The Great Canadian Leadership Podcast (The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company)
Explore every episode of The Great Canadian Leadership Podcast
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
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| 25 May 2021 | Everyone Has A Story | 00:22:38 | |
Everyone Has a Story Episode #2 is INSPIRING. What holds you back from writing, from communicating your ideas? Is it fear of judgment? For most of us, that’s a definite yes! In this episode, our guest Hannah Tough guides us on how to communicate more effectively (hint: drop your ego) and how to listen to the stories that want to be heard. Hannah Tough is the Internal Marketing and Communication Lead at Havas Canada, a contributor to the online publication Thrive Global, and founded the non-profit organization Activate T.O. Hannah has always been a passionate writer. She knew she wanted to work with words ever since she was able to read Robert Munsch's books. For more on Hannah, visit www.hannahtough.com. This is an insightful episode on our vulnerabilities, human connection, and the importance of curiosity. | |||
| 16 Aug 2021 | Understand the Nuances of Language | 00:46:07 | |
Episode #7 is ENLIGHTENING! How do you adapt to different communication styles? Cultures? Languages? Do assumptions get in the way? In this episode, Dhimant Patel, a global business leader, shares his insights and experiences in communicating with people from different countries and cultures. Learning the nuances of language for international business can start with a simple question such as: “What’s the price?” – this question must have varying tones to maintain mutual respect. Dhimant also shares the assumptions and unconscious biases he’s had to deal with. His constant path to managing those emotions has led to some great discoveries about doing business globally. Dhimant Patel is President and co-owner of Pantry Shelf Food Corp, a family owned and operated business in Toronto, Canada. Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer at Northern International, and led strategic and financial roles at Weston Foods and Rohm & Haas. Dhimant has lived and worked in Europe, India, USA & Canada and works extensively with partners globally. This is an enlightening episode on adapting, assumptions and the communication skills needed to build relationships in business.
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| 16 Nov 2021 | Communicate In Your Style | 00:16:06 | |
Episode #13 is motivating! As a leader, communicating in your style means that people will believe and trust you. Does your communication style feel natural? Or are you copying another’s style? Our guest Joy Neuhold discusses how she found her style (hint: a garbage can was involved) and how leaders and all of us can find ours. Joy Neuhold has been the Co-Owner and Senior Training & Consulting Manager at The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company since 2002 and at CompuEase since 2013. She started her professional path by working in small to large businesses. Joy was quickly promoted and started doing internal projects and training. She decided to take a two-month leave to backpack through Europe and when she came back, she knew she wanted to start her own business and surround herself with an amazing, hard-working, and passionate team. Finding your communication style is key to communicating effectively. This episode helps you have clarity on the mindset, the steps you can take, and the communication skills needed to build trust and collaboration with others. | |||
| 13 Jun 2023 | Three Ways to Improve Team Communication | 00:14:37 | |
Picture this: The team is getting together and… stuff is getting done! The team members (including you) feel heard, respected and want to contribute. This team is not only being productive, but they are also collaborating with ease. This episode is “Three Ways to Improve Team Communication”. Our host, Joel Silverstone, shares with you the strategies and activities to better understand yours and others’ communication styles and needs. How does improved communication impact teams?
Listen in, take notes, share the activities with your team (such as designing your own user manual), build your ability to connect quickly with others, and start implementing the three ways to improve team communication. This is episode 1 of our series on the skills teams need for 2023. The next episode is: What Makes Great Teams? Best Ways to Use Microsoft Teams AND Team Building Skills. Do you have a question or comment about the podcast? We’d love to hear from you and appreciate your thoughts - email us at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca. Thank you for supporting the podcast. Please leave a rating or review and subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes. Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars and tools. Also, check out our list of over 25 instructor-led Professional Skills Courses at The Great Canadian Training and Consulting Company.
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| 07 Feb 2023 | Change - Turning Resistance into Resilience | 00:24:25 | |
Have you committed to making a change, or are currently dealing with a change? Maybe it’s your resolution to get fit. Or maybe at work you’re navigating a hybrid environment; your team is having to do more with less and navigate new technology and new roles. Change can be exciting, stressful or a combination of these heightened emotions. Logically, you understand all this – so why is change difficult to implement?
In this episode, you’ll find some ideas that can help with change and relate to the examples of not just dealing with change, but how to build resilience from it.
This episode is called “Change - Turning Resistance into Resilience”. Our host, Joel Silverstone, shares with you the strategies and insights to make change an opportunity to move forward and not backtrack or get stuck.
This is part of our 4-part series on the soft skills you need for 2023 - empathy in business, persuasion in your writing and communication skills, and leading complex projects with clarity.
Do you have a question or comment about the episode? We’d love to hear from you and appreciate your thoughts - email us at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca.
And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
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| 11 Jan 2022 | Are You Objective or Assuming? | 00:33:22 | |
Episode #16 is enlightening! “Are you being objective? Or are you assuming?” This episode is part of our significant four podcasts series on navigating difficult conversations. One of the elements of a difficult conversation is that emotions are triggered, and often it's based on assumptions and not objectivity. Our guest Nicola Van Dam shares some great insights, anecdotes, and tips, such as the questions you should never ask and the go-to questions you should. This episode builds your awareness as to when you can be objective and why it matters to have meaningful and not difficult conversations. Nicola Van Dam is a learning officer in leadership training at Ontario Power Generation (everything that Nicola is sharing in this episode is based on her journey of learning and observations and is in no way affiliated with Ontario Power Generation). Nicola’s career journey has taken her to industries such as publishing, healthcare, and nuclear power, allowing her to connect with different leaders and leadership styles. This has led to her belief that authenticity is one of the top traits that enable a leader to be successful. Authentic leaders who show their “human side” are seen as relatable and are more likely to build trust with those around them through opening up about their own successes and lessons learned.
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| 22 Nov 2022 | Top 10 Great Presentation Tips (in 12 minutes) | 00:13:17 | |
Are you getting ready to do a presentation soon? You got this - but you would like some more tips and techniques just to feel more confident. In this episode, we’re sharing 12 minutes of our top ten tips to feel ready and confident to not just show up, but to show up as an insightful, engaging and more assured presenter. This is the final episode of our significant 4 podcasts series on Presentation Skills. Our host Joel Silverstone will be sharing his experiences as a speaker and presenter to varied audiences globally, from boardrooms to conferences, to the virtual world, as well as coaching hundreds of leaders on their presentation skills. Joel is the Sr. Professional Skills Facilitator & Coach at The Great Canadian Training and Consulting Company. For over 20 years, Joel has helped leaders and their teams globally feel more confident and impactful with their communication and leadership skills. A former professional actor and improviser, Joel applies those acting skills to being a better presenter. This episode can help with tips and strategies to make you feel great delivering your next presentation. Take a few minutes to listen in as our host Joel Silverstone shares ten simple techniques you can use immediately.
Speaking of presentation skills… At Great Canadian Training we are offering our unique GREAT Series: “Become a Great Presenter with MS PowerPoint and Presentation Skills”.
