Posts tagged “partners”

Athena Alliance Members – A Closer Look at Sharone Bar-David

Since I started the Athena Alliance blogtalk radio show I have had the opportunity to share with our listeners the expertise of our diverse group of trainers, facilitators, coaches and consultants.  Each member has a profile featured on our website and I thought for upcoming blogs I would share with our readers a more personal look at some of our partners and in no particular order.

Sharone Bar-David

When you meet Sharone you experience a very calm, confident and well spoken lady.  I have enjoyed working with her these past few years as she has developed her niche in training and coaching programs that create respectful workplaces.  She has recently become Canada’s first Boss Whisperer.  When I first heard the term I was a little unsure as to what it exactly meant. It means she works with managers who have an abrasive tone about them and she works to help them to become more respectful with others in the organization. Sharone has a passion for helping organizations create respectful workplaces and provides the training and coaching to those who want to move in that direction.  She works both with groups and individuals to identify and change those behaviours that may be experienced by others as bullying or harassment.  A lot has changed in corporations in the past few decades and Sharone is definitely the go-to person when a company has any of these types of issues.

One of the things I respect most about Sharone is her commitment to results.  We once had an organization that was experiencing harassment issues from a senior executive and I was called to help. I connected this company with Sharone and when she couldn’t get anyone from the senior team to return her calls or emails she declined working with them.  When she called and explained that she would not work with them unless the senior team supported the program, I totally understood.  She is committed to results and without buy in from the top, it was not possible.  I feel very fortunate to have Sharone in my alliance and look forward to working together for many years to come.

Here is a link to Sharone’s Profile:

 http://webmarketingnorth.net/athena/alliance-partners/sharone-bar-david

Athena Alliance Members – A Closer Look

Since I started the Athena Alliance blogtalk radio show I have had the opportunity to share with our listeners the expertise of our diverse group of trainers, facilitators, coaches and consultants.  Each member has a profile featured on our website and I thought for upcoming blogs I would share with our readers a more personal look at some of our partners and in no particular order.

Dorothy Lazovik

I was first introduced in 2005 to Dorothy via Vicky Wilson (a former alliance member who has passed).  I followed my usual intake process and had a chat on the phone with Dorothy to determine fit.  Our conversation flowed beautifully and she piqued my interest as I never actually spoken with anyone about personal branding.  I knew organizations spent millions on their brand recognition, but I had never thought about the importance of congruency in how you present yourself.

We scheduled a breakfast meeting for a few weeks later.  I was very impressed when I met Dorothy and could more clearly understand what she was talking about when she said how your dress, speak and interact with others communicates a message.  Part of my intake process is that I need to experience each of my alliance partners providing their service and Dorothy was no different.

I was going through her process so I could understand first-hand what she did and the impact it can have.  The first step was an online assessment, followed by a one-on-one session to review the results of the assessment, create a personal brand for myself, look at my current wardrobe and make up.

There were no surprises in the Prevue assessment as I had done many like it before and it substantiated for me that it was a good assessment tool.  The next step is what surprised me.  Dorothy explained to me that when she spoke with me on the phone I was very warm, friendly and professional and yet when she met me she was surprised because how I was dressed did not communicate the same message as the person on the phone.  I came to our meeting in a black pinstriped suit with a white blouse and too much make up.  My hair was short and red at the time.  She felt there was a disconnect in who I was and how I was dressing. 

After that we explored what image I wanted to portrait.  I said I wanted to be known as a fun professional, which for me seemed impossible before meeting Dorothy.  I thought you could be one or the other, not both at the same time.  I was wrong.  We proceeded to have my makeup done; my hairstyle and colour changed and went to shop so she could show me the types of clothes the best fit my body type and my new image.  This was somewhat confronting to me because it meant changing everything including not wearing black!

Over the next few months I slowly transformed my wardrobe and my hair colour was returned to its natural colour and was growing.  About six months after I had gone through Dorothy’s process I met a former colleague for lunch and the first thing she said was “It’s not like it is a new you, it is more that it is the real you.”  For the first time in years I felt totally comfortable with who I am.

Dorothy has continued to work with leaders and employees to help them get in touch with their authentic selves.

Here is Dorothy’s profile: 

http://webmarketingnorth.net/athena/alliance-partners/dorothy-lazovik

Athena Alliance Members – A Closer Look

Since I started the Athena Alliance blogtalk radio show I have had the opportunity to share with our listeners the expertise of our diverse c, facilitators, coaches and consultants.  Each member has a profile featured on our website and I thought for upcoming blogs I would share with our readers a more personal look at some of our partners and in no particular order.

Tammy Sturge

In March 2006 a former alliance member was conducting a test pilot of a new program he had designed and invited me to attend.  The event was held in this state of the art training facility in Vaughan.  I was honoured to participate and arrived my usual fifteen minutes early.  I was seated next to a tall attractive lady, who I would soon learn was Tammy Sturge.  I recognized the name but not the face.  During our first break we started to chat and it was obvious to both of us we needed to talk more about her offerings and my alliance in a separate meeting.  We decided we would meet for a coffee at the end of the pilot.  I can see now looking back how much we both are “let’s do it now” people.

After we had been talking for a few minutes I realized why her name was so familiar, she was a seminar leader at one of the organizations where I had participated in some personal development programs.  I knew then Tammy was a master facilitator. We both left at the end of our meeting, knowing there were good things ahead.

It was less than a week from when Tammy first joined the alliance when I made my first introduction.  The customer was delighted and told me that she was one of the strongest facilitators he had ever experienced.  This company still calls her or one of her team members to work with them on various projects.  When I have a client that has really tough situations to address, I call Tammy first and she always has a relevant solutions.  A few of the programs I have had Tammy and her team help clients with include: creating and implementing strategic plans, creating powerful leadership teams, pay equity, off-site planning sessions, organizational development projects, managing change and many more.

Here is a link to Tammy’s profile:

 http://webmarketingnorth.net/athena/alliance-partners/tammy-sturge

So Much to Do in So Little Time!

As I have shared in many of my previous blogs, I am so grateful for the opportunities we have to work with the training and development professionals in organizations.  This story I am sharing is no different.

I had the pleasure of meeting with the learning consultant and his colleague of a large retail chain.  I met with these two gentlemen much the same as I meet with most of my clients, by prospecting.  During our initial meeting they shared that they had no immediate needs and were quite happy they chose to meet with me.  I explained everything about how the alliance worked and how we have consistently been able to provide the right fit training partners.  At the end of the meeting we agreed I would follow up in three months.

Two weeks after our appointment I received a call from one of the consultants explaining they had a rush need for an instructional designer.  They had just got approval to roll out a new program and did not have the internal resources to make it happen on time.  During my conversation with him I learned that they needed this in less than a two week turnaround. They had to design the program and conduct a train the trainer so it could be rolled out in several locations across the country by their internal staff.  I said I had several instructional designers in my alliance and I said I would get to work on it right away.

I called one instructional designer and she was just heading out the door to an appointment.  We continued the call while she was enroute to her appointment.  In order for this to happen, it would mean she would have to work the weekend.  She said of all the weekends, this would be the perfect weekend for her to work on such a project as her husband and son were out of town at a hockey tournament.

She needed a little more information than what I had at the time so we agreed I would virtually connect the two of them so they could determine the fit.  I got a call back the next day advising me that they were going ahead and she was excited for this opportunity.

When I did my follow up call after the completion of the project, the consultant shared with me that our alliance partner was such a delight to work with and she came through above and beyond what he could expect.  He said he was so impressed with her level of commitment to their project, so much so that she actually came and sat in the pilot program on her own time.  Pretty awesome!

 By
Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC