Case Study:
Inclusive Leaders Workshop
Crafting a workshop that fosters personal connections, imparts intellectual understanding, and encourages practical application through peer discussions. Facilitators receive comprehensive support, including speaker notes, guidance for personal connection, and various activity options.
Product Overview:
Each workshop in the Inclusive Leaders series addresses a distinct aspect of leadership directly connected to leading and connecting with across a diverse mix of cultures and work-styles. In the second workshop, “Own Your Story,” leaders reflect on their cultural development and frameworks for approaching the world. Through activities, learning modules, and peer discussions, the key goals are for participants to recognize the diversity of backgrounds we each have, understand the impact of individual life experiences, and embrace a spectrum of approaches rather than a binary “right” / “wrong” paradigm.
The Challenge:
In a world where everyone is pressed for time, our clients sought “life-changing” workshops within the shortest duration possible. While participants often desire a checklist of what to do, the highest impact comes from equipping them with skills to navigate a range of situations, even unforeseen ones. We aimed to create workshops addressing both immediate needs for actionable takeaways and broader tools for navigating diverse scenarios. The challenge extended to accommodating mixed audiences with varying levels of familiarity with inclusive behaviors. Our solution needed to cater to both seasoned inclusion leaders and those new to the concept. Facilitators, often passionate employees without extensive training, required robust resources for effective content delivery and personalization.
The Solution:
Designed for simplicity in information delivery yet offering profound applicability, the workshop places a strong emphasis on fostering personal connections through activities and small-group discussions. Facilitators receive comprehensive resources, accommodating varying levels of experience, ensuring value for both novices and seasoned leaders.
Company
Greatheart Consulting
Position
Director of Learning, Research, Analytics & Development
My Roles
Instructional Designer, Project Manager, Content Creator / Graphic Designer
Technology Used
PowerPoint, Excel, Adobe Illustrator
The Workshop Design Philosophy
In addressing inclusion and effective collaboration across diverse backgrounds, I recognize the inherently personal nature of these discussions. Understanding that each participant brings a unique background, culture, worldview, and set of experiences, I emphasize the importance of creating a workshop space where individuals can authentically engage and progress towards becoming more inclusive leaders. Informed by key learning theory concepts, I structure each workshop to incorporate the following essential components:
- Review of Previous Learnings: Participants reflect on and share their experiences since the last session, fostering continuous growth.
- Personal Connection through an Activity: Before delving into content, we facilitate activities that enable participants to connect with inclusive behavior personally.
- Instruction: The facilitator shares key concepts and ideas about inclusive behavior, grounding the workshop in foundational knowledge.
- Peer Discussion: Throughout the workshop, participants engage in small-group discussions, considering how the presented ideas apply to them individually.
Content is facilitated by both expert facilitators familiar with the content and newly trained Inclusive Leaders Facilitators. For seamless execution, Speaker Notes are provided, offering main ideas, key points, and a script to guide facilitators, regardless of their level of familiarity with the content.
A Look at the Workshop Elements
How-To Slide
The introductory slide at the beginning of the PowerPoint deck outlines the consistent support elements available to facilitators on every slide. These include the Main Idea, Key Points, a scripted guide for sharing content, Story Starter prompts, and supplementary resources aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the topic.
Intro Activity
Each of the Inclusive Leaders skills were part of a 4–7 part workshop series. While understanding the principles of inclusion is crucial, the primary gauge of success was the participants’ practical application of what they learned—whether their behavior became more inclusive. To ensure this, each workshop commenced with a reflection and discussion session on what each individual had attempted since the last workshop. This provided a platform for participants to learn from others, discuss challenges, and seek clarification on any questions that emerged during the process of translating learning into practice.
Activity for Personal Connection
At the workshop’s outset, I consistently incorporated an activity designed to foster personal connections with the content and emphasize the topic’s importance.
An example of the activity slides is provided on the right. The “Activity Tips” slide serves as guidance solely for facilitators, offering insights into the key purpose of the activity, the timing outline, facilitation tips, and considerations for how participants might engage or what questions may arise.
Following the activity, participants are given individual reflection time to contemplate associated questions before engaging in small group discussions consisting of 3–5 people. This structured approach ensures participants have both personal reflection and collaborative discussion opportunities.
Skill Introduction
When introducing a skill, our aim is to convey its significance in three key dimensions: (1) its relevance to the participant as an individual, (2) its importance within their role as a manager or team member in an organization, and (3) its interconnectedness with other Inclusive Leader skills like listening, trust-building, and seeking and giving feedback.
This slide has an example of the story starter prompts. These prompts serve as a tool to assist facilitators in sharing personal stories related to the content, fostering connection with other participants during the session.
Putting Learning into Action
At the workshop’s conclusion, our primary objective is for participants to leave with at least one actionable item they can implement or try with their teams the following week. The secondary goal is to instill in participants a personal understanding of the topic’s importance, inspiring them to continue learning in the future.
These two slides serve as a review of the day’s learning, emphasizing its significance for participants both personally and professionally. Additionally, they act as a prompt to utilize their Take Action Tools—a document offering suggestions on how to practice their newfound knowledge in the upcoming month. Participants are also encouraged to take the Participant Evaluation Survey, allowing us to gather feedback for further iterations and improvements to the workshop.
Download a PDF of the entire workshop including Speaker Notes. Viewer password is needed.
Janai Wallace 