SESSION DESCRIPTIONS

Wednesday September 28, 2011

Personal Strengths Publishing Opening Ceremonies

Our Path to GSD (Getting S#!* Done)
Presented by Stuart Jackson, VP, Human Resources, DIESEL USA INC. (Bio)
and Tina Mertel, Master Facilitator, Personal Strengths USA (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/28 @ 11:00 a.m.

GSD is the culmination of many years of partnership with DIESEL & Personal Strengths. Over the past 4 years, the SDI methodology to improve relationship awareness has been implemented and has cascaded throughout the organization. Commencing in 2007 in the HR department, it then spread to the executive level, across all corporate teams and finally, in 2009, cascaded to store manager level within the DIESEL owned and operated stores. The SDI training materials were personalized and tailored to meet the needs of a GEN Y audience — fully entrenching the use of Red, Blue, Green, Hub, and blend language throughout the organization. Reinforced in a secondary program internally called Burst Through, motivational and behavioral links continue to be established.

In 2010 GSD was born! With a commitment to keep SDI alive within the DIESEL organization and after 2 years of seeing the competencies of relationship awareness become entrenched in the culture, a training needs analysis was performed. It was found that DIESEL is a passionate organization that was getting better at relating to each other across organizational silos, but there was a need to drive an increased pragmatic skill set to support the organization—to use these new relationship skills in a manner which could directly help achieve organizational goals. A new program was born, a hybrid of two SDI programs – SDI Communications and Project Management with the use of the Portrait, and Expectations Portrait. Cram all these fantastic learnings into 1 session, soup it up for a DIESEL GEN Y audience and you have GSD!! Come experience in 90 minutes a distilled version of the 7 hr GSD program.

Participants will be able to...

• Articulate learning keys to keep the interest of 20-40-somethings in a training.

• Demonstrate which parts of the SDI methodology and the Project Mgmt-The Team Approach program that they may want to incorporate into their own training initiatives.

• Add playfulness and lightness into their RA training programs.

This session is Rated R and is best suited for experienced Relationship Awareness facilitators in any industry where time is money.

Relationship Awareness Lessons From the Football Field
Presented by Pat Intraversato, Founder and Head Coach, Iron Coaching (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/28 @ 11:00 a.m.

This presentation will focus on how the Relationship Awareness Theory and the SDI tool was utilized at a collegiate football program. We will take participants from the preseason preparation, a spectacular opening game win, to a heartbreaking ending of the team's first playoff appearance in 5 years. We will journey with the Head Coach as he learns, embraces and gets fully immersed in the use and benefits of Relationship Awareness Theory. We will experience the unique stress of running a collegiate football team. See how the coaches strategically changed practice and pre-game rituals to adapt to the prevailing MVS styles of the team. Hear how their words and phrases changed to resonate more effectively with the key players on their squads; half time speeches became more about the collective we versus just winning.

Participants will:

• Experience how the words and behaviors of one leader can transform the cultural of an organization.

• Learn how self-awareness and self-regulation reduces preventable conflict

• Better understand the consequences of attempting to resolve conflict from your Stage 1 conflict sequence.

This topic and application of Relationship Awareness Theory will be relevant to all facilitator levels and across all industries.

When Work Goes Backwards:
Use the science of energy management and the wisdom of the MVS to recharge your batteries and revitalize your work
Presented by Dawn Groves, Productivity and Communications Consultant for Einblau & Associates, Ltd. (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/28 @ 2:00 p.m.

In your profession, you help others communicate effectively, express empathy, and handle conflict. You do your job well. But what happens when you're stymied with the same frustrations your clients experience? Although your assessment stockpile is loaded with proven resources, sometimes you still can't move forward. Maybe you're questioning your commitment, your direction, your abilities, or even your future in business.

Don't worry. You're not losing your edge or going nuts; you're simply in conflict.

This lively session will combine energy-management strategies with a fresh look at how you do conflict with yourself and your business goals. The end result will be smarter work practices, fresh perspective, and renewed interest in expanding your circle of influence.

