leaders as communicators facilitator notes · 40 minutes personal impact and influence slides 3-7...

Facilitator Notes

Leaders as Communicators

Enhance your communication style to engage and inspire

2 Facilitator Notes: Leaders as Communicators Workshop – Enhancing my communication style to engage and inspire

Content Facilitator Preparation

Session and Timings Summary

Our Inspiration

Personal Impact and Influence

Communicating a purpose

Engage for success

Applying your learning

Close


Facilitator

Preparation

These notes include information about how to deliver the training,

including key learning points, activities, session timings, questions

and discussion points. Please read all the information in this pack

and complete any preparation or research you personally require

to deliver the training successfully.

Audience: Focus on developing candidates who need to build their

ability to create an inspiring and engaging communication style as

a leader.

Aim: This training sets out the responsibility managers have in

being effective communicators as part of their leadership role. We

will explore how to set the right vision and purpose for their teams

and effectively engage them to deliver results.


Pre-event activity

You will need to ensure that you have sent candidates

the Candidate Notes at least three weeks before the

training and follow up with a couple of reminder

emails.

At least one week prior to the event:

Familiarise yourself with the aims of the training and be aware of

the pre-learning activity asked of candidates.

At least three days prior to the event:

Send out the final reminder email to candidates.

Review the facilitator notes in detail.

Familiarise yourself with handouts (bring enough copies for all

candidates), activities and videos.

Ensure you have a clear understanding of the links between the

training activities and the pre-learning activities.

Have a clear idea of how you will support any candidates who

have not completed the pre-event activity – without disrupting

those who came fully prepared.


Equipment

You will need to provide your own laptop and have printed enough

copies of relevant handouts. You will also need a flipchart, pens,

post-it notes and printed copies of this year’s Civil Service people

survey results.

Please check the video clips work and the sound quality is good.

Participant numbers

Minimum number: 8 Maximum numbers: 16.

Room Layout

Cabaret Style – maximum of 4 x tables of 4 candidates.

Or, where smaller groups are in attendance then horseshoe

chair arrangement

Pre-event activity


Arriving in advance to facilitate:

• Ensure room layout is correct and allows for safe and easy

movement.

• Prepare handouts and other materials for ease of distribution

during the session.

• If you are not automatically briefed, ask about the fire evacuation

procedure, confirm whether a drill is due to be carried out that

day and familiarise yourself with the nearest exits and location of

the meeting point if evacuation is necessary.

After the event:

The candidates will complete a feedback form, please return them

to CSL.

Pre-event activity


Session and

timings summary

Timing Session Number

and Title

Slides and Resources

10 minutes Our inspiration Slide 2

Show video from CSLive link

https://design102.wistia.com/medias/c9j905o

9z2

40 minutes Personal

impact and influence Slides 3-7

10 minute Comfort Break

40 minutes Communicating a

purpose

Slides 8-12

30 minutes Engage for Success Slides 13-17

45 minutes Applying your

learning

Slide 18

5 minutes Close Slide 19

https://design102.wistia.com/medias/c9j905o9z2



Introduction

Facilitator input

Introduce yourself and explain that you will be getting them

to introduce themselves in a while.

Welcome the candidates

Training outline

The aim of today’s training is to focus on the key challenges we all

have as leaders in communicating effectively with our people.

As part of the pre-course work you were asked to undertake

some reading and complete an Emotional Intelligence self-

assessment, which we will be asking you to discuss as part of the

training today. We also asked you to bring a communication or

engagement challenge that you will work through in small groups.

Check whether anyone had any problems with this

If so, reassure them that they will still be able to take part.

Ask if there are any questions.


Objective: By the end of this introduction, candidates will

understand why communication is essential for effective

leadership.

Timing: 10 minutes

Facilitator input

There is plenty of research that shows how investing your time in

communication ultimately saves you time and creates a more

productive, engaged, motivated and results driven team.

