- course details
- Dates and time: 6 – 8 p.m., Mondays and Wednesdays: March 6 - 29
- Location: Online, instructor-led live sessions
- Number of sessions: 8 sessions over 4 weeks
- Instructional fee: $895, reduced fees available (see Cost section below for details)
- Format: Zoom videoconference
Communication is the most important skill needed to succeed in relationships, in business and in life. Oddly, our training is left mostly to assimilation, circumstance and sheer determination. Learn how to stay in the driver’s seat in interactions, be truly heard when you speak, grasp differing viewpoints with ease and remain comfortable even when things go south.
This class delivers comprehensive, practical and effective tools for clear, authentic and powerful communication and collaboration.
What you will learn
- How to understand core concepts and apply practical tools of personal interaction and communication in business and beyond
- How to identify the destructive anatomy of judgment and learn to use the genius of nonjudgment
- Mastery of the four steps of impactful communication based on nonviolent communication
- Learn and practice the steps of resolving conflict
- Analyze the anatomy of fear and use it as a tracking tool for achieving objectives
Who should attend
Working professionals, team leaders, managers and those involved in HR and professional development, product, process or services.
Working professionals who are in emerging roles as front-line leaders (including technical or business professionals who are relatively new to leading teams) or experienced leaders who have a need to sharpen their skills relative to team leadership and addressing new challenges.
Course content
A typical course covers the following:
Genius of nonjudgment
Dropping judgments lets you take action based on the values you hold and the things you are passionate about by helping you distinguish facts.
You will learn:
- How to identify judgments that debilitate
- How to separate fact from perception
- The steps of clear thought
- The secret to powerful action
The four steps to impactful communication
Learn to (1) dissolve barriers, (2) ease tensions, (3) strengthen relationships and (4 ) invite collaboration. You will learn to focus succinctly on the issue at hand, open channels for communication and work-flow.
You will learn:
- The communication snags that cause conflict and tension
- Systematic and creative, solution-based thinking
- How to use the four-step impactful communication framework
- How to defuse stressed conversations in work environment
Beyond conflict
Conflict costs your business and your well-being: 42% of managers’ time is spent managing conflict; companies lose 64% of wrongful termination cases; recorded discrimination cases have increased over 20 years by 2,166% in 2019.
Learn to act from beyond conflict and turn challenges into constructive outcomes and reduce destructive results.
You will learn:
- Practice a resolution-oriented attitude
- Learn to recognize the causes of conflict
- Promote respect during a heated conflict
- Dissolve tension comfortably when it gets critical
Flipping fear into unstoppable action
In business, fear hinders our ability to achieve objectives, reach beyond established limits and to maximize creative potential. In this class segment, you will use daily business situations to identify worries that plague your business operations, and gain the tools to instead map out and achieve what you want.
You will learn to:
- Turn off worry and unleash creativity
- Use fear as the ultimate tracking tool
- Identify clear objectives
- Find ease in discomfort
Capstone project
Capstone projects are chosen by you at the beginning of the program (in alignment with the needs of your employer) and provide the “living lab” to use the concepts as taught in course modules. The final session of the program is the presentation of your project.
Applied learning model
You will have the opportunity to take what you learned and apply it in real-world practical experiences, both in class and between classes through the following:
- Take-home exercises to practice course concepts
- Work on a capstone project to apply your new knowledge to a real-world situation
- One-on-one feedback from the instructor on the outline of your capstone project
- Presenting your project to your peers during the final class
Student materials
- Course materials will be provided in PDF format
- Recommended reading will be shared in class
Instructor
Leezá Steindorf, is an international business consultant, HR trainer, leadership coach and mediator. With a proven track record as a communication, conflict and crisis management specialist in multinational corporations, trade unions and nonprofits across the globe, Steindorf delivers potent tools and unique strategic processes for organizational transformation and professional development. She helps professionals develop cohesive team-building skills and positive organizational operations in even the most diverse and chaotic environments.
Steindorf’s programs and CORE SuccessTM system are internationally acclaimed and accredited. She is a leadership coach for the Forbes Coaches Council, is a nonviolent communication trainer and a former Tony Robbins Results coach. She holds a degree in business management and certifications as an ICF coach, trainer and group facilitator, and mediator.
Cost
The instructional fee is $895. There are limited number of seats available for employees of small businesses with fewer than 150 employees ($448), non-profits and educational institutions ($224), and for current WSU students ($90) and employees ($224). All instructional fees are per person and include a nonrefundable administrative fee of $75. See Registration for details.
The registration fee is the same regardless of residence.
Meetings and format
The course is delivered via Zoom videoconference with live instruction. To attend, you need a computer with webcam, microphone and high-speed internet.
Each Zoom session allows for live interactions with the instructor and other students via chat, web conferencing or phone, all in real time. Assignments and other materials will be available online through a web-based learning management system.
Certificate completion
- Attend at least six of eight classes
- Completion and presentation of capstone project