Seeking Advice on Running an Engaging Leadership Team Communication Workshop

I have been asked to run a communication workshop with the members of our Leadership Team. I have been researching on the internet for activities that I can run and have seen a good one around listening. However, I wondered if anyone else had attended something or run something similar and could give me some advice?

I am not sure if I could comment without knowing what the activity is about. While you mention listening, it does not describe much about the actual activity and what outcomes are expected of it.

We have used other activities/games centered around "sensitivity," "empathy," "listening," "expectation setting," "clarity of verbal communication," "risk," etc.

Cheers!

The purpose of the workshop is to improve communication within the business, starting with the managers. In a recent survey, we failed dismally when it came to communication, and in many ways, this is due to the managers not speaking to each other and then not speaking to their teams. There is very much a culture of 'them and us' between our sales teams and our operations teams. The outcome is very much about improving communication throughout our business.

Any hints and tips you could share with me would be much appreciated.

Regards,
Vicky

Hello Vicky and Shashidhar, I am also caught in a quite similar situation. I have been asked to draft a design and a training schedule for AVPs and Senior Managers—though I know only three would be attending. However, it's a bit challenging to really decide and know what to include and what not to. Also, giving feedback is going to be a challenge.

Being a Manager, I think it is not very apt to give one-on-ones or direct feedback as it is usually taken as criticism and ultimately falls on you, your performance, and also appraisals. Since appraisals are due, this also adds to the 'challenge'.

My team and I are looking at purely communication and hardly any soft skills as one of the trainers may be facilitating the session, and she is not very confident when it comes to members of the Leadership Team.

Kindly suggest.

Regards,
Avani

I have read your problem and also have gone through the suggestions of the other members towards that. The suggestions given by all your friends are no doubt sound; however, I would like to add certain important steps that you may like to implement.

Session 1: Ice Breaker
Devise certain activities that will make everyone attending the workshop feel at ease and open up to each other.

Session 2: Warm Up
Have each participant engage in discussions or interactions to broaden the channels of communication within the group.

Session 3: Mutual Understanding
Initially, identify the areas where most personnel converge in their viewpoints. This will encourage open communication and lead to discussions on important company matters.

Session 4: Introduce Topics With Divergent Views
Identify topics where there is reluctance to discuss openly and encourage open discussions to facilitate communication.

Session 5: Help Them Help Each Other
Identify knowledgeable individuals on specific topics and encourage them to share insights to promote healthy discussions.

Session 6: Feedback
Establish a feedback system to evaluate the success of the workshop and help members identify their communication weaknesses.

Session 7: Closing Address
Highlight key points from the workshop, avoiding personal remarks. Offer individual feedback sessions to address specific weaknesses.

Follow-Up
It is your responsibility to follow up, providing advice on handling senior personnel with professionalism and using temperate language to maintain respect.

Listening Skills
Emphasize the importance of listening in effective communication and moderate discussions to ensure everyone has a chance to speak.

Photo/Listening Association
Incorporate breaks with informal sessions to reinforce workshop objectives through music or short movie clips.

I wish you success. Please share your feedback at your earliest convenience.

Regards,
Lt. Col Raja Dutta

I think this is going to be a situation where you have to tread on eggshells. Remember, you are going to be dealing with massive egos and past achievements, and the classroom session might be a little daunting.

Therefore, a thorough activity session is the safest bet. The debrief session could be one where you act like a moderator or facilitator. Therefore, think about an activity where you don't really have to drive the top guns of your company. The key takeaway could be a business strategy where these top guns ideate together, and you play the role of a facilitator.

Activity Suggestion: The "Beer Game"

One activity that comes to my mind is the "Beer Game" devised by MIT. I think this is an activity if you are looking to engage the heads of various departments. One of the key takeaways of this activity is indeed communication, and surprisingly, the conventional incentive structure that encourages individual effort could be seen as the stumbling block of an enterprise that is aiming to be lean, mean, and keen.

The best thing about this activity is you could use your own variation which could be representative of your company's goal and business. Perhaps you could also google for the variations.

Also, you could see some frenzied activity, and you don't have to talk about communication/team effort, etc., to these honchos, which in a way prevents you from preaching to the choir.

Regards,
Saj

I think what Saj has said about activity-based workshops is the best way out. You can also try other activities such as "Broken Squares," "LDGM," or "Promises & Promises." All of them could be worked on to incorporate some specific aspects of your organization.

Secondly, the debrief becomes absolutely critical. I also recommend that you use an experienced external facilitator in case you do not want to be on the wrong side of the equation later on. :-)

Cheers!
SK

Activity-based workshops are the best way to avoid ego clashes and any fallout later on. Try "Broken Squares" or "Promises & Promises." They are wonderful tools that combine fun, mental, and behavioral exercises for all participants. As always, the debrief is absolutely critical, and the facilitator must be really good at it. You can consider using an experienced external facilitator if you have the budget and the approval. Please note that working with internal facilitators has its own limitations.

Cheers! SK

Team Building Activities for Workshops

The 'Ice Breaker' and 'Warm Up' sessions I had suggested were essentially meant to include activities of various natures to help individuals look beyond themselves and start thinking and functioning as a team. As far as actual activities are concerned, the internet is replete with samples of activities (both indoor and outdoor varieties) for you to choose from. You may also improvise upon them in many different ways to make them suit your requirements. You do not need to seek advice from any of us or hire someone (as they may be expensive and cost-cutting) to conduct such activities for you, which may not suit your requirements in the first place.

As for classroom sessions being monotonous, you need not restrict yourselves to classrooms for any of the activities/sessions during the workshop. Take them to any outdoor location, but remember that everyone must be given the same treatment throughout the workshop to avoid any heartburn due to preferential treatment.

Good luck, spread cheer, and see you around later.

Regards,
Lt. Col. Raja Dutta

Using a Talking Stick for Effective Communication

To practice listening and also to allow one person to complete what they need to express, even if a bit controversial, without interruptions, the traditional North American native people's practice of using a talking stick while seated in a talking circle is useful and fun. The circle also symbolizes equality with no head or position of prominence.

For this, seat participants in groups in a circle and place the stick in the middle. Whomever the stick points to speaks. You can decide how to rotate the stick—randomly or in turn. If you don't have the actual stick, a substitute like even a marker pen can be used.

This activity allows the group to listen actively as they will have to report during debriefing at the end.

I am a Bangalore-based soft skills/behavioral skills trainer. I have conducted a variety of topics in the past year. In fact, last Saturday, I was in Chennai conducting a program on Personal Grooming for sales personnel.

The Importance of Communication Skills

Communication skills are a kind of thread that is core to many skills, including leadership skills, team building, team management, stress management, assertiveness, and customer relations management. This is also one of the grey areas for development in all organizations across industries. If you probe into any issues in any organization, you will find that the source of the problem is often a lack of communication—from top to bottom, bottom to top, diagonally, horizontally, i.e., in all directions! Lol

Developing Communication Skills

Those who have an innate desire to develop their communication skills or hone their existing communication levels can explore the many options available to them. As trainers, we can only show the path and provide direction through a game or two. However, as the old saying goes, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink!" I know of people whose skill levels remain the same even after attending several programs during their career!

Using Games in Training

I find a lot of games on the internet for many soft skills training topics, including communication skills. You can choose a few games based on the participants' suitability and mindset. I have faced challenges in some organizations as it is very difficult to make participants willingly engage in games. Sometimes you need to 'pull' them forcibly! Therefore, these days, I gather information about the participants' backgrounds and job roles.

So, please select a game that fits well and resonates with the participants. However, remember that the outcome and learning from the game are more important than mere 'time-pass'!

Best wishes

I am also facing the same challenge. Mine is a case where I know all these activities. I mean to say, I have undergone them as a participant but do not know the right way to run these activities. Please help me with a link where I can find some faculty notes or guidelines on how to run these activities.

Looking for Team Building Activities

Also, I am looking for some more games and activities on team building, conflict management, etc. Please suggest.

Kit for Broken Squares

Additionally, where can we get the kit for BROKEN SQUARES?

Regards,
Monika