Workshops for professionals
$7k + GST for the first workshop
$5k + GST for each subsequent delivery of the same workshop
Plus travel costs (if necessary)
Topics
Workshops for leaders
$10k + GST for the first workshop
$7k + GST for each subsequent delivery of the same workshop
Plus travel costs (if necessary)
Topics
What you get with each workshop
Facilitator: Simon Russell
Duration: 1/2 day per workshop
Participants: Up to 20 per workshop
Location: Workshops can be conducated in-house, either face-to-face or digitally. They can be delivered around a boardroom table or as part of an offsite.
Pre-work: Each workshop participant will be invited to undertake some pre-work, typically completing a short survey or identifying a piece of work that they would be comfortable to discuss at the workshop and that they would like to improve. Examples might include a piece of written communication, a difficult face-to-face conversation that they are planning, a negotiation they are undertaking, or a system/process that they are designing or reviewing.
Format: Each workshop comprises a mix of psychological research, as well as examples and fun exercises to help draw out the concepts. Participants will also be provided the opportunity to apply the concepts to something relevant for them and to discuss their approach and to get feedback from the facilitator and from their colleagues.
Take-aways: Participants will receive a copy of the learning materials, including survey results (where appropriate). At the workshop they will also be invited to write a list of actions that they will undertake in order to implement the concepts discussed.
Professionals Topic 1:
KNOW WHEN TO TRUST YOUR JUDGMENT AND TO TAKE ACTION
How do you know when it’s time to stop investigating and discussing, and when it’s time to make a decision and to take action?
Overview
Knowing when to decide and to take action is important because asking for more information might unnecessarily slow your progress while providing little further insight. A lack of confidence to move forward can result in inaction, indecision and missed opportunities.
However, while having the confidence to trust your judgment might be more expedient, it could appear reckless, irresponsible and unprofessional if a poor outcome results.
How can you balance these competing demands?
While these challenges are relevant for most people, they tend to become increasingly difficult in more senior roles (where decisions tend to be beset with greater uncertainty and complexity, and for which reliable data for comparable situations is often not available).
However, while having the confidence to trust your judgment might be more expedient, it could appear reckless, irresponsible and unprofessional if a poor outcome results.
How can you balance these competing demands?
While these challenges are relevant for most people, they tend to become increasingly difficult in more senior roles (where decisions tend to be beset with greater uncertainty and complexity, and for which reliable data for comparable situations is often not available).
The psychology
Our natural tendency when dealing with uncertainty is to feel that having more information is better than having less. However, decision-making research challenges this; basing a decision on just a handful of the most important considerations is often best.
Therefore, despite not having all the information you might want, in some circumstances trusting your judgment enough to take action can be preferred (especially where those actions create further learning opportunities).
However, psychological research also warns that professional judgments made on the basis of our accumulated experiences can sometimes be prone to false confidence and to various other decision-making biases and blindspots. Therefore, the actions we take need to be measured in a way to reflect this inherent risk and uncertainty.
Therefore, despite not having all the information you might want, in some circumstances trusting your judgment enough to take action can be preferred (especially where those actions create further learning opportunities).
However, psychological research also warns that professional judgments made on the basis of our accumulated experiences can sometimes be prone to false confidence and to various other decision-making biases and blindspots. Therefore, the actions we take need to be measured in a way to reflect this inherent risk and uncertainty.
At the session you will ...
Learn psychological principles that you can use to determine when …
- More information is likely to be most useful, but when and how it can hinder making appropriate decisions and taking actions.
- Your professional judgment is likely to be most reliable, when you’re most justified to feel confident, and how you can make sure you’re not blindsided by something important.
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to an important decision or action you are currently contemplating to determine what additional information you should seek before making a decision, or whether and how you can act on the basis of currently available information.
Review survey results to compare your attitudes and confidence in your professional judgment and your willingness to take action with that of your peers.
Review survey results to compare your attitudes and confidence in your professional judgment and your willingness to take action with that of your peers.
Professionals Topic 2:
CRITICAL DECISION-MAKING SKILLS FOR BIG DECISIONS
Before making a big decision, have you checked your decision-making blindspots?
Overview
Risk and uncertainty are pervasive in many important corporate and financial decisions, such as when assessing the business case for a new project, or when launching a new product, or when choosing a long-term growth strategy.
