Need help trying to resolve an argument? Or do you need help trying to become a better team leader? Some students and faculty from the Mass Communication Department traveled to two Skillpath seminars in Shreveport on Jan. 12-13 to learn the answer to both questions.The first of the seminars was the aptly titled “Conflict Resolution for Women,” which gave some suggestions on how best to resolve problems in the workplace decisively.
Catherine Korpolinski of Dallas was the speaker for the event and was open and talked willingly with participants of the program.
“This program offers me the opportunity to offer participants the chance to learn skills in dealing with conflict and how best to keep the situation from getting worse,” she said.
Many of the lessons that were taught in the seminar were basic lessons that many do already.
Practices such as being an active listener, keeping body language positive, and keeping the discussion on topic were some of the highlights.
Some other points such as sifting through the disagreement and finding the parts you were responsible for and choosing a neutral site for the meeting would also keep situations from getting out of control.
Many of the participants were women who were at times in managerial positions.
All of the women said that they would take the tips and try them out in their work place before saying they were gospel.
“Hopefully, I’ll be able to resolve conflicts with my team and boss by standing up for myself and taking life less seriously,” said Dawn Trundle, a gym manager from Shreveport.
On the second day, the students and faculty were introduced to Jim Randolf of McKinney, Texas, who was more than eager to share his knowledge of what a good leader was.
He spoke of the different personality types that exist when dealing with leaders.
“You have four different leadership styles and all of them are effective when used correctly,” he stated.
The four styles he mentioned were targeted, enthusiastic, accommodating, and meditative. All of the participants took a brief quiz which “told” them which group they were a part of.
Much of the class was a part of the enthusiastic group of leaders which appreciate the friendships they share with their teammates and encourage team motivation.
During the seminar he also highlighted some of the problems that might occur when people are in a manager position – large age gaps and attitude differences, for instance.
“The leader of the class seemed to be very knowledgeable which I appreciated. The whole seminar was very informative, and I know I’ll take this back to work with me,” said Tesha Sanders of El Dorado, Ark.
These two programs are only glimpses into the work that Skill Path does to empower the masses through self-help books and toolkits.
Skill Path itself was a program that was co-founded by Denise Dudley, Ph.D., and was designed to give people the feeling that they could contribute positively to their workplace.