Women's Leadership Development Conference

Complete Seminar Details

Letter From Conference Chair

As someone in a leadership position today, you face tough challenges - and then some! It's your job to help guide your organization through the throes of downsizing or rapid expansion and to coach your people in adapting to technology that changes every time we blink. You're also expected to fire up enthusiasm in employees who act like they've barely got a pulse - and to handle the crisis of the day without breaking a sweat.

It's no easy job! Yet for women who possess excellent top-notch leadership skills, more opportunities exist to move up through their organizations' ranks than ever before.

To be ready for those opportunities, you've got to keep your skills razor-sharp and utilize every leadership technique, tool and training opportunity at your disposal.

That's why The Leadership Development Conference for Women is the solution you've been looking for. In just one day, you can make a dramatic impact on your leadership effectiveness by training on essential topics. This one-of-a-kind learning opportunity is your ticket to unleashing your full potential as a leader. It's the one-day way to greater career success!

Our exclusive tracked conference format is designed to help you absorb a maximum amount of information in a minimum amount of time. You create your own agenda, attending only those sessions that meet your needs. Choose from an extensive menu of sessions, including:

Leadership Development. Learn how to stay motivated in a demanding career, gain powerful strategies for establishing credibility up and down the ladder, find out how to be assertive without being pushy, and learn how to talk so your employees will listen!

Today's Leadership & Management Challenges. Delegate without guilt, rev up your people without spending a dime, disarm and defuse conflict and confrontation, and prevent problem employees from sabotaging your success.

The Complete Leader. Learn how to choose the right leadership style for the job, maintain balance in your life, master new ways to communicate more effectively, and gain insight into leading your people through change and transition.

Career Networking. A terrific benefit of attending this conference is that the leaders you'll meet will be from your area - which means they can become valuable professional contacts and resources in the future. We've dedicated a room for networking so that you can brainstorm ideas and discuss common challenges.

And don't miss our post-conference workshops! These half-day sessions offer more in-depth training on essential leadership topics: "How to Communicate With Power and Influence" and "Dealing With Negativity and Employee Attitude Problems."

How often do you get the chance to substantially upgrade your leadership skills in so little time - and in such a fun and entertaining format? We know the answer: Never! The leadership resources available to you during this exciting conference are simply phenomenal and are not offered elsewhere. You owe it to yourself to take advantage of this important career opportunity.

Sincerely,

Susan Brown

Conference Chair

P.S. Don't keep this exceptional opportunity to yourself - bring your whole team for a day of high-powered training! Take advantage of our team-training discount: When 3 from your organization enroll in this conference, the 4th attends FREE!

Agenda At A Glance

8:30 a.m. Registration begins

9 - 10 a.m. Opening Session: "Today's Most Influential Women Leaders Reveal Their Top 5 Success Secrets!

10:00 - 10:15 a.m. Break

Conference Break-Out Sessions Begin (concurrent sessions, choose one)

10:15 - 11:15 a.m. Session 1A

Establishing Your Credibility Up and Down the Ladder

Session 2A

The 5 Rules of Effective Delegation

Session 3A

Choosing the Right Leadership Style for the Job

11:15 - 11:30 a.m. Break

11:30 - 12:30 p.m. Session 1B

How to Be Assertive Without Being Pushy

Session 2B

Dealing with Conflict Confidently and Professionally

Session 3B

The Ultimate Challenge: Leading Through Change

12:30 - 1:45 p.m. Lunch on your own

1:45 - 2:45 p.m. Session 1C

Staying Motivated in Your Demanding and Stressful Job

Session 2C

How to Handle the Problem Employee

Session 3C

Communication Strategies from Today's Most Successful Women

2:45 - 3 p.m. Break

3 - 4 p.m. Session 1D

How to Talk So Your Employees Will Listen

Session 2D

Rewarding Your People Without Spending a Dime

Session 3D

Organized Chaos-Tips for Balancing Your Life's Multiple Priorities

DAY TWO - Post-Conference Workshops (Optional)

8:30 a.m. Registration begins

9 - 11:45 a.m. Morning Workshop

#WLA01 How to Communicate With Power and Influence

11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. Lunch Break (on your own)

1:15 - 4 p.m. Afternoon Workshop

#WLP01 Dealing with Negativity and Employee Attitude Problems

Session Descriptions

Opening Session: Today's Most Influential Women Leaders Reveal Their Top 5 Success Secrets!