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| 08 Nov 2022 | How Great Speakers Overcome Their Fears | 00:33:16 | |
Do you have a fear, or feel anxious when it comes to public speaking? You’re not alone - we’re all nervous to speak publicly. In this episode we discuss the tips, techniques and mindset you can use to get past those nerves. This is episode 3, as part of our significant 4 podcasts series on Presentation Skills. Where do the nerves come from? Or, as our guest Melina Nacos asks, “What makes you tick?”. What behaviours or beliefs have kept you stuck with your doubts about speaking in public? We certainly didn’t learn presentation skills at school. We were graded but did we get the tips on being better at it? Not really… We discuss:
Our Guest Melina Nacos is the founder of Melina Nacos Coaching Inc. working with dedicated, thoughtful people, providing support, inspiration, and the direction you need to become the person you've always wanted to be and develop a legacy of positive change. For 20 years, Melina has worked with her clients to hone their skills and confidence and empower them to be in service of others for their own success. With a degree from York University and Adult Certification from George Brown College, Melina takes the time to learn each of her clients’ personal traits and build off of them, customizing her service to affect positive changes in defined areas of need.
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| 28 Jul 2022 | Getting Started with Business Storytelling | 00:46:34 | |
Are you using storytelling in business to motivate, inspire or persuade your audience(s)? Are you thinking, “Sure, I’d love to try, but where and how do I start this?” This episode can help! Rance Greene gives us a masterclass on how we can create and design relevant stories to connect, inspire, guide or persuade others with a clear call to action. Our guest Rance Greene is a Story Designer, Author, Speaker, and owner of Needastory.com and the School Of Story Design. Rance formed these companies for those who struggle with storytelling at work. His methodology—Story Design—gives leaders and talent development professionals a systematic and creative way for discovering who their audience is and how to persuade them to take action on new ideas. Rance shares his diverse journey from Actor, Playwright, Choreographer, working with Inner City Youth to working with leaders in health insurance compliance and how stories created a common language that connected them all. Stories bring the emotional content, making facts relatable, more concrete, and fun, and persuade people to action. Listen in as we share how to get started with business storytelling and why it matters to your leadership and audiences.
And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
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| 28 Mar 2023 | How to Be Persuasive from Writing to Speaking | 00:20:12 | |
Can you persuade another without feeling pushy or manipulative? Short answer… YES! In this episode, you’ll uncover easy ways to persuade, whether you’re writing or speaking. Your emails, communications and interactions motivate others to action. This episode is “How to Be Persuasive from Writing to Speaking”. Our host, Joel Silverstone, shares with you the strategies and insights to make persuasion simple and respectful. You will find the ideas and tips to balance emotions and logic that connect with the other to be persuasive. Because persuasion is making it easy for the other person. Join us on how you can do this with your writing and communication skills. This is part of our 4-part series on the soft skills you need for 2023: Empathy in Business, Leading Complex Projects with Clarity, Change - Turning Resistance into Resilience, and How to Be Persuasive in Your Writing and Communication.
And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars and tools and our list of over 25 instructor-led Professional Skills Courses at The Great Canadian Training and Consulting Company. | |||
| 22 Mar 2021 | Welcome to The Great Canadian Leadership Podcast | 00:01:15 | |
Welcome to the Great Canadian Leadership Podcast Trailer.
Join us in our search for: What makes A Great Communicator!
I'm your host Joel Silverstone and in my 20 + years of working with organisations around the world, I have seen great leaders struggle with their ability to communicate and others who just made it look so easy!
Bi-monthly we discuss with leaders and experts from Canada and Globally their successes, failures and...
What did they do to get better? How did they adapt?
Listen here to improve your communication skills and take the steps to be a great leader in business.
This show is proudly brought to you brought to by the Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company.
For more on communication skills and free resources, come see us at www.greatcanadiantraining.ca
We look forward to having you join us.
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| 17 Jan 2023 | Winning the Retention Game Through Renewal | 00:30:52 | |
For 2023, it’s not just a ping-pong table that’s going to keep employees (and you) motivated and feeling appreciated. HR trends for 2023 say that organizations will need to focus more on the well-being of employees. A Forbes article shares that 20-50% of all employee attrition is attributed to burnout. This episode we’re discussing how to win the retention game through the idea of renewal. How do we make people more resilient against burnout? The importance of quality short breaks moves us to a better flow and quality to our work. We have been moving between hybrid, remote, and the office…we start to run out of mental energy, stop making rational decisions and feel stressed. For 2023, it’s important to prioritize renewal. How do you lead that? What does that look and sound like? We discuss with Kerry O’Brien, Sr. Talent Development PM at Axonify, about how to put renewal into our work and why it impacts the retention and productivity of the people in your organization. Our guest, Kerry O’Brien, is a 14-year veteran of Talent Development, primarily growing and scaling teams in the tech sector. This experience, combined with his master’s degree in leadership, has led to a leadership practice that centers on self-care, curiosity, and goal achievement. You can hear him on podcasts and keynotes talking about everything from learning frameworks to story crafting to energy management and being a better listener, usually with parenting stories thrown in for good measure. Burnout is real for an increasing number of people in the workplace. A 2022 study by the McKinsey Health Institute highlighted how the impact of the pandemic has seen burnout levels reach an all-time high, with one in four employees experiencing symptoms of burnout. Microsoft’s Chief People Officer, Kathleen Hogan, encapsulates the challenge as a Human Energy Crisis.
Do you have a question or comment about the episode? Send us an email at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca.
And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
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| 08 Feb 2022 | Managing High Emotions, High Stakes Conversations | 00:29:01 | |
Episode #18 is enlightening! This episode is part of our significant four podcasts series on navigating difficult conversations (see below for more on this series). If you think about a difficult conversation you just had or are about to have, the emotions and the stakes are probably high. Then add to that those differences of opinion.
We are talking with Shayna Beeksma, who deals with the trifecta of emotionally charged conversations: Estate Law!
In this episode, you will learn how Shayna prepares and manages family members at this emotional moment - and remember, this is the first time Shayna is meeting them! Shayna Beeksma is an estates, real estate and business law lawyer who owns Beeksma Law. Shayna’s career journey in law has taken her from one of the largest law firms in Canada to one of the smallest law firms in the country, before starting her own firm in 2018. With her estate litigation clients dealing with highly emotional circumstances, Shayna carefully and expertly remains focused on her role as their lawyer while remaining compassionate, empathetic, and kind to her clients. We also discover that Shayna is the ‘emotional detective’, as she explores what lies behind the words, the clues, and the cues as they relate to the client’s motivation, to get to the root cause.
