Professional Development Programs

The Normative Leadership Professional Development Program

Mergers, buyouts, takeovers, implementing a new business strategy all bring about tumultuous change and anxiety for individuals and teams. Leading and managing the "change process" is hard work . . . until now!

Creating a stable, pro-active culture in your group or organization, will give you an edge in maximizing the opportunities that "change" affords. The Normative Leadership Training Program provides you, and your organization, with the road map to manage culture change.

This program is done in sequential modules in order to allow the participants to explore the dynamics of their own group or organizational culture, and then apply the concepts to change the culture. As changes are initiated, strategies can be discussed to address the resistance to change and/or to assist participants in the development and implementation of the normative skills.

Four core courses provide the foundation for the Normative Leadership Program. They are:

Phase 1: Introduction to Normative Cultures:

Phase 1: Introduction to Normative Cultures: This two day course introduces the participants to the process of change. It is recommended that this initial session be done as a Pilot Program for the organization. Upon completion, the leader (s) can then assess the feedback from the participants regarding the training and then decide if the organization can sustain the commitment that is necessary to change/develop the organizational culture. The course content includes:

Understanding Normative Behavior
The Formal versus The Informal Organizations
Identifying Group Norms in Your Organization
Measuring Your Culture via the Organizational Climate Assessor
Conducting a Team Assessment: The Force Field and Polsky Diamond
The 12 Strategies for Change
Team Problem Solving
The Attitude for Change
Work Place Implementation Strategies

Try The Force Field Exercise to gain insight into the status of your organizational culture. Feel free to print and copy this exercise.

Phase 2: Leadership Management:

Phase 2: Leadership Management: This two day session enables managers/supervisors to gain insight into their leadership style and how their style affects the organizational culture. Course content includes:

Pre-training 1-1 Video Tape Role Play
Working With Individual Behavior
Understanding Leadership Styles
Participant Style Identification
How To Facilitate a 1-1 Meeting
The Art of Giving Constructive Feedback to Employees
Critique of Pre-training 1-1 Video Tape Role Plays
Skills Development Sessions via Role Plays
Using the Decision Planner to Make Tough Decisions
Team Force Field Assessment Exercise
Work Place Implementation Strategy

Leadership Management Follow up Session: A one hour follow up session should be scheduled within two weeks of completing the Leadership Management session for each participant to provide individual coaching to further enhance his/her 1-1 skills development. Content of each one hour session includes:

A Critique of the Pre-training 1-1 Video Tape Role Play
A Second Video Tape Session Where Participant Demonstrates the Use of the 1-1 Skills
Individual 1-1 Style Consultation

Phase 3: Building a Team:

Phase 3: Building a Team: This two day session provides a format for employee teams to examine "how" they function as a team and to identify the barriers that affect their ability to work as a team. Course content includes:

Understanding Group Behavior
How to "Read" the Dynamics of a Group
Facilitating Groups: Interpersonal Conflict Resolution Strategies
How to Build Trust in the Group
Team Building for Increased Productivity
Work Place Implementation Strategy

Phase 4: Performance Assessment:

Phase 4: Performance Assessment: This two day session teaches participants how to build employee accountability through the formal system via the job description. Participants will learn how to write a job description that is tailored to their particular position. Course content includes:

Identifying and Defining the Formal Parameters of Your Job Responsibilities
Defining Measurable Standards of Performance for Accountability
How the Performance Assessment System Works in the Organization
How to Conduct an Employee Performance Appraisal
Work Place Implementation Strategy

Follow up sessions and consulting days can be scheduled at the completion of each phase to help with the implementation strategies and skills development of the participants.

Note: Components of each segment of the core program can be integrated into a tailored program to teach specific “how to” skills for managers, supervisors and/or employees such as:

Conflict Resolution Skills
Team Building/Facilitation Skills
One on One Skills
Decision Making
Problem-solving

* Train the Trainer (Optional): As your organization progresses through the various phases of the training, individuals can be identified to participate in a training program to learn "how to" teach the Normative Leadership model within your organization.

Normative Leadership Programs for Students (Click on Human Services or Education in the box below).

* If you are interested in the Normative Leadership Training for your group or organization, one can be designed to fit your specific needs. *

Click here for information regarding seminars designed for:

Colleges/Residence Life