Many inexperienced leaders focus their time and effort on areas of improvement that ultimately make little difference in their overall career success. This must-attend session focuses on surprisingly simple actions you can take that will make a dramatic impact on your leadership effectiveness - literally overnight. You'll discover the importance of goal-setting, sharpening your listening skills, communicating sincere praise to people up and down the ladder, continuous learning and other essential keys to leadership success.

Track 1: Leadership Development

When you establish your credibility with an employee in those all-important first few seconds, you set the tone for that working relationship. In this crucial session, you'll discover proven techniques for projecting confidence, credibility and authority whenever you speak - starting with your first words to a new employee or CEO. In addition, you'll find out how to recognize and eliminate certain speech mannerisms and behaviors that may make others take you less seriously and treat you with less respect than you deserve.

Session 1B: How to Be Assertive Without Being Pushy

Your ability to interact confidently and assertively with people both up and down the ladder is critical to your career success. In this session we'll demonstrate the basic "how-to's" of assertive behavior and show you how to act assertively in a variety of workplace situations - without coming across as pushy, overbearing or aggressive. You'll also learn powerful tips for getting heard in meetings and for saying "no" without feeling guilty. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to stop holding back and start speaking up!

Session 1C: Staying Motivated in Your Demanding and Stressful Job

Today's leaders often feel they have the weight of the whole organization on their shoulders, which is why this insightful session is filled with creative ideas for keeping yourself "up" when your job gets you down. Find out how viewing your responsibilities in new ways can give you a fresh perspective, and discover proven techniques for "keeping your attitude right" even when you feel like you've been through the wringer! By learning how to stay motivated and reduce stress, you'll gain far greater satisfaction from your work.

Session 1D: How to Talk So Your Employees Will Listen

Research shows that on average, people in face-to-face discussions absorb only about 30 percent of what is said. In other words, your employees hear less than a third of what you directly tell them! In this session, we'll share easy-to-learn techniques for sharpening your interpersonal communication skills so that you will give crystal-clear instructions and feedback. You'll also find out how to read nonverbal cues and body language so you can see if employees are really listening to what you're saying - and understanding it.

Track 2: Today's Leadership and Management Challenges

Trying to do everything yourself is supervisory suicide, yet many managers find it difficult to master the art of delegation. That's why this informative session will focus on the basic, step-by-step "how-to's" of effective delegation. You'll also learn the most common delegation mistakes - and how to avoid them - and find out which types of tasks should never be delegated to others. By sharpening your delegation skills, you'll boost your personal productivity overnight and build a stronger department or work team.

Session 2B: Dealing with Conflict Confidently and Professionally

Do you feel uneasy when conflict rears its ugly head? Many women in leadership positions do! In this session, you'll learn how to face confrontation head on - calmly, confidently and professionally. You'll also find out how to prevent and handle conflict ranging from co-worker squabbles to violence. We'll show you how to focus on the positive aspects of conflict so that you can use it to build stronger teams and boost morale. Become an effective peacemaker and say good-bye to the anxiety that can accompany harsh words!

Session 2C: How to Handle the Problem Employee

Research shows that handling problem employees is rated as the #1 challenge for managers and supervisors. In this session you'll learn practical techniques for dealing effectively with difficult people, tough situations and a variety of negative, unproductive behaviors. Discover how to avoid the stress of personality conflicts and how to analyze what motivates and reinforces problem behaviors. Find out how to keep your cool when dealing with chronic complainers, shirkers and other problem people who can make life miserable!

Session 2D: Rewarding Your People Without Spending a Dime

Time and again, studies show that employees prefer sincere, immediate recognition and praise from their leaders for a job well done over cash rewards. This session offers dozens of innovative ways to reward workers and teams without spending a dime! Find out how other organizations across the country are boosting morale and encouraging productivity through no-cost rewards programs. In addition, you'll learn the common pitfalls of rewards programs - and how you and your organization can avoid them.

