Courses

Chairing an on-line meeting Description On-line meetings can easily be driven by the limitations of the technology available. This course proves some useful insights into ensuring a meeting achieves its objectives while taking full advntage of what technology can offer. Outcomes This can either be a half-day course which is then demonstrated with a live meeting or a series of on-line facilitated sessions: Preparing for a meeting The technology available to support on-line meetings Models for chairing a meeting Some important guidelines Closing and following up a meeting Number of attendees: 6 -12 people

Coaching skills An Introduction to Thinking Partnerships® Description This is a model that enables a coach to provide a space for the coachee that will allow the human mind to think for itself with unprecedented clarity, originality and rigour. The course is based on the Ten Components of the Thinking Environment® and follows the philosophy that, given the opportunity, everybody is remarkable. Outcomes The Thinking Partnership Session® is a practical course of two days with a follow up day four weeks later. Participants will review the Ten Components of a Thinking Environment® and their application to individual thinking. Additionally there is time to explore and practice the power of the Incisive Question™. “The most valuable thing we can offer each other is the framework to think for ourselves” Nicola Strong is a member of the Time to Think Collegiate. www.Timetothink.com

Creativity workshops Description Strong Enterprises designs and delivers experiential workshops work with individuals, groups and organisations. Each workshop provides a space for new thinking that can then be directed to the task in hand. Some examples of courses available include: Themed challenge events to enable and support team development Team development adventures that are facilitated and run on the Internet Laughter workshops The power of Tai Chi at work Improvisation. Working with a team of actors, attendees are invited to role play scenarios to practice or explore alternative solutions. Finding the hero within. Using ancient myth of the hero’s journey as a metaphor for personal or organisational development. Physical endurance and games using outward bound or ropes courses. Getting arty - working with acclaimed artists and sculptors, to explore creating 3D forms as part of experimenting, debating with and exercising the creative mind. Web2.0 (or web squared) technology has created a number platforms for divergent thinking. Where ideas can cross different industries, cultures and disciplines. Blending and mixing media adds to the creative possibilities.

Delegating Skills Description This course provides tips and techniques for assigning work to others as part of a strategy for succession planning, to build the team skills as part of their development and to free up time for managing and focusing on priority tasks. Outcomes This is a half day course that will include the following key components: Leadership styles and delegation skills Getting strategic with delegation The secret of delegating How to follow up tasks that have been assigned to others Number of attendees: 6 – 12 people

Foundation course in the Thinking Environment™ Description Thinking Environment™ is a model of being in the workplace where everybody is encouraged to think for themselves. This model was developed by Nancy Kline and encompasses principles that can guide an effective way of working with all staff, stakeholders, partners and participants. Outcomes This is a two day course that introduces the Ten Components of the Thinking Environment and provides practice in applying four of these in the everyday workplace. The second part of this course looks at four of the choices below: Transforming meetings® The Time to Think Council™ Presentations in a Thinking Environment Building Incisive Questions™ Times talk (Reducing conflict) Facilitation of groups Interviews using the Thinking Environment Number of attendees: 4 – 12 people “The quality of everything human beings do depends on the quality of the thinking we do first”

Leadership and management skills Description A leader will create the new opportunities, they will challenge today’s thinking and look to tomorrow‘s ideas to guide their vision. However, being a leader can be isolating and relentless. The many challenges with paradoxical decisions matched by the endless regulation and legal obligations requires the leader to have many skills, a clear vision and some idea of how to get there. Outcomes This is a two day course that will provide participants with tools and techniques for managing their teams. These are bespoke courses that can include any combination of the following modules. Understanding your personality at work Communicating a message Developing leadership qualities Developing leadership skills in others and succession planning Managing a wider network of stakeholders Managing change Delegating Giving feedback Managing conflict Motivating staff SMART performance management Building trust Coaching and appraisal skills Number of attendees: 6 -12 people

Leading virtual teams Description Leading a team or group of people who are located in different places can be a complex job. This course is designed to support managers who are looking for ways to build or re-energise their staff through good leadership skills complimented with a broader understanding of the processes in a virtual organisation and the ubiquitous technologies available. Outcomes This is a one-day experiential course designed to give practical information in the context of the attendees' organisation. It will include setting up, communicating and managing people in different ways. Emphasis will be on establishing appropriate levels of communication during face to face meetings, gaining trust, presenting a good phone manner, structuring a video conference and maintaining the e-mail etiquette. The group will have an opportunity to discuss specific issues and this can include handling difficult people or measuring the performance of a distributed workforce. Number of attendees 6 – 12 people

Motivating skills Description It is widely recognised that performance in an organisation improves when morale is high. While it can be possible to do this with financial incentives there is real skill in maintaining behaviours that can re-energise and lift the mood of an individual or group. Outcomes This half-day or one-day course includes a number of ideas to motivate a group in their work: What motivates and de-motivates an individual or team A spot on the theory behind motivation Tips on raising your energy in the group Plenty of practical and fun exercises. Number of attendees: 4 – 30 people

