Kelly McDonald

AI and Growth are the two hottest topics in business right now.  When working with others, your role is to take your team and your business to the next level, producing consistent results, while keeping your team motivated and engaged.  Fostering a growth mindset throughout your team and organization is the blueprint for doing exactly that.

A growth mindset is one that believes that intelligence and talents are not fixed:  that curiosity, dedication, effort, talents and abilities can be harnessed to cultivate and create even greater abilities and strengths.  The growth mindset is an established, studied, and proven approach that yields both business and personal growth and achievement.

A growth mindset does for the mind what exercise does for the body. Like an athlete who trains to become even stronger and more talented, a mindset of growth changes the possibility of achievement into the probability of achievement. The beauty of the growth mindset is that it can be cultivated and created.  It costs nothing and is available to all! 

Everyone wants to be part of exciting, innovative growth – it’s exhilarating and empowering. A culture of shared growth creates extraordinary talent and passionate teams that are capable of achieving anything. 

In this Session, you’ll learn:

• The growth mindset beliefs – and the four essential ingredients to a growth mindset and how they differ from the opposite mindset (the “fixed mindset”) 

• Brands and individuals that exemplify the growth mindset and how they used the steps to catapult their success 

• The specific do’s & don’ts that both leaders and team members can take to cultivate their own growth mindsets and the collective growth mindset of their team 

• The “rule of thirds” that Olympians use to achieve big goals

“Assertiveness” is a widely misunderstood characteristic.   Some interpret it as being “bossy”; some interpret it as “standing your ground” or “speaking your mind” and some interpret it as “taking charge” or being aggressive.

Assertiveness is none of these things, yet it’s an essential skill in business and a quality that all successful professionals have.  And it IS a skill – it can be developed and honed, like any other skill.

Being assertive can be challenging, because many people tend to be “people pleasers” and we often put the needs of the group (your team or your boss) before our own needs.  Being assertive is not at odds with teamwork – in fact, it is constructive for your team and your organization.  Assertiveness is a high-performance quality that is charismatic and appealing.

In This Session, You’ll Learn:
• What assertiveness is – and what it’s not
• The important role that empathy and validation play in being assertive
• The 3-part formula for having an effective, conversation every time
 

Every team and organization wants to do better and be better.  A proven way to accomplish this is to utilize different talents, backgrounds and perspectives, because different ways of thinking lead to better results and innovative solutions.

But our differences can often create friction.  People often don’t see eye-to-eye on problems and issues.  Their communication styles may be very different.  Their levels of experience may be miles apart.  Cultural backgrounds and norms can differ.  How do you work alongside someone who may be quite different from you, respect those differences and be effective in your role and in your team?

“The Art of Working With People Not Like You” shows how to navigate a complex work environment, build trust, and solve problems to keep things moving forward and get optimal results.

Learner Outcomes:

• You’ll learn why it seems so hard to work with people not like you. And why that makes you NORMAL, not a bad person.  You’ll learn why it often comes with stress, complex emotions and fear of saying the wrong thing.

• Nine specific tactics will be shared for how individuals can succeed in teams without becoming frustrated by approaches to work that may differ from theirs.  

• Four key words that will transform how you interact with others in tough situations to get the best outcome.  

• The two words that you should scrub from your vocabulary immediately because they show complete disconnection from the person or people you’re talking to.
 

In today’s business climate, businesses, organizations and companies must differentiate themselves with the experience that customers have, in addition to the products and services offered.  It’s not about what you sell, but how.

The way to stand apart from your competition, retain your existing customers and grow your business with new customers is about offering an experience like no other.   
 
This engaging and high content session will cover eight ways to leverage macro trends that show your customers and prospects that you see them and “get them”.  These tactics not only raise the bar in business and keep customers coming back, but also foster higher employee engagement and retention.

A "one-size fits all" approach to the customer experience is no longer viable. In this session, you’ll learn specific, no-cost tactics that you can apply right away that will grow your business and cement customer loyalty.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Specific customer values and insights that will help you serve, satisfy and retain your many different types of customers effectively:
• The principles that ensure an exceptional customer experience 
• What to do – and NOT do – when things go wrong.  The only 5 words that customers want to hear and that work every time