A SAMPLE OF OUR PROGRAMS
At VN&Co, we recognize that context is everything.
While we have various basic designs, everything we do is tailored to your specific context, so that we can help you address your thorniest challenges.
Contact us directly to learn more.
While we have various basic designs, everything we do is tailored to your specific context, so that we can help you address your thorniest challenges.
Contact us directly to learn more.
The Connected Communicator
|
How effective are your people at presenting themselves and their ideas? By the end of this program, they will be able to connect authentically with clients, colleagues and teams. They will be more compelling in meetings, presentations and one-on-one challenging conversations.
|
|
The Connected Leader: Storyteller
Do your leaders understand the power of stories? By the end of this program, they’ll become powerful influencers that craft compelling stories and link those stories to business objectives. They’ll learn how to use stories to motivate and influence customers, colleagues or teams.
- 1-6 VN & Co master facilitators
- 1– or 2-day format
- For groups of 8 to 60 leaders
- Customized versions available based on tailored needs assessment
- Take-Home tools, follow-up phone or in-person coaching
Executive Presence
|
There are now tons of programs on Executive Presence. Go to the source. Van Ness & Co coaches/trainers have been facilitating Executive and Leadership Presence workshops for over 20 years. We've worked with the people that wrote the book, literally.
What is different about being an executive from being a manager? How do you show up in a way that demonstrates your value and expertise? What is that "secret sauce" that makes people look up, notice you, and take you seriously? To what degree do you engender trust, and excel at building quality relationships? This program is for any leader, at any level in an organization - even if you are an individual contributor. Because everyone can experience themselves as a leader. And every leader can learn to show up with Executive Presence. Yes, there are specific qualities, capabilities and mindsets that you can learn and put into practice. |
|
Ideal for helping teams connect, create a sense of belonging, and foster alignment and collaboration.
WHAT IS IT?
The Listening Hour is a curated experience designed for a small group of people to share personal stories and listen to each other in a virtual format.
The intention is about paying attention in the present to what is emergent.
Our stories hold wisdom. Sharing them within a strong container and being truly heard by others builds connection, belonging and resilience.
We remember moments that are meaningful to us, even the smallest, most simple moments, whether they are about hard times or good. If we can be open to what emerges in the moment to share, sometimes we are really surprised in a positive way, and what we have to say is often interesting, memorable and even meaningful for others as well.
Developed by Jonathan Fox, the co-founder of Playback Theatre, the Listening Hour emerged in 2020 as a response to the pandemic, when so many people were feeling isolated and alone. It has proven so successful that it is expanding worldwide. While the sense of isolation has subsided, the desire for belonging and connection remains.
WHY DO LISTENING HOUR AT WORK?
To create conscious organizations that foster transformation by balancing positive impact for all stakeholders, listening and compassion are key. A Listening Hour experience accomplishes this by inviting us to understand each other more deeply at the human level by sharing our personal stories. This can lead to greater alignment, creativity and collaboration.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The sessions last for about an hour. It is a structured process guided by an authorized facilitator.
Everyone is invited to speak at the start, but not everyone necessarily participates as a teller of one of the fuller stories. It remains up to the individual, and on the timing.
What is important is that we all try to sense what story wants to be told and at what moment. The intention is about paying attention in the present to what is emergent.
The Listening Hour is not a therapy session. It seeks to create a safe place of mutual respect where every story is honored and heard, where gentle attention, compassion, empathy and confidentiality guide us.
WHAT IS IT?
The Listening Hour is a curated experience designed for a small group of people to share personal stories and listen to each other in a virtual format.
The intention is about paying attention in the present to what is emergent.
Our stories hold wisdom. Sharing them within a strong container and being truly heard by others builds connection, belonging and resilience.
We remember moments that are meaningful to us, even the smallest, most simple moments, whether they are about hard times or good. If we can be open to what emerges in the moment to share, sometimes we are really surprised in a positive way, and what we have to say is often interesting, memorable and even meaningful for others as well.
Developed by Jonathan Fox, the co-founder of Playback Theatre, the Listening Hour emerged in 2020 as a response to the pandemic, when so many people were feeling isolated and alone. It has proven so successful that it is expanding worldwide. While the sense of isolation has subsided, the desire for belonging and connection remains.