Participants will:

• Understand the relationship between how you do conflict and how you get stuck in your working career.

• Identify a style, practice, task, or area of interest that personally holds you back or stymies productivity.

• Target two practices to a) restore enthusiasm, b) increase productivity, and/or c) improve business outcomes.

• Implement one or both of these practices in a manner encouraging compliance and results.

• Enhance or restore belief in yourself, your work, and your mission.

The Colors of Customer Service
Presented by Ray Linder, Master Facilitator, Personal Strengths USA (Bio)
and Karla Edwards, Director of Service Excellence, Regional West Medical Center (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/28 @ 2:00 p.m.

Customer Service is a personal relationship between the server and the served. About this relationship, Tom Peters says, "Customers perceive service in their own unique, idiosyncratic, emotional, irrational, end of the day and totally human terms. Perception is everything." Therefore, the more the server can know about the unique needs of the person they are serving, the more satisfied the customer will be with the service relationship. This session is designed to raise the self-awareness of service providers and increase their understanding of the people they are serving by presenting such topics as:

• what kinds of customers each MVS prefers to serve

• what kinds of customers each MVS finds most challenging (and, therefore, a potential source of conflict

• what each MVS views as "excellent" customer service

Also presented will be the role of Overdone Strengths in customer service: when our personal or corporate values and priorities; or the demands of the environment are so strong that we lose focus on what our customers needs are.

The purpose of The Colors of Customer Service is to shed new light on customer service relationships through the principles of Relationship Awareness Theory. When you match the character and personality of the server together with the character and personality of the served and what they need at that exact moment, through the perspectives of each of their MVS's, you have Relationally Aware Customer Service – a way of empowering the server to satisfy the "unique, idiosyncratic, emotional, irrational, end of the day and totally human terms" by which people will define a customer service relationship.

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Thursday September 29, 2011

Using Relationship Awareness Theory to Make a Positive Difference in Healthcare
Presented by Susan M. Hahn, PCC, Swan Consulting Group, Inc (Bio)
and Joy Goldman, RN, MS, ACC, St. Joseph Medical Center (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/29 @ 8:00a.m.

Over the past five years there has been an explosion of interest in Relationship Awareness Theory by individuals in the healthcare profession. Increasing numbers of physicians are moving into leadership roles, with little to no training in how workplace relationships impact success or patient outcomes: Between 1995 and 2005, the primary cause of sentinel events in healthcare was due to communication errors (Institute of Healthcare Improvement); clinicians and administrators continue to speak different languages; and motivations behind behavior are frequently misinterpreted. The redeeming factor is that, for the most part, all of these people share the same goal – quality patient care!

The presenters will share eight hospitals' experiences and lessons learned to incorporate Relationship Awareness theory and tools into their staff development. Case studies will reveal qualitative achievements, including individual, team, and hospital-wide improvements.

Participants will:

• Understand how Relationship Awareness theory and related tools are being applied in healthcare

• Recognize indicators of post workshop impact and/or success

• Take away convincing data and case examples to promote using RA in healthcare communities

Recommended for experienced Relationship Awareness facilitators including trainers, consultants, coaches, healthcare and other employers considering or who have implemented RA theory in their workplaces

Training Leaders to Navigate Ethical Dilemmas:
How motivation influences choices between two rights or two wrongs
Presented by John L. Harrison, Sr., M.Ed, SPHR, Professor of Civilian Leader Development, Army Management Staff College, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/29 @ 8:00 a.m.

Motivational Value System correlates, supports and influences three different ethical reasoning/decision-making perspectives: principled, consequences and virtues. Why is this important? SDI stresses the 'strengths' of everyone. Leaders who study ethical dilemmas while becoming more aware of their MVS gain insights into their own decision-making process. As they begin to examine alternative views and perspectives, their ethical decision-making skills can be improved — reducing negative impacts of choosing between two wrongs — and maximizing the benefits when choosing between two rights.

This session will showcase the use of the SDI in the United States Army's Civilian Education System leader development programs at the Army Management Staff College, Fort Belvoir, Virginia and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The SDI is used in conjunction with other assessments in a multi-week, residential, leadership-development program.