Let’s celebrate the work we started last year on the

Leadership Statement.

Last year we embraced the Leadership Statement. It is

something to be proud of. It makes clear who we are and what

we stand for so that everyone feels part of one Civil Service.

Why does the Civil Service need a Leadership Statement? What does it really mean to us?

Empirical evidence, independent reports and best practice from

the private sector show that strong leadership is critical to the

culture of high-performing organisations.

Our inspiration


Show the video from CS Live on peoples’ thoughts about what

makes a great leader


What did you think?

Does anything you heard relate to your personal leadership style?

Answers could include

− The majority of comments were about valuing good

communication from their leader.

− Communication is the most important skill required to engage

others. People really value their leader spending time

keeping them informed and translating priorities into

practical actions.

− It’s important to explain decisions.

− They listen to what I have to say.

Our inspiration



Summarise that good communication requires us to:

− Invest time in the beginning, but delivers you more benefits in the

long term.

− Understand that developing teams through engaging, confident

communication doesn’t get in the way of your everyday work.

On the contrary it is critical to it and will help you achieve your

goals more efficiently and effectively.

− See communications as an essential part of our role to lead

by example to others that you may manage or work

alongside. By doing this you will influence their behaviour

and contribute to the culture of ‘how things are done around

here’.

Our inspiration


Facilitator input

Show the first slide

We have used a number of models in our course that have

been researched and developed by thought leaders of today.

They have been our inspiration and we encourage you to read

at least one of the books shown here.

Kevin Murray the author of ‘The Language of Leaders’ and

‘Communicate to Inspire’ has worked with leaders from across a

wide range or organisations and identified the elements that

help to engage and inspire people.

In today’s training we will touch on a number of these and look at

some of the key challenges you face and how communications

can help.

Our inspiration


Today we will cover:

− Creating a first impression

− Understanding our communication preferences and how this

can affect how well our message is received

− Emotional intelligence – the importance of being self-

aware and interpreting others’ emotions

− Facilitating discussions then engaging others

− Creating a compelling vision and purpose for people

− Looking at your personal communication challenge and

how you can overcome it.

Our inspiration


Personal impact

and influence

Objective:

Candidates will:

• Have considered the importance of creating a good first

impression.

• Understand why effective communication is important and how

their own communication style impacts others.

• Understand how emotional intelligence is important to help

them communicate well.

• Understand why a team needs a shared purpose and how

they communicate and engage others in it.

• Understand how they deliver a verbal message when put on the

spot and how they could do it differently.

Timing: 40 minutes.


Facilitator input

Introduction to the session

So let’s now explore how you can overcome some of the barriers and

difficulties you have shared, through your own impact and

influence.

By the end you will understand why effective communication is

important and how your own communication style impacts on

others.

Creating a good first impression

Let’s start by looking at how we come across when we first meet

someone. You haven’t yet had a chance to find out much about

each other so we are going to get you to introduce yourself without

saying anything about your job or the work of your team.

Exercise – Candidates to pair up with someone they don’t

know (where possible).

Personal impact

and influence


Show and ask candidates to read through slide 3 then hide the slide

(so that they focus on engaging with the other person), and ask

them each to introduce themselves.

Strict 2 minutes each person.

Remind them at the two minute mark to swap round.

Now ask delegates to consider how the other person

delivered their introduction and the impact they made.

Tell candidates… you are now going to give some feedback to

your partner on how they came across. Allow a maximum of 2

minutes each.

Ask candidates in their same pairs to feedback on…

− What was your first impression?

− What did you notice about what they said, their tone, their

body language?

− How did you feel about them when they had finished

their introduction?

Bring the group back together.

Personal impact

and influence


Facilitator asks

What helped create a positive first impression?

Expect to get back:

− How enthusiastic, positive and engaging they were

− Clear and succinct messages

− Their body language? (friendly, open, good eye contact)

Conclusion of the exercise…

You and your colleagues are more than your work. You are

valued as people and good leaders tell stories to bring

information to life.

