MODERN LIFE SKILLS At a time of economic uncertainty, when businesses are having to cutback, reorganise and demand more of their employees, how do we stay motivated and engaged, in order to be the best we can both for ourselves and for our organisations? Energise, Engage, Inspire - Introducing Modern Life Skills & Team Tonic The Learning Architect, a consortium of behavioural skills specialists, has researched and designed a comprehensive portfolio of key modern life skills. Developed working with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) model which divides life skills into subsets of categories including: Learning to know - cognitive abilities Learning to be - personal abilities Learning to live together - interpersonal abilities A portfolio of 20 core modern life skills have been identified:» Change Ability» Communication» Conflict Resolution» Creativity» Decision Making» Empathy» Feedback» Goal Setting» Healthy Living» Life Balance» Impact & Influencing» Positive Thinking» Problem Solving» Relationship Building» Relaxation» Resilience» Self Confidence» Stress Management» Time Management» Value & Purpose
MODERN LIFE SKILLS - SESSIONS Improve resilience and stamina within the workplace and get people thinking more positively. By keeping things simple and effective you will allow employees the time to take a step back, take stock and share their great ideas. How it works» Take a pick n mix approach, choosing from the Modern Life Skills portfolio» Each of the 20 life skills are 60-minute interactive bite-size sessions» Longer sessions can be designed and tailored to suit your needs» The sessions can accommodate any size audience» Modern Life Skills - The book provides a motivational take away» On line post activity support is available» Coaching options are also available to suit your requirements Modern Life Skills Sessions Each 60-minute life skill is designed in a way to accommodate all learning styles. The following engagement loop is followed to maximise learning potential and to ensure sustainable personal outputs» Introduction to the selected life skill» Sharing positive experiences» Presentation on the life skill» Group interactive activity» Tips and toolkit for each life skill» Reflection and review time» Personal action planning» Post on line support library and materials
TEAM TONIC Team Tonic was inspired by our clients, many of whom were saying: We re going through a lot of changes and our employee satisfaction surveys are highlighting a lot of negativity and de-motivation. We need to help empower our people to help us change the culture here, to boost engagement and performance on both an individual level and on a team / department / organisation wide level. Plus, we need it to be quick because we can t afford to take our people out of the business for long. Plus, we need it to be really costeffective too, because we can t afford to spend much in the current climate. What is Team Tonic?» A short, simple, flexible and sustainable way to help boost engagement by combining two modern life skills sessions with interactive team engagement activities.» A great way to energise and lift the spirits of any team.» A one-day session that can be held at your office or off-site (sessions can be run during a longer morning to avoid taking business critical colleagues out for even a full day)» Tailored to suit any size team or organisation» Supported by the Modern Life Skills Library of online support, it ensures a sustainable learning outcome through a blended approach.» Team Tonic has been devised to engage and energise teams to embrace positive and flexible behaviour.» Sustainability through personal actions plans» Post event on line support and materials» The ultimate tonic to energise, engage and inspire How it works» The first part of Team Tonic is facilitated by The Learning Architect s behavioural skills specialists who normally provide 2 of the 20 Modern Life Skills sessions that are most valuable to meet that organisation s objectives.» Each session finishes with a call to action and the completion of a handy personal action planning card to help make sure the new learnings are embedded and sustained.» Having looked at the individual, we then look at the team with a 2-hour session that incorporates one of MotivAction s interactive team engagement activities.
TEAM TONIC - ACTIVITIES We work with you in advance to pick the activity that is best suited to meet your objectives and will also help reflect the positive behaviours that have been talked about in the Modern Life Skills sessions. Popular team engagement activities include: The Bigger Picture A great exercise for encouraging networking and cross team working. Our in-house Design Studio creates a bespoke design to reflect your organisations work, goals and values. Teams produce their own individual piece of the picture which, once complete and brought together, combine to form a single Bigger Picture. The image can also be used in on-going internal communications and can be used on anything from future company presentations to company coffee mugs or screen savers. Bridging the Gap An activity to encourage teams to work together. Each team has a different product to build but unknown to them each one is an integral part of a bridge. Unless all parts are successfully delivered, the bridge cannot be constructed and no-one will be paid. It s a great exercise to highlight team work, effective communication, great customer service, sharing best practices and delivering on time. It also has a nice symbolic ending when everyone walks over the bridge they ve built together to take them from their old world to a new, more positive future. Chain ReAction An innovative team building challenge loosely based on a larger scale version of the game Mousetrap. Chain ReAction focuses on small and larger team working, helping to combat a small team silo mentality, and encouraging a crossteam, one-team ethos. Following the completion of all teams sections, the finale provides a spectacle and a genuine feeling of achievement and camaraderie. Connexions A bit like the Bigger Picture exercise, but this time teams have to replicate sections of the Paris Metro Map, working together to share information to fill in some of the missing details. This exercise is particularly good for organisations wanting to focus on improved communications and sharing data and best practices across different teams, departments and locations.
