Speaking
Caroline Smith speaks on topics related to improving leadership skills in an organization, improving team performance, and hiring/retaining top talent. She specifically tailors her talks for executives with technical backgrounds. Every speaking topic is intended to teach skills, present the case for their use and leave each participant with specific takeaways they can immediately apply at work. Speaking engagements can be tailored to the needs of your organization or to your time slot.
Common Speaking Topics include:
For All Leaders
How to Resolve Conflict with a Fierce Conversation: Do you have a situation at work where you need to confront someone about something unacceptable that they are doing? In this presentation, you will learn 7 key elements to crafting an opening statement to your “fierce conversation”. Using this technique, you can be confident about how to confront someone with something that is bugging you.
7 Keys to More Effective One-to-One Meetings: How productive are your one-to-one meetings with your direct reports? In this presentation, you will learn how to double your productivity and value received from these meetings by learning 7 questions to ask during the meeting and 2 steps to take before the meeting. After practicing the 7 keys, you will never doubt again if these one-to-one meetings are of value.
How to Coach a Direct Report to Take Action: Do you have someone working for you that is stalled on a project and needs to take action? You have 2 alternatives at this point: tell them what to do or coach them to take a next step. In this presentation, you will learn 15 coaching questions you can use to coach your direct report to become more aware of options and to take action. We will also use role-play to enhance the learning.
How to Coach a Direct Report to Make Better Decisions: Do you have a direct report that needs to make a decision? They come to you asking for help in making a decision. You can tell them what to do or coach them to make more effective decisions. In this presentation, you will learn 21 coaching questions you can use to coach your direct report to become a better decision maker. We will also use role-play to enhance the learning.
Your Attitudes are Showing! On a frequent basis, most people experience differences of opinion and values conflicts between themselves and co-workers or clients. By being able to recognize and understand the 6 values/attitudes clusters of how people view the world, you will be able to establish rapport and credibility more easily. In this presentation, learn the attitudes/values model in order to communicate better and sell more effectively.
Conflict in the Workplace: Did you know that understanding your communication style and those around you will drastically decrease conflict and improve employee satisfaction by 50% in many cases? In this presentation, learn how applying a behavioral communication model will make a positive change in your company’s culture.
For Technical Leaders
How to Get Understanding and Buy-In of Your Technical Budget Request: Do you ever have to convince your board of directors or other non-technical stakeholders that you need to make an investment in something technical or hard to understand? Do their eyes glaze over when you try to explain your need? In this presentation, you will learn an easy method using 5 simple questions to address in your presentation so that everyone will understand and you will get buy-in.
People Skills for the Technical Leader: It is a myth that today’s technical leaders cannot be great leaders. Most companies base 80% of their hiring decision on technical skills, but then promote the top performers into positions requiring people skills. In this presentation we will find out what 5 people skills are key for effective leaders, and discover how to find out if a technical person has these skills and how to develop them.
Emotional IQ for the Technical Leader: Why do people with average IQs outperform people with high IQs 70% of the time? Because their Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is higher! You can’t change your IQ, but EQ is a flexible skill that can be learned. In this presentation, learn why EQ is so important for the technical leader, how to determine your Emotional IQ, and how you can develop EQ to outperform other leaders!
For Sales Leaders
Predicting Top Sales Performers: Did you know that 72% of top sales performers share the same top personal interest, attitude, and value? In this presentation we will uncover groundbreaking research that shows what’s inside top sales performers in the US and Europe. This research debunks the myth that you can distinguish top sales performers by how they look, sound, and behave. Instead, you have to look at their top attitude. See how you can reliably predict your next top sales performers before you hire them!
7 Emotional Competencies That Drive Breakthrough Sales: There are 7 Core Leadership Skill Competencies that consistently show up in top sales performers: results orientation, planning & organization, problem solving, conceptual thinking, flexibility, self-management, and personal accountability. Learn how you can identify these competencies during your hiring process to build a high-performing sales team.
For Hiring Managers
Benchmarking Jobs to Improve Employee Retention and Performance: Companies are seeking better ways to secure the talent necessary for success. But what talent does a job require for superior performance? Only the job has the answer, so let the job talk with a through an interactive benchmarking process and job assessment. A job benchmarking process can improve your employee retention up to 80%. In this presentation, you will learn the process to quickly determine the behaviors, values, and personal skills required for superior performance, then how to match the talent to the job.
Predicting Top Leaders: Did you know that there are 5 skills that most effective leaders share? In this presentation we will uncover results from a research study done for the Department of Defense on how to predict top leaders. This research uncovers that there is a concrete definition of leadership, and that effective leaders share 5 measurable talents. See how you can reliably predict your top leaders before you hire them!
How to Hire Financial Planners that will make $500K a Year: Did you know that successful financial planners making over $500K annually have 11 behaviors, attitudes and attributes in common? How successful are you today in hiring top-performing financial planners? In this presentation we will uncover results from a recent study that shows how you can reliably predict your next top financial planners before you hire them.