WHY DO LISTENING HOUR AT WORK?
To create conscious organizations that foster transformation by balancing positive impact for all stakeholders, listening and compassion are key. A Listening Hour experience accomplishes this by inviting us to understand each other more deeply at the human level by sharing our personal stories. This can lead to greater alignment, creativity and collaboration.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The sessions last for about an hour. It is a structured process guided by an authorized facilitator.
Everyone is invited to speak at the start, but not everyone necessarily participates as a teller of one of the fuller stories. It remains up to the individual, and on the timing.
What is important is that we all try to sense what story wants to be told and at what moment. The intention is about paying attention in the present to what is emergent.
The Listening Hour is not a therapy session. It seeks to create a safe place of mutual respect where every story is honored and heard, where gentle attention, compassion, empathy and confidentiality guide us.
WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID
How did you feel afterward? Specific feedback for the Guide?
: I felt at peace, centered and connected. : Beautifully led! With grace, breath, elegance.
: Inspired, grateful, amazed : A maestro of magic
: Connected, validated and hopeful : Masterful ability to create space
: Seen. Accepted. Connected. Nourished. : You are clearly a master at this process yet your
: I felt a wave of connectivity and an genuine curiosity and compassion make the
appreciation for people's unique perspectives. experience feel fluid, peer-led and supported.
How did you feel afterward? Specific feedback for the Guide?
: I felt at peace, centered and connected. : Beautifully led! With grace, breath, elegance.
: Inspired, grateful, amazed : A maestro of magic
: Connected, validated and hopeful : Masterful ability to create space
: Seen. Accepted. Connected. Nourished. : You are clearly a master at this process yet your
: I felt a wave of connectivity and an genuine curiosity and compassion make the
appreciation for people's unique perspectives. experience feel fluid, peer-led and supported.
Connected Stories Playback Theater
|
We bring an ensemble of specially trained actor-facilitators to your event. Using a uniquely engaging form of improvisational theatre, we enact true stories and feelings from the audience. This process creates deep empathy and connection between team members and various, sometimes disparate groups. With links made to key organizational goals, Playback Theatre is great for meetings and conferences to build alignment, celebrate milestones and enhance community.
• 5-6 VN & Co players • 1.5 – 3-hour programs • 20–250 participants • Engages all stakeholders • Interactive, lively and fun |
|
Connection:
The Key to Alignment & Collaboration
|
One of the many things the pandemic has illuminated is that people long for feeling connected. Leaders need to find ways of doing that virtually.
Leaders also know that to effectively lead an organization to meet its goals and serve its constituents there must be alignment and collaboration at the top of the organization. When there’s not, there’s a lack of clarity, greater disorganization and missed opportunities. Focusing on truly connecting as people through shared vision and values helps board members work more effectively with each other and with their ED. This highly interactive and experiential program will provide board members and ED’s with frameworks, strategies and tools for building trust-based relationships that will increase alignment and foster greater collaboration. Participants will walk away with approaches they can implement immediately. |
|
Well-Being Rituals & Traditions
|
Rituals have been sustained for thousands of years by cultures all over the globe because they supported the essential human need for connection, belonging, and community. They help individuals recognize they are part of a “Whole” that is more than the individual human parts. They are a significant part of marking important moments in time that further support these human needs.
Giving formal attention to hosting “rituals” in business cultures is relatively new. But it is a fast growing process supported by research, white papers and articles by some of the worlds leading institutions. The use of rituals in modern companies is informed by employees asking for more connection, belonging, and community. They have proven to have a significant impact on employee engagement and various other factors that influence culture which in turn has long been proven to positively affect profit and the bottom line. Presented in collaboration with the Academy of Culture Ambassadors, we lead your people through the process of identifying an appropriate context and desired outcome, then craft a ritual they facilitate. |
|
The Living Case Study
|
We create a case study that brings to life situations currently playing out in your organization. In a highly interactive setting and using storytelling and theatrical dramatization, we’ll play out that case study ‘on stage’ to help your teams gain perspective on the challenges they face and opportunities they do not yet see. We facilitate the crafting of a new version of the story and a strategic plan for how to get there.
|