Collaborating and Managing Up

Description

This course is designed to enhance participants' ability to build strong professional relationships, effectively communicate, and navigate complex organizational structures. By focusing on key competencies such as relationship building, communication, influence, and organizational awareness, participants will gain practical strategies to strengthen collaboration with supervisors and peers.

Through interactive sessions, participants will learn how to foster trust, improve workplace dynamics, and influence decision-making processes, empowering them to succeed in their roles and contribute to organizational goals.

Certificate in Frontline Leadership

This course is part of the Certificate in Frontline Leadership offered by the institute. Through a blend of core and elective courses, participants will gain valuable insights and tools to excel in their roles and drive their teams towards success.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this webinar, participants will:

• Master strategies to build and maintain positive relationships with supervisors and senior management.
• Understand your boss' context, perspectives and priorities, and that senior managers, to better meet organizational objectives and increase your influence.
• Recognize the importance of networking and devise actionable plans to expand their professional networks.
• Employ advanced communication techniques for effective upward briefing.
• Develop and refine skills necessary for planning, leading, and contributing to effective meetings.

Course Content:

1. Building Positive Relationships with Supervisors and Senior Managers:

• Techniques for establishing collaborative relationships.
• Adapting communication styles to match both personal and managerial preferences.
• Conflict management strategies to align team and organizational needs.

1. Effective Networking and Peer Collaboration:

• Methods for building and sustaining a network of peers within and outside the organization.
• Techniques for influencing peers and fostering cross-departmental collaboration without formal authority.
• Conflict resolution strategies among peers.

1. Skills development

• Managing effective meetings
• Effective briefing skills

Core Skills Developed:

Organizational Integration: Aligning team objectives with corporate priorities to enhance organizational effectiveness.

Resource Optimization: Leveraging team members, time, and other resources efficiently within organizational constraints.

Conflict Management: Effectively managing disagreements within the team and across functional areas.

Strategic Planning: Developing comprehensive work plans that integrate team activities with departmental and organizational goals.

Teaching Methods:

The course employs various interactive and participative teaching methods to facilitate adult learning, including:

• Interactive Workshops: Participants engage in scenarios that simulate real-life challenges in managing upward and lateral relationships.
• Role-Playing Exercises: Practical role-playing to practice communication and negotiation skills with senior management and peers.
• Discussion Groups: Facilitated group discussions to share experiences and strategies for effective collaboration.
• Case Studies: Analysis of real-world examples to apply concepts learned in practical settings.

Duration:

• 3 hours, including short breaks to ensure engagement and effective learning absorption.

Facilitators

Mr. François Gagnon served as Vice-President of the Learning Lab at the IOG for 6 years. He brings rich experience in the area of public sector learning and leadership.  

Mr. Gagnon worked in the Public Service of Canada for 25 years, including 13 years as executive. He had the privilege to organize national ministerial consultations, to negotiate international and federal-provincial agreements and to lead national Grants and Contribution programs. At the Canada School of Public Service, he developed a change management and coaching practice. As Senior Director of Leadership Development, he led and oversaw the review of the entire suite of the School’s Leadership Development products for the Government of Canada. 

In 2014, Mr. Gagnon founded Lead-Action, a firm specialized in Leadership Development. He joined the Institute on Governance in 2019 where he has been using his knowledge and expertise to build on the IOG’s strong reputation in this area. 

Mr. Gagnon has a Degree in Computer Science and a Masters in Project Management during which he specialized in Leadership and Change Management. Over the last 20 years, he was lecturing in Leadership and Change at the University of Ottawa and Université du Québec en Outaouais. He completed required certifications to teach and administer a large range of psychometric instruments including products from the Center for Creative Leadership, Insights Discovery and two emotional intelligence instruments. He has facilitated and has managed the delivery of a large number of Leadership Development products and courses, including organizational 360-degree feedback processes and executive coaching in a large number of organizations in Canada and abroad. Mr. Gagnon was also invited to teach Leadership and Change Management at the University of Moscow and at the Russian Academy of Public Administration and has led the development of a Leadership Development program for Deputy Ministers of the Government of Ukraine. Through his work at Lead Action, he also contributed to leadership development projects in Indonesia, Belize and Mexico. 

In addition to his professional activities, Mr. Gagnon holds a Private Pilot license and is a classically trained pianist who performs regularly in the region.