Our Personal Growth Workshop continues!

Does your workplace lack morale?  Is there a lot of drama at your office?  Do you feel like your employees are apathetic?  Does it feel like mutual respect is a myth?

For centuries, the armies of nations have been the first to thrust themselves into the most dangerous situations known to man.  In the modern era, that may be going to war or war stricken countries, or countries torn apart by natural disasters.  As an individual, these circumstances are largely the most horrifying a person could encounter.  It’s common knowledge that people’s egos run their lives, so in the face of endangered self-preservation, people will commonly run the other direction. 

So how is it that the individuals in the army can look straight in the face of that fear and tackle it head on, and emerge victorious? How and why do soldiers risk life and limb for goals not related to their own security, safety and well-being?  Even more relevant to us, how can we instill that drive into our own company and employees?  Aside from the natural predisposition of soldiers to find danger exhilarating, there is one aspect that instills an intrinsic desire for people to work towards, and potentially risk life and limb for, a bigger goal than themselves.  It instills greater internal strength, motivation, focus and identity.  

That aspect is leadership.  

About The Speaker

Ryan Thomas joined the army as a young man when he was seventeen years old.  He promptly went to the Royal Military College and acquired a Bachelors of Science, majoring in Space Science. His education was not normal, however, as his daily routine included team building exercises with his platoons, and leadership training to prepare him as an officer in the Canadian Army.  When he graduated in 2006, he completed his 5 year training program and was posted to Edmonton, Alberta, where his first role in the army was a platoon commander.  From this point forward his various positions in the military would routinely involve Ryan having to earn the respect and trust of soldiers who had been in the army longer than he had been alive. 

Over the years, and throughout his career progression, Ryan encountered innumerable situations that challenged his leadership knowledge and forced development.  Further to the experiences he encountered, he had weekly leadership development classes, monthly and yearly required training courses focussed on development that he needed to complete prior to promotion, quarterly leadership and performance reviews and annual performance and leadership evaluations.

His most influential roles involved him instructing and mentoring over 30 young men and women how to be officers and how to lead in the Canadian Forces.  Another involved him overseeing 100 personnel, a multi-million dollar budget, and 40,000 hectares of training area that supported several thousand soldiers and government personnel, both national and international, at the age of 24.

During his career as an officer, he made a lot of mistakes, and he had a lot of success as well.  As such, he was able to recognize the patterns in his troops to determine what earned him the most amount of respect, and what lost him respect.  Throughout his career, and after over $10,000 spent on personal training oriented around communication and relationship building, Ryan authored a book in February 2014 that consolidated the lessons, values, skills and virtues that helped him succeed the most, both in his military career and in his personal endeavours.

Ryan’s talk will go over some of the traits, values and concepts of how you could build a solid company culture through leadership, and evolve it into a driving force for heightened morale and success.  You will learn:

• The difference between management and leadership

• The importance of culture and leadership support

• The unseen consequences of low respect, how to recognize them, and how to generate change

• The simplest method to earn respect

• Why being “nice” is hurting your employees and how assertiveness increases effectiveness and morale

• How to turn arguments into a force for change, productivity and strengthened relationships

We look forward to seeing you all at the event, Power and Influence: Army Leadership Concepts That Earn Greater Respect and Drive Productivity

About our venue Sponsor: Langara

Vancouver School Board Night School now operating under Langara Continuing Studies. Everything from Animal Care,Sewing Textiles, Jewellery making to Floristry Arts,Soap making, Knitting, Business, Computer skills, Cooking ,Drawing, Painting and Writing, Music, Photography, Fitness, Thinkers’ Corner, Health and Wellness , Home and Garden, World Languages, ESL, Shops and Trades, Instructor Training Program, Family Childcare and even courses taught in Chinese! http://www.langara.bc.ca/continuing-studies/programs-and-courses/index.html

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Charity: TBA

All proceeds from this event will go towards this charity.

Cost: Cover by donation

Venue: Langara, Room C509, 100 W.49th

Time: 6:30-8:30pm

Date: Thursday, March 5th

Includes: snacks, beverage, networking and 1 hour seminar.