Why should you attend?
This workshop is intended for anyone wanting to hone the skills and techniques required to be a great advisor. Account Executives, Internal Consultants and Strategic Advisors are required to provide solution-oriented advice on a wide range of complex and highly-charged issues that require a mix of skills: strategy, diplomacy, assertiveness and more. This professional development workshop will provide participants with the insights, techniques, and tools necessary to become a sought after and trusted advisor, able to handle any challenge that may arise and earn the trust of challenging clients.
What will you learn?
This workshop will help those working in an advisory capacity to acquire skills and techniques in the following areas:
- Determine how to build trust and create reputational capital with clients
- Acquire the communications skills necessary to successfully advise diverse clients and client groups
- Establish the trust and reputational capital necessary to successfully influence the decisions of tough clients
- Successfully engage in the process of relationship building
- Secure sustained client buy-in and support
- Learn how to challenge clients with tact and diplomacy
Who should attend?
This workshop will be beneficial to all of those individuals who are required to advise and brief upwards in the public, private and/or voluntary sector.
What will you take away?
- Workbook deck
- Exercises and handouts
Sample Agenda
| Day ONE |
|---|
| Introductions and workshop overview Participants will introduce themselves and share one challenge they face working with clients |
| Role of the advisor and why good advice can be hard to take The roles and responsibilities of the advisory function and the reasons why good advice is sometimes rejected |
| BREAK |
| The road to trust and reputation Proven approaches for building trust, creating reputational capital, and establishing a client-focused relationship |
| The tools of the skillful advisor Techniques for securing client buy-in and appreciation: influence, persuasion, and diplomacy |
| Exercise Working in small groups, |
| Day TWO |
| Navigating organizational politics and negotiation Positive negotiating approaches and strategies to navigate organizational politics |
| Being assertive and managing difficult discussions How to be a more assertive communicator and better prepare for and manage difficult discussions |
| BREAK |
| The road to consensus and the challenge function How to reach consensus and employ the challenge function successfully |
| Exercise Session Working in small groups |
| Recap and Wrap-up The participants will have an opportunity to ask final questions and discuss any remaining concerns |
Meet Your Instructor
Leah Jurkovic, President CEC
Leah has over 25 years of experience working at the intersection of communications, organizational change, and cultural transformation. As a former executive at Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), Leah led both the communications and human… Read full bio
The information provided in this course made me think about briefings in a new context. It caused me to reflect on my own strengths and weaknesses. I was already able to apply the lessons learned in a briefing with my manager at break time.