Harnessing the power of inner sustainability, systems awareness and adaptable leadership to achieve effective outcomes through complex challenges, with high performance and high wellbeing.
Harnessing the power of inner sustainability, systems awareness and adaptable leadership to achieve effective outcomes through complex challenges, with high performance and high wellbeing.
For staff development, team development, leadership development, strategy sessions, board events, conference interactive events, CPD events and workshops.
Masterclasses cover a range of topics around inner sustainability, adaptability, resilience, self Leadership and leading others, that fit well under several OD and L&D themes for staff development, including personal, professional and career development, team and leadership development, and wellbeing. Masterclasses can also be primarily a facilitated discussion drawing on relevant frameworks encouraging participants to collaboratively and creatively better understand and assess a situation or challenge, gain new perspectives and generate possiblities for the next steps. These work well for teams and boards looking to align around core principles, values and purpose while flexibly and adaptively navigating change and uncertainty. A popular option booked for leadership quarterly or annual conferences has been a keynote with a facilitated discussion following it to apply the insights and frameworks illustrated in the keynote to their current pressing challenges.
Masterclasses can include pre- or post- event options and resources that can be accessed in an online platform that is dedicated specifically to the event attendees.
Pre-event options can include assessments, recommended reading, other preparation resources, and short 'teaser videos' to encourage attendance and help attendees know what to expect on the day.
Post-event resources include PDFs of the presentation slides, MENTI comments and records of other outputs created during the event. Assessments and other resources can be included after an event instead of before it.
Assessments/profiling includes Emotional Intelligence (EQ-i2, leadership or business/workplace report and 360degree feedback options), Leadership Styles (ILM72), Mental Strength (MTQ Plus), Personality profiles, and others.
Sue's book The Authority Guide to Engaging your People is another potential option that can be included with masterclasses when relevant.
Since the pandemic, Sue has delivered masterclasses regularly that support staff and managers to raise mental wellbeing while people are facing persistent high levels of change, stress, overwhelm and frequently have fewer resources but expectations have not changed for the amount of work that can be achieved.
These highly interactive events have lots of opportunities for attendees to interact with each other and share ideas, concerns and insights, because that's where the real magic happens. This also gives participants a chance to get to know each other better, which adds significant value for team, leadership and other in-house staff events. Participants enjoy taking part throughout the session and it ensures the content is relevant and engaging.
When online, we encourage all attendees to speak and show their video (provided their internet connection supports video) because that helps to create stronger connection with each other during the event. We use breakout rooms for pairwise and small group discussion, the chat function when available, and visual interaction by video and/or the interaction tools in Zoom.
For many events, virtual and in the room, Sue uses Menti.com for capturing comments and voting, which makes it easier for many people to take part. The comments are anonymous, you don't have to speak up in front of a sometimes large audience or more senior managers in the room, and in large events, you save the hassles of getting microphones to people at the back of the room.
Events are delivered in the room and virtually. For virtual events, I recommend a maximum of 2.5 hours including a break for people to get the most out of an online event. If you require a virtual event that would normally be a full day masterclasses I recommend we do it over two or three sessions that can be a week or longer apart. In person events can be designed from 1hr to a full day or multi-day events. sue's preferred layout is cabaret style when the venue and audience size is suitable. Sue has delivered masterclass style events in person to audiences as small as three, to over 100 people in a theatre style audience. However, we recommend up to about 12 to 15 people for staff, team or leadership development events so that each person has more opportunity for conversations with Sue during the event.
See below for a selection of Masterclass case studies. Sue tailors events to your requirements, when we mix and match topics to create a bespoke program that fits your needs. As well as being booked for in-house staff development sessions and conference events, masterclasses are often booked for Team Development events, to support new teams to get to know each other better, and supporting long-standing teams to plan direction or renew their energy, focus and collaboration, at quarterly team sessions or when experiencing difficult conditions. See below and also see the Team and Leadership development pages for more case studies.
Masterclasses and 121 coaching don't have to happen in a room or sitting down! Options include walking outdoors in nature and indoors in venues like art galleries. Our environment brings its own benefits and changes our inspiration! Many of my masterclass topics work well as a dynamic dialogue event for self-leadership, personal or professional development, or a walking wellbeing event.
These are just a few examples of Masterclasses we have delivered for staff development, team development, leadership programs, conference talks and CPD events. They are frequently delivered in a series of events for staff development under various themes, including Wellbeing, Personal/Professional Development and Career Support, Leadership Development, Remote and Hybrid working, Collaboration, and WILD (Women in Leadership Dialogues / Development). Please Contact Sue if you would like further details on masterclasses that could be relevant for you. Sue tailors each event to suit your requirements, so you can pick elements of topics that you find most interesting and relevant and we can create the masterclass that will deliver the outcomes you're looking for.
This fun, highly interactive masterclass gives your people the essential ingredients to nurture a ‘can-do’ mindset and create a positive working environment. It is ideal when levels of stress or overwhelm are high, or when performance is suffering, or when people could do with a burst of positive energy to revitalise themselves or a project and thrive through difficult challenges, change and uncertainty.
How often do you find yourself having negative thoughts and feelings? When you actually count them, you might be surprised at how many more negative than positive thoughts and feelings you tend to have each day when you don’t actively ‘look for the positives’! Neuroscience research shows that feeling positive helps you access the higher reasoning cognitive part of brain which leads to more creative thinking, inspiration, new ideas, solution finding, problem solving, focus and improved social interaction, all of which support higher performance at work. In this session we discuss how your mind perceives and prioritises potential threats and negativity, and try out some quick and easy tools you can use every day to refocus your attention to be more positive, boost your energy, be more effective and feel great.
“ The event was extremely interactive, upbeat and fast-paced, with many useful takeaways.”