Given the future is inherently unpredictable, the forecasts and expectations on which these decisions are based will be incorrect; ‘mistakes’ will be inevitable.
However, some types of mistakes are predictable and potentially avoidable; these are the types of mistakes that result from systematic decision-making biases and blindspots.
These mistakes can result in wasting time and money on projects and strategies that have a low probability of success, while missing out on successful ones. There are potentially negative implications both for organisations and for the careers of the people employed by them.
Given the future is inherently unpredictable, the forecasts and expectations on which these decisions are based will be incorrect; ‘mistakes’ will be inevitable.
However, some types of mistakes are predictable and potentially avoidable; these are the types of mistakes that result from systematic decision-making biases and blindspots.
These mistakes can result in wasting time and money on projects and strategies that have a low probability of success, while missing out on successful ones. There are potentially negative implications both for organisations and for the careers of the people employed by them.
The psychology
Psychological research demonstrates that in the context of risk and uncertainty even intelligent, experienced professionals can be prone to a number of important decision-making biases. These ‘biases’ can often impact decisions beyond their conscious awareness.
The biases can include …
The biases can include …
- ‘Overfitting’ a causal narrative to both the past and the future (and not sufficiently accounting for the role of unpredictable events).
- Being over-reliant on the ‘inside view’ (rather than adequately reflecting the lessons from a broader set of similar situations).
- Failing to sufficient account for ‘mean reversion’ when establishing expectations and forecasts for the future.
- Not sufficiently considering alternative ways to ‘frame’ problems (in order to surface relevant risks and issues).
At the session you will ...
Learn the key decision-making biases that can impact experienced professionals when making important decisions, including how and when they are likely to occur.
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to a specific decision that you are currently involved with in order to …
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to a specific decision that you are currently involved with in order to …
- Develop questions that you can ask yourself and your colleagues to help address any decision-making biases and blindspots.
- Identify relevant strategies to account for the impact of risk and uncertainty on your decision.
Review survey results to compare your attitudes and approach to dealing with risk and uncertainty to that of your peers.
Professionals Topic 3:
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WRITTEN CLIENT & EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION
What proportion of the words you write in emails, in reports or in memos remain un-read and un-actioned?
Overview
If you find that you are not thoroughly reading everything that arrives in your email in-box each day, then chances are that your colleagues, customers and business partners aren’t reading everything you send them either.
Given that people’s time and attention are scarce, how can you increase the effectiveness of your written communications, including your emails, reports, Powerpoint slides, memos, tables and charts?
How can you increase the chance that your written communications are read, understood and actioned?
And how can you do it in a way that reduces the sense of information overload suffered by the recipients of your communications?
Given that people’s time and attention are scarce, how can you increase the effectiveness of your written communications, including your emails, reports, Powerpoint slides, memos, tables and charts?
How can you increase the chance that your written communications are read, understood and actioned?
And how can you do it in a way that reduces the sense of information overload suffered by the recipients of your communications?
The psychology
Psychological research provides a guide to understand what people are most likely to pay attention to, what they are most likely to process and recall, and how that translates into their decisions and actions.
For example, people are more likely to pay attention to information that …
For example, people are more likely to pay attention to information that …
- Is ‘layered’, ‘chunked’ and ordered in meaningful ways.
- Demonstrates how it is personally relevant to them.
- Aligns with their existing beliefs and expectations, and also aligns with a range of simple decision-making shortcuts or rules-of-thumb.
- Creates a coherent causal narrative, is tangible and visual, and is easy to process and compare.
This research highlights the importance of how messages are framed, including the headings you choose for a Powerpoint slide, the scale you use for a graph, and the order in which you present different options in a board paper.
At the session you will ...
Learn the psychological principles that can impact how people read and respond to different forms of written communications that are relevant in a professional context.
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to improve an important piece of communication you are currently working on.
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to improve an important piece of communication you are currently working on.
Professionals Topic 4:
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF VERBAL COMMUNICATION & ENGAGEMENT
Have you had a conversation where you thought you were very clear, but in which the other party came away thinking something different?
Overview
Theoretically, the interactive nature of verbal communications should make it easy for each party to clearly communicate their perspective and to seek clarification where necessary. And yet misunderstandings and miscommunications are common.
These misunderstandings can result in wasted time and resources, and potentially in frustration and anger. It is easy to blame the other party’s stupidity or malicious intent for a misunderstanding, while they simultaneously blame yours!
