you by using them to help guide your behavior and thinking in ways that enhance your results.

For leaders, emotional intelligence accounts for almost 90 percent of what sets “stars” apart from the mediocre. And organizations that build emotional intelligence in groups are the ones that are vital and dynamic today - and will remain so in the future.

Unlike IQ, EI can be developed and dramatically increased at any age. But boosting your EI takes extensive practice, feedback, and personal enthusiasm for making the change. Are you up to the challenge?

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Oh No, Not Another Meeting

All too often meetings are called without clear purpose, last way too long, get sidetracked, and don’t involve follow-up. The good news is: they don’t have to be that way! Anyone can plan and conduct effective meetings.

There is an increasing need for effective, efficient and even enjoyable meetings. Leadership increasingly means using our interpersonal skills to get things done. That often involves helping teams work together, which leads to meetings.

Whether your group is gathering for its weekly staff meeting, teleconferencing from different corners of the world, or coming together for an annual off-site planning session, employ the same basic components and scale up or down accordingly.

Why Meet at All?

Meetings should be held for two reasons. One is to forward a group’s work. Participants share information and collaborate to problem-solve and make decisions with each other. The second reason people meet is to solidify the group as a team - to attend to the need to belong; the need to achieve and make an impact; and a desire to communicate and build a common reality. To be productive, groups need to focus on both dimensions. For the task to get done, the group’s team process must be in place. For the group’s team process to be in place, the work has to get done. It is possible to satisfy both if you plan both your content and meeting process.

Planning and Running Effective Meetings

Consider these ten tips the next time you conduct a meeting. (more…)

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