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| 12 Oct 2021 | How to Lead with Integrity and Inclusion | 00:27:49 | |
The first question I had for our guest is: How do you define integrity and inclusion? They are abstract concepts, so how do we know we are leading with them? We also talk about how leaders keep the connection with their teams in a remote environment. In this episode, Nupur shares her insights on the communication skills and intentions needed to make everyone feel included. We discuss the importance of building our awareness of diversity and unconscious biases that we may be holding onto. We talk about not being so quick to have the answers but taking a beat to reflect. Nupur also shares a great set of questions we can be asking that builds human connection in a virtual environment. Nupur Khandelwal is the Senior Manager Learning and Talent Development at LCBO. Nupur presents to diverse groups at conferences, event seminars and workshops and is seen as a recognized learning leader in organizational development, people management, training and development, as well as diversity and inclusion initiatives to enhance the employee experience. Nupur Khandelwal LinkedIn Nupur is the co-founder of SheRocks! – a social enterprise committed to empowering women through confidence-building programs. Congratulations Nupur as the 2021 Women of Inspiration Award Finalist!!! Quote from this episode: “A culture that supports diversity means you need inclusion, and inclusion doesn’t stick without integrity.”– Nupur Khandelwal This is one of our top leadership episodes on integrity, leadership, connection and the communication skills needed to create an inclusive culture in your organization. | |||
| 14 Mar 2023 | Empathy in Business | 00:21:48 | |
Empathy is one of the most important leadership skills you should be using more often. The research says that 76% of people who experienced empathy from their leaders reported they were engaged, compared with only 32% who experienced less empathy. Empathy is a crucial business skill because it enables collaboration, motivation, and feeling respected. You create a ripple effect where people’s perspectives and emotions are acknowledged - it doesn’t mean you have to agree with them, but they feel heard and understood. In fact, 67% of people with highly empathic managers report often or always being engaged, compared to only 24% of people with less empathic managers. In this episode, you’ll find some ideas that can help with building your awareness of empathy and how to make this soft skill a business behaviour. This episode is called “Empathy in Business”. Our host, Joel Silverstone, shares with you the strategies and insights to make empathy your opportunity to engage and collaborate in your professional (and personal) settings. This is part of our 4-part series on the soft skills you need for 2023 – Change - Turning Resistance into Resilience, Persuasion in Your Writing and Communication Skills, and Leading Complex Projects with Clarity. Do you have a question or comment about the episode? We’d love to hear from you and appreciate your thoughts - email us at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca.
And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
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| 09 May 2023 | How to Build Talent from Within | 00:28:01 | |
As a leader, what can you do to find and grow the talent that’s right there in your organization? As an individual, how do you raise your hand to be seen? Discovered? To grow? This episode could have also been called, “We need to be able to take a chance on people”, as we explore the topic of finding and nurturing talent both as a leader and as an individual. Our guest, Nupur Khandelwal, draws on her extensive experience as a leader and as someone who has had advocates for her growth within an organization. We discuss topics such as complacency, mentorship, progress, and perfection. Additionally, we delve into the importance of candor and commitment and explore the mechanisms one can use to be an advocate for others. And find out Nupur’s ‘Ta-da’ moment on the significance of a CN Tower climb in reframing your thoughts. Our Guest: Nupur Khandelwal is helping people and organizations deliver human-centric programs and was nominated for Canada’s Top 40 under 40 Awards. At the LCBO, Nupur is the Director of Talent Management, where she leads enterprise-wide initiatives. Nupur is the co-founder of SheRocks! and contributes as a Board of Director member with the HR Professional Association’s Toronto Chapter. Nupur presents to diverse groups at conferences, seminars and workshops and is seen as a recognized learning leader in organizational development, people management, training, and development, as well as diversity and inclusion initiatives to enhance the employee experience. As with every episode, our guest shares their ‘Failure Ta-Da’ moment, and at the end we share the three stars and the next step you can put into practice from this episode. Do you have a question or comment about the podcast? We’d love to hear from you and appreciate your thoughts - email us at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca. Thank you for supporting the podcast. Please leave a rating or review and subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes. Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars and tools. Also, check out our list of over 25 instructor-led Professional Skills Courses at The Great Canadian Training and Consulting Company.
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| 11 Apr 2023 | Great First Impressions - Why That Matters to Employee Retention | 00:34:52 | |
Do you remember why you keep going back to that restaurant… or not? It probably was your first impression, how you were welcomed, warm bread or stale bread, the interactions, the aesthetics, that first bite…. Those first impressions that we unconsciously hold onto are called imprinting beliefs, meaning that first impressions stick. In this episode, we discuss with Amy Davies on why first impressions matter and the impact people, leaders and organizations can have on improving employee retention by 82%. We also discuss why 1 in 3 employees will leave their employer within 12 months, typically for reasons that are preventable. Our guest Amy Davies is the founder and CEO of First30, offering employee onboarding and outplacement services to businesses. She is the author of A Spark in the Dark: Illuminating Your Path to a Brilliant Career in a Reorg World. Her next book, What Employees Want: 5 Proven Strategies to Attract, Retain and Engage Talent, is set for release in September 2023. As with every episode, our guest Amy Davies bravely shares her ‘Failure Ta-Da’ moment, and at the end we share the three stars and the next step you can put into practice from this episode. Do you have a question or comment about the podcast? We’d love to hear from you and appreciate your thoughts - email us at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca. Thank you for supporting the podcast. Please leave a rating or review and subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars and tools. Also, check out our list of over 25 instructor-led Professional Skills Courses at The Great Canadian Training and Consulting Company.
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| 29 Jun 2021 | Influencing Without Authority | 00:29:00 | |
Episode #4 is ENCOURAGING! You want to influence others to action - whether you have authority or not, how do you do it? In this episode, Tamara Lovi shares some great principles of influencing and communicating that inspire, motivate, and create collaboration. You want to be an influential leader, but, as Tamara says, “We’re not born with these skills”. It takes failures, coaching and learning to adapt and understand communication styles. Tamara Lovi is a seasoned health & beauty commercial leader and is the Executive Director for the Digital Commercial Operations group at Merck Canada. Tamara’s drive to deliver outstanding results and her passion for building purpose-driven businesses and brands that make a difference in peoples’ lives have led to a significant positive impact on all the global leading organizations she has been involved with in the past 20 years. Committed to empowering women to succeed and reach their full potential, Tamara co-founded Women Leaders in Pharma, a Canadian association that is gaining worldwide attention. This is an insightful episode on attentive listening, leadership and the communication skills needed to build trust. This podcast is sponsored by The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company. Learn more about them at https://www.greatcanadiantraining.ca
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| 11 Jul 2023 | Performance Reviews Can Be Great…Seriously. | 00:15:26 | |
Get ready for "The Performance Review" - that time of year when emotions run high and the impact on your organization and employees is significant. In this episode, we delve into how you can make this meeting engaging, clear, and respectful, ensuring it has a positive ripple effect. With the evolving work environment and the rise of hybrid setups, the performance review holds even greater weight. How the review is conducted determines the effectiveness. This is the opportunity for a manager to put on their coaching hat and see this review as an opportunity to build for the future of the employee, the team, and the organization. Join our host, Joel Silverstone, as he equips you with the necessary tools to conduct a motivating and actionable review that benefits both sides. Learn the strategies, dos, and don'ts, and have the confidence to deliver a performance review that leaves a lasting, positive impression in this episode: "Performance Reviews Can Be Great…Seriously".
Do you have a question or comment about the podcast? We’d love to hear from you and appreciate your thoughts - email us at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca. Thank you for supporting the podcast. Please leave a rating or review and subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes. Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars and tools. Also, check out our list of over 25 instructor-led Professional Skills Courses at The Great Canadian Training and Consulting Company. | |||
| 28 Sep 2021 | I Thought My Job Was To Save People | 00:26:52 | |
Episode #10 is ENGAGING! What is your default setting? For many of us, that default is to solve our team’s, colleagues’ or friends’ problems - right here, right now! This was a shift for our guest Allison Dell, newly appointed Head of HR at Cineplex, about learning to meet her people where they were at, and not be the hero that saves them. In this episode, Allison shares her insights on the importance of our words and intentions. Words do matter but, as we find out in this discussion, words are not always enough to carry your intention and don’t always have the desired effect. Listen in and understand how to meet people where they are at and help them tap into their own solutions and resilience. Allison Dell is the Head of Human Resources at Cineplex. With over 20 years’ experience, she has led high performing teams, spearheaded award-winning global programs, and implemented organizational and cultural support systems across a wide variety of business verticals. She and her team have been recognized with an array of prestigious awards, including the Waterstone Most Admired Corporate Culture award, the Charles Jennings Award for Excellence in Social Learning +, Brandon Hall silver awards for Blended Learning and Best Strategy for a Corporate Learning University. Allison is passionate about creating an inclusive environment that inspires people to bring their best selves to work and finding new ways to live by the motto: leave it better than you found it. Quote from this episode: “Your words are far less important than the words of the people around you.” Allison Dell This is one of our top leadership episodes on being an HR leader, mindset and the communication skills needed to build trust and resilience in your organization.