Unfortunately, speaking slowly and clearly, and paying attention to body language is not sufficient to overcome these problems. A more sophisticated approach is required, one that accounts for the underlying reasons that miscommunications arise.
These misunderstandings can result in wasted time and resources, and potentially in frustration and anger. It is easy to blame the other party’s stupidity or malicious intent for a misunderstanding, while they simultaneously blame yours!
Unfortunately, speaking slowly and clearly, and paying attention to body language is not sufficient to overcome these problems. A more sophisticated approach is required, one that accounts for the underlying reasons that miscommunications arise.
The psychology
Research demonstrates that a number of psychological issues can beset verbal communications. These include …
- ‘Attribution errors’: common biases in the way we attribute reasons and intentions to other people’s words and actions.
- ‘The illusion of transparency’: the tendency for both the speaker and listener to wrongly believe that the intent of a comment was transparent.
- ‘Egocentric bias’ and ‘the curse of knowledge’: our tendency to under-estimate how difficult it is to empathise with other people who do not share our perspective, our knowledge, our preferences and our information.
Improving verbal communications requires these psychological issues to be brought to conscious awareness and to be addressed.
At the session you will ...
Learn the psychological principles that can impact verbal communications, the circumstances in which they are most likely to be problematic, and strategies to help overcome these challenges.
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to an important conversation that you expect to have to identify the relevant psychological issues and how they could be addressed.
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to an important conversation that you expect to have to identify the relevant psychological issues and how they could be addressed.
Professionals Topic 5:
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INFLUENCE & NEGOTIATIONS
The last time you negotiated with someone, how confident were you that you achieved the best possible outcome?
Overview
Many roles require constant negotiation: with internal stakeholders, with team members, with customers, with suppliers and with business partners.
In each case it is easy to worry that you might not have got the best possible deal, and to wonder whether you should have handled the negotiation differently.
A poorly conducted negotiation could result in a range of poor outcomes, including no agreement being reached when a mutually beneficial arrangement was possible.
Or if one party feels they have been treated inequitably, it could result in them bearing a grudge that ultimately undermines the relationship between the parties going forward.
In each case it is easy to worry that you might not have got the best possible deal, and to wonder whether you should have handled the negotiation differently.
A poorly conducted negotiation could result in a range of poor outcomes, including no agreement being reached when a mutually beneficial arrangement was possible.
Or if one party feels they have been treated inequitably, it could result in them bearing a grudge that ultimately undermines the relationship between the parties going forward.
The psychology
Researchers have tested and confirmed the impact of different psychological strategies on the negotiated outcomes reached in controlled experiments.
Among other things, negotiators who understand these strategies can use …
Among other things, negotiators who understand these strategies can use …
- ‘Perspective-taking’ techniques, in order to help overcome road-blocks and to uncover creative, win-win outcomes.
- Various psychological strategies to build trust, rapport and commitment between the parties.
- ‘Anchors’ and framing strategies in the way they present their proposals.
They can also use this knowledge to know how best to respond to the techniques used by their negotiating partners.
At the session you will ...
Learn the key psychological principles that can apply to negotiations, and how and why they can impact negotiated outcomes.
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to a relevant negotiation that you are currently working on or have recently worked on to identify the relevant strategies that could be applied.
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to a relevant negotiation that you are currently working on or have recently worked on to identify the relevant strategies that could be applied.
Professionals Topic 6:
THE HUMAN SIDE OF SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES
Do your people rely on your systems, and your systems rely on your people?
Overview
While automated systems and processes can deliver a raft of benefits, they can also create additional risks. System- and data-errors can lead to customer complaints, to legal/regulatory beaches, to financial losses, as well as to rework and remediation.
With complex systems it is difficult to completely remove the risk of error. Some human supervision and intervention is likely to be required.
However, for a range of reasons, that human supervision is often suboptimal. System and data errors can be overlooked, for example, or overconfident users can second-guess system rules with their own (often less consistent and reliable) decisions and actions.
Effectively combining systems with people requires being sensitive to the psychological and decision-making issues that are relevant when people interact with systems and processes.
With complex systems it is difficult to completely remove the risk of error. Some human supervision and intervention is likely to be required.
However, for a range of reasons, that human supervision is often suboptimal. System and data errors can be overlooked, for example, or overconfident users can second-guess system rules with their own (often less consistent and reliable) decisions and actions.
