Workshop at Edwards campus could help you at work
If you’re someone who avoids conflict – to the point where your work and personal relationships are suffering – a two-hour workshop on Nov. 14 at Colorado Mountain College’s Edwards campus could propel you toward clear, effective communication.
The 3-5 p.m. workshop is a sampler of an in-depth, 16-hour training called Crucial Conversations. Through CMC, over the past two years more than 125 Eagle County employees have completed the full 16-hour Crucial Conversations training.
Borne out of many of the principles found in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” – a life management system created by the late educator Stephen Covey – Crucial Conversations focuses on cutting through behavior that can impede both personal and professional productivity.
Participants learn how to get “unstuck” – that is, to be able to talk to business colleagues, friends and family about seemingly difficult topics in a safe, honest and effective manner.
Angelo Fernandez, the human resources director at Eagle River Water & Sanitation District, is a certified Crucial Conversations trainer. He teaches both the sampler sessions and the full trainings locally through CMC and the college’s Customized Business Services in Edwards. He said that the shorter sampler session is being offered so that individuals and small business owners can get a sense of what the more involved training offers.
“We’ll introduce the basic principles and discuss building awareness,” he said of the two-hour session. “Our brains are wired to act on emotions first, logic second. By focusing on intent, you can generate a different response.”
Lisa Ponder, Eagle County’s director of human resources, said county staff has benefitted from the training.
“When our organization recognized that we needed to provide our leaders, managers and employees with better tools to handle conflict effectively, we settled on Crucial Conversations,” she said. “We are seeing the benefits of a common language and are dealing with conflict in a more professional and direct manner.”
If there is enough interest, future plans are for CMC and High Country Human Resources Association to collaborate and offer the full 16-hour training.
Crucial Conversations Sampler
Crucial Conversations Sampler
3-5 p.m., Nov. 14
Colorado Mountain College in Edwards
$15/High Country Human Resources Association members
$25/non-members
Register: www.hchra.shrm.org