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| 31 Aug 2021 | How To Communicate With Confidence | 00:36:30 | |
Episode #8 is ENLIGHTENING! We would all like to communicate with confidence. To be more influential and impactful in our business interactions. To have an impact as a leader on the growth of the people around you. As an HR leader, to be influential as a trusted business partner. How do you do it? In this episode, Jennifer McClure shares her 30+ years of experience in leadership and HR with great insights and examples of what it takes to communicate in a way that inspires others to be better. Jennifer McClure, CEO of Unbridled Talent LLC & DisruptHR LLC, is frequently recognized as a global influencer and expert on the future of work, strategic leadership and innovative people strategies. Jennifer has decades of in-the-trenches leadership and executive experience working in and with start-ups, privately held companies, and Fortune 500 organizations in a variety of industries. http://jennifermcclure.net Jennifer is also the Chief Excitement Officer of DisruptHR, http://disrupthr.co, a global community designed to move the collective thinking forward when it comes to talent in the workplace, and hosts a weekly podcast – Impact Makers with Jennifer McClure. “If you ask someone: Who’s had the most influence and impact in your life? Your name should come up.” -Jennifer McClure This is an insightful episode on leadership, HR and the communication skills needed to be caring and impactful. | |||
| 14 Sep 2021 | How To Communicate Successfully | 00:40:45 | |
Episode #9 is ENERGIZING! How can we communicate successfully, in meetings, with clients or with our colleagues? What about if you and your long-time friend decide to start a business together? How do you make that work and what communication skills do you need to be effective and maintain respect? In this episode, our guests Noah Maislin and Marko Lindhe have figured out a way to operationalize their communication styles with each other, their clients, and their roster of 130+ remote contract workers. Being involved with over 20,000 meetings, they share the key factors to successful meetings and those that just lead to yet another meeting. Long-time friends Noah Maislin and Marko Lindhe co-founded in 2014 Minutes Solutions. Minutes Solutions specializes in professional minute-taking and transcription for meetings and improved communications across a variety of industries. Noah Maislin was born with entrepreneurship in his blood. His father, grandfathers, and even great-grandfather were all entrepreneurs. Noah grew up going to school and summer camp and always came home with money in his pocket from some sort of business he ran at those locations. Marko Lindhe has a background in med-tech and logistics. Marko was always looking for ways to improve efficiencies within his respective companies and found that the entrepreneurial life was better suited for him. The only thing he loves more than growing a business is traveling and eating (often simultaneously). Quote from this episode: “Without solid communication, you don’t have much of a business” – Noah and Marko This is an insightful episode on leadership, meetings, business partnerships, and the communication skills needed to be successful. | |||
| 15 Jun 2021 | Make Others Feel Valued | 00:29:58 | |
Episode #3 is MOTIVATING! We all want to feel appreciated and respected. As a leader, how do you communicate and model that to your teams and clients? In this episode, Alexa Nick guides us on the foundations to create trust, the effect listening intently has on others and why balancing logic with storytelling matters. Alexa Nick began her career as a management consultant. She then pursued her goals of entrepreneurship by founding and launching myPractice, a virtual learning platform supporting global organizations. Alexa is now a Consulting Partner at Deloitte and is the Strategy & Transformation Lead in the Toronto office. Alexa is involved with the Morrisette Institute for Entrepreneurship, which enables entrepreneurship as the future growth engine of Canada. She also supports the efforts of the Ivey Alumni Association, Ivey’s Women in Leadership, and the LEADER Project. This is an insightful episode on empathy, authenticity and the communication skills needed to build trust.
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| 12 Jul 2021 | It’s About Them | 00:37:56 | |
Episode #5 is ENGAGING! You want to present to and engage your audience, whether it’s to one or a thousand people. How do you do it? In this episode, Nancey Watson shares some great principles of presentation skills and communicating that start with asking yourself, “Do I know who is in the audience and why this should matter to them?” You want to be a better presenter and communicator. But it’s not about you, it’s about what is relevant to them. Focusing on that creates trust and has your audience leaning into what and how you’re showing up and presenting. Nancey L. Watson is president of NL Watson Consulting Inc . She has helped professional services firms win over $3 billion in competitive bids. Since 2012 Nancey has worked almost exclusively with law firms and in-house legal departments globally. Nancey is an internationally recognized speaker and the author of The Silver Bullet: How RFPs Are Won, Ark Group and creator of the workshop Strategic Proposal Management. This is an insightful episode on adapting, leadership and the communication skills needed to get your audience engaged. This podcast is sponsored by The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company.
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| 25 Oct 2022 | What Makes a Great Presentation? | 00:38:13 | |
Have you been trying to get your presentation from good to great? Wondering (ok, struggling) with the best way to use MS PowerPoint? And present it with a confident and engaging delivery style? You’re not alone. That’s why we created this episode, the combination of technical and soft skills to guide you in bringing out the best in your presentations. We’re thrilled to have as our Guest Host Jon Neuhold, Co-Owner of Great Canadian Training, interviewing Senior Software Instructor Christine Irons and Senior Professional Skills Facilitator Joel Silverstone. There is a gap in people’s technical skills – but technical skills on their own aren’t enough. Each of us also needs the professional skills to match them. In the case of presenting in front of an audience, that means designing a slide presentation that effectively captures and holds the attention of others and knowing how to talk about the slides to match the content. This is episode 2, as part of our significant 4 podcasts series on feeling more confident, engaging, and prepared with your presentation skills. We discuss:
Our Guest Christine Irons is Great Canadian Training’s lead software instructor and courseware designer. Christine worked in Human Resources at York University in Toronto for over 20 years as an instructional designer, trainer, and learning specialist. As a certified master Microsoft instructor, Christine brings an extensive knowledge of Adult Learning Theory to her work, whether it’s designing and delivering live classes or creating e-leaning that truly teaches. Our Guest Joel Silverstone is the regular host of the Great Canadian Leadership Podcast. When not hosting, Joel is the Senior Professional Skills Trainer & Coach at Great Canadian Training. For over 20 years, he has helped leaders and their teams feel more confident and impactful with their communication and leadership skills in live and virtual sessions, from small businesses and government agencies to Fortune 500 companies in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Joel is also a speaker at HR, Learning, Leadership and Professional Services Conferences across North America. Presentation skills are not easy, but you can get better. It’s a combination of mindset, intention, and the tools to get from good to great, whether you are presenting at a meeting or to hundreds.
Email info@greatcanadiantraining.ca and mention ‘GREAT’ to get more information about our GREAT Series and how you can become a Great Presenter with MS PowerPoint and Presentation Skills.
