SELECT Program Sessions

Our workshop modules include individual and group activities, discussions and reflections, presentations or talks from module instructors, and group coaching (for Tier 2).

2012-13 Academic Year

TIER ONE: Strengthening Self-Awareness and Team Capability

Tier 1 Modules:
Understanding Self and Group Roles (Sept 19-20)
Team Communication (Oct 17-18)
Values and Goal Setting (Nov 21-22)
Decision Making (Jan 23-24)

Module 1: Understanding Self and Group Roles

• MBTI and leadership capability self-assessments with emphasis on self-awareness and the benefits of having diverse groups
• Group activity and discussion on the impact of personal preferences in team processes

Module 2: Team Communication

Tristan Retelsdorf modeled the art of developing a team through facilitation that was inclusive, purposeful and empowering. Tristan and Justin Ha brought real life examples of workplace communication, including its challenges, expectations, tools and approaches that would help teams thrive. Students got tested in their own abilities and received coaching to improve their internal and external communications. It is a difficult art to master alone; learning with others proved not only necessary, but very effective and enjoyable!

Module 3:  Values and Goal Setting

Jim Ribau brought us through a systematic, tested and proven series of exercises to help us learn to define our core values, align our goals to our values in various life spheres, develop SMART goals and enhance achieving strategies through SWOT analysis. Greg Zilberbrant answered many questions about how these directly relate to our professional expectations, team life, relationship with supervisors, and social responsibility. Small groups practiced establishing common purposes based on their group values, prioritizing and developing their teams' 1-year plans using the transferable tools.

Module 4:  Decision Making

Tyler Wright took us through important lessons from his own transitions through and after university - What to expect, what questions to ask, how to build strength in preparation for the work we're passionate about, how to make choices (and sacrifices) that move us in a purposeful direction. Michael Kukhta introduced us to an effective tool for identifying key steps that lead to solving a complex problem, tturning road blocks into positive challenges. The whole module helped us focus more on the process, take initiative to learn more, work with others of diverse strengths, in order to arrive at the best and most effective decisions possible - in both personal and team settings. Tier 1 members are now working on at least three things they will do this term to get us closer to where they want to be after university.

TIER TWO: Leading Change in Personal, Team and Community Dimensions

Tier 2 Modules:
Inspiring Vision and Focus (Sept 26-27)
Change Management (Oct 24-25)
Conflict Resolution (Nov 28-29)
Community Citizenship (Jan 30-31)

Module 1: Inspiring Vision and Focus

Vince Silvestri spoke on the nature and purpose of vision, importance and key strategies to create focus, and examples from his team meeting high-stake challenges head-on. Followed by coaching sessions in small groups with Jim Ribau (in his unique inquiry style) and Vince, students worked on Envisioning Exercise, vision / mission statement development, and action plan development for the kind of impact they seek to create. Inspiring quotes gave us food for thought - A couple of these can be found on our facilitator bios HERE.

Module 2: Change Management

Charlie Elliott drew from the examples at RIM to build relevant framework for SELECT students on: the types of change to be recognised, responded to, and created; and the role of leaders in managing such changes. Followed by coaching sessions in small groups with Kyle Kivimaki and Charlie Elliott, students developed analysis and action plans based on the framework presented. Module wrapped up with a short panel Q&A to Charlie and Kyle on the qualities of individuals that make a strong, agile leadership team.

Module 3: Conflict Resolution

Leah Mojeski and Vanessa Mazzetti led us through real examples of different types of conflict, who and what factors were involved, how various considerations shaped the appropriate responses and resolution process, and possible alternatives. The in-depth exploration of real cases led us to deeply appreciate the complex nature of conflicts that involve organisational dynamics and real people. Small group discussions with Leah and Vanessa re-examined the conflict experiences we have not yet mastered to creative solutions. Each team of students derived 5 key principles to direct their current conflict resolution efforts.

Module 4: Community Citizenship

Andrew Kasza helped us redefine what an engineer is. His presentation in the life of an engineer helped us re-evaluate our commitments to the communities we serve, and gave us a real sense of the diverse types of work and patterns of relationships we’ll have with people all around the world as we work as engineers. We were able to converge what we have learned over the past two years and open up to envisioning new possibilities for SELECT and students at McMaster Engineering.