Professional Development Workshops

I have had an amazing internal discussion today and am putting it here so you can make use of it in the week to follow. As a corporate trainer, deep work has evolved into my seasoned ally, a silent force shaping impact and deep learning in my workshops. As a corporate trainer and L&D practitioner, I often find myself navigating the intricate balance of delivering workshops that not only educate but inspire lasting transformation. Today, I invite you behind the scenes to witness how the principles of Deep Work by Cal Newport have become key for my workshop design. 1. Distraction-Free Learning Zones: Creating an environment conducive to deep work is paramount. Before each workshop, I meticulously set the stage—a distraction-free zone where minds can immerse deeply in the learning experience. From silent zones to minimizing digital interruptions, every detail is curated for optimum focus. 2. Time Blocking for Engaged Learning: Time blocks as a balance for flow are a key element of my workshop agenda. Each segment is a deliberately carved block, dedicated to a specific skill or concept. This ensures not only an engaged audience but also a collective deep dive into the subject matter. 3. Prioritizing High-Impact Content: The essence of deep work lies in prioritizing high-impact tasks. When designing workshops, Newport's perspective guides the selection of content—ensuring that every concept explored is not just informative but has a profound, enduring impact on the participants' professional journey. 4. Engaging Deep Work Exercises: Workshops aren't about imparting information; they're about creating experiences for learning and deep thinking on the subject. Participants engage in exercises, creating an immersive space where they can apply newly acquired skills, fostering a deeper understanding that transcends theoretical knowledge. A challenge that I am taking and extending to you too- This week, experience a focused, distraction-free learning environment where every moment is crafted for maximum impact. Try to churn out the learning from the various tasks/ projects you work on. Get deep, that's where innovation happens. Priya Arora #deepwork #thinking #metacognition #learninganddevelopment #softskills #corporateculture #culturematters #workshop #facilitators #facilitation #traininganddevelopment #training The Female Story

“Train-the-trainers” (TTT) is one of the most common methods used to scale up improvement & change capability across organisations, yet we often fail to set it up for success. A recent article, drawing on teacher professional development & transfer-of-training research, argues TTT should always be based on an “offer-and-use” model: OFFER: what the programme provides—facilitator expertise, session design, practice opportunities, feedback, follow-up support & evaluation. USE: what participants do with those opportunities—what they notice, how they make sense of it, how much they engage, what they learn, & whether they apply it in real work. How to design TTT that works & sticks: 1. Design for real-world use: Clarify the practical outcome - what trainers should do differently in their next sessions & what that should improve for the organisation. Plan beyond the classroom with post-course support so people can apply learning. Space learning over time rather than delivering it in one intensive block, because spacing & follow-ups support sustained use. 2. Use strong facilitators: Select facilitators who know the topic & how adults learn, how groups work & how to give useful feedback. Ensure they teach “how to make this stick at work” (apply & sustain practices), not only “how to deliver a session.” 3. Make practice central: Build the programme around realistic rehearsal: deliver, get feedback, & practise again until skills become automatic. Use participants’ real scenarios (especially change situations) to strengthen transfer. Include safe practice for difficult moments (challenge, unexpected questions) & treat mistakes as learning. Build peer learning so participants learn with & from each other, not just the facilitator. 4. Prepare participants to succeed: Assess what participants already know & can do, then tailor the learning. Build confidence to use skills at work (confidence predicts application). Help each person create a simple, specific plan for when & how they will use the approaches in their next training sessions. 5. Ensure workplace transfer support: Enable quick application (opportunities to deliver training soon after the course), plus time & resources to do it well. Provide ongoing support (feedback, coaching, & encouragement) from leaders, peers &/or the wider organisation. 6. Evaluate what matters: Go beyond satisfaction scores - assess whether trainers changed their practice & whether this improved outcomes for learners & the organisation. Use findings to improve the next iteration as a continuous improvement cycle, not a one-off event. https://lnkd.in/eJ-Xrxwm. By Prof. Dr. Susanne Wisshak & colleagues, sourced via John Whitfield MBA

