Five Stars of Customer Service Leadership

Bob Seidler, General Manager at the nationally renowned Woodlands Inn, of Summerville, SC, has identified five basic tenets to achieving customer service leadership: 

• Provide Unconditional Caring and Conditional Respect
• Develop Othersand Educate Yourself
• Give Freedom and Hold Responsible
• Anticipate Customer Needs and Respond to Customer Feedback
• Equip People and Manage Costs

In addition to illuminating these philosophies of service leadership, Seidler explores them through the lens of Polarity Management®.  This demonstrates the range of strategies within each approach, illustrating the strengths, and downsides, of applying these principles to real-world customer service leadership situations.

 

WORKPLACE RELATIONSHIPS AND PERFORMANCE

BRIDGES to Success
BRIDGES to Success is a highly experiential workshop designed to help participants understand and develop the power of their own personal credibility in the workplace. The BRIDGES Principles provide the framework for systematic and lasting interpersonal and communications skills development for higher performance and better business results.

BRIDGES to Success Train the Trainer
Train the Trainer certification is an intensive 3-4 day process designed to enable qualified candidates to deliver the BRIDGES to Success workshop within their own organizations. The certification is a tremendous developmental opportunity for employees with high potential.

Increase your Influence
Credibility and trust are earned over time in work relationships. It has to do with our reputation. That reputation serves us in terms of the amount influence we bring to our organization. In this way, we make Conscious Choices to increase our influence and personal effectiveness. It requires a basic level of predictability in what we Say or Do in our work relationships. Communication skills and personal ownership/responsibility are key components.

 

 

---

LEADERSHIP

Polarity Management® and Mapping

The Polarity Management model and set of principles are a user-friendly way to deal with all polarities in life. Polarities are ongoing, chronic issues that are unavoidable, unsolvable, and indestructible. Attempting to address them with traditional problem solving skills only makes things worse. There is significant competitive advantage for those leaders, teams, or organizations that can distinguish between a problem to solve and a polarity to manage and are effective with both.

Going from Good to Great
Management books take up a lot of shelf space in bookstores these days. Every possible idea seems to be available, touting the latest concepts with exclamation points and "how to" in the title. One recent book stands out from that lineup in its clarity. Good to Great, by Jim Collins, represents six years and over 15,000 hours of research to answer this key question: "Are there companies that defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse… into long-term superiority?" Collins shares his findings about how these eleven companies moved from mediocrity to greatness. In a discovery process, learn the five key principles discovered in each and every Good to Great company and how to apply to your organization.

Leadership, “Simply” Leadership

This developmental session provides a leader with the skills needed to deal with a variety of situations and to be more adaptable, a critical skill identified in current research. Flexibility and adaptability are made “simple” once a leader raises awareness about his/her leadership styles and preferences. Through Paul Hersey’s Situational Leadership™ survey and Polarity Management™ mapping, leaders can make better informed choices about how to most effectively get tasks accomplished and preserve morale. Leaders won’t have to guess any longer about what works.

 

Primal Leadership

"No matter what leaders set out to do,
their success depends on how they do things.” Daniel Goleman

 This simple, yet profound, quote is the basis for a course of study that focuses on the key principles of emotional intelligence leaders must understand. Emotional intelligence focuses on four aspects of leadership:

• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Management

Intentional Empowerment of Employees
High performance can be achieved by understanding a follower's knowledge and willingness to do work tasks. Manage and develop your employees more effectively. Let your employees grow and learn while you experience the joy of less headaches and woes. Ken Blanchard's Situational Leadership™ provides the framework for knowledge and growth as a leader.

Communication Skills for Managers
Effective leaders can be created through a broader understanding of what makes them effective and ineffective. Using the theories of Polarity Management™, leaders specifically and concretely determine which behaviors are effective and when. Key parts of communication will be covered in both listening and speaking intentionally.

Leadership in a Changing Environment
Leadership is complex and filled with dilemmas. Polarity Management™ mapping is used to engage leaders in a deep self-discovery process for the creation of action plans needed to keep themselves balanced and effective in an ever-changing environment. A change management tool will be introduced to help leaders reduce resistance and encourage followership. Participants will explore "stability" and "change" to make explicit the needs, issues, problems AND opportunities facing them as leaders.

---

CONFLICT

Managing Conflict at Work
When people work together, problems and issues arise. Conflict results and it often leads to win/lose situations and a loss of productivity. Participants become aware of their preferred response to conflict situations and when to choose different responses for improved results. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument® kilmanndiagnostics.comis used to assess an individual's behavior in conflict situations.

Resolving Conflict between your Employees
Supervisors and managers are prepared to handle conflict among their direct reports. Offered is structured approach to facilitating issue resolution through determining common interests and action planning. A review of active listening skills is covered for greater effectiveness in facilitation. Participants practice and receive feedback on mock Conflict Resolution sessions.

Values, Styles and Strengths
Personal Values Inventory™ is used to explore work group similarities and differences. Awareness of styles and strengths leads to a more effective work environment. Session also explores conflict resolution responses based on interpersonal styles.

---

GROUP EFFECTIVENESS

Problem Solving and Decision Making
Many problems arise and are never solved due to a lack of a clear decision making process. Decision making is messy and can be managed to create an involved and empowered work environment. Tools such as the Vroom™ model and Six Hat Thinking™ will be covered and practiced to make life simpler and happier for all!

Designing and Facilitating Group Efforts
With so many ways for meetings to fail and time wasted, this practical session can make a big difference in what gets accomplished and how people feel about it. These skills include meeting mechanics, leader and facilitator responsibilities, meeting behaviors, listening skills and feedback.

---

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Presentation Skills for the Influential
Presentation Skills for the Influential increases a presenter's effectiveness in the design and delivery of information to others through a variety of styles and presentation media. This workshop systematically improves the speaker's confidence through tips and techniques to manage the audience and influence results.