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| 30 Aug 2022 | The 9 Behaviours of Leadership-Part 2 | 00:25:56 | |
Are leaders born that way? Probably not! Your business card may say ‘leader’ but that doesn’t mean you are one…yet. What if we took those leadership buzzwords like integrity, visionary, etc. and made them into tangible skills? What if we looked at other behaviours of leadership and made them into skills you could develop and practice? This is part 2 of the 9 behaviours of leadership – these are traits, sometimes clichés – that we can make into clear skills you can develop. In this episode, we explore the soft skills of leadership, specifically how listening and empathy are core traits to continue developing. Developing leaders can change. Existing leaders can get better. David Kelly is the CEO of The Learning Guild. David has been a learning and performance consultant and training director for over 20 years. He is a leading voice exploring how technology can be used to enhance training, education, learning, and organizational performance. David is an active member of the learning community and can frequently be found speaking at industry events. He has previously contributed to organizations including ATD, eLearn Magazine, LINGOs, and more. For more on David, follow him on Twitter. Listen in as we share how to make leadership behaviours into tangible and intentional skills and why it matters for your communication and leadership abilities.
And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
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| 20 Dec 2022 | Shared Experience Extravaganza #3 ”Connecting the Dots in Leadership” | 00:33:20 | |
Have you missed an episode? Do you want to strengthen your leadership and communication styles and are looking for the star highlights from the past 6 months? Get ready to take notes, as we bring you the Shared Experience Extravaganza #3 "Connecting the Dots in Leadership." In this episode, we reflect on the 'Greatest Hits' from our guests and our own experts on leadership and professional skills. These are the themes you can take away from this episode:
Thank you to our guests, amazing leaders and experts who brought their insights, shared their ‘failure ta-da’ moments and inspired passion for leadership and communication styles.
You can’t have an extravaganza without a special guest: Joy Neuhold, Co-Owner of The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company. Joy Neuhold knew she wanted to be a consultant and start her own business from a young age. After working for a small IT business and then moving up the career path for an insurance company within a year and a half, Joy took a travel break. She came back in 2002 to start what is now The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company, offering a range of software and soft skills training across North America.
And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
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| 27 Jul 2021 | Do Your People Know Your Story? | 00:36:46 | |
Episode #6 is ENGROSSING! You want to connect more with your teams. You want to build the culture in your organization, and you know it’s more than a twelve-point plan. How do you do it? In this episode, Kaitlin Sandor-Kerr discusses how and why sharing your story has a ripple effect on people and the company and creates a sense of purpose and values. As a leader, do your people know your story? Kaitlin Sandor-Kerr is the Founder of Support Panda, People & Development (HR) Consultancy. After over a decade of experience within corporate HR, she found her passion for people was renewed while consulting for small business owners looking to be excellent employers and offer a fantastic employment experience to their staff. This is an insightful episode on authenticity, leadership, and the communication skills needed to get your people feeling connected to you and the organization. | |||
| 25 Apr 2023 | Showcasing Your Value | 00:25:33 | |
In today’s business world, you need to differentiate yourself, to bring to life your experiences and your growth - but how do you do that without listing tasks? This episode, we’re talking with Dr. Adrienne Shnier on how to showcase your value. Whether it’s a performance review, or you’re seeking a promotion, job or school interview, how can you share your story and be the advocate - for you? You are so busy in your role that if someone asks you what makes you valuable, an asset, you might just ramble off tasks but not your value. Your experiences, how you deal with challenges, your growth - nobody knows this better than you. Listen in as we share how you can communicate this and why that matters. Our guest, Dr. Adrienne Shnier, is the CEO and founder at Apply Yourself: The Advancement Spot Inc., teaching students and professionals to level up their game by showcasing themselves and developing compelling, authentic, academic and professional applications based on her years of experience as a Member on Admissions Committees, Job Search Committees, and Tenure & Promotion Committees. She is a lawyer and founder of Shnier Mackenzie Law & Policy Consulting, PC. She is also a Toronto-based Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Faculty of Health at York University, and Health Law Faculty at Osgoode Hall Law School. As with every episode, our guest Dr. Adrienne Shnier bravely shares her ‘Failure Ta-Da’ moment, and at the end we share the three stars and the next step you can put into practice from this episode. Do you have a question or comment about the podcast? We’d love to hear from you and appreciate your thoughts - email us at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca. Thank you for supporting the podcast. Please leave a rating or review and subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars and tools. Also, check out our list of over 25 instructor-led Professional Skills Courses at The Great Canadian Training and Consulting Company.
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| 13 Sep 2022 | Soft Skills and Virtual Reality | 00:30:55 | |
What does the future look like? Will we be using Virtual Reality…And how is this used to reinforce soft skills? In this episode, we are curious how virtual reality (VR) can connect to our soft skills and be used in training. We discuss the thoughts and skills that we can take from these VR scenarios and put them into real world practice in how we interact with each other in business, and maybe in life. We talk communication, empathy, giving feedback and …Presentation Skills! Virtual reality has an interesting perspective here, especially with your number of ‘um’s’. Our Guest Betty Dannewitz is an Immersive Experience Designer with 18+ years in corporate learning and development. She is also a Speaker, Podcaster, and High-Performance Coach. Betty’s passion is to help people become better humans and she advocates that innovative technology, like augmented reality, has a huge role in making that happen. Listen in as we explore a possible future and how you can start using some of these communication and leadership abilities in your present world. Do you have a question or comment for The Great Canadian Leadership Podcast? Send us an email at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca. And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episode series:
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| 28 Jun 2022 | The Shared Experience Extravaganza - Summer Edition | 00:31:36 | |
Have you missed an episode? Looking for quick notes on giving feedback, communication styles and tips on leadership actions? In this episode, we reflect on the 'Greatest Hits' from our guests and answer your questions on effective communication styles, giving feedback, time management, thought leadership and tough conversations. It’s the Shared Experience Extravaganza - Summer Edition. You can’t have an extravaganza without special guests: Joy Neuhold, Co-Owner of The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company, and our superb producer Erica Baillie. Thank you to our guests, amazing leaders and experts who brought their insights, shared their failure ta-da moments and inspiring passion for leadership and communication styles.
Our panelists: Joy Neuhold knew that she wanted to be a consultant and start her own business from a young age. After working for a small IT business and then moving up the career path for an insurance company within a year and a half, Joy took a travel break. She came back in 2002 to start what is now The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company. In 2015, Joy purchased CompuEase to add to the offerings and range of software and soft skills training across North America.
Erica Baillie is the producer on The Great Canadian Leadership Podcast and Acting Training Manager at The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company. Erica brings her experience in marketing and customer service and her passion for creating amazing customer service experiences for clients and guests of the podcast.
