Custom Professional Development Programs
For organizations and businesses who want an in-depth learning experience for staff, our custom professional development programs offer a powerful experience. Below is a sample of the professional development sessions provided to other organizations. Peace Learning Center also creates special sessions to match your needs. Contact John McShane today for more information.
Moving from unintended intolerance to intercultural development
Addressing issues beyond race and gender, this session opens the door to conversations about how an organization or individual may be unaware of discriminatory language, practices or programs that may be utilized within the organization and how branding and interpersonal styles can affect our perceptions. Participants will explore how stereotypes and misinformation develop and begin to move from these misperceptions to valuing diversity and the benefits it brings to organizational and personal effectiveness. In addition, techniques for resolving conflicts related to diversity issues and how to build bridges with different groups will be addressed.
Addressing Conflict in Healthy Ways
This session focuses on concepts and tools of effective communication and provides opportunities to utilize these tools. Participants will learn and practice techniques such as asking for and expressing oneself with clarity, setting healthy boundaries and learning how body language and tone of voice can help or hinder our communication with others. Individuals will engage in activities that promote reflective listening, reframing, rephrasing and problem solving. Participants come away with a multitude of communication skills that are easily learned and immediately applicable to real life situations.
courageous conversations: a facilitated dialogue session
Change initiatives often bring about difficult conversations that leaders and others in the organization are underprepared to address. This dialogue session is built around the specific difficult situation(s) that are emerging for the organization which need to be surfaced and addressed. Our facilitated process encourages respectful and honest dialogue which is key to any sustainable change initiative.
Solving the Recruitment challenge: recruiting and retaining diversity
For many organizations, recruiting a more diverse workforce has been challenging because traditional recruitment methods have proven ineffective. This session provides practical insights and methods for adapting recruitment and retention strategies to the African American, Asian American, and Hispanic communities, as well as to women’s or men’s groups. Information will also be provided regarding tools to assess your individual and/or organizational capacity to support and retain diversity in your workforce.
creating high quality organizations through strategic planning
Too often people in organizations spend time writing strategic plans only to have them sit on a shelf. This session explores the possibilities for using long range planning to support ongoing organizational development and look at ways to increase, over time, the capacity of your board or staff to more fully live your organization's mission and improve the quality of outcomes.
elements of a healthy board
It takes more than a passion for an organization to create a healthy board - there is a need for leadership, strategy, tough conversations and teamwork. This session addresses the key factors that influence a board's health and effectiveness. Through dialogue and thought-provoking discussions, participants will gain a better understanding of the health of their board and learn ways to address the challenges their boards are facing.
Working Through Difficult Conversations
Participants will learn healthy communication skills and begin to integrate those skills through practice with others. Learning to speak truthfully with integrity and respect while being open minded and non-threatening are some of the topics covered. Participants will gain insight and experience in how to best listen to others when disagreements arise and learn response strategies when conflict begins to emerge.
Board and Staff Retreats
Retreats for board members, staff, educators and other professionals are offered at our Eagle Creek site or the client’s site. Whether the design of the retreat has a strategic planning focus or is a more reflective-style retreat, participants are encouraged to examine their role, address accountability issues and align actions with the values of the organization. Our retreats provide an opportunity to develop healthy tools of communication and honest dialogue to help redefine goals and design tangible steps toward renewed enthusiasm and cooperation within the board or organization.
Professional Renewal
Offering a process that supports the sustained growth of professionals, the focus of this session is to give participants a taste of how to build their capacity to continuously refresh and renew themselves to keep up with the varied demands of their profession. Participants are guided through various experiences with the intent to help them explore their identity and integrity. There are opportunities for quiet self-reflection and depth conversation with others to share insights, connections and cross-pollinate new approaches to consider around how we might bring our whole selves to work in a more intentional way.
how metaphors and stories shape our organizational culture
This session helps build an awareness of the questions, metaphors, stories and words that are consistently used within organizations and how they can powerfully shape the culture and direction of the organization. Activities will be utilized to provide a process that can help uncover or affirm the metaphors and stories we use within our own organizations.
For more information or to schedule a session, please contact John McShane at
317.327.7144 or at jmcshane@peacelearningcenter.org.
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