Imagine a workplace where everyone feels empowered, feels heard, and recognises the value of all contributors

Managers spend 25-40 percent of their time managing negative behaviour, internal conflict, disagreements, gossip, that is, workplace drama.

“Conflict Resolution: When Should Leaders Step In?;” www.forbes.com; May 15, 2014.

I was the founder of a small homegrown business that grew to become a large, award-winning, national-serving healthcare organisation. As the evolving entrepreneur-to-CEO I became, I was vested in finding ways to create a consistently empowered, forward-focused, customer-centred workforce. They all worked. Most of them felt like they were just the ticket. Well, at least for a while, before the dramas would arise again.

I used to be heard to say:

Wouldn’t it be great if we could shut the doors for a month? We’d switch off the phones and bring all the good I know we can create together as an employer of choice. We know we do have all the resources, we’re clear on values, what matters, and we know what we want…

Could we pour that into a training manual and start-over? Then, we’d invite the staff, and tell them to forget everything we’ve said until now. Work with them on this new way of operating our business. Do it together with them, because we all need to do this. So still no business, just the staff, for another month.

Then we will reopen fully again for business. This time we’d be operating with the best outcomes in mind for our customers, our staff, and us as stakeholders. I will also trash everything I’d put in place before now.

Shutting down business for two months was never a realistic option.

We were an emergency staffing service to the healthcare industry 24/7. An employer responsible for a large external team of nurses and careworkers and a smaller internal team operating around the clock. Business had to keep going. So we kept on fixing issues, updating policies and procedures, buying the latest technology or customer relationship management programs. We’d focus on reports and watch KPIs. All the managers would come to work with a plan for their day. It’d be rare that any week didn’t have them spending their time instead managing and getting distracted by daily small and large people dramas, as they arose. We kept on replacing staff.

Employees who are not engaged or who are actively disengaged cost the world $8.8 trillion in lost productivity, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report. That’s equal to 9% of global GDP.

Employee engagement had been rising for the past decade, but the pandemic has stalled that steadily increasing trend. Leaders are now responsible for creating new work environments that are more resilient and adaptable to global shocks.

Gallup, Workplace, Employee Engagement Strategies: Fixing the World’s $8.8 Trillion Problem, Ryan Pendell, Updated 11 September 2023.

How about you?

If you had the opportunity to make the most important change you could, for your company, in as little as six weeks, what would be your first priority?

• Would you focus on your products/services?
• Perhaps you’d fix your systems, policies and procedures; or
• What about your people?

What I didn’t know then, and do know now, is it’s about understanding how we and our people think, interact, and take action.

Sound easy? Easy to understand at an intellectual level – yes.

In reality, what it will take is:

• Your willingness to be a model of vulnerability. You would sit at the table and be honest about how you and your people are showing up as leaders and team members at work, and even at home. Doing so in a safe, guided facilitation.
• You’ll get to understand what’s going on beneath the surface for every person in our organisation; and
• You will practice how to replace old habits and behaviours with new, healthier ones.

That is the full treasure chest we can open together for you, and you and all your people will reap the rewards from it immediately and for the long term.

Are you ready?

The work to be done comes down to shifting away from the quantity of time and energy lost on finding, tweaking, worrying over, or resolving problems with systems, products, services, policies, and the like to getting down to work with a focus on quality:

Quality of your human conversations, thoughts, and actions. That’s what’s most important. From that place so much is possible.

I wish I’d known this back then! This is the power of the 3 Vital Questions®: bringing the power of TED* to work and life foundational program.

Imagine a workplace where everyone feels empowered, feels heard, and recognises the value of all contributors.

Who is it for:

• The 3 Vital Questions is for those ready to upgrade their working relationships to become more resourceful, resilient and innovative.
• It’s for people desiring to lead the way to achieve higher staff engagement and retention, individual fulfilment and organisational productivity.
• No matter the size or type of organisation, the 3 Vital Questions® are for anyone wanting less drama and more fulfilling and effective interpersonal relationships.
• That includes CEOs, senior leaders, department heads, HR leaders, leadership and organisation development professionals, team leaders and their teams.
• I will provide you with the foundations of TED*® and the 3 Vital Questions® framework and demonstrate how to put them to work.

I completed this course for myself. Then I completed it again before becoming certified with The Center for The Empowerment Dynamic (TED*) to deliver this powerful training to organisations of all sizes, types and geographic locations. It has been delivered globally for over 10 years by myself and fellow 3VQ trainers and coaches.

‘Over several months, Susan recently facilitated small and large group programs with 50 staff of an English-speaking special school in Hong Kong, a culturally diverse team, from the school principal to the janitor. ‘Susan’s influence has positively impacted our staff and empowered us with the knowledge and skills to continue our focus and commitment to strengthening our emotional intelligence and reducing workplace drama.’

Belinda McLaughlin, Vice Principal, Jockey Club Sarah Roe School, Hong Kong (2023)

To give you an idea of the program content:

This may be booked as:

1. a conference presentation (from 60-minutes); or
2. as an interactive introductory workshop (90-minutes, half- or full-day); or
3. arrange for you and your team to complete the program of six x 90-minute group Zoom sessions. That includes lifelong access to the online content and workbook for each staff member. This is what Belinda’s team rolled out in varying formats (per the testimony above).

Whichever format you choose, I promise to deliver insights to leaders and team members that it is possible to shift away from drama, be happier, and show up with vulnerability and greater compassion.

You and your people will become more productive, thus improving results and moving your organisation forward, in service of your customers.

These 3 Vital Questions® not only improve work relationships but improve other important relationships as well.

Large healthcare organisations, including The Cleveland Clinic and The Children’s Hospital in Colorado, have integrated the 3 Vital Questions® and TED*® frameworks into their leadership programs.

The Cleveland Clinic was one study that interested me, given my experience in partnering with healthcare providers. Over 10 years, they have taken more than 1,000 leaders through the 3VQ programs, both this foundational program and the two-day deep dive that follows on from this.

Case studies are available.

Book a time for a conversation with me via the booking button below. Alternatively, email me directly and let’s take it from there.

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