We teach ‘tipping point’ skills: the smallest changes that make the biggest impact fast – especially in times of uncertainty and rapid change. These are the skills of modern managers, execs, and teams.
Our programs include short, hands-on, science-based workshops that transform essential skills into lasting habits (95% of participants say they’ve learned useful skills, 93.6% report seeing the impact of training 6 months later, 100% of participants’ managers report seeing the impact 6 months later).
All workshops can be in-person or virtual.
We developed the CORE Program by combining psychology research with years of our own findings. The program consists of two parts, CORE 1 and CORE 2, and rapidly equips participants with core skills to become effective and inclusive leaders – especially in time of uncertainty and rapid change.
Workshop content can be foundational (first-time managers) or leveled up for experienced manager, director, and executive audiences.
Each Manager CORE series is 5 workshops (2 hours each, 10 participants max, in-person or virtually).
In this workshop, you will learn the fundamental tool of great leaders: how to use questions to engage, empower, and improve performance in your direct reports. Through a series of science-based exercises, you will learn how to help your reports become more self-sufficient, resolve their own problems, and make more valuable contributions to your team, even when times are uncertain. We’ll also cover “adaptive coaching,” including how to coach well remotely and when emotions are escalated.
Knowing how to give feedback that is specific, actionable, and motivating is the hallmark of a strong manager. In this lab, you’ll practice the science and art of giving, receiving, and asking for effective feedback, even in tough situations.
This workshop bundles the most effective techniques for working smarter when time and resources are limited. You’ll learn to diagnose your and your team’s productivity challenges and walk away with tools for improving time awareness, prioritization, organization, and focus for yourself and others.
The 1-1 is the best opportunity for tracking your direct reports’ engagement and development, but most of us don’t put this time to good use. You’ll walk away from this workshop knowing how to transform your 1-1s into productive, motivating, and energizing sessions. This includes adaptive 1-1 skills, for creating clarity when working remotely and in times of uncertainty.
You’ve learned how to coach, give feedback well, help people prioritize, and hold effective 1-1s. Now it’s time to refresh your skills and apply them to challenging situations and difficult conversations, so you are prepared for anything that might come your way as a manager. We’ll quickly review what you learned then spend 90% of this workshop applying these skills to tough management scenarios. This workshop will take you to the next level in your skill set as a manager and leave you with new confidence to handle any situation.
In this workshop you will learn an important skill for today’s times: how to help your team think and act more strategically. You will learn techniques to help people make better decisions even in the face of uncertain variables, including identifying objectives that matter most (a skill we call “linking up”), doing situation assessments (including lag and lead measures), thinking from multiple angles, diagnosing obstacles, risks and unintended consequences, and involving the right stakeholders at the right times. These are the skills that quickly shift a team from good to great and fuel better thinking habits across the org.
We spend so much of our time in meetings, yet few people are trained to be outstanding meeting leaders. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to engineer meetings that are useful, productive, and energizing. You will learn the formula behind good and bad meetings and how to quickly fix meeting problems as they occur, including topics that go off track, sidebars, over- or under-participation, and decisions that are stalled. You will leave feeling confident in your ability to optimize the meetings you are in–both virtual and in person–even when you aren’t in charge.
Change-readiness is now an essential skill for any team. When managers understand the science behind change, they can equip their teams to be more adaptive, resilient, and agile. In this workshop, you will learn everything you need to know. We’ll explore change curves, what happens neurologically when we experience unexpected shifts, track different coping styles and how to respond to each, and practice easy techniques to reduce resistance and increase commitment and action in yourself and others. You’ll practice devising solutions and crafting communication using a change template that will make you a more effective and inspiring leader.
Do you know how to bring out the best in your people? In this workshop, you will learn how to structure the types of conversations your direct reports crave in just a few minutes each week. You’ll walk away with tools to identify the skills that add the most value to your team, and help your direct reports create a skill development plan for themselves even when there are no clear career paths available.
You’ve learned how to help your direct reports think more strategically, contribute well in meetings, handle change, and develop themselves. Now it’s time to refresh your skills and apply them to challenging situations and difficult conversations, so you are prepared for anything that might come your way as a manager. We’ll review what you learned in our previous workshops, assess your strengths and areas for further development, then spend 90% of this workshop practicing. This session is a confidence boost and a personal development boost, taking managers to the next level of mastery by turning core behaviors into habits.