Track 3: The Complete Leader

Developing the right leadership strategy for the people you lead is absolutely crucial to your professional success. In this session, you'll learn not only how to recognize your natural leadership style, but how to determine if this style meets the needs of your employees. You'll gain strategies for adapting your style so that you can better influence, motivate, communicate and coach your people. Discover the important distinction between being a leader and being the boss, and find out what workers really want from leaders!

Session 3B: The Ultimate Challenge: Leading Through Change

In today's fast-paced, high-tech work environment, change is inevitable, whether due to a merger, downsizing, restructuring, expansion, new management or other situations. In this session, you'll learn the keys to overcoming employee resistance to change, as well as how to implement changes that employees will embrace. You'll also find out the real reasons why organizational changes often don't work and how to combat these factors. Change can strengthen you as leader - if you know how to make it work for you!

Session 3C: Communication Strategies from Today's Most Successful Women

Communicating with confidence and authority isn't a skill that comes naturally to most of us. Yet those who put the time and effort into mastering communication skills are greatly rewarded. In this session, we'll highlight common communication secrets found among successful and influential women. Plus, we'll also show you how to recognize and take advantage of your natural communication style. Find out how to become a more motivating, persuasive and powerful communicator - it's easier than you might think!

Session 3D: Organized Chaos - Tips for Balancing Your Life's Multiple Priorities

Do you feel like you're always rushing - at work and at home? You're not alone. In this session you'll learn innovative ways to balance your professional and personal life, improve your job satisfaction, and handle frustration, anger and anxiety more calmly. See how successful women have learned to look at themselves in new ways, to rearrange their activities to match their priorities, and to gain a stronger commitment to themselves, their jobs and their families without adding stress and burnout to their lives.

Post Conference Workshop Descriptions

Morning Workshop: How to Communicate With Power and Influence

There's no denying it: Women who communicate effectively go farther faster in their careers than those who don't. In this invaluable workshop, you'll learn techniques for projecting a professional, confident image every time you speak to others, whether it's one person or 100! You'll also learn how to recognize and avoid power-robbing communication mistakes and habits that may be sabotaging your success. You'll leave this session with easy-to-remember tips guaranteed to make you a more powerful, confident communicator.

You'll learn how to...

• Effectively communicate your ideas with confidence-both up and down the ladder
• Deflect negative criticism, put-downs and challenges to your authority
• Stop sabotaging yourself and start communicating
• Project the professional image you want - automatically
• Maintain emotional control even in tense situations
• Stand your ground in an argument or debate without being rude

Afternoon Workshop: Dealing with Negativity and Employee Attitude Problems

Employee attitude problems can grind productivity to a halt and turn your workplace into the emotional equivalent of a toxic waste dump. In this insightful workshop, you'll learn practical techniques for turning chronic complainers into satisfied employees and proven strategies for transforming negative thinkers into positive contributors. Discover how to avoid the stress that problem employees can cause by neutralizing their behavior so that others aren't "infected" with their negative attitudes and habits.

You'll learn how to...

• Gain fresh, innovative solutions for dealing with recurring behavior problems
• Understand the steps you MUST take to reverse bad attitudes
• Learn how to build morale and foster a positive, energized environment
• Discover the many types of difficult personalities and how to deal with each
• Understand how you influence a person's attitude - deliberately and inadvertently
• Master essential techniques for giving constructive criticism and feedback
• Develop your "assertiveness response" - a manger's key to confronting and conquering bad attitudes

Sponsor Background:

Besides offering a full range of training skills to all professional levels through our one-day and two-day seminars and conferences, we also offer highly-acclaimed books, audiocassette, videocassette and CD-ROM training products for individuals, teams, departments or corporate reference libraries.

Since 1991, our affiliation with Rockhurst University, a highly acclaimed four-year university, ensures our commitment to providing lifelong continuous-learning opportunities. We're certain the combination of continuing education with academic excellence gives you the best and most innovative approach to fulfill your continuing education needs.

Cancellation Policy:

If you cannot attend a workshop for which you are registered, you may send a substitute or receive a credit memo toward a future workshop. If you cancel your registration up to five business days before the workshop, your registration fee will be refunded less a $10 enrollment charge.