I absolutely love working with small groups. It gives us an opportunity to dive deep into discussions on the topic area. Earlier this week we met with 3 team members from the Turks Head Brewery, and we discussed Customer Service.  We focused on the following:

• Who We Are and What We Do
  
• Establishing Your Attitude
  
• Understanding the Customer's Needs and Situation
  
• Dealing with Recovering Difficult Customers
  

We look forward to working with them again very soon!

Last week I finished off the week with the Health Professionals Authority. They reminded me of important it is to get in alignment when problem solving. Often when problems occur, it is tempting to jump right into solving them. It's important to take the time to know and understand the challenges and its intricacies and assure all team members are on the same page. This same page doesn't just include what the problem is, but what the solutions will look like. This is alignment. 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Executive Leadership teams is quickly becoming one of our most requested workshops for management teams. DEI is a topic that can no longer be ignored. Diversity is a fact in our society, and if it is not managed, it can great a great deal of complexities. Complexities challenge our ability to have an inclusive environment, which effects how employees feel, there sense of belonging within an organization and as a result, there productivity.

Yesterday, we continued with the Royal Turks and Caicos Police force as we make our way through DEI training with their management teams.

On Friday I had the pleasure of spending the day with the Invest Turks and Caicos team. Our Collective Success for Teams, is a great way for staff to spend a day together to define or recommit to their collective success.

Successful teams are like a rowing team. Each member of a rowing team has the responsibility of ensuring they are ready physically and mentally for the task. When they then climb into their boat, the focus is put on their goal. To achieve this goal, they need to be in sync. Without unity, they don't have a chance! It's the unity that powers the strength and speed.

Just like in rowing, with our professional teams, each individual has to know and do their part to add to the team dynamic to chart the pathway to success. Congrats to Invest TCI on a productive and fun day!

As a trainer, I have the pleasure of working with teams in many different fields. When I train educators, it feels like "going home."

Yesterday, I jumped on the Ferry and headed over to spend the morning in North Caicos with the teachers at Adelaide Oemler Primary. Often teacher training sessions are not done as the school year is about to close out, but Alignment for Educators is an important one, regardless of the time of year. Alignment for Educators focuses on guiding participants to have clarity on their intentions and aligning their mindsets and actions to achieve these intentions. 

On Thursday I had the pleasure of working with the Health Professions Authority. Often, when teams are small, we question whether it's still necessary to conduct team building exercises. My answer...YES! Regardless of how bit of small, it's there are a host of benefits to being intentional about the team dynamic that you build.

HPA participated in Building Our Team Dynamic. This workshop reminds us that it is not enough to put a group of individuals together in the same department and call them a team. A team dynamic is built through an intentional effort by all members of the team.

This week we finished up a 12-session program with a group of eager employees at Grace Bay Club We had so much fun working with them and were constantly amazed by their enthusiasm, effort and gratitude!

Our overall aim over the 12 sessions was to provide these employees with the instruction and support needed to improve their language skills in a way that will positively impact their performance in the workplace. We focused on empowering each employee to become more competent in their understanding, reading, listening, speaking and writing of the English language.

Program Objectives are as follows:

• Improve listening and spoken vocabulary.
• Improve oral comprehension skills.
• Improve spoken grammar skills.
• Improve conversational English.
• Answer questions appropriately.
• Ask clarifying questions.
• Complete everyday reading and writing tasks.

​Congratulations Grace Bay Club!

Yesterday we finished up with our second group of participants from the TCI Sports. Commission. 'Thrive' is a small group coaching program that was created to provide organizations with the opportunity to support their staff in improving the essential soft skills needed to be a success in the business environment.

I had just as much fun with this group as I did with the first, as we dove deep into the idea of mindset and the level of professionalism required to 'thrive' in diverse fast paced workspaces. 

'Thrive' is a small program that I created a few months ago geared towards providing junior employees with the opportunity to improve the essential soft skills needed to be a success in the business environment.

I have had the pleasure of working with two groups of employees from the TCI Sports Commission. The first group finished up last Thursday. We had such fun and learning as we dove deep into the idea of mindset and the level of professionalism required to 'thrive' in diverse fast paced workspaces. 

We are very excited to add a new coaching program to our repertoire. We are often asked whether we provide support for mature students returning to higher education and in need of writing support. This program, created and coached by Ms. Tatiana Handfield, is perfect for individuals entering higher education and wanting to improve their academic writing skills.  

Program Description: Crafting an essay can be a daunting task for even the most experienced writer. That's why we created a 6-part series for mature students that simplifies the process. Our series takes you step-by-step through the entire process, from brainstorming to proofreading and everything in between. Our comprehensive approach to essay writing is designed to help you develop your skills and become a better writer. With our series, you'll be able to craft well-written essays in no time!

Visit our Summer 2023 page for program description and registration!

Today I had the pleasure of working with the Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force. The Acting Commissioner of Police and team members took a deep dive into the topic of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This is an essential topic to explore for today's management teams. We focused on the following areas:

• Creating a Mindset for Inclusive Leadership
  
• DEI Terminology
  
• Stereotypes, Bias and Microaggressions
  
• Generational Gaps
  
• Creating a Culture of Inclusion.  

It was an absolute pleasure working with this team, and I look forward to continuing this work with The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with the Executive Management Team of the Financial Services Department. This was the final session in a series of team building sessions undertaken by the FSC. Soft Skills training is essential to the success of today's workplace. Participants enjoyed working together to explore understanding paradigms and managing team development, emotion intelligence, interpersonal skills, and creating synergy.