Participants will be able to:

• Demonstrate the influence of motives on ethical decisions

• Integrate ethical decision making content into training and development programs

• Examine their own ethical dilemmas from a new and fuller perspective

Meet HANC: The Have a Nice Conflict Learning Experience JUST ADDED
Presented by Mike Patterson, Ed.D., Vice President, Personal Strengths USA
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/29 @ 10:00 a.m.

Chances are you've heard about PSP's new book, Have a Nice Conflict. Now discover the learning experience that leaps from the pages of the book. In this session, you'll get to preview this 2-day, participant-centered, active learning environment which explores and expands on the conflict aspects of Relationship Awareness Theory.

Using real-world, personalized cases, participants "take to the stage" as they learn the Five Keys to Having a Nice Conflict: anticipate and prevent conflict before it happens, identify conflict in all its forms, manage conflict by approaching people based on their needs in the moment, and resolve conflict in ways that bring about positive and lasting results.

This presentation will be a great opportunity to get a flavor of the Have a Nice Conflict Learning Experience and review some of the results PSP has gathered from running this program with clients like KPMG, British Embassy, and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Participants will:

• learn how HANC is different from a basic SDI workshop

• preview some of the dynamic new conflict-centric activities and role-playing experiences

• receive an easy, eye-popping way to reveal the true cost of conflict with your clients or stakeholders

• learn about PSP's updated program licensing process

MVS Pairing: An Insider's Guide to a Co-leadership Model for Business Excellence
Presented by Ram Santhanam, Staff R&D Program Manager, Hewlett-Packard Company (Bio)
and Susan Wackerman, Senior Operations Manager, Hewlett-Packard Company (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/29 @ 10:00 a.m.

Chocolate & Port, Caviar and Champagne: For centuries food and wine have been enjoyed together as part of la dolce vita. Some pairings depend on contrast, while others on complementary flavors. A complimentary pairing accents the subtle flavors and creates harmonies in the palate beyond each at its best when it stands alone.

Just as in wine pairing, effective organizational leaders understand the strengths and motivations of key team members of their teams and know how to effectively pair them to tackle business challenges. Though this acumen usually comes with experience, this interactive session will examine a case study of how an organization leader effectively uses two program managers with complementary styles (MVS) to co-lead crucial projects to capitalize on their strengths and highlight how less experienced program managers and coaches can use the Strength Deployment and Inventory (SDI) to identify prefect pairing for specific fast track projects.

Participants will be able to:

• Use SDI and portrait of personal strengths to identify complementary styles and create an effective co-leadership model

• Help coach clients and team members on how to "hand off" leadership between the co-leaders.

• Understand how Relationship Awareness can enhance your role as a program manager, coach or consultant to create winning teams

This session is relevant to any level of facilitator & all audiences

An SDI and Servant Leadership Journey:
When You Know Where the Anchor is, it's Easier to Move the Boat
Presented by Roseann Kobialka, Corporate Director Organizational Development, AtlantiCare (Bio)
and Carol Brill, Organizational Development Consultant (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/29 @ 12:30 p.m.

This session will explore AtlantiCare's use of Relationship Awareness tools to promote Servant Leadership (SL) development. Becoming a Servant Leader is:

1. a lifelong commitment to growth of self and others and

2. meeting the legitimate needs (as opposed to wants) of those served.

Understanding MVS enables leaders to appreciate, distinguish and meet needs vs. wants. Our 35 week SL curriculum includes 360 feedback. By complimenting the outside-in evaluative SL 360 feedback with the SDI inside-out self assessment and Portraits of Strengths and Overdone Strengths, leaders gain deeper understanding of their personal motivations, as well as how their use of strengths impacts others. The premise that a "personal weakness is no more or less than the overdoing or misapplying of a personal strength" makes it easier for leaders to hear and go to work on opportunities identified in 360 feedback. These tools help leaders recognize we are all works in progress.

Participants will be able to:

• Describe basic Servant Leadership philosophy and that Servant Leader attributes come in every color

• Articulate how Relationship Awareness tools complement and strengthen 360 feedback to promote personal insight and commitment to growth to support a culture of Servant Leadership

• Appreciate how a focus on strengths and overdone strengths makes evaluative feedback more palatable and enables self-insight and growth

This session is ideal for SDI facilitators at all levels, leaders responsible for supporting the career and personal growth of others, and leader coaches.

How Relationship Awareness Helps Companies Select Top Management Talent
Presented by Shawn Jacobs, BA (Psych), SAIPM, SDI Facilitator, Founder & Managing Partner of Jacobs Scott Ltd, President of ASCS International Group (Bio)
and Judy Hemmingsen, Managing Partner, Personal Strengths Canada Inc. (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/29 @ 12:30 p.m.

It's often said that people are hired for skills but fired for "fit." Recent research suggests that at least 40% of those moving into a new leadership role will "fail". This failure represents not only a major setback for the individual in the role, but a missed opportunity for the organization as a whole. Most often this is not due to a leader's lack of competence, but more often the mismatch of the leader with the behavioural expectations of the role. Peter Drucker, in his book Management Challenges for the 21st Century, identifies self-awareness and the capacity to build mutually satisfying relationships as essential components of an effective management team. While technical competencies form the necessary foundation, they are rarely sufficient for sustained leadership success.

Different team members often have different expectations of the personal strengths required for success in a specific role. These differences are rarely tabled during the recruitment phase, when it is most critical that expectations are defined and reconciled. In this interactive session, participants will learn how the Expectations SDI and Portrait editions are essential tools for identifying "best fit" candidates – those that bring the combination of personal values and behaviours that best align with those required in the new role.

A case study will be used to demonstrate the power of these Expectations tools in proactively identifying diverse role expectations, and enhancing the successful integration of a leader into an existing team and organizational culture.

Participants will:

• Learn how both the Portrait of Personal Strengths and the Expectation Portrait of Personal Strengths can be used as effective tools to identify "best fit" candidates and ensure their sustainability in their new leadership roles

• Discover how to align expectations and manage "culture fit" issues in the post 90 day period of a leadership hire

• Discuss effective intervention strategies, using SDI and Portraits to ensure a smooth and effective integration of new leaders into existing teams.

This presentation is suitable to experienced Level 2 facilitators who are interested in the broader Organization Development applications of Relationship Awareness tools. It will be of particular interest to anyone involved in the recruitment of people into senior leadership roles.

Filling the Bench: Succession Planning with SDI
Presented by Gene Mickelson, MS – Education Liaison, VHA Midwest Health Care Network (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/29 @ 2:30 p.m.

The focus of this presentation will be on sharing how the VHA Midwest Health Care Network has embedded Relationship Awareness principles, specifically the Strength Deployment Inventory into the fabric of the organization's succession planning strategies.

Participants will be able to:

• Describe an approach to self awareness of leadership/motivational strengths/vulnerabilities using the SDI as the foundation;

• Describe a transition from self to leading others (relationship management) through leading teams, projects with the assistance of mentors; and

• Describe a transition from self to a state of organizational leadership (impact on business) by focusing on the alignment of behaviors to targeted business results.

This presentation would benefit all Relationship Awareness facilitators especially corporate trainers (although independent consultants/trainers might pick up some ideas to incorporate into their practice).

Adding Value As A Facilitator: Benefiting From 11 Years of Ongoing Research
Presented by Olin Jennings, Master SDI facilitator, Chairman, The Jennings Group (Bio)
and Laura Jennings, Master SDI facilitator, President, The Jennings Group (Bio)
and Kate Kaynak, Certified SDI facilitator, Vice President, The Jennings Group (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/29 @ 2:30 p.m.

PART 1: Identifying MVS in others more effectively

MVS is academic if you cannot quickly identify the MVS of the other person. This material is not a substitute for the SDI; it is presented and discussed as a tool to help people who already have taken the SDI. This part of the session includes presentation of the data and results of our ongoing research and experience as a basis for participant table discussions and sharing of ideas with the larger group. The benefits to participants are (1) an increased ability to train their classes in how to better identify MVS in others and (2) information that they can integrate into their own training to make it more effective.