Performance management Description Today performance management and appraisal procedures can seem a time intensive and complex process. It is a requirement that many managers find uncomfortable and overly bureaucratic. The irony is that it is a process that can inform and support the staff in enjoying their work and delivering a good job. This course focuses on checking/defining the performance levels and competencies, agreeing how they can be achieved and then looks at ways to bring more ease into managing the outcomes. Outcomes This course looks at how an individual can: • Define their performance levels and then contracting and agreeing outcomes • Achieve good leadership and communication behaviours • Use personality profile tools for learning about motivation and development areas • Develop listening and reacting skills • Make time for their people skills • Get some useful tips on assertiveness and holding boundaries • Give difficult feedback and have techniques for responding to other people’s feelings • Facilitate an effective performance review • Give authentic appreciation Number of attendees: 6 -12 people

Presentation skills Description This is a fun, experiential course looking at how to deliver a message clearly and confidently at a meeting, while pitching to a client or to a large audience. Outcomes Attendees will have the opportunity to look at developing their natural style of presenting as well as learning how to structure a speech, use of language, humour, presence and timing. Strong Enterprises frequently works with Nicolas Chagrin, Actor, Jazz dancer and trainer, where Nicolas talks about what show business can show business. www.time2act.co.uk/ Number of attendees 6- 12 people

Stress management Description Stress management is cited as one of the most common causes of absence from work. Reasons for stress can be attributed to organisational structure, the increased complexity of technology, information processes, group dynamics or, where an individual might be in their life. Outcomes This course looks at how an individual can: Review the causes of stress and what it does Assess their stress threshold Explore triggers and perceptions of stress Get some useful tips on assertiveness Manage their levels of stress Number of attendees: 6 -12 people

Time Management Description With the increase in demands on your time, it is getting more important to find easy and efficient ways to make time work for you. The key is committing to action and this course sets out some tools to help. It explores what might be causing time to dissolve away, where we can make time and some specific tools to get the best from the time we have. Outcomes This course looks at how an individual can: • Review what your priorities are and what could be dissolving time • Explore triggers and perceptions of time • Identify and plan in more time • Get some useful tips on assertiveness and holding on to your time • Manage others’ time demands on you • Gain time in a crisis • Get time to do the things you enjoy Number of attendees: 6 -12 people

Time to Think Council™ Description Thinking Environment™ is a model of being in the workplace where everybody is encouraged to think for themselves. The Council is a philosophy of thinking by a group that respectfully supports an individual seeking new insights. It was developed by Nancy Kline and includes the 10 Components of a Thinking Environment that can guide a way of working with all staff, stakeholders, partners and participants. Outcomes This is a half or one-day course introduces the Thinking Environment Council process and provides practice in applying it to real life situations with any group. Number of attendees: 4 – 12 people

Transforming meetings Description This is a one-day programme to introducing a model transforms the productivity of meetings using the Thinking Environment™. People in organisations spend more than two-thirds of their time in meetings. Leading productive meetings and ensuring the contribution of everyone has, therefore, become a serious responsibility for a leader. In this programme teams learn how to use the meeting structure of a Thinking Environment to engage each person fully, to generate their finest thinking, to encourage respectful, robust discussion leading to decision-making of exceptional quality. The programme includes practice in a real-time business meeting, achieving concrete business results. Outcomes To apply the Ten Components of a Thinking Environment to the step by step running of meetings: To experience impressive levels of engagement of each person in the meeting To learn how to shorten meetings and produce better results To learn the Thinking Environment skills for telephone and video conferencing, as well as face to face meetings To learn how to prepare and conduct presentations so that everyone thinks well and stays energised Number of attendees: 6 – 12 people

Virtual Meetings: Running an online meeting Description Setting the agenda and running a meeting using web-based tools can feel complicated and appear to waste valuable time setting up technology. This is after the time necessary for preparating both the technology and logistics. This course introduces some of the more popular on-line tools and a few guidelines that ensures the meeting easier and productive. Outcomes Attendees will be introduced to a meeting format that works well with different Internet based meeting products. Over a series of three to four one-hour sessions a selection of technologies can be trialed which suit the company’s IT and organisational culture. Each session will include practice running a live meeting on a real issue. Number of attendees: 4 – 8 people

Virtual Worlds, a tour Description Using one of the well known Virtual Worlds called Second Life™, this presentation gives an introduction to virtual worlds as a place for communicating, meeting and learning. There are many organisations such as Cisco, IBM, Vodafone, Sun Microsystems, BMW and L'Oreal who have a presence in at least one of the many virtual worlds. Find out more about engaging your clients and creating new enterprises in another reality. Outcomes Taking approximately an hour, this whistle-stop tour to virtual worlds looks at the opportunities available to businesses. Attendees will be encouraged to create their own avatar and join their avatar guide, Thalia, on her virtual tour. Number of attendees 2 – 200 people Thalia is your hostess in Second Life™ Virtual World