Personal impact

and influence


Facilitator input

We all know people who are in full control of their emotions – they

can be calm in crisis, and they can make decisions sensitively

however stressful the situation. We have all seen how someone

who expresses their emotions immediately without considering the

audience can have a detrimental effect on the relationship.

People like this have high emotional intelligence. They have

strong relationships, and they manage difficult situations calmly

and effectively. They are also resilient in the face of adversity.

As a leader you have a responsibility to deliver key messages to

individuals and teams using the most appropriate and effective

methods. However just as important is understanding the role

that our emotions have in communication.

When people are upset about the message you are giving they find

it hard to listen, equally when you are nervous you may not put

across what you want to say as clearly as you could.

While we have a natural level of ability, we are all able to develop

our skills further.

Psychologist Daniel Goleman identified five elements that make up

emotional intelligence. Two dimensions in particular are important

for us as leaders.

Personal impact

and influence


− Understanding and managing your own emotions

− Understanding others’ emotions

Explain

Self-awareness – The ability to recognise and understand our own

moods, emotions and drives, as well as their effect on others.

Self-regulation – The ability to control or redirect disruptive

impulses and moods, and the propensity to suspend judgment and

to think before acting.

Motivation – Specifically internal motivation which is a passion to

work for internal reasons that go beyond money and status

(external rewards). This could include a clear vision of what is

important, a joy in doing something and a curiosity in learning.

You may have heard people talk about when they are in a ‘flow’

that comes with being immersed in an activity.

Empathy – The ability to understand the emotional makeup of

other people. A skill in understanding and adapting how we

behave to treat people differently according to their emotional

reactions. It is important to note that empathy does not

necessarily imply compassion.

Personal impact

and influence


Social Skills – Proficiency in managing relationships and

building networks, and an ability to find common ground and

build rapport.

Facilitator input

Let’s explore your answers to the Emotional Intelligence

questionnaire you completed before you came here today.

Exercise

In pairs ask them to review their results and discuss.

• What were your strengths?

• What areas do you need to develop?

Now ask candidates to go back to their seats and individually make

commitments on how they are going to change these patterns in

their Candidate Notes, page 10.

Personal impact

and influence


Facilitator input

Communicating is not just about the words you use but also

about your body language. This non-verbal language will affect

how we act and react to others and how they react to us. This

includes movements and gestures (hands, head, legs...) and

also posture, eye contact, even peoples’ breathing rate.

A growing body of research (Amy Cudd, Harvard Business

School) suggests the way to influence—and to lead—is to begin

with warmth. Warmth is the conduit of influence: It facilitates

trust and the communication and absorption of ideas. Even a

few small nonverbal signals—a nod, a smile, an open gesture—

can show people that you’re pleased to be in their company and

attentive to their concerns. Prioritizing warmth helps you connect

immediately with those around you, demonstrating that you hear

them, understand them, and can be trusted by them.

Listening is also an important part of communication. Research

shows that we only remember 25-50% of what we hear so that’s

something we need to improve. If we only remember half a

conversation, we’re likely to miss out on some really important

points. By listening better, you’ll be able to improve productivity, and

your ability to influence, persuade and negotiate. The way to do this

is to practise active listening.

Personal impact

and influence


Ask …

• In your introductions, how did the other person show they were listening to you?

You should get back that they noticed good eye contact or

they were nodding.

• How do you feel when someone isn’t listening (carefully enough)

to you?

You will probably get comments such as annoyed, upset

or frustrated.

Facilitator input

Conclusion of the exercise…

Communication starts the minute you meet someone and

before you have even started to speak. We have started to see

how, even when we think we have a one way communication

such as a presentation, it is really still a two way process.

Any questions?


We are now going to look at our communication style and how that

can help or hinder our ability to influence.

Part of your role as a manager is effective communication with

your team and colleagues as it is essential in developing

relations with people and working collaboratively.

