Sarah Murphy-Kangas and I will be presenting this FREE series at WWU's Small Business Development Center! If you're a Whatcom County leader or small business owner, you don't want to miss it. Come to one or all three of the sessions!

Healthy, productive organizations are characterized by leaders who know how to give hard feedback, are approachable, and can effectively communicate in groups of any size. These short, interactive sessions will focus on your own development as a skilled communicator and leave you with practical strategies to begin applying right away!

SBDC will be hosting three lunchtime leadership development talks for local business owners at our new office, located on Cornwall in downtown Bellingham. Bring your lunch and learn about these important topics:

Session 1: Giving Feedback: The Coaching Leader (November 10, 11:45-1:00).
Have you ever lost sleep before a difficult conversation? Participants will learn how to deliver feedback in a way that lowers the listener's defenses and is both kind and direct. This essential toolkit can be used by anyone to bring greater accountability, clarity, and alignment in businesses of any size.

Session 2: Receiving Feedback: The Approachable Leader (November 17, 11:45-1:00).
If you haven't received honest feedback about your leadership lately, it might mean you're not approachable enough! This session will give you a window into how approachable you are and skills to increase the likelihood that your staff will talk TO you instead of about you.

Session 3: Running Great Meetings: The Facilitative Leader (December 1, 11:45-1:00).
Meetings can be the bane of a leader's existence. But it doesn't have to be that way! Learn a few tips to make your meetings lively, productive, and relevant-just-in-time agendas, managing participants' airtime, and creating engagement instead of report-outs.