“I left the event feeling extremely optimistic and excited about building a new team and adding value to the work of the Institute.”
“Warm, supportive and fun atmosphere - nice to spend time with colleagues to focus on appreciation.”
“Great positivity course with practical application to improve positivity in the workplace and personally.”
Inner sustainability is all about how you enhance your ability to recognise and choose your mindset. Many of the masterclasses bring a mindset approach to the way you lead yourself and others, including these two.
Mental Strength for Resilience and Wellbeing
This session looks at how you can adapt and be resilient to change, uncertainty and other cocmplex challenges. Adaptability, flexibility and resilience are three of the vital skills identified by the World Economic Forum for success now and in future as the way we work is changing.
Recognising that “it’s not what happens to you but how you respond that makes the difference” creates the opportunity for you to choose different ways to respond that are adaptable and resilient. We look at how you can take control of your mindset, grow your mental strength and try out core tools and resources to make sure you have high resilience and wellbeing no matter how fast the world and the workplace changes.
Vanquishing Time Vampires – Priorities & Balance
Everyone has the same number of minutes and hours each week. What makes some people more productive with their time, so they achieve more in work in the shorter time they are there, and have a more satisfying life balance? Maybe you’ve tried all the ‘time management’ techniques… do you still find you’re not getting enough stuff done? There are no quick fixes and it is not just about ‘managing time’. First you must manage your mindset, because the way we use time reflects our habits, values and core motivators which have developed over our lifetime. This session explores effective ways you can set meaningful priorities, kick procrastination habits and get more stuff done.
“It was a very engaging session with lots of space to talk about and share our motivations, challenges and commitments.”
“Thought provoking event with great tips. A reminder of the value of past experiences and their relevance to present and future. I will now commit to my goals for this year and meet colleagues next week to share some of these points. Great stuff!”
“Insightful session to realise how I've been prioritising other peoples needs above my own priorities. Will commit to my work and constructively saying no. Will start using the power hour and a don't list.”
The way that we perceive and interact with the world around us contributes towards our ‘personality’ and the way others perceive us. We use a brief personality style questionnaire, based on the MBTI scales, understand the different perspectives as well as recognise the typical behaviours associated with each perspective. All have value in different context. By raising awareness, you are better able to recognise your default preferences as well as recognise the preferences other people show.
This interactive session provides practical tools for you to
(i) defuse conflicts and recognise when behaviour that you find difficult is not personal but simply reflects a different default perspective and way of interpreting and interacting with the world around us.
(ii) choose alternative perspectives and responses, which can help you strengthen relationships, improve the way you collaborate with others and create harmonious, high performing teams.
(iii) Make better decisions as a team, when you recognise and value the different perspectives each person can bring to the table to gain a better understanding and evaluation of a situation and potential outcomes of the options under consideration.
This masterclass is often booked for staff development sessions and for team development to enhance relationships and highly effective collaboration and decision making.
“Interactive. Fun. Meaningful. An excellent and really interesting half day course. Nice way of putting Myers-Briggs personality types into context for working with others in an office. I like that we had a chance for proper conversations and put the learning into play. I highly recommend this to colleagues." From a participant.
“This workshop gave me insight into the thinking of colleagues who I have previously struggled to understand. As we work in an environment that is a culmination of differences, understanding the benefits of the differences was beyond useful in my approach and would benefit anyone who interacts with others! ”
“This workshop highlighted the differences that each person brings to the table and how this, when managed and understood properly, can make a team more successful and is actually a benefit to growth rather than a hinderance.”
“Really helps see things from other people's perspectives, helps you see what they can bring to the team. It helps you build bridges within the workplace and more meaningful and effective communication.”
Whatever your role in the organisation, communication will make or break your success in getting your ideas across and getting people on board to believe in you, your work and ideas, and to collaborate with you so that you can all achieve the best outcomes. This session explores how you tap into different communication channels in order to get your message across and influence outcomes. (Note – this is not about how to write articles or reports.)
“ An excellent and engaging session with a focus on practical application.” From a participant.
“Great session full of really useful information. So useful discussing scenarios with peers.”
“Excellent insight about the impact of words and how you say them on the outcome of the conversation.”
Many of the masterclass topics translate well into a walking masterclass. As well as these two, other popular topics have included The Power of Positive, Breaking Bad Habits and Making Good Habits, Physical Wellbeing, Resilience/Mental & Emotional Wellbeing, and Personal Presence.
Spotlight on Strengths
When you are working with your strengths you are far more likely to feel energised, motivated and "in flow" and enjoy your work more. Research shows this is when you are most productive and perform at your best. Yet we often overlook our strengths or take them for granted. Come along to shine a spotlight on your strengths, be confident in yourself and your work and be able to articulate your worth, and raise your sense of fulfilment and wellbeing.
Train your Brain to be Confident
Have you ever wished that you could present your work better? Or feel more confident to stand up and talk in front of a crowd? Or wished you could feel more certain you were doing the right thing and stop doubting yourself? Then you need to train your brain to be more confident. Confidence is not just about your level of ability, it is about how you assess yourself in that ability and about your attitudes to risk. We discuss three things you can do starting now that will make a BIG difference to how confident you are.
• Create the foundation on which you KNOW you are confident.
• Recognise how you FEEL confident
• Recognise and change the way you THINK about the situation.
“It was an excellent session. Sue really made me think about myself and gave us lots of handy tips to improve our confidence - breathing, grounding, anchoring.”
“I can see the change in my inner narrative. Thank you very much.”
“Enlightening, Fun, Interesting, Thought-provoking. I found this really helpful as it made me realise that I shouldn't try to be someone I'm not. Sue is amazing at really delving into people.”
"When you work with me, we co-create relevant and inspiring programs that will make the difference that you are looking for."
Dr Sue Mitchell
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