Training Services
Futures Today Consulting offers a diverse range of staff and leadership development, training and facilitation services. In addition to customized training initiatives, we also offer the following professional development courses in half or full day formats:
This course provides an integral understanding of the purpose and application of strategic thinking and strategic planning. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of successful techniques to overcome barriers in the development of short- and long-term integrated (strategic) planning by applying practices that facilitate analysis of existing assets and challenges by capitalizing on strengths. Participants leave this course with hands-on techniques and practices to develop “live in-the-moment” strategic plans. Course provides hands-on tools and guidelines for their application.
Learning Objectives:
• Effectively engage staff in short- and long term- agency and departmental projections
• Lead strategic thinking activities within existing structure
• Apply tools and techniques to focus on goal acquisition
• Identify strengths and weakness in departmental planning needs
• Increase likelihood of follow through on long term goals
Many individuals are promoted for their excellent project management skills. While these skills are important it is also critically important to have good people management skills. Fundamentals of management is a highly interactive hands on course that provides participants with 3 intensified days of research driven, road tested techniques and skills to enhance existing competencies. This course includes modules on management and communication, change, leadership, coaching, time management and goal setting. Along with professional and personally reflective exercises, this 3-day session offers a sampling of the many tools available to new and existing managers.
Learning Objectives:
- Acquire new communication practices and techniques
- Achieve greater understanding of delegation
- Develop leadership philosophy
- Develop competencies to manage organizational change
- Develop coaching skills
- Influencing and managing up
Challenging situations require innovative solutions. Managers are being challenged to be highly effective leaders in the midst of budgetary constraints, fiscal, and organizational uncertainty. This course is a facilitated high-level session that applies critical evaluation to facilitate exploration of participants’ management practices and uncover any deeply held assumptions and/or blind spots that may hinder their leadership and/or authentic team engagement. Research driven practices are utilized to support identification of assets, challenges and opportunities. This is a highly interactive hands-on course that engages managers and administrators in the development of participatory leadership and authentic collaboration practices as a means to facilitate emergence of new perspectives and strategies.
Learning Objectives:
- Achieve clarity around departmental needs, short- and long-term horizons
- Increase ability to discern between departmental and individual challenges
- Acquire tools to support critical evaluation of organizational challenges, assets and opportunities to gain inter-departmental support and follow-through
- Develop integral understanding of authentic collaboration and participatory leadership strategies to produce new thinking across and throughout lines of service
- Develop confidence and ability to apply authentic collaboration and participatory leadership practices to real time challenges
Teamwork and effective communication are basic to any work environment. Yet, daily engagement with co-workers, supervisors and managers may be less than positive and at times perhaps even tense. This interactive session focuses on providing tools and sharing techniques that can enhance communications and increase productivity. Participants are exposed to pertinent communication practices followed by an exploration of the key components and building blocks necessary to developing positive workplace relationships.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify differences between effective and ineffective workplace relationships
- Develop flexibility in actions, thoughts and feelings to better handle any situation
- Apply active listening and “conscious communication” strategies to interpret people and situations correctly
- Recognize and effectively handle variations in personal style
- Use conflict to create more constructive, authentic interpersonal relationships
Organizational change is a constant in the public sector environment. An effective leader can deal strategically with the structural challenges of change and guide people through the transitions that come with it. In this workshop, you will gain a deeper understanding of the attributes required to lead with authenticity in the face of change. You’ll discover the importance of building and supporting an environment of trust as you lead others through emotionally challenging situations.
Learning Objectives:
• Assess the key adaptive challenges the team and the agency faces
• Discover how to diagnose the psychological, emotional, and behavioral demands of change
• Examine how to manage defensive routines, resistance, and work avoidance dynamics
• Explore techniques for using creativity to intervene and mobilize staff
• Practice how to change limiting beliefs into empowering beliefs
• Learn how to harness your team’s personal talents, predispositions, and work styles to move forward
This course provides an integral understanding of the purpose and application of strategic thinking and strategic planning. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of successful techniques to overcome barriers in the development of short- and long-term integrated (strategic) planning by applying practices that facilitate analysis of existing assets and challenges by capitalizing on strengths. Participants leave this course with hands-on techniques and practices to develop “live in-the-moment” strategic plans. Course provides hands-on tools and guidelines for their application.
Learning Objectives:
- Effectively engage staff in short- and long term- agency and departmental projections
- Leading strategic thinking activities within existing structure
- Apply tools and techniques to focus on goal acquisition
- Identify strengths and weakness in departmental planning needs
- Increase likelihood of follow through on long term goals
This workshop breaks down preparation and delivery of powerful presentations into 3 easy steps. Participants will learn techniques to improve presentation style regardless of group size. They will have an opportunity to see themselves on video and correct ineffective presentation styles as well as how to select a subject, developing an effective presentation voice, and using technology in presentations.
Learning Objectives:
- How to create and deliver effective presentations
- Choosing a subject
- Deciding on presentation style
- Organizing content – hand outs, etc…
- Effective speaking (delivery, tone, props)
- Presentation Tools – technology
- Avoiding PowerPoint abuse
Today, teams and organizations face a myriad of changes from leadership to processes and technology. This course addresses the challenges of adjusting to and managing change. Participants will learn strategies for managing colleagues’, staffs’ and sometimes their own fear, criticism, negativity, and low productivity during the change process. Focus will be on how to effectively address these reactions, reduce stress and advance the organizational agenda.
Learning Objectives:
• Explore and discuss the complexities of change
• Examine your role in the changing workplace
• Define how and when to challenge, and initiate change of unproductive, ineffective work processes
• Assess and improve your reactions to resistance
• Practice techniques to transform negative attitudes into positive ones
• Analyze existing workplace relationships to engage and motivate staff
