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Professional Development

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Professional Development Workshops—or masterclasses—dive into the domains of Communication & Relationships, People Leadership, Personal Leadership, and Problem-Solving & Executive Synthesis.

 

Many of them explore human-centric professional topics, with a core focus on emotional intelligence and collaboration. Each session provides an opportunity for participants to engage and contribute to the learning and development of their colleagues.

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Workshops can integrate into sustained learning journeys designed around themes, roles/tenure, or objectives—and they can be tailored or wholly developed based on organizational need. 

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Beyond fostering development, People Leaders leverage workshops, immersive programming, and coaching towards community building, morale, performance improvement, and retention of colleagues that increasingly expect structured and consistent opportunities to grow.

Topics

Communication & Relationships

Building Trust & The Role of Active Listening

  • Attributes of Trust-Based Relationships and the Trust Equation

  • The Role of Active Listening in Building Trust

  • What Constitutes Active Listening

Communication & Relationships

Developing Personal Presence

  • Outside In Behaviors Versus Inside Out Mindset

  • High Presence Versus Low Presence Behaviors

  • 3 Vs (Visual, Vocal, Verbal)

People Leadership

Leading Effective One-On-Ones

  • Benefits and Mechanics

  • Deep Dives into Objectives of Connection, Feedback, Coaching, and Apprenticeship/Training

People Leadership

Productivity and Prioritization

  • Chronemics via Time Integrity and Time Audit

  • Prioritization via “MIT” (Most Important Things), Quadrants, Buckets

  • Organization via Consistent Capture and Closed Loops

  • Focus via If-then, Pomodoro, Kanban

Personal Leadership

Personal Values Discovery

  • Leading with Values

  • Types of Values

  • Identifying and Aligning with Your Own Values

Personal Leadership

Building Resiliency to Stress

  • Overview of Stress

  • Techniques for Stress Management in Choices, Mindset, and Actions

Problem-Solving

​Collecting and Organizing Data

  • Listing Analyses and Considering Data Collection Methods

Executive Synthesis

Writing for an Executive Audience

  • “GAME” Model of Communication (Goal, Audience, Message, Expression)

  • “EPIC” Framework of Communication (Empathy, Purpose, Insights, Conversation)

  • Executive Synthesis, for Summary, Email, or Memo 

  • Storytelling Versus Storylining

  • Storylining Ahead of Presenting

  • Grouping (Top-Down) Versus Convincing (Situation, Complication, Resolution)

Communication & Relationships

Collaborative Dialogue & Constructive Conflict

  • Structuring Feedback Through Situation, Behavior, Impact

  • Gottman’s Sources of Conflict (Criticism, Contempt, Defensiveness, and Stonewalling) and Solutions

Communication & Relationships

Understanding Empathy

  • Definition of Empathy

  • Empathy Response Spectrum

  • Common Misconceptions (e.g., Empathy Versus Sympathy)

People Leadership

Management Essentials for High-Performing Teams

  • Management Requirements and Blind Spots

  • Understanding Colleagues Through the Dimensions of Skill and Will

  • Communication Rhythms and Processes

People Leadership

Building Inclusive Sponsor Skills

  • Mentors Versus Sponsors

  • Best Practices for Inspirational and Inclusive Sponsorship

Personal Leadership

Defining Your Leadership Narrative

  • Building a Leadership Narrative Based on Knowledge/Expertise, Core Strengths, Personal Values, and What Others Should Say About You

Personal Leadership

Reinforcing Positive Outlook

  • Self-Awareness

  • Brain States

  • Explanatory Style

  • Practical Techniques

  • Reframing Self-Talk

Problem-Solving

Taking Your Team Through the Problem-Solving Journey

  • Leading Inclusive Problem-Solving Sessions

  • Structuring, Analyzing, Ideating and Testing

Executive Synthesis

Speaking to an Executive Audience

  • Outside In Behaviors Versus Inside Out Mindset

  • High Presence Versus Low Presence Behaviors

  • 3 Vs (Visual, Vocal, Verbal)