What differentiates your most effective individual contributors? It turns out that just a few key skills tip over into a wide range of roles and contexts – especially in times of uncertainty and rapid change.
The IC CORE Program rapidly equips your employees with these skills, resulting in personal and organizational success. All skills complement the Manager CORE, resulting in company-wide impact.
The IC CORE series is 5 workshops (2 hours each, 30 participants max, taught in-person or virtually).
When things are uncertain many people freeze, make wrong decisions, or feel overwhelmed. In this workshop, you will practice techniques to stay clear-minded and adaptive even when things are quickly changing. Skills include how to diagnose and optimize your default style under stress, how to make good decisions (even when information is confusing or limited), and how to create structure when things feel unstructured – for yourself and others. You will leave feeling more capable and prepared for whatever comes your way.
Research reveals that one of the most valuable (but least known) communication and influence competencies is inquiry skills: how to use the right question at the right moment. In this workshop, you’ll deepen your question skills so that you instinctively word questions in ways that create clarity, resolve problems, and motivate people to take action.
Knowing how to give feedback, ask for feedback, and optimize the feedback you get is an essential life and work skill. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to share what you are thinking in a way that helps other people accept and act on your message. You will also learn how to ask for feedback and handle feedback you don’t agree with. You will leave more confident in your ability to say things well, even when the message is difficult.
This workshop bundles the most effective techniques for working smarter when time and resources are limited. You’ll learn to diagnose your productivity challenges and walk away with tools for improving your time awareness, prioritization, organization, and focus.
No matter what point you are at in your career, strategic self-development is essential. In this workshop, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of your strengths, learn how to expand your network, and identify the easiest, most effective opportunities for growth. You’ll walk away with an action plan and new confidence in your ability to take charge of your career, even if there are no clear career paths available.
Looking to make sweeping change across your org – and thrive in a time of uncertainty? We support the initiatives below through a combination of resources (like templates and checklists), consulting, and live workshops – taught in-person or virtually.
We are all biased, and yet bias doesn’t have to stop us from being deliberately inclusive and leveraging our differences. In this workshop, you will learn the psychology of unconscious bias and its impact at work. Then we’ll practice behaviors of inclusion – small habits that improve 1-1 interactions, gatherings, meetings, feedback, and decisions. You’ll leave with greater confidence and simple tools to be a better advocate for yourself and others.
(2 hours, 30 participants max)
Many of us trust our instincts when hiring, but research shows that instinct-based hiring leads to biased decision-making. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to create objective decision criteria and interview candidates for competency and cultural contribution. You’ll leave with skills for fairly and effectively finding the perfect hires to join your team while creating an inclusive candidate experience.
Companies that harness the power of people’s differences are better able to adapt and innovate. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to spot and optimize org systems that are most prone to bias (from recruiting to performance assessment), avoid the most common pitfalls, and create a culture of belonging.
Knowing how to give feedback that is specific, actionable, and inspiring is the hallmark of a great leader. In this lab, you will learn the science behind great feedback and practice giving effective feedback, even in tough situations, and even when working remotely.
(2 hours, 10 participants for execs and managers; 30 for ICs)
When leading a meeting, giving a presentation, or handling difficult conversations, your body language often matters as much as the words you use. In this workshop, we use hacks from advanced perception research to make small changes in your delivery style, leading to a big improvement in the ability to be persuasive and connect with an audience. We cut through the obvious stuff that everyone knows and move straight to the things that make the biggest difference – in-person and virtually.
Leading remote employees requires a unique skillset to bring out the best in each person’s work and to create a sense of progress, development, and connection. In this two hour workshop, we cover foundational skills of outstanding remote leadership based on our research of what makes great remote managers different. [Optional add on if making a transition: We’ll help you make the transition to remote or distributed work well and answer your toughest remote work questions.]
(2 hours, 10 participants max)
Let’s figure this out together! Here are our free community events and tools:
GUIDES & PLAYBOOKS:
JOIN THE COMMUNITY:
Apply to join POPs United, our People Ops Slack group!
LET’S CATALYZE GROWTH:
Work at a nonprofit with up to 50 employees or a small business with up to 10 employees? Apply to get free training through our Catalyst Program or help us spread the word!
