Succeeding in Your Organization With a Disability

This uniquely powerful program enjoyed by folks at the EPA and other organizations initially addresses the strengths and vulnerabilities of the internal world of each participant. It is done with a certain gentle artistry and humor. During the second part of the session the focus switches to how participants can enhance their interpersonal relationships. Three areas of potential conflict are illustrated, along with practical solutions for every challenge.

Basic Thesis: We all are different. Some of us are thinkers, others are doers, some are passive, and still others are aggressive. Most people come to work with pretty good intentions, but we get on each other's nerves just by being ourselves. In the every-day stress of the work environment, the tiniest issues can escalate. And soon we are fighting about the way we are fighting, instead of dealing with the real issues. People do not respond to our intentions. They respond to our behavior.

People spend a great portion of their time training in the latest software, tools and techniques to remain competitive in their workplace. This is not enough. Studies have shown that 15% of financial and career success can be attributed to technical competence, while 85% is due to good interpersonal skills. In this session we showcase the 85%.

During the first half of the workshop we focus upon the internal world of the participants. Then we take an external view – how to apply this information to relationships with supervisors, peers and other associates. Plus participants will learn information that will prepare him or her for any future advancement their.

Capable workers with disability have dealt with a glass ceiling for years with a lot of factors against them – hired, many times, at lower grade levels. A lot of barriers, attitudinal barriers. In fact, only about 10% of all workers with disability stay succeed in the work place.

The main challenge for each person is to focus one’s attention upon the things each one has responsibility for and can control. Through insights from this program, participants will be provided additional tools to create his or her own success within the organization -- in private industry or in the Federal Government.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO DETERMINE HOW TO CUSTOMIZE PROGRAM

Understanding Disability:

"Disability is not a 'brave struggle' or 'courage in the face of adversity'... disability is an art. It's an ingenious way to live."

-- Neil Marcus (poet)

"It is you, not the astronauts, who are the true pioneers at the frontier of human being." -- Justin Dart (advocate)

   Education & Employment

"No other set of laws so entreats academia to take its own temperature, examine its traditions, and thoughtfully deliberate about which of its standards are essential and which are merely unexamined habits. Whether from the insights we achieve from integration or from self-reflection, the unconventional, nontraditional, innovative ways in which individuals with disabilities accomplish tasks place us on new paths that benefit us all."

-- Paul D. Grossman (Attorney & Law Faculty)

"We must create a culture that focuses the full force of science and free enterprise on the individualized empowerment of every person, with or without disabilities. " -- Justin Dart (advocate)

   Rights and Responsibilities:

"As social movements mature, they begin to look beyond the 'letter of the law', which emphasizes ethics and values, and promulgate systemic changes in attitudes, behaviors and institutional structures." 

-- Leslie Kanes Weisman (Architect & Author)

   Access By Design:

"The intent of universal design is to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment more usable by more people at little or no extra cost." -- Ron Mace (Architect & Designer)

Workshops Retreats Seminars Conferences Conventions

N o B u l l. N o H y p e.

P R O G R A M O V E R V I E W

“Succeeding In Your Organization With A Disability”

    BOTTOM LINE BENEFITS – Immediate and long lasting

  1. Each participant has a better understanding of his/her personality style.

  2. Reduction of the potential for conflict or power struggles.

       (preventive maintenance vs. crisis management)

  3. Higher morale and greater productivity.

  4. Better listening and communication skills with colleagues outside the government.

  5. Greater sensitivity to work force diversity.

  6. Tools for influencing an emotionally safe climate.

  7. Working with change; not against it.

  8. Knowing how to approach different people and situations.

  9. Implementation of change in a win/win style.

 10. Enhancing self-motivated work teams.

 11. What works and what doesn’t work in terms of motivation.

 12. Dealing more effectively with difficult behavior.

 13. Confronting the “glass ceiling and attitudinal barriers in a proactive manner.

 14. Developing, utilizing and enhancing networks.  

PROBLEMS - How you approach problems and challenges 

PEOPLE - How you interact and attempt to influence people 

PACE - How you respond to change and activities 

PROCEDURE - How you respond to rules set by others

75% of the focus of this seminar will be on the internal world of the participant. 

25% of the focus will be on how participants interacts with others.

 · PROGRAM OVERVIEW – (Full day generic version with appropriate breaks)

  * Presenter introduces himself and the purpose of the program.

  * Humorous concepts illustrating the reality that people are different, predictably different.

  * Difficult challenges experienced by people with a disability.

  * The motivation of a disabled person.

  * Explore the five contributing factors to personal behavioral styles: i. Heredity ii. Childhood role models iii. Birth order  

    iv. Physical characteristics v. experiences

  * Emotional pain – The great modifier of human behavior.

  * The difference between power and influence

  * Johari Window – How trust and mutual respect are built up or broken down in an organization.

  * How personal Blind Spots and Mask effect leadership/followership styles and teamwork.

  * Peeling the layers of the onion skin to get to the core issues: i. Gender issues ii. Cultural diversity iii. Generational influences iv.  

    Professional status v. Disability issues vi. Personality style

  * Administer profile material

  * Overview of the universe of the four dominant personality styles and how each style: i. Responds to or reacts to emotional pain 

    ii. Seeks to control his/her environment iii. Leads and follows iv. Makes decisions v. Communicates vi. Deals with change 

    vii. Processes information

  * Three main areas where conflict generally erupts, combined with concepts for preventive maintenance – plus skills for managing 

    oppositional behavior after it has escalated.

  * In-depth study of each personality style: i. Major fears ii. Natural and adaptive styles when confronted by stress or change  

    iii. Dynamic drives iv. Needs-motivated behavior and communication language v. Tools for working effectively with each style 

    vi. How personal dominant and sub-dominant styles can compliment vs. cause internal stress vii. Drawing the best out of others at 

    work and at home – lifestyle change. 

  * Learning to “read” one’s graph.

  * Now what do we do with all this information?

  * Time for feedback, personal responses to the accuracy of the information, and specific questions.

  * Help to develop action and accountability plans.

  * Allowance for one-on-one time with instructor.