And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes
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| 24 May 2022 | How Do You Inspire A Shared Vision? | 00:35:36 | |
Inspiring others sounds great - so how does one do that? And how do you share your vision? This is the challenge. When you hear the words ‘inspire’ and ‘vision’, it’s hard to grasp, it feels abstract. In this episode, our guest Arminda Gonzalez Dumpierrez is here to deconstruct the abstract, to make it real and tangible. She clearly shows us the ways you can inspire and share your vision, and how important this is as the next step in leadership and communication. Arminda Gonzalez Dumpierrez has been guiding business leaders for over 20 years. She is currently the head of talent transformation for one of the largest employers in Canada, Walmart Canada. Her international business education spans 3 continents, including teaching global business courses at the post-graduate level. Over the span of her career, Arminda has had the opportunity to run her own start up as well as manage the strategy operations of a multinational corporation. She combines the visionary and practical in moving people and teams toward success www.linkedin.com/in/armindadumpierrez There are many advantages, from a business perspective, of the ROI of being able to communicate clearly, ask good questions, and speaking a common language, that make people feel involved and motivated towards a common goal (or what’s in it for them). | |||
| 10 May 2022 | Selling Isn’t What You Think It Is | 00:29:53 | |
If you have to sell an idea or a product, do you immediately think, “I don’t want to be pushy!”? For most of us that’s a firm YES! Fair enough, we’ve all had salespeople and leaders overwhelm us with facts and features, yet not even take a breath, let alone ask us a question. If you are a leader or anyone trying sell a new behaviour, idea or product, finding the best way to connect and influence can feel daunting. In this episode, our guest is Kira Callahan, an expert in sales conversations, who will guide you with different perspectives, confidence and skills to be more authentic and connect with your customer or whoever your audience happens to be. Kira Callahan is the founder of Conversation Gym. She has had the pleasure of coaching more than 6,000 financial professionals to master their sales conversations and build a thriving practice they love. Kira is an expert in coaching high achieving executives, managers and salespeople to connect with and persuade their audiences. In the past twenty years, Kira has facilitated workshops and personally coached professionals from front-line to VP and was a regular business blogger for the Huffington Post. For more on Kira and Conversation Gym We discuss: -How to focus on your intention vs your objective (MUST SELL!) -How to be persuasive by earning the trust and connecting -How to sell your value first, not the product or idea. And the importance of preparation and safety in your interactions.
Do you want to book a private session for your team or organization? Contact us at info@greatcanadiantraining.ca for more information | |||
| 27 Jun 2023 | What Makes Great Teams | 00:33:06 | |
Have you been trying to get your teams from good to great? Improve how they collaborate, communicate, and achieve goals, plus balance productivity and morale? Wondering what’s the best way they can use Microsoft Teams? What team building activities and skills can help?
You’re not alone. That’s why we created this episode, the combination of technical and soft skills to guide you in bringing out the best in your organization’s teams. We’re thrilled to have as our Guest Host Jon Neuhold, Co-Owner of Great Canadian Training, interviewing Senior Software Instructor Christine Irons and Senior Professional Skills Facilitator Joel Silverstone. There is a gap in using technical capabilities of Microsoft Teams – but technical skills on their own aren’t enough. You need team building skills to match them.
This episode is part of our podcast series on Teams, helping you to be engaged and respectful in collaborating and working together towards a common purpose and goals. We discuss:
Our Guest Christine Irons is Great Canadian Training’s lead software instructor and courseware designer. Christine worked in Human Resources at York University in Toronto for over 20 years as an instructional designer, trainer, and learning specialist. As a certified master Microsoft instructor, Christine brings an extensive knowledge of Adult Learning Theory to her work, whether it’s designing and delivering live classes or creating e-learning that truly teaches. Our Guest Joel Silverstone is the regular host of the Great Canadian Leadership Podcast. When not hosting, Joel is the Senior Professional Skills Trainer & Coach at Great Canadian Training. For over 20 years, he has helped leaders and their teams feel more confident and impactful with their communication and leadership skills in live and virtual sessions, from small businesses and government agencies to Fortune 500 companies in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Joel is also a speaker at HR, Learning, Leadership and Professional Services Conferences across North America. Great teams are not easy, but they can get better. It’s a combination of mindset, intention, and the tools to get from good to great. Speaking of Teams… At Great Canadian Training we are offering our unique GREAT Series: “Become a Great Team with MS Teams and Team Building Skills”. In one day, you will learn powerful skills and tools to connect and engage your teams by developing and mastering MS Teams and Team Building skills. Email info@greatcanadiantraining.ca and mention ‘GREAT’ to get more information about our GREAT Series and how you can become a Great Team with Microsoft Teams and Team Building Skills. | |||
| 15 Mar 2022 | Leadership Lessons From The Circus And Beyond. | 00:31:14 | |
Episode #20 is energizing! Leadership Lessons From The Circus and Beyond. You might be asking yourself: “What does the circus have to do with leadership?” How about if that circus was called Cirque du Soleil? At one time one of the largest live entertainment shows, having played to over 100 million spectators, and its staff comprised of over 50 nationalities, speaking 25 different languages…. Now that is a leadership and communication conversation! We are talking with Jay Guilford, sharing his insights from creating and running Cirque’s leadership training program to now as the founder of CoWorks Leadership Strategists.
Jay Guilford once worked with a bunch of clowns. Literally. A few years ago, Jay ran away with Cirque du Soleil. There, Jay created Cirque’s leadership training program. Jay has designed leadership sessions for top-performing companies and is currently the Founder and Managing Partner of CoWorks Leadership Strategists. He also hosts an interactive workshop on creativity and innovation, inspired by his work at Cirque du Soleil. Jay wants to “Robinhood” the knowledge he has gained from Cirque du Soleil and from his work with leaders in Fortune 500 companies to help improve the way managers lead and team members interact. His mission is to build a world where work is not just a means to an end, but a source of inspiration, transformation, and interpersonal growth. For more on Jay Guilford This is a compelling episode on leadership, soft skills and the communication styles needed to build trust and collaboration in your organization. | |||
| 30 May 2023 | Why Soft Skills Are Essential to Your Leadership | 00:28:49 | |
The focus of business leaders has been shifting from task- or objective-driven to people-driven. That means soft skills such as effective communication, understanding, and collaboration have become increasingly important to leaders’ abilities. In this episode, we have a great discussion with our guest Jennifer Lennox, a highly experienced HR leader on why soft skills are crucial in organizations and what leaders can do about it. Jennifer also shares how she found her voice to communicate and influence others and how her leadership career took off from there. One of the major challenges for leaders is that they often find themselves multitasking and handling different priorities, but what's essential now more than ever is for them to put people first and adopt a whole new leadership style that is people-driven. Finally, as a leader, your presence lingers, and your behaviour is often a topic of discussion at the dinner table. Therefore, it's crucial to be fully present and aware of how your people feel when they are in your presence. Our guest: Jennifer Lennox is an experienced HR professional and the Vice President of People, Culture and Learning at AutoCanada a senior leadership position where she collaborates with the Senior Executive team, HR Team, and AutoCanada General Managers to create a world-class company culture. With over 20 years of experience in people development, talent acquisition, training, executive leadership and HR strategy, Jenn is a certified HR Executive (CHRE) and has worked for organizations of different sizes, including small business tech startups, large corporations, and the private sector such as CIBC, Home Depot, Alcumus and four years as the Head of People and Culture with the Humberview Group. As with every episode, our guest Jennifer Lennox shares her ‘Failure... Ta-Da’ moment, and at the end we share the three stars and the next step you can put into practice from this episode. Do you have a question or comment about the podcast? We’d love to hear from you and appreciate your thoughts - email us at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca. Thank you for supporting the podcast. Please leave a rating or review and subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars and tools. Also, check out our list of over 25 instructor-led Professional Skills Courses at The Great Canadian Training and Consulting Company.
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| 06 Dec 2022 | You Don’t Have to Know It All | 00:28:11 | |
Are you in a new role? New team, responsibilities, skills? Many are changing roles and having to do more with less but still be a leader - so how does one adapt? It starts with ‘You don’t have to know it all’. In this episode we discuss with our guest Caroline Cohen how to adapt, build trust and delegate - without having all the answers! Caroline went from a learning and development leader to the NEW Head of People & Culture at a new company, industry, and role. Not to mention, this is happening during Covid lockdowns, work from home to hybrid.