If we want teachers to design learning that's real-world, meaningful and hands-on, we need to radically re-think Professional Development for teachers. Here are 3 ideas to shake-up your PD in August before school starts: #1: For real-world connection: Partner with 3-4 non-profit groups in your community. For a 1/2 day, send your teachers out. Have them volunteer with the groups. Learn what they're about and build relationships. For the 1/2 half, teachers create a presentation for their colleagues about how the organisation could be integrated into project-design, exhibition spaces or learning experiences for kids. Outcome: knowledge of local organizations combating local issues. Contact people within these organizations. Easier real-world integration learning. BONUS: Invite guests from other local community organizations during your ongoing PD over the year to give 1 hour presentations about their mission and what they do. #2: For subject-relevance: Partner with local companies that are integrating academic learning into what they do. Send your English teachers to a publishing company or the local newspaper. Send your science teachers to the bio-tech company in the next town. Send your math teachers to visit engineers. Use 1/2 the day to visit these places, talk about the real processes they use academic learning in. For the 1/2 have of the day, teachers work in their subject groups to dive deep into how their subjects can be connected to real careers in project design. Outcome: experience for how subject learning is used in content and processes outside of school. Relationships with professionals who can be experts for kids, projects that support kids to become writers, scientists, mathematicians, engineers, etc. #3: For MAKING: Use what teachers have planned for the first project of the year and spend 1/2 of the day having your teachers MAKE the product they want their students to make. Want kids to make a film? Go out and make a film. Portrait drawing? Draw it. Use 1/2 of the day de-constructing the making process. What steps are necessary? What supports are necessary for kids? Use this experience to help understand better planning for Project-Based Learning. Outcome: More scaffolding for kids in the making process. Creating frames to give freedom and allowing for more student-driven work that is high-quality and integrating a "learning by doing" experience in PBL. BONUS: Make this a regular part of project planning. From the wise words of Jeffrey Robin: Do the project yourself, first. Basically, get teachers OUT. Move PD from academic learning and into experiential learning. We cannot expect teaching for kids to change unless we change how teachers are learning. Need help? Reach out. info@imagineif.dk 📸 : 2023: Lynghede School partnering with Kongernes Jelling where teachers became students and used the museum to create a whole-staff theater performance in one day. #pbl #projectbasedlearning

Are workshops getting a bad rep? I am inclined to think so. During a Design Sprint training session earlier this year, I encountered a very skeptical stakeholder. Throughout the session, he raised numerous questions and objections about whether the process truly works. Listening to him, I had to admit—he had a point. For context, he leads transformation at a global management consulting firm, tasked with creating and building new products for their clients, which are also large enterprises. Here’s what he told me: “John, we run workshops every week, and they don’t lead anywhere. We do all the post-it exercises, but no good ideas come of it. People come unprepared, they don’t take the time to read or do research, ideas are superficial, and sometimes they’re already being worked on by other business units.” He’s right. Unfortunately, I’ve seen many workshops run like this. I don’t have hard data, but I can confidently say that most workshops are a waste of time, which is why they get a bad reputation in many organizations. That said, as someone who runs workshops for a living, I know that workshops can be incredibly effective—if you get a few key things right: 1️⃣ Be clear on the scope. Is it a problem-solving workshop, or is it about decision-making (e.g., aligning on a problem to solve)? A common mistake is trying to mix the two, which rarely works because they require different people and processes. 2️⃣ Have the right people in the room. This ties directly to scope. If you’re making strategic decisions, you need stakeholders present. If you’re creating solutions, you need subject matter experts. Mixing the wrong participants can derail progress. 3️⃣ Bring data to inform decisions and ideation. Workshops should be anchored in product discovery, user research, business goals, and ongoing initiatives. Facilitators must take the time to gather and visualize data—customer journey maps or service blueprints work especially well. Think about the workshops you attended in the past six months? How often did you see a ‘data visualization’ in the room? 4️⃣ Don’t be the ‘clueless facilitator.’ I don’t believe in the concept of a purely neutral facilitator. Facilitators need to act more like consultants. While they don’t have to be subject matter experts, they must understand the topic and context they’re facilitating to guide teams effectively. The idea that a facilitator can walk into any room, work with any team, in any industry, and deliver results is a myth. Workshops can be a game-changer for teams—but only when they’re done right. The next time you plan one, ask yourself: Are we set up for success, or are we just adding to the post-it graveyard?

Thought I had workshop design down to a T. Turns out I was missing a mindset beginning with T. I used to think it was all about engaging content and dynamic activities. I quickly realised it was about designing for outcomes and objectives. All of which are important. But it wasn't the full picture. I was skipping a critical step. Acknowledging where participants started from. And designing from there. It's like planning a journey without knowing the starting point. Absurd, right? Enter: T for TRANSFORMATION It hit me. Every workshop is about guiding attendees FROM a problem TO a solution. , Whether on leadership development, team dynamics, or innovation... it's a transformation journey. So simple, yet so overlooked. Here are two levels of transformation to consider: 🦋 Macro-level transformation ↳ What do the participants want? • FROM: What problem are we tackling? • TO: What's the transformation they want? 🦋 Micro-level transformation ↳ What we can offer in the workshop?p • FROM: How will they show up? • TO: How will they leave? When I started designing for transformation 13 years ago it not only revolutionised my workshop design but also made it a breeze to communicate their value. Talk about a win-win! Next time you're planning a workshop, remember to start with the transformation. The rest will follow. What transformations do you offer in your workshops? #FacilitationByDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #TrainingAndDevelopment #CurriculumDesign #Facilitation #Workshops

