and "I Didn't Sign Up For This! 7 Strategies for Dealing With Difficulty in Difficult Times"
Since 1986, she has been using her people, public speaking, and communications skills to present quality training programs to numerous federal, corporate, and association based organizations. Topics include:"Since Strangling Isn't an Option..."( Difficult People), "How to Stay Calm When the World Around Y
ou is in Chaos" (Stress), LeadershipPresence, Coaching Works, "Oiling Your Machine" (Team Building), MBTI and other communication based programs. She founded a communications/networking specialty company called "Powerlunch" which has been written up in both, The Washington Post and The New York Times as well as the book Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work. In addition, she has hosted her own television show called "Stress Busters" which was broadcast weekly on Washington, D.C. Cable Television and has been featured on the TV shows "To Tell the Truth" and the CBS morning news. Degree with Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in International Studies and an M.A. in Applied Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. She is a certified MBTI(Myers Briggs Type Indicator) practitioner and a certified ontological coach from The Newfield Group as well as a Professionally Certified Coach from the International Coaching Federation. A former guest instructor at Montgomery College, she has also been an active member of the Federal Training Officers' Conference, and the National Capital Speaker's Association. Retreats:
Retreats offer a specific and in depth way to tweak organizational issues, revamp ways of operation, create team momentum, or just have fun. The typical format for a retreat is in four parts. The first, “Diagnosis”, is an opportunity to assess how the team is functioning. An in house assessment is performed via one on one and group interviews to identify places where the machine needs oiling. From there, “Treatment” is implemented whereby a game plan for the retreat is laid out including timing (one, two or more days), and what design will work best for the issues identified in the Diagnosis phase. This is an opportunity for management and potentially recalcitrant participants to weigh in on the format of the upcoming session and tweak what will work best for the group. Because the diagnosis phase is inclusive, even people who are typically resistant to retreats find themselves more willing participants in the retreat. “Implementation” is the heart of the process. This is where all the prep work pays off. It’s an opportunity to give the team what they are hungry for but have not been able to speak about in their daily busyness and to have conversations that are critical to the way the organization operates, but is often put off. These conversations will point the office in the direction it wants to go. One group had a very low morale issue and after the retreat, began to implement energy infusion strategies, which totally changed the ongoing mood of the office. Another group was operating like individual boats in the same ocean of work and after the retreat began to sail in the same direction. The retreat gives an opportunity for alignment and regeneration. The last part is “Follow Up” whereby the progress of the group is checked to make sure the ongoing goals are kept up and monitored. This schedule can be set in a weekly or monthly check up status and future actions can be delineated. This insures that the retreat goals are implemented and long term results are part of the process. Keynotes:
Keynotes are an opportunity to inspire, uplift, educate, entertain, and move participants in a particular direction. They are great for luncheons, all day sessions, retreats, and conferences where you want to inform participants and initiate thinking around a specific topic as well as provide solutions they can take home and think about. Topics for keynotes include “Since Strangling Isn’t an Option….”, “How to Stay Calm When the World Around You is in Chaos”, “Coaching that Works”, “The Power of Commitment”, and other related communications based topics. Coaching
Coaching is an opportunity for the individual to learn, grow, shift perspective, and change behavior in a specific domain at work. Typical arenas people get coached in include: dealing with challenging supervisors, dealing with problem employees, dealing with overwhelm, managing schedules, and moving up in the organization. What makes coaching unique is the personal orientation of the session. Assessments, interviewing colleagues, and managerial observations are typically common gauges used to determine the efficacy of the sessions. Coaching can be done on a case by case basis or part of a packaged leadership program. Featured in:
The New York Times
The Washington Post
Philadelphia Enquirer
LA Times
Self Magazine
Redbook Magazine
Men’s Health
Cosmopolitan Magazine
Woman’s World
Featured on:
CBS Morning News
ABC 7 WJLA Evening News
Stressbusters Channel 16
NPR Marketplace
The Toni Grant Show
To Tell the Truth
PBS Business Channel
Clients have included:
Marriott International
Discovery Channel
Sony Corp. of Navy
National Institutes of Health
Dept. of Agriculture
FBI
Fairfax County Government
Social Security Administration
The World Bank
The Executive Office of the President
The Environmental Protection Agency
Patent and Trademark
Citicorp
The US Postal Service
The Veterans Administration
Southland Corp. of Army
Federal Aviation Administration
