Programs – Detailed

IdeAgency offers a comprehensive selection of powerfully effective programs for clients of every size and discipline. All programs can be customized using the individual learning modules that best meet the unique needs of your team or organization. For descriptions of the individual learning modules that comprise each program, please contact Michael at (610) 724-3621.

Communicating with Confidence

As the complexity of our world increases, the ability to communicate clearly and precisely becomes even more essential for leaders and managers at every organizational level. Indeed, it’s been said that the organization that can’t communicate can’t change, and the organization that can’t change is dead. This is especially true in modern workplaces that are characterized by multiple generations, ethnicities, and levels of experience, often within the same team.

Participants will learn how to:

• Recognize the pitfalls inherent in the human communication process
• Increase empathic listening skills
• Read and respond appropriately to non-verbal cues, i.e. body language
• Become more influential communicators through proven persuasive techniques
• Use rational and emotional appeals effectively

Managing and Sustaining High-Performing Teams

Why has the ability to build high-performance teams, collaborate effectively across multiple demographics, and work through conflict taken on particular importance in today’s global marketplace? One reason is that our wired world makes it nearly impossible to work in isolation. But perhaps more importantly, research has persuasively demonstrated the power of diverse teams to accomplish things individuals never could.

Participants will learn how to:

• Reframe conflict as a potential source of creativity and possibility
• Anticipate and overcome common sources of conflict
• Leverage diversity and the wisdom of groups to build results-driven teams
• Build trust among teammates
• Adjust their management style according to Tuckman’s stages of group development

“Within a year of Dr. Brenner’s training, at least 5 attendees have been promoted to more senior level positions within the organization.”
CardioNet ~ Conshohocken, PA

Leadership Starts with “U”

Much leadership literature focuses on what is external to leaders, i.e. the people they work closely with, the policies they uphold, the processes they follow, etc. However, effective leadership largely depends on the leader’s own understanding of him- or herself, including strengths, vulnerabilities, idiosyncrasies, and behavioral style. As the title of one popular book states, leadership starts from the “inside out.”

Participants will learn how to:

• Enhance their emotional intelligence by identifying key areas for development
• Leverage their specific behavioral style to achieve maximum results
• Work productively with those who possess different personality traits and characteristics
• Gain a competitive edge by crafting a powerful personal brand
• Differentiate themselves in a way that earns respect and loyalty among bosses and peers

Unleashing the Corporate Imagination

A recent IBM survey of 1,500 senior leaders around the world named “creativity” – the ability to restructure our understanding of a situation in a non-obvious way – the most important leadership competency for success in the 21st century. With the global marketplace becoming more competitive and chaotic, the need to think differently about our work environments and the way we recognize, influence, and support creativity in ourselves and others is more urgent than ever.

Participants will learn how to:

• Foster a corporate culture in which creativity and innovation are highly valued and adequately rewarded
• Reframe problems in ways that reveal new, unexpected solutions
• Apply a simple but powerful decision-making model to real-world problems
• Brainstorm effectively
• Recognize and leverage the interdependent systems inherent in modern organizations and teams

“Mike is a fantastic instructor. He really brings the discussions and interactions to life. He makes everyone feel comfortable and involves everyone in the group.”
~ Workshop Participant

Developing a 21st Century Leadership Mindset

Organizations face extraordinary problems and trials in the 21st century quite unlike those in preceding centuries. Clearly, we are living in an era of immense change and uncertainty that is forcing leaders to confront unprecedented challenges. Such challenges call for the development of skills and competencies best suited for the 21st rather than the 20th century.

Participants will learn how to:

• Recognize the difference between leadership and management
• Identify the leadership skills and competencies most critical to success in today’s complex world.
• Coach others for maximum performance
• Deliver feedback that elicits desirable results
• Adapt to and remain flexible in the face of change, unpredictability and disruption

From Conflict to Collaboration

It’s been said that conflict is inevitable but combat is optional. Indeed, the ability to manage conflict so that it doesn’t erupt into combat is one of the most critical skills a leader or manager can possess. Teams that manage conflict in healthy ways are more productive and more collaborative than teams in which conflict is allowed to fester unchecked.

Participants will learn how to:

• Reframe the notion of conflict for healthier, more productive outcomes
• Acknowledge the validity of alternative perspectives and points of view
• Navigate through highly emotional conversations to reach the “heart” of the problem
• Use their EQ (emotional intelligence) to solve disagreements tactfully and constructively
• Reduce conflict resulting from generational differences

Customized Learning Programs

Don’t see the program you need?

IdeAgency can create customized learning programs designed to achieve your specific business goals.

Schedule a free Discovery Consultation to explore how Dr. Michael Brenner can help you develop leaders, build high-performance teams, and foster creativity and innovation within your organization. Drop us a note on the Contact page or call 610-724-3621 to schedule now.