Every interaction you have with them contributes to your

success with both.

We all have our personal communication styles and preferences,

and we need to understand how these are helping or hindering us.

Facilitator input

In your Candidate Notes you will have seen a list of

communications approaches frequently used in the

workplace.

What do you think are the most common forms of communication?

[Write up on flip chart the most common communication

approaches]

Personal impact and influence


− Phone calls 1-2-1

− Email

− Social media

− Face to face discussions with individuals

− Team Meetings to give the message just once to everyone

− Teleconference

− Etc ….

Ask the group which of these they identified was the most

used. In most organisations the email will be at the top.

Now write your name on a post it and place this on the flipchart

which shows your top preference (not necessarily the most used).

Facilitator input

Summarise back the results (e.g. the majority style for this group

is) and compare to the most used.

Ask

• Why might these not match?



Ask them to pair up (ideally) with someone with a different style

and discuss...

Ask

How they think their preferred approach helps them?

When they think this gets in the way?

Allow 3 minutes to discuss and then bring the group back together.

Refer to the Candidate Notes, page 11-13, on ‘Ways to

communicate with your team’ for examples.

Facilitator input

We are now going to look at when these could be useful.

Exercise

Split people into 4 groups.

Allocate each group to look at one of the two scenarios.

Give them 5 minutes to discuss and ask that one of them

presents back to the group.

Facilitators Asks

Each group to give their recommendations and

why. You should get back this type of answer:



1 As this is a cascade of meeting minutes (in essence), an email would be

appropriate with a ‘For Your Information…’ introduction. This will depend on

how you think the message will be received.

2 Given the gravity and potentially sensitive nature of the content of this

communication, then a face to face team meeting would be appropriate, with

an offer of individual one to ones as a follow up to speak about individual

concerns/worries.

3 Private face to face meeting (wherever possible). If geography is an issue,

and the person agrees to it, then a telephone call (offering the person the

opportunity in advance to find a private place to have it).

4 This could be a multi pronged approach… using email to introduce the

concept; a face to face meeting(s) to explain, describe it, and paper handouts

supplying data/evidence; or researched video clips (You Tube, Ted talks).

Ask the group to reflect, then in their groups discuss:

• A time when they could have communicated something better.

• A time when a better channel of communication could have been used.

Now ask them to share any examples of what they have just

discussed.



Facilitator to summarise

We have seen there are a wide range of different types of

communication available and they have a different impact

depending on the circumstances. We have also seen that we can

sometimes default to our preferred approach or what is easiest.

For example, people will often choose email as a fast way to

communicate and it enables them to evidence what they have

done. However it can be very impersonal, cold and hard to see how

our message is received.



Facilitator input

Now that we understand more about appropriate communication

channels and styles, we’re going to look at how we can link these

to employee engagement. Together we will explore how having a

shared team purpose and effective communication can increase

employee engagement.

A company called Mind Gym have produced a report on the

factors which create the best environment for high performance.

They compared the views of doctors and orderlies on whether they

saw their work as a job, career or calling. It turned out that an equal

number in each group saw their work as either a job, a career or a

calling.



If people see their work as a calling they get more job

satisfaction and feel they have a better work life balance. Play

the video.

So we can see that not everyone will be persuaded by the grand

visions of the organisation. For some people achievement of the

task is most important. This means they like to understand the

contribution they make and feel that it is valued. For others,

understanding the contribution they make to the teams’

achievements is important and for others it is the end outcome.

Not everyone is motivated by the same thing. It’s important to

consider an individual’s purpose when communicating messages

to ensure it resonates for them. The stronger our sense of

purpose, the more we enjoy what we do and the more effort we

are likely to put into it.



Three common types of purpose:

1. Task: feeling that work isn’t futile can have

a significant impact on our performance. Feeling that

we’re making progress can further multiply that effect

2. Collective: strong bond with team and shared purpose

and commitment to work hard. Top performing

organisations are 20 times more likely to have every

manager’s goals aligned to company strategy.

