Sue France

Keynote

• Networking for success 
• The Art of Assumptions 
• Tips and techniques of professional networking 
• Internal and external networking 
• Discover how to build a powerful, professional, personal brand for maximum impact 

Keynote

• Neuroscience – understand your brain to maximise excellence 
• Advanced Communication and Influencing Techniques 
• Gaining and keeping Confidence  
• Neuroplasticity and what that means for us 
• Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) for the modern professional assistant 
• The language we use and how it affects yourself and others  
• The importance of social connectivity 

Keynote

• The 5 stages of relationship building 
• Understand how to prevent an amygdala hijack to keep that flow 
• USOFAR technique, reframing and mindfulness 
• The 3 brains for decision making 
• Time and task management tips 
• The workflow STING 
• Practical mindfulness exercise

Keynote

• How your brain works – the human factor 
• Understanding artificial intelligence, digitalisation and automation  
• The emerging world of work and what this means for you 
• Resilience and surviving the VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) 
• Top 8 competencies for the future assistant
• The future of the Assistant 

09:00 -16.30 with one hour for lunch and two 15 minute breaks in the morning and afternoon:  

Behavioural profiling leading to behavioural skills 

Complete a profiling instrument and become more self-aware.  You will be able to understand your own and others behavioural styles enabling you to respond in a way that reduces miscommunication and misunderstanding. 

• Understanding your own behavioural style, is a key factor in effective leadership 
• How to work with different personality types 
• How to work with different management styles 
• Improve communication and reduce conflict between individuals and teams 
• Improve relationships and build rapport 
• Appreciate your own and others strengths and weaknesses
• Understand yourself, your boss and your colleagues 

 

The resilient innovative assistant 

• Be the change agent for the new future  
• Collaborate to innovate  
• How to use your emotional intelligence to manage your responses  
• Harness the creativity skill  
• Problem-solving techniques

 

The emotionally intelligent leader  

• The agile assistant  
• Use your emotional intelligence to compliment artificial intelligence
• Understanding your values
• Understanding and leading in the VUCA world
• Developing new habits – eliminating and changing old habits

 

Future proofing your role  

• Top 8 competencies necessary for the future assistant 
• Complete the Wheel of Competencies for the future assistant’s role 
• Goal setting and action plan 

09:00 -16.30 with one hour for lunch and two 15 minute breaks in the morning and afternoon: 

Networking to your advantage 

• Networking for success
• The Art of Assumptions 
• Tips and techniques of professional networking 
• Internal and external networking 
• Discover how to build a powerful, professional, personal brand for maximum impact

 

Advanced Communication skills with Neuroscience 

• Neuroscience – understand your brain to maximise excellence
• Advanced Communication and Influencing Techniques 
• Gaining and keeping Confidence
• Neuroplasticity and what that means for us 
• Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) for the modern professional assistant 
• The language we use and how it affects yourself and others
• The importance of social connectivity 
• Questioning & listening skills  

 

How to be the definitive strategic professional assistant 

• Learn the 3 elements of a successful partnership 
• What is expected of you at the Board and Leadership level
• How to build and maintain successful working relationships
• Identifying the skills and qualities of a highly efficient and successful Assistants
• How to motivate yourself and others 
• Top tips on Crisis Management  
• Telephone/email and calendar best practise 
• How to remain calm, flexible and professional at all times  
• Discover the challenges of the Assistant and the tips on how to overcome them 

 

Secrets of an award winning Professional Assistant  

• The 5 stages of relationship building 
• Understand how to prevent an amygdala hijack 
• USOFAR technique, reframing and mindfulness 
• The 3 brains for decision making 
• Time and task management tips
• The workflow STING
• The answers to working in a VUCA world
• The future of the Assistant 

Day One: 09:00 -17.00 with one hour for lunch and two 15 minute breaks in the morning and afternoon: 

