Leadership Development

Job satisfaction is closely linked to feeling valued and appreciated by coworkers. However, everyone has their own unique way of feeling appreciated. That is why the Appreciation at Work System was created: to help individuals discover their primary language of appreciation in the workplace and develop a better understanding of it.

Developing assertiveness is more than just learning to talk differently. Being assertive requires thinking assertively, feeling confident, and behaving positively. Guidelines for word choices and behaviors and numerous exercises will help you change how you interact with others. You will discover how to use assertive communication in a variety of managerial situations to solve problems, make decisions, overcome conflict, negotiate agreements, build strong teams, and more.

Discover who you are and own it. The CliftonStrengths assessment outlines your top talents, while your report features definitions of each of those talents specific to you. CliftonStrengths help you aim your purpose at greater performance. During training, we will focus on your greatest opportunities for development and success (rather than on your weaknesses). You can use your reports to tackle things like your career, working on teams, and your personal relationships.

Coaching is the process of letting people know that what they do matters to you. Coaching is about inspiring, encouraging, and challenging. We will explore our possible role in performance issues before addressing them and the impact of the types of feedback we provide.

Developing communication skills that allow you to connect, understand, and collaborate more successfully with all types of people. Participants will identify the importance of communication to one's success, overcome barriers to communicating effectively, define active listening, and master techniques to be a better listener.

On average, people spend at least one-third of their lives in a work setting, and much of that time is spent under the pressure of deadlines, responsibilities, and commitments. Emotional behavior, both positive and negative, can be expected. Participants will learn to recognize the choices available in managing conflict and provide constructive feedback that gets positive results.

Customer service is intangible. We cannot poke, prod, weigh, or otherwise physically inspect customer service. Customer service deals with the human side of an organization. It is measured by the human emotions, behaviors, understandings, feelings, and perceptions of the customer. This session will focus on how to refresh the lens you see customer service and revive your commitment to excellence.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is defined as the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of those around you. Leading experts and professionals agree that EQ is one of the top skills needed in the workforce. Professionals with high EQ skills are more likely to stay calm under pressure, resolve conflict effectively, and respond to co-workers with empathy. By building your EQ skills you can bring out the best in others and create successful teams.

Making the transition from employee to manager is never easy. Relationships with co-workers change dramatically, and new supervisors frequently struggle to balance old relationships with new responsibilities. After this class, you will reduce any fears or frustrations you may have, increase your effectiveness, gain greater respect from those reporting to you, improve your professional reputation, and enhance your overall career.

Leadership is not defined by your title; it is defined by your actions. The way you lead tells a story about your values and creates an example for others to follow. Key Leadership Principles can give you tools to increase your leadership potential.

Set yourself up for success and create positive, long-lasting habits. Accountability is an ongoing process that builds trust, improves relationships, and increases both personal and professional growth opportunities. In this workshop, participants will learn new ways to take ownership of their actions and establish habits to stay on track.

Trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something and underpins effective working relationships. Trust helps organizations run smoothly by increasing positivity, improving processes, and driving individual and team performance.

This highly interactive Leadership Program has numerous developmental activities conducted in a supportive, fun and positive learning environment! It is intended to enhance the skill level of current and prospective supervisors. Outcomes include the increased confidence of employees who will create a positive work environment, more effective teams and results that impact the bottom line.

The series meets once a week for 7-weeks. The registration fee of $875 includes interactive instruction, printed materials and breaks. Lunch is not included.

Topics covered include:

Key Leadership Principles: Learn five key principles to become a more effective leader and create a positive work environment. Reflect on current skills and habits and discover alternative options to enhance leadership abilities. Begin a 7-week challenge of better self-understanding.

Real Colors®: Assess your color or temperament and discover how each style interacts with others. Learn tools to communicate effectively with different colors while recognizing the attributes of each style.

Communication Skills: Develop methods to enhance one-on-one discussions. Identify appropriate word choices, improve listening skills and learn how to ask better questions. Discover the importance of verbal and non-verbal forms of communication.

Trust: Learn the importance of trust in the workplace. Explore trust busters, trust builders and uncover signs of low trust in the workplace and the impact. Understand how trust is like money; it’s hard to earn and easy to lose.

The SLII Experience™: In Ken Blanchard’s Situational Leadership II model, participants will identify the appropriate leadership style to use for task-specific situations. This in-depth module includes leadership behavior analysis, application and development exercises.

Team Building: Learn how to develop a productive and positive team environment. Discover the elements of a unified team and how to put the concepts into action. Learn how to brainstorm and come to consensus. Additionally discover how to lead effective meetings.

Conflict Resolution: Learn how to recognize the choices available in managing conflict and provide constructive feedback that gets positive results. Discover the various conflict management styles and their appropriate uses.

Managing Change: Explore the change process and learn how people in organizations respond to change. Learn to value resisters and how to positively promote the change process.

Valerie Bren facilitates a variety of soft skill presentations, workshops and classes for Central Community College’s Community & Workforce Education team.

Valerie has a passion for helping people discover what they do best and applying it to their lives. She brings fun and energy to all her trainings/workshops and has a great desire to learn and to continuously improve. Valerie has a Bachelor of Arts degree focused in Communication Studies from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Valerie is a certified coach in Gallup’s CliftonStrengths and BP 10. She is also a certified facilitator for The SLII Experience™ and Real Colors®. Valerie has completed the Professional Trainer Certificate Program of The Bob Pike Group.

Valerie is a board member of the South-Central United Way & Leadership Hastings. She is a member of the Hastings Young Professionals, Leadership Hastings graduate and Sherwood Foundation Community Catalyst Cohort 37. She was awarded winner of the Hastings Young Professional’s Top 30 under 30ish. Most recently, Valerie is a member of Leadership Tomorrow’s class 38 in Grand Island.

Valerie and her family have made Hastings their home.

Central Community College’s Community & Workforce Education team offers training opportunities in the following areas:

• Leadership Training
• Computer Training
• Environmental Health and Safety Training
• Industrial Maintenance Training
• Quality Training
• Welding Technology
• AND MORE!

Central Community College is your first contact for all of your training needs!

www.cccneb.edu/workforcetraining

Explore the change process, understand how people in organizations respond to change, and learn how to lead change. Learn to value resisters and how to positively promote the change process.

A personal brand is the unique combination of skills and experiences that make you who you are. It is how you present yourself to the world. Participants will define what makes them unique and build a personal brand in ways that will demonstrate expertise and values.

Real Colors is a fun, interactive discussion that will provide the skills needed to understand human behavior, uncover what motivates others, and improve your communication with different personality types.

In Ken Blanchard’s Situational Leadership II model, participants will identify the appropriate leadership style to use for task-specific situations. This in-depth module includes leadership behavior analysis, application, and development exercises.

Developing and leading a team is a complex undertaking. Team members often must share resources and manage competing demands on their time. Effective teamwork is critical for completing tasks, improving motivation, sharing knowledge and resources as well as generating ideas.

Everyone on our planet has the same number of hours in a day. How do some people appear to get so much more done? You cannot buy time, save time, or stop time; you can only use it – wisely or otherwise. By learning to take ownership over the use of your time, you can: improve the quality and quantity of the work you do, achieve your goals, improve the efficiency of your organization, reduce stress, and have more time to do what you want.