Communication & Relationships

Intentional Communication

  • Attributes of Compelling Communication and the Importance of Preparation

  • “EPIC” Framework of Communication (Empathy, Purpose, Insights, Conversation)

Communication & Relationships

Influencing Approaches

  • Your Individual Approach

  • Tactics and Tailoring to Context

People Leadership

Managing Stakeholders

  • Stakeholder Analysis

  • Building Influence Maps

  • Stakeholder Prioritization

  • Advancing Stakeholders Through “ACCA” (Awareness, Comprehension, Commitment, Action)

  • Creating Action Plans

People Leadership

Conscious Inclusion in Teams & Psychological Safety

  • Inclusive Leadership and Psychological Safety

  • Reinforcing Behaviors of “REACH” (Reframe, Encourage, Appreciate, Coach, Help)

Personal Leadership

Refining Your Operating Model & Achieving Balance

  • Identifying Priorities, Roles, Time, and Energy

  • Four Zones of Survival, Burnout, Performance, and Recovery

  • Levers to Create Energy Resilience and Sustain Renewal

Problem-Solving

Problem Framing and Structuring

  • Problem-Solving Journey

  • “SMART” Problem Statements (Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Relevant, Time-Bound)

  • Problem Definition Worksheet

  • Preliminary “MECE” Issue Trees (Mutually Exclusive, Collective Exhaustive)

  • Leading Inclusive Problem-Solving Sessions

Executive Synthesis

Synthesizing Insights and Implications

  • Synthesis Versus Summary and Progress Update

  • “So What” Reflection

  • Sanity Checking Vis-à-vis the Problem Framing and Key Questions

Executive Synthesis

​Constructing the Presentation

  • Structuring and Drafting Presentations 

  • Slide Making Toolkit of Text, Quantitative, and Conceptual Slides 

  • Polishing the Presentation Using the “SCAN” Checklist (Synthesized, Coherent, Appropriate, Necessary) 

Communication & Relationships

Giving and Receiving Feedback

  • The Importance and Benefits of Feedback

  • Characteristics of Effective Feedback

  • Structuring Feedback Through Situation, Behavior, Impact

  • Conversational Approach for Delivering Feedback

  • Feedback Versus Coaching

Communication & Relationships

The Power of No As a Means to Yes

  • Why It’s Difficult, Why It’s Important, When It’s Worth It

  • Approaches to Consider

People Leadership

Coaching Colleagues

  • Coaching Journey

  • Coaching Questions

  • Coaching Tools of Playbacks, Split-tracks, Open Versus Closed, and “GROW” (Goal, Reality, Options, Way Forward)

Personal Leadership

Self-Awareness & Growth Mindset

  • Self-Awareness: “Above the Line” Versus “Below the Line” from the Conscious Leadership Group

  • Growth Versus Fixed Mindsets

  • Fixed Mindset Traps

Personal Leadership

Understanding Your Network & Who Will Propel You

  • Mentors, Sponsors, and Followers

  • Creating Your Network Map

Problem-Solving

​Prioritizing and Refining Structure

  • Leading with a Hypothesis and “Day 1 Answer”

  • Prioritizing with the “80/20 Rule” and Impact Versus Feasibility/Effort Matrix

  • Iterating Hypothesis and Issue Trees

Executive Synthesis

Structuring the Key Takeaway or Recommendation

  • “Answer-First” or “Top-Down” Communication

  • “Pyramid Principle”

  • “Rule of 3”

Executive Synthesis

Delivering the Presentation

  • Introducing Via 4Ps (Purpose, Payoff, Preview, Process)

  • Tips and Tricks for Speaking to Slides

Get in Touch.

I look forward to listening to your goals, understanding your needs, and determining if we can be of service to you or your organization.

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You can reach me at s@snarang.com.

  • LinkedIn

Thank you for submitting. I look forward to our conversation.

© 2025 by Sartaj S. Narang.

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