Our Guest Caroline Cohen is the Director of People and Culture at Medisca, a distribution company specializing in pharmaceutical compounding products and services. Caroline began her career in the area of training development and performance improvement for the airline industry before moving on to a transportation, logistics and supply chain company for which she headed a training department. Caroline has extensive experience at leading teams, managing multiple concurrent projects, implementing processes and, most importantly, approaches her work with the attitude of "anything is possible".
Speaking of Leadership skills… At Great Canadian Training we are offering our unique Leadership Packages. You can choose from:
Email info@greatcanadiantraining.ca and mention ‘Leadership Packages’ to get more information about these packages and how you can build, develop and stretch your leadership skills. | |||
| 04 Oct 2022 | What Makes a Great Presenter? | 00:30:35 | |
Presentation skills are not easy, but you can get better. It’s a combination of mindset, intention, and the tools to get from good to great, whether you are presenting at a meeting or to hundreds. This is episode #1, as part of our significant 4 podcasts series on feeling more confident, engaging, and prepared with your Presentation Skills. This episode, we’re thrilled to have Rhonda Scharf share how someone from a small town - outside a small town - became an in-demand speaker. We discuss:
Our Guest Rhonda Scharf is an author, speaker, trainer, training partner with The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company and earned her Certified Speaking Professional. Rhonda is a member of the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame and is one of only 35 speakers worldwide who have earned their Global Speaking Fellow (meaning she truly has an international business) and been awarded the Spirit of CAPS award. She was the first speaker in the entire world to earn all four awards. Her peers consider Rhonda a leader in the speaking industry! Rhonda’s professional speaking career began at age two… when her mother would offer her 25 cents to be quiet for five minutes!
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| 12 Jul 2022 | How to Use Neuroscience to Feel More Confident | 00:34:08 | |
What if you could feel more confident for your next presentation, meeting, or pressure situation? In this episode, learn ways to have more control over your thoughts, and not vice versa! How does this help us to be more confident? It starts with learning how training your brain to grow and to be challenged is pivotal to building your new levels of confidence. Are you challenging your brain? When you create new experiences, you are getting out of your comfort zone and on your way to growth and being better equipped to deal with FEAR (false evidence appearing real) Our Guest, Diane Crawford, is the Chief Operating Officer at The Voyage Inc. Prior to starting her company, Diane held several senior leadership positions in the financial services industry. From managing her own start-up to directing a team of over 400 professional staff, she has honed her coaching and people development skills. Diane has been a regular presenter at the Human Capital Institute (HCI) conferences in the U.S. and is currently leading an E.U. sponsored program for African Women Leaders. Join us in this episode as Diane shares the ways we can use our brains and the circle of confidence to feel more prepared for that next challenge.
Do you have a question or comment for the podcast? Send us an email at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes
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| 26 Oct 2021 | Managing Up | 00:17:06 | |
Episode 12 is INSIGHTFUL. A popular question we get in training is: “How Do You Manage Upwards?” How do you give feedback or change a behaviour - when that person is in authority? Whether you're an employee, a leader who reports above or a leader who wants to create a culture where your people can give you feedback, this episode is for you. Our guest Melanie Ziltener shares her insightful example of when change was desperately needed within her department and her manager wasn't open to suggestions. How did Melanie figure out how to communicate in a way that made her manager feel involved and reassured about making the changes? Melanie Ziltener is the owner of Tripod Business Services, a boutique virtual assistance agency that specializes in content writing and creation. Mel has over 15 years of experience assisting professionals from small companies to government agencies and formed Tripod in 2017 to provide that same high level of service and excellence. Mel believes in being a Tripod to her clients so that the big picture is clear and well-supported. Managing up can be intimidating! This episode helps you have clarity on the mindset, the steps you can take and the communication skills needed to build trust and collaboration in your organization. | |||
| 22 Feb 2022 | “A Difficult Conversation? You Got This!” | 00:24:43 | |
Episode #19 is insightful! This is the final episode of our significant four podcasts series on navigating difficult conversations. Don’t forget to go back and listen to episodes 16, 17 and 18 for the full path. Are you getting ready to have a difficult conversation? Dreading it? Nobody enjoys it! 90% of the time, you have normal, routine conversations; however, around 10% of the time is that moment when you or the other person says or does something irrational or is triggered…and we’re in a difficult conversation. In this episode, Joel Silverstone, our host and the senior professional skills facilitator & coach at The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company, shares tips and tools to help you feel more comfortable with challenging conversations. We try something different with this episode - the examples come to life with reenactments of those pivotal moments. A big Thank You to Melanie Ziltener, Jim Irons and Max Silverstone for bringing the scenarios to life with your talented voices. When you listen to the scenes, you’ll also gain a better understanding of the missed opportunities to use a difficult conversation to create more trust, deepen a relationship or build collaboration. How to get more comfortable with the uncomfortable by building your awareness for these subtle moments and where you can shift the conversation.
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| 21 Feb 2023 | Leading Complex Projects with Clarity | 00:23:56 | |
When leading a complex project, how do you get to the desired outcome? How do you lead and communicate to motivate and engage towards the outcome? In this episode, Leading Complex Projects with Clarity, we discuss the importance of the human factor, the people that are going to make this successful. According to our guest, Nada Darwiche, projects are not linear lines and where we get stuck is the ‘on time, on budget’ result. A successful project focuses on the people – making sure they understand the message being delivered and why it matters to them, their team and the organization. This is part of our 4-part series on the soft skills you need for 2023. Our other three parts are: Change - Turning Resistance into Resilience, Empathy in Business, and Persuasion in Your Writing and Communication Skills. Our guest, Nada Darwiche, is a Principal at NDC Group and a Sr. Lead Consultant with Optimus SBR. She has more than 20 years of business experience consulting for Fortune 1000 companies in the areas of change management, strategy, project management/implementation, process improvement and pitch development. She has led many client engagements focusing on key strategic initiatives, delivering sustained, bottom-line benefits as well as enhanced key partner relationships. Listen in as Nada shares her experience as Project Leader #3, how she had to switch hats from project management to change management, and how she dealt with the resistance of teams to get the project back to ‘on time and on budget’! Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars, blogs, and tools from The Great Canadian Training and Consulting Company. Do you have a question or comment about the episode? Send us an email at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca. And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
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| 25 Jan 2022 | How to Give Feedback Confidently | 00:24:53 | |
Episode #17 is empowering! "How to give feedback confidently" This episode is part of our significant four podcasts series on navigating difficult conversations (see below for more on this series). For many of us, giving feedback weighs on us and we anticipate a difficult conversation. In fact, a survey published in The Harvard Business Review found that 1 out of every 2 managers hates giving feedback! Our guest, Nancy Shapiro, shares her insights, as a leader and as someone who works in employment law, on why feedback matters (growth, success, self-actualization…) and how we can feel more comfortable and confident when giving it. We discuss the reasons why feedback can so often fail and lead to difficult conversations. Many people feel side-swiped by feedback that is unclear, untimely, and is sugar-coated or abrasive. We also discuss leadership essentials, such as gaining trust by being kind, polite and respectful. These qualities make it a lot easier to give difficult feedback. Nancy Shapiro is a partner at Koskie Minsky LLP and sits on the firm’s Executive Committee. Nancy is ranked one of the top 500 lawyers in Canada by the Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada and is ranked in Best Lawyers and by Chambers. She is also recognized in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading practitioner in employment law (both for employer and employee side work). Nancy is also a frequent speaker at industry conferences and an author of many employment-related articles.