3. Social: Those who are more inclined to see their work as

a ‘calling’ are significantly more likely to be satisfied with

job, work life balance and be more productive at work.



Exercise

Ask people to get into pairs. Ideally working with people from a

different area of the business and not the same as the first

exercise.

• Tell them they are going to present a pitch to each other on

the vision they have for their team (can be a personal vision

for their role if they don’t have a team).

• Give three minutes for them to think and prepare the pitch.

• The vision should be engaging, inspirational, future focused,

appealing to the audience’s heart, making use of metaphors

and be memorable. Take into account what you feel will most

appeal to your team.

• Now ask each candidate to present their vision to each other

(3 minutes each) with NO discussion once they have finished.



Facilitator input

Next ask each of them to give honest feedback.

(2 minutes each)

− My understanding of your team vision is…

− I noticed that your vision linked to the business

objectives…

− One thing to improve your communication would be…

− You know your team is engaged because…

− Your tone of voice and body language was…



Now ask the candidates to each chose a specific individual

from their team and repeat their vision, taking into account the

feedback they have received.

Finally ask each pair to quickly feedback to each other on how

it was different the second time around.

Facilitator asks

What were the key features of your pitches which made the vision memorable. What was the difference between the two pitches and why were they different?

Communicating

a purpose


Objective: Candidates will have an awareness of four

broad drivers that are cited as being critical to employee

engagement across different organisations.

Timing: 40 minutes

Facilitator input

An introduction to Engage for Success

In your pre-work you looked at the research of MacLeod who

reveals how engaged organisations are more productive, their

employees are more creative, and they have lower levels of

absenteeism and turnover.

Ask

What they found particularly useful or interesting from this report

(extract in the pre-work)?

Engage for

Success


Most successful and engaged organisations have a powerful

employee voice and it is the people within them that make an

organisation a success. If people feel part of the major decisions

of the organisation and are contributing to its success then there

is more likelihood that they will work hard at making it work.

One approach that supports this is the ‘Engage for Success’

movement which is committed to the idea that there is a better

way to work, a better way to enable personal growth,

organisational growth and ultimately growth for Britain by

releasing more of the capability and potential of people at work.

They share evidence, case studies and points of view, about how

employee engagement drives performance and productivity, and

demonstrates how communication is not just about ‘sending stuff

out’ and telling people your vision or cascading news but very

much a two-way listening process.

The movement is widely supported across the UK, involving the

public, private and third sectors in the belief they can learn a lot

from each other. Organisations supporting the movement account

for more than 2 million people and increasing as employers

recognise the link between engagement and delivering results.

Engage for Success


Any questions?

Current People Survey results show how people in the Civil

Service are not as engaged as we should be for an effective

organisation to thrive.

Facilitator note

Either use the Civil Service People Survey results or your

department results as background for this briefing exercise.

Exercise

Split the group into teams of 5

• Facilitator to randomly select one person from each group to be

the ‘team leader’ (perhaps those that haven’t spoken very

much so far?), and explain that they are now going to each

give a ‘team briefing’ to the other people.

• Play the video scenario to illustrate many of the bear traps

available as a team leader when briefing a team. Watch the

video and analyse the mistakes made, then use your learning

to shape this exercise.

• Give the team leader the People Survey results and explain they

are going to give the others in the group a briefing. They have to

imagine they are briefing their team at work and to think about

how they will deliver the briefing and engage the others in the

discussion.

Engage for

Success


Team Brief Exercise

Handout 1 – People Survey results

The People Survey results have just been released. You have a

copy of them to share with your team. The senior management

team has asked that you share the results with your team and

consider what actions should be taken.

This is the first team meeting since the results were published on

the website

Your aim is to get the team’s views of these results and what

action could be taken.

You may like to explore what motivates people and what

inspires them to do their best.