SUSTAINABLE LEARNING We finish off the Team Tonic session with a final facilitated review of how the learning can be embedded in the workplace. Unlike other bitesize training interventions - we don t just leave it there. We come back to see you again after 3 months for a half day review session. The review is again a bespoke design to best meet your objectives, but with the purpose of further reviewing and supporting the actions that participants committed to during the first session. In addition, we have an online library of over 100 bite-sized, easily digestible online learning resources including videos, toolkits, and audio books to support. Team Tonic is an extremely flexible solution. We appreciate that every organisation is different, so the format is not set in stone and a Team Tonic solution can also include energising exercises or an inspirational speaker, in order to deliver the desired outcomes. Modern Life Skills, together with the Team Tonic programme, will help organisations to:» Improve resilience and stamina» Reduce stress and absenteeism» Support work - home balance» Help people cope better with change» Get people thinking more positively» Save money on essential learning» Keep things simple and effective Returning Your Investment» Facilitated by a behavioural skills specialist» Flexibility to suit all environments and audiences» Blended approach to suit all learning styles» Post activity materials and on line support» Delivered on site or local venues sourced» Focus on personal action outputs» Quick return in behavioural change and results
MODERN LIFE SKILLS PORTFOLIO Change Ability» Understand why change happens» Actively seek out the opportunities» Be positive and open minded» Understand the emotions around change» Take responsibility for your reactions» Keep calm and carry on Communication At the end of the session this life skill will» Understand your communication style» Positively accommodate other communication styles» Be present when you are with people» Develop mobile technology etiquette» Actively listen and focus» Be positive and assertive Conflict Resolution» Understand the benefits of conflict» Use the cool down model to defuse tension» Consider the other person s point of view» Manage your emotional reaction» Seek mutually beneficial outcomes» Once the situation is resolved - move on! Creativity» Be open minded and receptive to exploring creativity» Explore tools to capture creative ideas» Understand how to stimulate your mind» Brainstorm with others and share ideas» Use De Bono s Thinking Hats as a creative thinking tool» Step out of your comfort zone and take some risks Decision Making» Establish a decision making process» Identify what and who else may be involved» Create a broad range of options» Analyse the pros and cons of each option» Develop an implementation plan» Be positive about your decision and stick with it Empathy» Get in touch with your own feelings» Understand the range of emotions people can experience» Be genuinely interested in what others feel» Be willing to put yourself in the others person s shoes» Be open minded t o all perspectives» Extend the hand of human kindness
MODERN LIFE SKILLS PORTFOLIO Feedback» View feedback as the food of progress» Be responsive and open minded about feedback» Use the feedback formula» Focus on behaviour not personality» Only feedback something that can be changed» Make feedback a positive experience Goal Setting» Positively embrace the benefits of goal setting» Be clear about what you are trying to achieve» Use the SMART formula» Ensure that you record your personal action plan» Share your plan with someone else» Be committed and motivated to achieve your goals Healthy Living» Learn how to get up and get going» Implement an exercise plan that works for you» Understand the importance of nutrition» Manage your energy levels throughout the day» Develop and sustain healthy habits» Create a healthy living plan to keep you fit for life Impact & Influencing» Believe in yourself and your abilities» Be assertive and develop trust» Treat people how you would like to be treated» Manage your enthusiasm appropriately» Plan ahead and prepare yourself» Be genuine and influence with integrity Life Balance» Plan and manage your day effectively» Learn how to prioritise everything you do» Use the wheel of life to identify what is important» Make sure you manage your work /leisure time» Create a buffer between work and home» Build in exercise, relaxation and you time Positive Thinking» Make the decision to be a more positive person» Become aware of your thinking and internal voice» Use positive internal language to condition your thinking» Challenge any excuses you make to yourself» Be a radiator and manage your negative attitude germs» Seek out opportunities through problematic situations
MODERN LIFE SKILLS PORTFOLIO Problem Solving» Be positive and view your problems as opportunities» Specifically identify and understand each problem» Be creative and explore a range of options» Determine your goal to help you select your solution» Prepare a plan to implement your solution» Analyse and review your problem solving approach Relationship Building» Improve the relationship you have with yourself» Actively listen to what other people have to say» Accept and celebrate that everyone is different» Focus on people s strengths rather than limitations» Be open-minded and learn to trust people» Develop etiquette around mobile technology Relaxation enable you to:» Build in time every day for relaxation» Identify different relaxation methods that work for you» Learn about relaxation techniques» Use simple breathing techniques to de-stress» Explore the range of relaxation remedies» Learn to be mindful and enjoy the moment Resilience» Take emotional control» Avoid adopting a victim mentality» Be optimistic and keep an open mind» Believe in your ability to overcome adversity» Let things go and keep going» Learn and grow from every experience Self Confidence» Be your own best friend» Take more personal responsibility» Be self aware and understand yourself better» Be the best that you can be» Use positive language to condition your thinking» Challenge your self limiting beliefs Stress Management» Learn about your stress triggers» Control your thoughts to manage your tress levels» Learn to be more confident and assertive» Manage your time efficiently» Use exercise and relaxation to alleviate stress» Learn to let go and go with the flow
MODERN LIFE SKILLS PORTFOLIO Time Management» Value your time and other people s» Review where you are spending your time» Create effective time management systems» Avoid procrastinating and get things done» Be tidy and more organised» Know how to plan more effectively Value & Purpose» Identify your purpose and meaning in life» Be the change you want the world to be» Practise kindness on a daily basis» Develop an attitude of gratitude» Respect and value other people» Be happy and be the best you can be Testimonials I would recommend anyone to attend one of these for themselves or for any company going through change, as many of the concepts within the sessions would make the process easier and help those dealing with change maintain a positive and healthy outlook. Brian Cowen Manager, N Power A very enjoyable and energetic day for the team. We received lots of tips on having a positive approach to work and life and how to manage our own emotions. We were encouraged to look for opportunities and to make sure we take care of ourselves in times of change. Janet Baker Deputy Regional Director of Public Health, Department of Health To book your event call The MotivAction Group: 01920 458 555