Key Fall Leadership Workshop Series

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Fall Leadership Workshop Series

In response to the resounding success of the Key Webinar Wednesdays series, the Key Executive Leadership Programs present the Fall Leadership Workshop series to provide extended workshop sessions for a slightly deeper dive in topics pertaining to leadership and professional development.

All workshops are a complimentary service to the federal executive community. Attend all workshops and receive a certificate of completion!

New Podcast Coming Soon!

Workshop Recordings

Upcoming Session Information

GROWing Those You Lead with Berndatte Costello & Jennifer Rogers

Have a difficult and important conversation that you put off or don’t know how to get started?This interactive and experiential workshop will introduce the GROW coaching model that can result in higher levels of leadership effectiveness, trust, and commitment that supports an organization’s objectives.

Additional Resources from the Speakers:

GROWing Those You Lead Workbook
Available for download!

Three Seconds & Counting: How to Write in Plain Language

In this workshop, you’ll learn the basic principles of writing clearly in plain language. Best of all, you’ll practice hands-on exercises to solidify the concepts in your head. You’ll leave with a new perspective on how to write in a way that holds reader interest and serves the citizens, and you’ll have a valuable set of new skills you can put to work as soon as you return to the office. This class will be the best fit for those who have little or no experience writing in plain English, but all levels are welcome. Have a notebook and pen handy—and please be prepared to participate verbally and during written exercises throughout the workshop.

Rooting Forest Therapy

In this session, participants will gain an understanding of the principles and application of the rapidly emerging practice of nature and forest therapy as a tool for improving the mental, physical and emotional health of individuals, while increasing their level of self-efficacy, self-awareness and heart-centered decision-making.

Who Am I Writing For? Plain Language and the Target Audience

The foundational principle of plain language is to write clearly for the intended audience. Although it might seem simple, government writers are often stymied by misconceptions about plain language and audience. How can you be sure you're targeting your message and writing clearly for that audience? How can you write in plain language for technical experts without "dumbing down?"

Workshop Descriptions

Navigating the Six Paths to Leadership with Mark Clark & Meredith Persily Lamel

This workshop and presentation offers insights based on commonalities and differences across six successful paths to leadership. Thousands of books and articles reference leadership and leadership positions in our society. Whether they focus on the characteristics of effective leaders, how to onboard senior executives, or how to nail the top leadership position. While each offers something worthy of reflection, rarely do they make distinctions based on the path the leader took to reach that leadership position. Mark Clark (Kogod) and Meredith Persily Lamel (SPA), leadership professors and coaches, believe this distinction matters! We will outline the critical distinctions and commonalities across six leadership paths in private and public sector organizations: promoted, outside hire, elected, appointed, founded, and inherited/family legacy. We compare advantages and challenges of each of the paths and share strategies that leaders can successfully apply across the paths. For leaders who pursue and/or transition across paths and for organizations who support them, they will develop higher awareness about where they should focus their energies, particularly in the first year of their leadership positions.

Meredith Persily Lamel, CEO, Aspire@Work Adjunct Professorial Lecturer & Executive Coach Department of Public Administration & Policy American University & Mark Clark, Consultant, Performance Solutions Associate Professor Kogod School of Business

This session was hosted in partnership with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at American University. 

Read More about Meredith

Read More about Mark Clark

In accordance with the speakers' request, this session was not recorded. 

Rooting Forest Therapy to Enhance Executive Leadership & Agency Outcomes with Everett Marshall, Tamberly Conway and Toby Bloom

In this session, participants will gain an understanding of the principles and application of the rapidly emerging practice of nature and forest therapy as a tool for improving the mental, physical and emotional health of individuals, while increasing their level of self-efficacy, self-awareness and heart-centered decision-making. Specific learning objectives will include:

  • Knowledge of how forest therapy provides an innovative, proven approach for increasing individual health and well-being;

  • Knowledge of how forest therapy can be used to support team development, social bonding and effectiveness;
  • Knowledge of how forest bathing can enhance leader effectiveness through increased self-awareness and improved decision-making;
  • Insight into specific applications of forest bathing in the federal sector;
  • A practical experience with a forest bathing activity during the workshop.

Three Seconds & Counting: How to Write in Plain Language and Keep the Audience Reading with Wendy Wagner-Smith

Recent research shows you only have 3 to 5 seconds to catch and keep the attention of any potential reader. That means you’ve got to quickly let that reader know why they should bother, and you’ve got to do it clearly, without technical jargon, legalese, bureaucratese, or any of the other forms of official gobbledygook. Federal leaders have even more reason to learn to write clearly and with a professionally conversational tone, because they’re required by the Plain Writing Act of 2010 to ensure government documents are clear and easy to understand.

In this workshop, you’ll learn the basic principles of writing clearly in plain language. Best of all, you’ll practice hands-on exercises to solidify the concepts in your head. You’ll leave with a new perspective on how to write in a way that holds reader interest and serves the citizens, and you’ll have a valuable set of new skills you can put to work as soon as you return to the office. This class will be the best fit for those who have little or no experience writing in plain English, but all levels are welcome. Have a notebook and pen handy—and please be prepared to participate verbally and during written exercises throughout the workshop.

Additional Resources:
Watch Session
Presentation Slides
Resource List & Reading Guide
Handouts & Exercises
Simpler Words Exercise
Simpler Words Key
What does the reader need to know?
Editing Checklist

Wendy Wagner-Smith head shot

Wendy Wagner-Smith is a career communications professional and expert in plain language and usable design. Since 2007, she has taught plain language to federal employees in more than 55 agencies and offices of the national government, as well as employees of state and local governments across the country. From 2012-2018, Wendy was the training coordinator for the federal Plain Language Action and Information Network, managing a corps of volunteer instructors and coordinating all the plain language training requests from across the government.

Wendy began her career as a daily newspaper reporter covering local and state government issue and progressed to first managing a small suburban weekly and then to a business-to-business publishing company. Wendy’s expertise and training courses include writing and editing, media relations; social media content creation and management; web usability, website content creation, and management; graphic design and photography (including iPhone photography); marketing communications and video scripting, shooting, and editing; off-set and digital printing and publishing; and project management.

Wendy has taught for national communications organizations including the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) and the Society for Technical Communications. She served on the NAGC Board of Directors for nearly 7 years, most recently as interim Communications Director. In addition, Wendy travels around the country by invitation speaking and teaching at national conferences for professionals who want to communicate—and most of all, to write—clearly and concisely.