Engage for Success


Facilitator input

Bring the group back and ask for some feedback…

How did the leader think their briefing went?

The group members?

Were they sharing information or simply delivering information

in their approach?

How did he/she ensure the ‘team’ felt included and

consulted?

Ensure that they reflect how well they felt listened to and what

helped them feel their contributions were valued.

Any other observations or comments?

Now ask candidates to go back to their seats and individually

make commitments on how they could enhance their approach to

team briefings, in their Candidate Notes, page 14.

Engage for Success


In building trust and developing good two way communication it

is important that people feel they are listened to.

The ability to listen attentively and without judgement or giving

advice is one of the most difficult and prized skills for leaders to

master.

Explain to the group that listening to employees is critical to

forming strong bonds and developing an open and friendly

environment conducive to creativity, productivity and high quality.

However, negative listening habits can hinder a leader’s ability to

build these high trust bonds. Six negative listening habits are

often at the root of the inability to listen.

Facilitator input

Spend time describing the six negative listening patterns:

1. The Faker: all the outward signs are there: nodding, make eye

contact and giving the occasional uh huh. However, the faker isn’t

concentrating on the speaker. His mind is elsewhere.

2. The Interrupter: they don’t allow the speaker to finish and don’t

ask clarifying questions or seek more information from the

speaker. They are too anxious to say what they want to say and

are have little interest in the speaker.

Engage for Success


3. The Intellectual or Logical Listener: they always try to

interpret what the speaker is saying and why. They are judging

the speaker’s words and trying to fit them into their logic box.

They rarely ask about the underlying feeling or emotion

attached to a message.

4. The Dominating Speaker: this person uses the speaker’s words

only as a way to get to his message. When the speaker says

something, the dominating speaker steals the focus and then

changes it to their own point of view or story. E.g.: Oh that’s

nothing, here’s what happened to me...’

5. The Rebuttal Maker: this listener only listens long enough to form

a rebuttal. Their point is to use the speaker’s words against them.

At their worst, they are argumentative and want to prove you

wrong. At their least, the person always wants to make the

speaker see the other point of view.

6. The Advice Giver: giving advice can be helpful, however, this

behaviour can sometimes interfere with good listening because it

doesn’t allow the speaker to fully articulate their feelings or

thoughts and doesn’t help the speaker solve their own problems

or vent and could prevent them from sharing more with you.

A copy of this is in the Candidate Notes.

Ask candidates to spend one minute reflecting on whether they have any of these negative habits, noting in their Candidate Notes what they may do differently.

Engage for Success


Objective: Candidates will share their communication or

engagement challenge and work together to explore solutions.

Timing: 45 minutes

Facilitator input

You now have some time to work with colleagues on your specific

challenge.

Exercise

• Put candidates into groups of three. This group is going to

support each other after today to help put their learning into

practice.

• Ask them to share the communication challenge with their

group (2 minutes each).

• Ask questions to clarify what the situation is and what the

individual has already tried.

• Using some of what has already been discussed today,

suggest to each other ways to overcome the

challenge…what are the obstacles and how can they be

overcome?

Applying your

learning to

organisational

change


• The individual should then consider which options they think

could help them and then commit to how they are going to

address the challenge back in the workplace.

Each person will take 10 minutes in total to go through their

challenge (30 minutes).

Facilitator asks

For volunteers to share their challenge and the peer

supported solution to address it.

Ask them to spend 2 minutes writing down the actions they will take

back in the workplace, what support they will need and how they

will know they have been successful. Candidate Notes, page 19.

Applying your

learning to

organisational

change


Close Thank candidates for their participation

Ask candidates if they enjoyed the day.

Timing: 5 minutes

Facilitator Input

For those of you who want to further your knowledge in this

area, there are a few books listed in your Candidate Notes,

page 21.

Facilitator note

Ask candidates to fill in the evaluation form.

leaders as communicators facilitator notes · 40 minutes personal impact and influence slides 3-7...

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