People Development is a staple in the culture of successful companies. Statistics show the majority of companies investing in the growth and development of their people have lower turnover rates, positively impacting customer satisfaction and profitability. Well-designed workshops are an essential and cost-effective part of the people development strategy for successful companies.
UPwords, Inc. workshops are dynamic, high-involvement learning environments designed to bring the learning to life. Our programs are highly customized as we gather client input to determine outcome goals and design a program from a menu of topics (see Topics Menu) to best fit the organization as well as move the business forward. With a solid design in place, we motivate participants to learn through impactful, interactive, action-learning and experiential exercises balanced with meaningful reflection, processing time, and facilitated discussions.
We focus on the shift-in-thinking. We believe this is the crux of professional development. Too many development organizations are more focused on the training rather than the learning – engaging in lecture-type workshops or workshops designed to make people happy, without considering the forward movement, the potential shift-in-thinking. We approach each interaction with a fresh perspective and a “group coaching” mentality. The goal is “how can we reach, and most positively impact, each person on an individual level, who is attending this workshop?”
To customize your program, see topics below and fill out the Workshop Request form.
Topics for Customized Workshops
UPwords, Inc. workshops are dynamic, high-involvement learning environments designed to bring the learning to life. Our programs are highly customized as we find out clients’ outcome goals and with client input, design a program from a menu of topics to best fit the organization. What topics below are of interest to you? Let’s discuss these topics in conjunction with your outcome goals, to design a customized program which will deliver the most effective program possible to your organization. We select from a variety of additional exercises, topics, and tools to create continuity in the workshop.
COMMUNICATION:
Impacting Relationships Through Interaction 
Determine your communication style, the type of leader you aspire to be, and the impact of your relationships. Learn communication tools, why breakdowns occur, and how to increase effectiveness.
- Would you like to be a more effective communicator?
- Would you like to be better at inspiring and motivating people?
- Is your team hearing one thing while you are saying another?
- Do you feel misunderstood?
CHANGE:
The Only Constant is Change! 
Help your organization prepare for change, get in a position to accept change, and most importantly manage and lead through change. Understand how to best handle resistance. Alter perceptions. Create excitement for what’s about to come. Learn techniques for dealing with individuals who are “not on board”.
- Is your organization growing like crazy?
- Are you having difficulty getting everyone on board and rowing in the same direction?
- Are you leading or dragging people along?
- Are you overwhelmed by the enormity of leading through change?
CONFLICT:
Building a Culture of Robust Dialogue and Productive Disagreement 
Your career is greatly impacted by your ability to handle conflict effectively while interacting with internal and external customers.Enhance your skills. Be empowered to handle disagreements productively. Don’t let conflict stand in your way.
- Does “unproductive” disagreement prevent you from excelling?
- Are certain team-members’ behaviors ignored when they should be addressed?
- How does your conflict style fuel the fire?
- Do you avoid conflict at all costs?
- Is there tension on your team that negatively impacts performance?
LEADERSHIP:
Increase Effectiveness with enhanced Business Focus, Leadership Skills, and Relationship Building 
Leaders, good and great, will discover untapped potential, stretch skill sets, and recalibrate leadership abilities and awareness, to become stronger and more impactful while sharpening their strategic view and business acumen.
- Are you getting the most out of your employees?
- Do you have strong relationships with your team members?
- Do you know how to lead “UP”?
- Are you a leader or a manager?
- What takes you to the next level?
- Is your silo’d perspective preventing synergy at the executive level?
- How do you model leadership to your constituents?
SELF-AWARENESS & PERSONALITY:
Understanding the Impact of “Self” and Behavioral Tendencies 
Once participants uncover their own personality strengths and their impact on others, they discover general individual personality characteristics of those with whom they interact. In addition, they learn how to positively interact, motivate, and impact others, while re-energizing as a team.
- Would you like to get the most out of your employees by understanding“who they are” and what makes them tick (and ticked off?)?
- Do your team members bring out the best and the worst in each other?
- Are you missing business opportunities because of personality clashes?
- Do your team members click with the client?
MACRO-MINDSET™:
Looking at the organization as a whole 
Silos. Disconnected parts. Decisions that do not take “the whole” into account can be problematic for organizations. Go through a simple and effective process to answer business plan questions from a high-level collaborative view. This macro mindset view allows the various components of your business to be in sync.
- Are silos preventing your business from moving forward?
- Is your executive on the same page?
- Does your top leadership fight for their own self-interests/departments versus than the company as a whole?
- Do the segments of your organization understand their interrelatedness?
RE-ENGAGEMENT:
Energizing People to impact the business 
People are stressed out, bummed out, and burned out. It is a big task to get your people – your biggest asset and competitive advantage – reengaged.
- Has your organization undergone changes?
- Is your team tired and burned out?
- Are you struggling to “get things done”?
- Is your team lacking energy, ideas, creativity?
TEAM IDENTITY:
Improving Team Relationships, Purpose, and Productivity 
As teams build trust, and determine who they are, they work toward understanding their barriers to success, establishing their desired identity and purpose, and build more collaborative relationships to become more effective as a team.
- Does your team need to get re-energized?
- Is your team working together and pulling in the same direction?
- What is preventing the team from moving forward?
- How would your team members best describe the team culture?
- Does your team have the best players?
- As a leader, how are you re-engaging your team?
TEAM FEEDBACK & GROWTH:
Rebooting Teams for Optimal Performance 
A key element to helping teams reboot is the Open 360 Feedback Process™ – a facilitated group dialogue highlighting each contributor, their attributes and behaviors, and their impact on the team’s members, productivity, and identity.
- Is your team stuck?
- Are certain team-members’ behaviors ignored?
- Could the team benefit from a refresh?
- Does everyone ignore the elephant in the room?
- Are there conflicting personalities on the team?
- Does the team dynamic prevent individuals from being their best?
SALES SUCCESS:
Raising the Bar on Sales Performance
Many factors determine sales success in an organization: the right-fit individuals; motivation; attitude; sales process; teamwork; emotional intelligence; ability to connect with customers; belief in self; management; communicating corporate goals & direction; incentive; and product knowledge.
- Does your sales team miss opportunities due to their limited ability to read customers?
- Is your sales team connected to the big-picture goals?
- Sales is a head-game, are you salespeople in or out?
- Do your salespeople leverage each stage of the sales process? Do they have a sales process?
- Is your sales team “advancing the ball” at each sales meeting?
- Are your salespeople working together as a team?
- Do your sales people really understand the intricacies and implications of your product offering?
GENDER 9 TO 5™:
Understanding and Improving Communication in the Workplace 
Gender has become a “politically incorrect” topic in the workplace, yet it is the foundation of who we are, and the platform on which our conversational styles are built. Understanding the differences in female/male communication is the beginning to good communication – vital to productive and motivated people.
What else? Your organizational topic!
We are often asked to include your organizational theme into a workshop.
The UPwords Inc. Toolbox Additional topics & tools
We select from a variety of additional exercises, topics, and tools to create continuity in the workshop.
Just Ask! Specific topic not listed
You never know…we might be able to accommodate a miscellaneous request!
