immediate impact - endless possibilities
May, 2016
In This Issue
Discovery Full Circle
Important Dates
Employee Engagement
Collaborate for Success
Quick Links

The merry month of May...already!  If the old adage is true, we should be knee-deep in flowers any day now. 

In this month's newsletter, we've got updates on Client Practitioner events including our upcoming Connecting Customers Conferences planned for later this fall.  If you haven't saved the date yet, be sure to check out the Upcoming Events section for more details.  And be sure to mark your calendar.  These full-day sessions are something you don't want to miss. 

We've also got a couple interesting reads on Insights programs, including how Insights Discovery Full Circle is helping to grow an organization from the inside out.  

So top up that mug, take five, and catch up on all the latest news and information from Insights Learning and Development. 
Discovery Full Circle

Yvonne Whiting, General Manager, Human Resources BCSPCA is an Insights Client Practioner and has integrated the language of Insights as a foundational piece of leadership and team building for the SPCA leadership.

To learn more about BCSPCA or to donate, click this link.
Yvonne knows that the more high performing her senior team is the more they can enable their employees, stakeholders and communities to deliver on their mission to protect and enhance the lives of domestic, farm and wild animals in BC. The group has been moving towards a culture shift toward more open communication. To this end Yvonne began to explore the Insights system to see what solution could be crafted to strengthen self-awareness to enable the group to achieve more as a leadership team - with that end goal of improving the performance of the entire organization. 

She zeroed in on Discovery Full Circle seeking feedback as a way to grow leadership. Yvonne contacted Anne Bishop of Insights Canada West to partner in the delivery of something very special.

The full day session Anne delivered was a highly interactive experience that wove perception and the colour energies in leadership as a foundation for exploring how the alignment of our intention and impact drives our success as leaders.  The next step was into expanding our practice of giving and receiving feedback with the D4 model. This solid preparation built a level of readiness for diving into the Discovery Full Circle profile.
 
The profile exploration went deep. The data was intriguing -everyone stayed curious and the fact the CEO was highly engaged really helped pave the way for a great day. The team had an opportunity to work one-on-one with many of their respondents and building a contract of commitment by taking the gift of feedback as the start for asking "what can I do to bring a higher level of collaboration in working with you".  
 
The results -
Participants created plans in how to adapt and connect with respondent's in a more powerful way. Follow-up peer coach meetings helped hold leaders to their commitments, Weekly management meetings are now full of deftly used colorful language, a-has about being "up their ladder" and there is a a new sensitivity about the diversity of their organization and 'the how' of seeking and delivering feedback. Eyes are open, seeing the same world in a new way. A big step towards that open communication culture.

What folks said - 
"The Insights Discovery Full Circle Workshop was an excellent professional development opportunity for our senior leaders. It is more than a day of training, it is an opportunity to create space for dialogue and reflection as a team and for ourselves as individuals. References to the Insights colourful energies are now a regular occurrence during our senior leadership meetings - our ability to communicate with one another has been strengthened and thus our ability to meet our goals as an organization has been strengthened"  - Craig Daniell, Chief Executive Officer - The British Columbia Society for the Prevention Of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA)
 
"The DFC is truly a remarkable program.  It offers a great opportunity to step away as a team for a day to enhance one's leadership skills.  Moreover, the program provides a unique opportunity to solicit feedback from a variety of stakeholders in a safe manner that enables improved  work relationships. I would highly recommend the DFC program" -Yvonne Whiting, General Manager, Human Resources - BC SPCA

To learn more about Discovery Full Circle, check out this short video.  Or, contact our office or your Client Manager for more information. 

Editors Note: This article is dedicated In loving memory of Houlio (August 2006 - April 2016), Yvonne's adopted deaf dog who taught her valuable lessons about communication without sound. 
Upcoming Events 

Discoverylogowithglobe
Insights Discovery Accreditation 
Montreal - July 5-8 (Tue-Fri) In French
Calgary - September 27-30 (Tue-Fri)
Vancouver - November 1-4 (Tue-Fri)

There are now over 30 public and internal Accreditations every year across North America, which demonstrates how many organizations are choosing to bring Insights Discovery 'in house'.  In Western Canada, we always end up with a waiting list for IDA sessions, so if you're considering attending either the IDA session in either city, don't hesitate.  Register today.

Please Note:  The IDA scheduled to be delivered in May in Montreal has been re-scheduled to July 5 through 8.  This session will be conducted in French.
 
Full details and registration information is located here.

CP Renewals 
A one-day interactive session for Insights Discovery Client Practitioners committed to keeping their learning alive. 

Calgary - Tuesday, June 7th
Regina - June 14th
Vancouver - Tuesday, October 4th

More details and registration links are located here.

Connecting Customers Conference - Save the Date!
This one-day event will connect Insights practitioners and provide new learning opportunities. Agendas and details are still being finalized, but mark the date in your calendar for the city nearest you. Vancouver friends please note: This Connecting Customer Conference replaces the annual December conference.  
 
Calgary - Thursday, September 22nd
Vancouver - Wednesday, October 5th

More details and registration links are located here.
 

Navigator logo

In today's modern workforce, specialized knowledge will only get you so far on it's own. In most offices, teamwork is not only the buzz-word, but a necessity for achieving business success. 

It doesn't matter how smart or savvy we are when it comes to technology, product development, or any single skill we possess. Nobody succeeds for long in a silo. Whatever our ventures-personal, professional, philanthropic, political, or private-we can't forget all the people who are involved in and essential to our success.  

Knowing how to motivate others is the key to connecting with them. Without that connection, there's no working toward a common goal. People fall back into their silos, and specialized knowledge doesn't have anyplace to go-there's no broader objective to serve. The most successful collaborators understand how to communicate respectfully and accurately.

FastCompany ran a recent article entitled "Four Reasons why the Most Successful People are Great Collaborators", and it aligns strongly with Insights Navigating Team Effectiveness sessions. If you'd like to learn more about Navigator, contact our office or your client manager. 
Let's Be Social 
Join us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.  We'll be using these links to provide updates in-between our monthly newsletters and we'll also be re-posting or re-tweeting stories and articles we find interesting. 

If you have comments or suggestions for articles in upcoming newsletters, please  contact me directly. 

Dale Nelson, 
Insights Learning and Development