Participants will learn:

• Differences in thinking and decision making by MVS.

• Five proven ways to identify MVS without an SDI arrow.

• Ideas that work for identifying MVS when first meeting another person.

• Three natural overlays on MVS that make underlying MVS more difficult to determine (beyond cultural overlays, generational overlays, and masking behavior).

Part 2: Overcoming communication barriers by MVS

Effective communication requires more than borrowing a relating style. It requires understanding differences in listening filters by MVS and differences by MVS in the how people listen and their sources of information (verbal and non-verbal). It also requires a good understanding of the internal barriers in each of us (by MVS) that must be overcome in order to be effective in borrowing different relating styles. After a presentation of data and research, participants will take a personal inventory to identify their sources of information when listening, take a listening test, and engage in an MVS-related wall exercise to understand their own internal barriers to communicating to different MVSs. The benefits to participants are a better understanding of listening by MVS and experiencing/learning a new MVS workshop exercise to improve their own ability to teach people to be more effective in borrowing a relating style. This material can be integrated into their own training programs.

Participants will:

• Learn common listening filters by MVS

• Experience a listening test

• Perform and learn useful listening exercises

Louder Than Words: 10 Employee Engagement Practices... that Drive Results!
Presented by Bob Kelleher, Author & Leadership Engagement Consultant (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/29 @ 4:30

This presentation by acclaimed employee engagement thought leader, Bob Kelleher, reinforces the key steps necessary to build and sustain an engaged culture, build trust in the workplace, and reinforce the necessary positive relationships that exist in the workplace—steps necessary to capture the "discretionary effort" of employees (effort that drives business results!).

Bob's 10 essential steps of engagement are culled from his years of experience working as an award winning internal practitioner, leading engagement initiatives that transformed corporate cultures, while personally facilitating hundreds of employee engagement workshops—often including SDIs to reinforce the importance of understanding and knowing your employees' strengths, behaviors, and the motivations that drive those behaviors. These best practices help firms minimize disengagement while also putting in place steps to maximize employee engagement. Having been in the trenches in other economic downturns, the presenter will reinforce the need to stay the course, while reminding all that "employees are watching" and "words" alone will not foster an engaged workforce.

Key take-a-way points include:

• 10 Key Engagement Steps To Drive Business Results, including:

  • Communication and social media

  • The importance of understanding your employees, their differences, their strengths, and their behaviors

  • How to individualize engagement, and engage Gen X and Gen Y

  • Engagement and innovation comes from teams of "non-feathers" – learn how you need to bring together your Reds, Greens, Blues, and Hubs

  • Specific steps to create a culture of accountability and measurement

  • Practices and tools to reinforce and reward the desired behavior

  • How to hire the ideal behaviors and traits to succeed in your culture

  • Steps to create a motivational culture – and why it is so important to understand the motivational drivers of your employees

• Practical real life applications and tools to accelerate engagement efforts

• Suggested ideas and tools to measure and sustain engagement

• Leveraging social media to build your employment brand

LinkedIn Live: Relationship Awareness Panel Discussion JUST ADDED
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/29 @ 4:30 p.m.

The SDI Facilitators group on the professional networking site, LinkedIn, has grown to nearly 1000 people. The rich conversations taking place on the forum range from simple facilitation advice to deep, philosophical analysis of Relationship Awareness Theory. In this conference session, we are making available to you some of the most active, thought-leading contributors of the discussion boards.

PANELISTS:

Keith Catchpole is Chief Learning Officer for Personal Strengths. He's an SDI Master Facilitator with over 15 years experience. Specializes in Train-the-Trainer initiatives and Organizational Development and is adept in program design, development, and delivery.

Ray Linder is an SDI Master Facilitator from Northern Virginia whose passion is helping people be themselves with more skill. He employs a variety of personality models and social theories to help teams and individuals navigate the complexities of managing relationships.