Neuroscience and maximising your brain for excellence 

• Introductions – designed to promote confidence in the delegates and to learn to present as they will present themselves in a creative, structured and fun way to the class 
• Your heart’s desire
• Learning state
• Understanding your brain for excellence
• Comfort zones
• Creating and maintaining confidence, mentally and physically
• Assumptions 

 

How to be the definitive strategic ‘business partner’ 

Manage the Role – the What: 

• Identifying the skills and qualities of a highly efficient and successful Assistants
• Discover what makes a strategic Assistant 

 

Manage the Relationships – the How: 

• First and on-going Impressions  
• Telephone etiquette  
• Email management and tips
• Tips on diary and calendar management
• Perception – how you make sense of the world
• Understanding yourself and your strengths and weaknesses
• Discover the challenges of the Assistant and the tips on how to overcome them 

 

Manage the Motivation – the Why 

• Motivating yourself and others 
• Correcting Maslow 
• Empowerment – maximizing opportunity and visibility 

 

Ergonomics and keeping healthy  

• Physical environment best practice 
• Effective Desk/office layout  
• Practical exercises to do at your desk 
• Utilising your dominant eye  
• Ergonomic brain breaks 
• Practical mindfulness exercise  

 

Day Two: 09:00 -17.00 with one hour for lunch and two 15 minute breaks in the morning and afternoon: 

Quick Quiz to refresh the learning on Day 1 

Time, Stress and change management 

• Identifying stress symptoms and how to deal with them 
• Identifying and dealing with ‘time thieves’ 
• Managing your own and your manager’s time and tasks effectively 
• The neuroscience of time and task management
• Organisation and planning techniques to keep you in control  
• The four quadrants of effective time management – setting realistic deadlines
• Tips on working effectively 

 

Advanced Communication, Influencing and persuasion

• Introduction to Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) 
• Communication model  
• Reticular Activating System 
• Preferred thought-processing style – visual, auditory, kinaesthetic 
• Language patterns
• Understanding and using verbal and non verbal communication
• Social connectivity
• Questioning & listening skills
• Building trust and rapport 

 

Managing conflict and dealing with difficult behaviours 

• How to work with difficult behaviours  
• How to work with different management styles 
• How to use your emotional intelligence to manage your responses
• Specific steps of conflict resolution and a conflict model using assertive language 
• Decision making triangle using your 3 brains
• Problem-solving technique – Example Exercise:  we will work together on a ‘live’ problem of one of the delegates

 

Day Three: 09:00 -17.00 with one hour for lunch and two 15 minute breaks in the morning and afternoon: 

Quick Quiz to refresh the learning on Day 2

Networking, Image & business etiquette 

• How to make networking work for you 
• Your professional brand and projecting a professional image
• Understanding and awareness of business etiquette and different cultures
• Practical tips of networking 

 

Teamwork 

• Working in a team – discover the role you play within a team 
• Benefits and barriers of working in teams 
• The 5 stages of team formation  
• Best practice for forming a project team 

TETRAMAP – Behavioural Profiling   

Sue France is a Certified TetraMap Facilitator. The TetraMap behavioural model is a cross-cultural training tool that helps to improve communication and reduces conflict between individuals and teams.  Ite nables understanding of your own and others behavioural styles enabling you to respond in a way that reduces miscommunication and misunderstanding and you will be better able to empathise and understand others.  

• Complete the TetraMap instrument and find out about your ‘elements’ 
• Improve communications and relationships
• Appreciate what each person brings to a situation 
• Respond more appropriately to the behaviour of others 
• Choosing the right words and body language 
• Understand yourself, your boss and your colleagues 
• Understand the most impactful change is generated from within 

 

Moving forward and taking action 

• Continually learn and improve  
• Complete the Wheel of Competencies
• Goal setting/stretching  
• Personal Development Plan

The Workation involves staying for 4 nights/5 days and working for 4 hours every morning giving time in the afternoon for allowing the learning to sink in and time for networking and recharging your batteries.  When you return to work you will have gained knowledge as well as feeling relaxed and raring to go. You will have time to network and have fun exploring whilst your brain puts short-term memory into long-term memory.

