A series of short duration workshops equipping first line / middle-managers with the communication skills to engage in transformational discussions with staff members and to effectively contend with difficult or challenging responses.
Overview
The real drivers under-pinning engagement aren’t difficult to understand – it is all about how people, and particularly managers, involve others, properly listen, discuss things with them and afford staff the opportunity to contribute and develop. For various reasons, however, deploying these apparently straightforward activities can be easier said than done as we grapple with day-to-day pressures in fast paced operational environments and the focus to deliver actions and outputs.
Also, as with most of these things, it is a two-way street – some people can make it difficult to engage with them if what they appear to do is present problems, complaints and even degrees of passive-aggressiveness.
The Making Conversations Count programme was developed specifically to support operational line-managers address initially manifested responses and overcome reluctance to engage staff members, enabling them to have more meaningful and productive discussions.
Programme Outline
Conducted over a series of integrated half-day workshops involving managers and operating staff, key elements to the Making Conversations Count programme are:
Workshop 1 – Conversations that Count (1 day)
- Introduction and context; why Transformational Discussions contribute to organisational effectiveness and participant outcomes
- Phased skills development Stages 1 and 2 including real-time colleague discussions identifying key skills / phases in effective conversations including:
- Initiating, responding and ‘digging deeper’
- It’s the person’s agenda that counts
- Safety for dissent; responding not reacting
- Learning from outliers
- It’s okay not to know
- Phased skills development – Stage 3 ‘Something has to Shift’ and action planning covering:
- ‘Cynicism’ as a self-protector
- TA and the ‘blame – responsibility avoidance game’
- Reframing techniques; Future focus and next steps
- Real-time application and participant actions
Workshop 2 – Refining Transformational Communication Skills (½ Day)
- Introduction to Exploring Achievements and Surfacing Frustrations as a generator of insight
- Real-time application focusing on peer progress reviews with colleague feedback versus skills competency frameworks
- Plenary review of successes and insights gained from inter-workshop activities
- Introduction to Heron’s Six Communication styles and levels of questioning
- Real-time colleague discussion ‘A day in the life of’ and ‘Exploring what Matters’
- Review versus participant Success/Competency and Frustration/Insight models
Workshop 3 – Appreciative Inquiry and Maintaining Momentum (½ day)
- Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry techniques; Discover – Describe – Design / Develop – Disseminate;
- Real-time application to participant situations
- Question focus impact and ‘Evolving System’ review (that which is asked about happens)
- Reprise of reframing techniques and real-time colleague action planning