Effectively combining systems with people requires being sensitive to the psychological and decision-making issues that are relevant when people interact with systems and processes.
The psychology
There are a number of psychological concepts that are relevant when thinking about how best to combine systems and processes with human judgment and skill. These include …
- How to maintain users’ focus, vigilance and accountability when using systems and processes, and to avoid complacency.
- How to design systems and processes to provide users with the information and feedback necessary to best help them to identify potential problems, errors and misalignments, before they become critical.
- How to help users to understand when to override systems and processes with their own expert judgments, and when their intuition and judgment is likely to create additional risks.
At the session you will ...
Learn the key psychological principles that can apply when people interact with automated systems and processes, including the key questions to ask when designing human/system interfaces, procedures, reports and functions.
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to a system or process that is relevant for you and your team to identify the key issues in the way people interact with the system and how they can be addressed.
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to a system or process that is relevant for you and your team to identify the key issues in the way people interact with the system and how they can be addressed.
Leaders Topic 1:
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR TEAM'S SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
Do you know whether you are getting the most out of your team?
Overview
For leaders, fully utilising a team’s expertise can be challenging. In collaborative team environments, important input from less senior team members, and from less confident and articulate communicators risks being overlooked. This is despite the fact that these people might have relevant skills or experience, such as from speaking directly to customers.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to judge whose input is valuable and whose opinions should be relied on, on which topics and in which circumstances.
When important information and a team member’s genuine expertise is overlooked, the result for organisations can be increased risk, as well as reduced innovation and creativity.
It can also result in individual team members feeling dissatisfied that their skills and expertise are being under-utilised.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to judge whose input is valuable and whose opinions should be relied on, on which topics and in which circumstances.
When important information and a team member’s genuine expertise is overlooked, the result for organisations can be increased risk, as well as reduced innovation and creativity.
It can also result in individual team members feeling dissatisfied that their skills and expertise are being under-utilised.
The psychology
Because judging someone’s expertise is often difficult, we tend to use rough ‘proxies’ to guide us as to how much we should rely on their opinions. Those ‘proxies’ could include someone’s ability to confidently present a compelling argument, their years of experience, and their job title. We can use these types of proxies despite not necessarily being consciously aware that is what we’re doing.
Research demonstrates that while there is often a grain of truth to each of these proxies, they are not be as reliable as we typically expect. That research suggests that we need to challenge our implicit assumptions in order to access a broader pool of latent expertise within our teams and organisations.
But not everyone’s opinion is equally valid. The psychological research can provide a guide to help identify who has genuine expertise and on which particular topics.
Research demonstrates that while there is often a grain of truth to each of these proxies, they are not be as reliable as we typically expect. That research suggests that we need to challenge our implicit assumptions in order to access a broader pool of latent expertise within our teams and organisations.
But not everyone’s opinion is equally valid. The psychological research can provide a guide to help identify who has genuine expertise and on which particular topics.
At the session you will ...
Learn psychological principles that you can use to help judge someone’s skills and expertise.
Working with a partner, apply that understanding to identify situations in which you are likely to under-utilise a team member’s skills and expertise.
Working with a partner, apply that understanding to identify situations in which you are likely to under-utilise a team member’s skills and expertise.
- Which team members?
- For which topics?
- In which circumstances?
Review survey results to assess how well you …
- Understand your current team’s expertise (versus your team’s own self-assessments of their expertise).
- Incorporate your team’s expertise into your decisions (versus how well they believe you do).
Develop action steps/strategies to utilise more of your team’s expertise where appropriate.
Leaders Topic 2:
HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GENUINE AGREEMENT AT TEAM MEETINGS
When your team appears to reach an agreement or consensus, how sure are you that their agreement is genuine?
Overview
When nobody raises an objection at a team meeting, it can appear that everyone has agreed. However, while not openly objecting, some team members might secretly have withheld their real views. Or they might have withheld important information that they know conflicts with the consensus.
These team members are likely to now hold reservations about their team’s decision.
In these circumstances a team leader might proceed on the basis of the team’s apparent agreement, only to find that some team members aren’t committed to the decision, or (worse) that they actively undermine its implementation.
Uncovering and addressing team members’ undisclosed views and information can therefore enhance team decisions, as well as lead to greater buy-in and commitment to implement those decisions.