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝘂𝗽𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 Most PD agendas go like this: • 9:00 Welcome • 9:30 Content overview • 10:15 Activity • 11:00 Break • 11:15 Share-out Looks fine… until you remember participants are silently asking: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘦? Enter the 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁–𝗪𝗵𝘆–𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮—a small shift that builds massive trust and buy-in. For every activity, you answer three questions: 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 are we doing? 𝗪𝗛𝗬 does it matter? 𝗛𝗢𝗪 will we learn or engage? 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: ✅ Transparency builds trust ✅ Clarity minimizes resistance ✅ Purpose sparks buy-in ✅ Different learning styles are honored 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁: ❌ “10:15 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯” ✅ • 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁: Analyze real student scenarios • 𝗪𝗵𝘆: Practice applying new strategies in a safe space • 𝗛𝗼𝘄: Case studies in small groups + gallery walk 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗽: If you 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 define the WHY… maybe the activity doesn’t belong on your agenda. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻: What’s one simple change that would make 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 PD agenda 10% clearer or more purpose-driven? Add a WHY? Clarify the HOW? Something else? Share below! 👇 P.S. If you want to grow as a PD facilitator, here’s my free Three Mistakes You’re Making with Your PD… and What to Do Instead tool: https://lnkd.in/guKwkGyu #ProfessionalDevelopment #PDDesign #AdultLearning #InstructionalCoaching #EducationLeadership

Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service (with support from The Rockefeller Foundation) has developed an incredible resource to support international development professionals who are navigating career transitions called Pivot with Purpose: New Paths in Development and Beyond. This seems like the most comprehensive, well-organized, and best-currated resource I've come across so far. They'll have online seminars on job search skills and specific industries, career coaching, focused group sessions, curated job boards, and lists of outside complementary resources. https://lnkd.in/gADn7x3w

Discover the secret sauce behind creating impactful workshops that foster learning and innovation within organizations! Join me for the latest episode of The Agile Within as I engage in a lively conversation with the insightful Paula Lipnick, a seasoned product agility leader, whose expertise in orchestrating transformative workshops is nothing short of inspiring. Paula shares her valuable strategies on aligning workshop goals with team objectives, ensuring sessions are not just productive but also engaging and motivational. Learn how to nurture curiosity and professional growth in fast-paced industries like technology and product management, and explore Paula's engaging analogy of setting the table to create a welcoming environment for collaborative learning. Explore the journey of maximizing workshop benefits through intentional planning and continuous improvement. We delve into the intricacies of value stream mapping workshops and uncover how breaking down silos can optimize processes, build empathy, and spark innovation among team members. Paula and I also swap stories about the thrilling world of immersive workshops, akin to hackathons, where creativity meets excitement, and nerves turn into innovation. Whether you're curious about adopting new tools or eager to facilitate hands-on learning experiences, this episode offers a bounty of insights for making workshops a cornerstone of your learning organization. You can find The Agile Within on your favorite podcast app or by using one of the links added to the comments.

This week, I facilitated a manager workshop on how to grow and develop people and teams. One question sparked a great conversation: “How do you develop your people outside of formal programs?” It’s a great question. IMO, one of the highest leverage actions a leader can take is making small, but consistent actions to develop their people. While formal learning experiences absolutely a role, there are far more opportunities for growth outside of structured settings from an hours in the day perspective. Helping leaders recognize and embrace this is a major opportunity. I introduced the idea of Practices of Development (PODs) aka small, intentional activities integrated into everyday work that help employees build skills, flex new muscles, and increase their impact. Here are a few examples we discussed: 🌟 Paired Programming: Borrowed from software engineering, this involves pairing an employee with a peer to take on a new task—helping them ramp up quickly, cross-train, or learn by doing. 🌟 Learning Logs: Have team members track what they’re working on, learning, and questioning to encourage reflection. 🌟 Bullpen Sessions: Bring similar roles together for feedback, idea sharing, and collaborative problem-solving, where everyone both A) shares a deliverable they are working on, and B) gets feedback and suggestions for improvement 🌟 Each 1 Teach 1:  Give everyone a chance to teach one work-related skill or insight to the team. 🌟 I Do, We Do, You Do:Adapted from education, this scaffolding approach lets you model a task, then do it together, then hand it off. A simple and effective way to build confidence and skill. 🌟 Back Pocket Ideas:  During strategy/scoping work sessions, ask employees to submit ideas for initiatives tied to a customer problem or personal interest. Select the strongest ones and incorporate them into their role. These are a few examples that have worked well. If you’ve found creative ways to build development opportunities into your employees day to day work, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you!

Most corporate training feels like drinking from a firehose. You know the drill: • 8 hours of PowerPoint slides • Furious note-taking that you'll never review • That post-lunch energy crash where nothing sticks That's why I designed my FP&A workshops differently. Nick Lacovara (SVP, Head of FP&A at Liberty Bank) just shared his experience after our 3-day intensive: "What I liked most about the three full-day sessions Christian led was that they were highly interactive - you weren't being lectured to. I would absolutely recommend the workshops. The content and presentation were great." Here's what "highly interactive" actually means: ✅ Live model-building - We build together, not watch me build ✅ Real scenarios - Based on actual budgets, forecasts, and challenges ✅ Immediate application - Test concepts on your company's data ✅ Highly engaging - Group discussions. Team breakouts. Role plays. ✅ No death by PowerPoint - 70% hands-on, 30% concepts The best part? Your team leaves with templates they can use Monday morning. Not empty theory. Tools. If your FP&A team needs practical skills (not just CPE credits), let's talk about bringing this to your company. Learn more about onsite FP&A training for your team here: https://lnkd.in/eygkdbZA What's the #1 skill gap you see in FP&A teams today?