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| 11 May 2021 | Robots and AI in the workplace- How will we be interacting with them? | 00:28:00 | |
“The robots are coming... No wait, the robots are here!” Episode #1 is FASCINATING- Robots and AI in the workplace and how we interact with them. We discuss the different communication styles, and if the robots are being programmed to bring out the best of our humanity? Then as leaders and for all of us we need to re-program our communication and collaboration abilities. Dr. Robin Yap brings his studies, energy, insights, and some of his robot friends to the podcast. Dr. Yap has deep expertise in performance and talent management, social data analytics, AI robot ethics, and the convergences of technology like AI-enabled robots For more on Dr. Yap www.robinyap.ca The future is now, an absorbing episode on our behaviours, human connection, and the novelty effect. | |||
| 14 Jun 2022 | What Does it Take to be a MasterChef? | 00:29:58 | |
How do you bring out your best when under pressure? And what if that moment is in front of millions watching? What do you do? What do you focus on? This episode can help as we talk with Michael Varga on how he handled the pressure of being in the spotlight, the importance of vulnerability and why not trying to please everyone was key. We also discuss how he deals with recently being promoted into a leadership role and the transition from being a part of the team to now leading it. Where it used to be, “Hey Mike…” to now, “Lieutenant, can I do this?” Our guest Michael Varga is a MasterChef Canada finalist, Chopped Canada Winner, and Vancouver Fire & Rescue Lieutenant. Michael competed on the reality television show Chopped Canada, taking home the title of Champion and earning high praise from Iron Chef Susur Lee. On MasterChef Canada, Michael went on to become a finalist, and the opportunity to work with several talented chefs elevated his skills and pushed his limits in the kitchen. A seasoned Vancouver firefighter, he also heads the Fire in Your Kitchen program for the Vancouver firefighter’s charitable society, cooking private dinners that are auctioned off for charity. For more on Michael and recipe ideas, check out his Instagram site Varga Cooks. This episode is about dealing with the spotlight moment and why being genuine is important to connecting with your audience, whether it be 1 person or 1 million.
Our next episode, we are answering your questions on communication and leadership. Do you have a question or comment? Send us an email podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca | |||
| 16 Aug 2022 | The 9 Behaviours of Leadership-Part 1 | 00:24:20 | |
Are leaders born that way? Probably not! Your business card may say ‘leader’ but that doesn’t mean you are one…yet. What if we took those leadership buzzwords like integrity, visionary, etc. and made them into tangible skills? What if we looked at other behaviours of leadership and made them into skills you could develop and practice? There is a wealth of information here – so much that we made this into a 2-part episode. In both parts, we explore the 9 behaviours of leadership – these are traits, sometimes clichés - and make them clear skills you can develop. Developing leaders can change. Existing leaders can get better. Our guest, David Kelly, guides us to a better understanding of words like ‘innovation’ and how to apply them and even measure their success. David Kelly is the CEO of The Learning Guild. David has been a learning and performance consultant and training director for over 20 years. He is a leading voice exploring how technology can be used to enhance training, education, learning, and organizational performance. David is an active member of the learning community and can frequently be found speaking at industry events. He has previously contributed to organizations including ATD, eLearn Magazine, LINGOs, and more. For more on David, follow him on Twitter. Listen in as we share how to make leadership behaviours into tangible and intentional skills and why it matters for your communication and leadership abilities. Do you have a question or comment for The Great Canadian Leadership Podcast? Send us an email at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca. And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:
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| 12 Apr 2022 | Presentation Secrets from a Sports Broadcaster | 00:28:42 | |
Presentation jitters? How can you feel more comfortable and confident when presenting? This episode can help with some tips and techniques to communicate your thoughts in front of an audience from 1 to millions. Our guest is John Horn, who shares 20+ years of sports broadcasting experience on what it takes to be prepared, ask the right questions and share your story in a way that engages an audience. John Horn is a veteran in the sports broadcasting and sports production industries working in Canada, the United States and around the world. You may have seen or heard John on ESPN, CBC, TSN, WTA, FIBA, MLB Network, Global TV, DAZN, GBE, Tennis Channel and others. John has interviewed athletes and celebrities throughout North America, including LeBron James, Sidney Crosby, Larry King, Dan Marino, Wayne Gretzky, Pete Rose and Michael J. Fox. We discuss: -How does John interview athletes that are guarded and scripted? -How can you balance your audience’s needs when some are very knowledgeable, and others are new to the ‘game’? -How to own your content and why it matters?
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| 26 Apr 2022 | Can Giving Feedback Be Fun? | 00:17:34 | |
Are you ready to confidently deliver thoughtful & actionable feedback? Um, not quite? This episode will make it easier for you. “When giving feedback, it’s not what you say; people get defensive because of why they think you’re saying it”. We share the strategies you need to deliver feedback that is motivational, not confrontational! And isn’t it more fun when giving feedback that is helpful, focused on recognition and growth of the other person? As always, we have our 3 stars at the end AND we’re also sharing:
Listen in as our host Joel Silverstone shares some simple techniques you can use immediately to give feedback like a leader, not a critic.
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| 21 Dec 2021 | The Shared Experience Extravaganza | 00:25:33 | |
Featuring the 'Greatest Hits' from our guests plus listeners questions. Episode #15 is ENCOURAGING! It’s a shared experience extravaganza. We reflect on the 'Greatest Hits' from our guests, and answer your questions on effective communication styles, influencing skills, thought leadership and tough conversations You can’t have an extravaganza without special guests: Joy Neuhold, Co-Owner of The Great Canadian Leadership Training & Consulting Company and our superb producer Erica Baillie. Thank you to our guests, these amazing leaders and experts who brought their insights, shared their failure ta-da moments and inspiring passion for leadership and communication styles.
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| 07 Dec 2021 | People Follow Leaders | 00:20:27 | |
Episode #14 is INSIGHTFUL. Your people are looking at you to set the tone and they will follow your lead.
In this episode, our guest Catherine Hayos shares her own leadership experiences. She’ll also share her enlightening story of two different leaders whose teams precisely emulated their tone and style. Catherine Hayos is a Senior Leader of Learning and Enablement at Optimus SBR, the largest midsized independent consulting firm in Canada. As a former professional actor, Catherine has been fortunate to be able to translate the actor’s technique to serve her corporate clients for over 20 years as director of learning in a number of boutique training and consulting companies. She is a trainer and coach on Leadership Presence and has supported organizations and trained their leaders to reach their full potential. Catherine believes deeply in the power of experiential learning and practices giving her clients the opportunity to develop and fine-tune their skills on the road to confidence and mastery. This is a powerful episode on leadership, trust and the communication skills needed to create growth in your organization.
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| 29 Mar 2022 | Time Management in Ten Minutes | 00:10:34 | |
“I have no time!” Sound familiar? Is this you? This episode can help with tips and strategies to manage your time and the stress that comes with it. When you fail to manage your time, there is a feeling of loss of control which causes stress. If you want to break this cycle, the answer lies in great time management skills and the behaviours to get there. Because being busy is not the same as being effective. Take a few minutes to listen in as our host Joel Silverstone shares some simple techniques you can use immediately. Are these time management challenges the same ones you were struggling with last year? Last month? Last week?
Let’s break that cycle!
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