These team members are likely to now hold reservations about their team’s decision.
In these circumstances a team leader might proceed on the basis of the team’s apparent agreement, only to find that some team members aren’t committed to the decision, or (worse) that they actively undermine its implementation.
Uncovering and addressing team members’ undisclosed views and information can therefore enhance team decisions, as well as lead to greater buy-in and commitment to implement those decisions.
The psychology
Research into team dynamics reveals a number of reasons why team members can appear to agree despite some of them holding conflicting views and information.
Those reasons include the fact that when collaborating in a team people ...
- Tend to share information that other team members know and agree with more readily than information that only they know.
- Can be influenced by social dynamics and ‘information cascades’, which lead them to disregard or underestimate the importance of their own views, or to be fearful of expressing those views.
- Can sometimes share their conclusions without providing sufficient detail about the reasoning and information on which those conclusions were based.
At the session you will ...
Learn psychological principles that you can use to better understand and influence the dynamics of your team meetings.
Review survey results to assess the extent to which you ...
- Believe your team members agree with the decisions made at your team meetings (versus your team members’ own self-reported levels of agreement with those decisions)
- Effectively incorporate information and views held by team members during team meetings (versus how well they believe you incorporate their information and views).
Working with a partner, identify potential strategies that align with the psychological research that can foster the sharing of undisclosed information and views at team meetings, including those related to meeting processes, to team culture, and to team-member mindsets and skillsets.
Leaders Topic 3:
CREATE AND LEVERAGE COGNITIVE DIVERSITY WITHIN YOUR TEAM
When you think of diversity do you think of race and gender, or do you think of diverse perspectives and ‘heuristics’?
Overview
In addition to promoting social equity, diverse teams can perform better than more homogenous teams.
However, where the diversity is only superficial or remains hidden, the benefits of diversity might be limited. Or worse, where the diversity leads to misunderstandings and mistrust, diverse teams can fail.
To capture the benefits of diversity leaders need to be able to think past simple identity-based stereotypes, platitudes and assumptions to get to the heart of what makes diverse teams work or fail.
They need to apply this thinking to the way they build diverse teams, and in how they set the conditions for their teams’ diverse skills to be contributed and combined in meaningful ways.
However, where the diversity is only superficial or remains hidden, the benefits of diversity might be limited. Or worse, where the diversity leads to misunderstandings and mistrust, diverse teams can fail.
To capture the benefits of diversity leaders need to be able to think past simple identity-based stereotypes, platitudes and assumptions to get to the heart of what makes diverse teams work or fail.
They need to apply this thinking to the way they build diverse teams, and in how they set the conditions for their teams’ diverse skills to be contributed and combined in meaningful ways.
The psychology
Psychological research has tested the strengths and weaknesses of diverse teams in different contexts. It has also identified the different types of diversity that matter, and how they can add to (or sometimes detract from) team efficacy.
For example, ‘cognitively diverse’ teams can benefit from a diversity of ‘perspectives’ (or lens on the world) and from a diversity of ‘heuristics’ (or ways of thinking and doing things). But to be beneficial those perspectives and heuristics need to be relevant and useful; it is not sufficient to merely be different.
In contrast, other forms of diversity can potentially be problematic. For example, if team members have a diverse set of preferences about how they would like to communicate or for how they would like to make a decision, each could create a barrier to effective team collaborations.
For example, ‘cognitively diverse’ teams can benefit from a diversity of ‘perspectives’ (or lens on the world) and from a diversity of ‘heuristics’ (or ways of thinking and doing things). But to be beneficial those perspectives and heuristics need to be relevant and useful; it is not sufficient to merely be different.
In contrast, other forms of diversity can potentially be problematic. For example, if team members have a diverse set of preferences about how they would like to communicate or for how they would like to make a decision, each could create a barrier to effective team collaborations.
At the session you will ...
Learn the psychological factors that can either …
- Make diverse teams effective, or
- Create barriers to diverse teams working well together.
Working with a partner, apply this understanding to an issue your team currently needs to address to …
- Identify the ‘perspectives’ and ‘heuristics’ that are relevant to the issue.
- Assess how team members’ backgrounds (including their experience, gender, information etc) can contribute to resolving the issue.
- Identify the diverse styles and preferences within the team that can create barriers to resolving the issue, and identify ways that those barriers can be addressed.