All the best to team FSC! It has been a pleasure working with you!

inOn Friday I met with the management team of Invest Turks and Caicos to explore 'The Emotional Intelligent Leader.' Today's leaders must have an understanding of how their emotions and actions affect the people around them. A leader's success is strongly linked to the way they relate and work with others. Emotionally intelligent leaders take the time to work on their self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. 

In addition to your EQ strengthening the way you coach your team members, manage stress, deliver feedback and collaborate with others, it also facilities you meeting your team members where they are and helping them reach their potential. These key elements are all essential for the collective success within an organization. 

Yesterday I spent some time at Fortis TCI speaking about Stress Management and Work Life Balance in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. We spoke about stressors, practical ways for monitoring and managing stress, and preventative measures. When it came to work life balance, we discussed whether this was possible. The consensus seemed to be that we had to first define what balance looks like for us. Participants completed a short activity that helped them highlight their priorities in this season in their life and what balance could look like for them. 

Last week we concluded our 3-part webinar series entitled: Recipe for Inclusion with InterHealth Canada. Our last session focused on finding common ground between generations. We are at a point in history where it's not uncommon to find up to 5 different generations working together in an environment. For this reason, it's important to identify and bridge the generation gaps to have a productive workforce.

Common Ground Between Generations focuses on understanding what makes each generation tick, their preferences, and common ground strategies to facilitate a dynamic that develops and maintains an inclusive and productive work environment. 
 

We are often asked how we approach language training at Learn and Lead. Often, the individuals that take part in our ESL programs are already speaking English but having learned the language primarily through listening to those around them, they benefit from targeted vocabulary instruction and learning and understanding how grammar works.

This week we focused on 'asking' and 'answering' questions. Which question words should you use? Which forms of the verb do you use when you answer? How do we ensure that we are using the correct helping verbs? Participants enjoyed working through scenarios to practice their skills.

​We look forward to seeing them again next week!

This week we continued 'Thrive.'  Mindset is a powerful thing, and in any type of growth and development work it's important to gain an understanding of it. Have you ever learned about how the conscious and sub-conscious mind works? I strongly believe that gaining an understanding of how our thoughts work, and how they influence our habits and behavior is one of the first essential steps to the self-awareness needed for personal and professional growth. 

This week is Medical Laboratory Professionals week. It's an annual celebration of medical laboratory professionals and pathologists. I was happy to be a part of their celebrations by conducting a two-part training session on Professionalism in the Workplace.

In our session, we looked at:

• Understanding Team Member Needs
• Business Etiquette and Professionalism
• Strategies for Effective Communication
• Accountability in the Workplace
• Time and Stress Management
• Internal and External Customer
• Reaching Your Personal and Professional Potential​​

Thank you to our laboratory professionals that play such an integral role in health care!

I was excited to make a quick trip to the Nation's Capital today. We met with the Registry team of the Financial Services Commission. Our workshop was filled with great discussion, laughter and learning. They especially enjoyed coming together as a group to solve team building challenges.

​Way to go Team Registry!

Yesterday we completed session 2 in 'A Recipe for Inclusion' a Lunch and Learn Webinar series with InterHealth Canada. This Lunch and Learn series was created to provide participants with an understanding and appreciation of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Today's session, entitled "Stereotypes and Bias in the Workplace" focused on understanding stereotypes and bias. The majority of the time was spent discussing unconscious bias.  Here are 5 types of common unconscious bias:

• Conformity bias
• Gender bias
• Halo effect
• Ageism
• Affinity Bias
• Attribution Bias
• Horns Effect
• Contrast Bias
• Beauty Bias
• Height Bias
• Name Bias

Today we closed out the week with a Team Building Session. I am often asked about the value of team building sessions. The value of these sessions can't be underestimated. Building a positive dynamic team is an intentional effort, otherwise we simply have a group of people and what they have in common is the place that they work.
​
Here are 6 of my top reasons to incorporate team building games and activities into your schedule:

1. Foster innovation.
2. Improve teamwork.
3. Improve communication skills.
4. Identify strengths and weaknesses.
5. Guide teams towards creative alternatives,
6. Enhance overall company culture.

Over the years I have written many programs but felt as though I needed one that explored essential soft skills for young professionals. Thrive is an 8-session program that provides young professionals with an opportunity to dive deep into their mindsets and the level of professionalism required to thrive in a diverse fast paced workspace. This week I enjoyed beginning this journey with a set of employees from the Turks and Caicos Islands Sports Commission. 

Yesterday, we continued our Team Building Sessions with the Financial Services Commission. One of the points that we returned to often during yesterday's session was the characteristics of a team vs. the characteristics of a group. Simply putting individuals together and giving them a department label doesn't make them a team. Moving from being a group of people that have a role in common to a team working towards a collective vision and goals takes intentional effort. 

In order for your team to thrive, each team member must have clarity on their roles and expectations and be committed to doing their part towards achieving the collective vision of the team and organization. 

"Flexibility is the key to stability."  John Wooden

On Saturday evening we stepped into April with Grace Bay Pharmacy. We started off their staff meeting with a quick team building session. We had a great time discussing the difference between a team and a group, what makes teams successful and building group cohesion. Participants enjoyed playing 'Touch the Ball' which is a great game to reinforce the importance of flexibility in achieving collective success within an organization.

Way to go Grace Bay Pharmacy!

Today I had a great time diving into Our Team Dynamic with the TCI National Trust. Participants were eager enjoyed discussing, learning and playing together.

The games in this session challenged the team to work together, even when unexpected circumstances sneak in and can affect the groups success. They did an awesome job!

Way to go team!