Judy Rannow serves as the Professional Development Specialist for James Madison University, is a Professional Development Consultant and former Director of Workforce Development for the Portage County Business Council Foundation.

Lea Symonds is the Australian distributor for PSP and has used SDI for over 20 years. She has held senior positions in education and business as well as voluntary roles as State president and national board member of the Australian Human Resources Institute, advisory panel member on University and Government Committees, and several board member positions.

MODERATOR:

Tim Scudder, President, Personal Strengths Publishing

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Friday September 30, 2011

Development of Global Soft Skills for Project Managers Using the SDI
Presented by Donnie MacNicol, Team Animation Ltd (Bio)
and Steve Hastie, Vice President of Professional Services, NDS Americas (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/30 @ 8:00 a.m.

How does a national culture impact the perceptions of MVS? What impact does this have on multi-cultural team performance? How important are soft skills to project managers? This interactive session will describe the design and delivery of a global soft skills development programme for project management professionals for NDS, a market leader for digital pay-TV solutions. The SDI has been used as the backbone for the initial 2 day seminar and follow on work to embed the learning. The organisational and cultural insights (partly through the collective results from the SDI) gained during this initial assignment has led to a strategic piece of consultancy work on shaping project management to fit the organisation and meet its future strategic aims. The second part of the session will focus on this work and its broader application in the emerging discipline of Organisational Project Management which is being done in collaboration with a leading Business School in London.

Participants will be able to:

• Apply the learning's described during the session in their own work from the experience of designing and delivering a major global developmental programme using the SDI

• Describe how national culture impacts the perception of MVS and the impact this has on multi-cultural team performance

• Describe the generic cultural challenges to organisations adopting, using and sustaining a project based way of working and explain to others the emerging new discipline of Organisational Project Management which aims to provide methods and systems to help organisations improve their project delivery performance

This presentation will be appropriate for any level facilitators.

Antarctica—Valued, Protected, Understood: Relationship Awareness and Low Conflict in a Hostile Environment
Presented by Greg Hince, Environmental Scientist, Australian Antarctic Division (Bio)
BREAKOUT SESSION 9/30 @ 8:00 a.m.

This presentation describes how Relationship Awareness Theory and the SDI Tool prepares teams for working in one of the world's most hostile environments. Each year, multidisciplinary science and engineering teams are deployed into Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic to conduct environmental remediation activities. Hear how teams are formed and developed with an emphasis on adaptability for work in conditions that are difficult and highly unpredictable. In these small communities, relationships can be intense, the cost of conflict is high, and team members rely on each other for their safety and well-being. This session will explore how SDI is combined with applied tools from NLP to more deeply embed skills and abilities to work productively and manage conflict.

Participants will:

• Experience how techniques and skills are deeply embedded for developing new relationships and managing conflict.

• Learn how transient multidisciplinary teams benefit from valuing the quality of their relationships.

• Experience techniques for enhancing awareness of self and others, especially during conflict.

• Hear how teams utilize their strengths in preparing for crisis events.

• Explore techniques for bringing yourself and others out of conflict.

This topic and application of Relationship Awareness Theory will be relevant to all facilitator levels and across all industries.

Personal Branding
Presented by William Arruda, Founder and President of Reach (Bio)
GENERAL SESSION 9/30 @ 10:00 a.m.

Counter to what many think, personal branding is not about creating a false image for the outside world. It's about gaining clarity on your strengths, passions, values and skills and using this self-awareness to drive greater value for your career and organization. To achieve your goals, you must demonstrate your value through everything you do and make an indelible mark on your internal and external constituencies. You must build a powerful and pervasive reputation among team members and with everyone with whom you interact. You must understand what you want to be known for and demonstrate your unique value consistently.

In this keynote presentation, Personal Branding Guru, William Arruda will take you through the three-step personal branding process so you can understand how to unearth what makes you exceptional and develop a plan to increase your visibility and impact. He will share examples of how branding has helped executives at all levels expand professional success and personal fulfillment.