The Venue: Dunmhor Guest House

A beautiful family – run homely accommodation with excellent down to earth wonderful hosts Stephen and Lesley Shaw. It is a 5 minute walk from Kingussie railway station. Kingussie is a 2 hour train ride from Edinburgh Station and 1 hour taxi ride from Inverness Airport.  Taxis can be arranged from the airport at an extra cost.

 Inclusions

• Accommodation on a shared twin bedroom basis
• All meals taken in Dunhmor Guest House and in restaurants
• Taxis to and from local restaurants.
• All teas/coffees/juice
• Workshop refreshments
• 4 x four hour morning workshops
• TetraMap Profiling Instrument and Tetrahedron
• Workbook Handouts
• The Definitive Personal Assistant & Secretarial Handbook 3^rdedition – now with Neuroscience
• The Definitive Executive Assistant & Managerial Handbook (both signed by Sue France)
• All afternoon excursions

 

Travel to/from Dunmhor Guest House, travel insurance and alcoholic drinks at the Dunmhor guest house are not included.

 

Day One – Monday

Arrival, free day, networking and home cooked dinner at Dunmhor Guest House

 

Day Two – Tuesday

08:00-08:30     Home cooked English breakfast

09.00-13:15    Workshop (with a 15 min refreshment break at 11.00)

Neuroscience:  Maximising your brain for Excellence: 

Neuroscience is relevant to what drives how we function, what motivates us, what drives behaviour, our limitations and what we are capable of.  In this cutting-edge workshop, Sue is going to unleash the explosive power of your mind. You will learn:

• Recent findings of the neuroscientists
• Understand how your brain works
• Tools, tips and techniques on how to make your brain work efficiently for you
• Bust some myths
• The other 2 ‘brains’
• The benefits of mindfulness
• Mindfulness in practice

Relationship management at all levels 

• Comfort zones
• Confidence building and maintaining
• Internal ‘negative gremlins’ and internal ‘positive coach’
• First impressions and Assumptions 
• Perceptions
• Telephone etiquette
• Email management
• Tips on diary and calendar management
• Your professional brand and projecting a professional image

 

13:15-14:00     Soup and sandwich lunch

14:15-16:00    Forest trail – soak up the Highland atmosphere within the Cairngorm National Park

19:00               Dinner at a local restaurant

 

Day Three – Wednesday

08:00-08:30     Home cooked English breakfast

09.00-13:15    Workshop (with a 15 min refreshment break at 11.00)

 Communication, Influencing and persuasion 

• Introduction to Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)
• Preferred thought-processing style
• Understanding and using verbal and non verbal communication
• Questioning & listening skills
• Words to use and words to use carefully
• The use of space and the influential right

 

Teamwork

• Working in a team – discover the role you play within a team
• Benefits and barriers of working in teams
• The 5 stages of team formation
• Best practice for forming a project team

 

TETRAMAP – Behavioural Profiling   

Sue is a Certified TetraMap Facilitator. The TetraMap behavioural model is a cross-cultural training tool that helps to improve communication and reduces conflict between individuals and teams.  It enables understanding of your own and others behavioural styles enabling you to respond in a way that reduces miscommunication and misunderstanding; you will be better able to empathise and understand others.

• Complete the TetraMap instrument and find out about your ‘elements’
• Improve communications and relationships
• Appreciate what each person brings to a situation
• Respond more appropriately to the behaviour of others
• Choosing the right words and body language
• Understand yourself, your boss and your colleagues
• Understand the most impactful change is generated from within

 

13:15-14:00     Soup and sandwich lunch

14:15-16:00     Visit to Cairngorm Wildlife Park

19:00               Dinner at Dunmhor Guest house with home cooked food

 

Day Four – Thursday

07:00-07:30     Home cooked English breakfast

8:30-12:15       Workshop (with a 15 min refreshment break at 10.00)

Secrets of a successful Professional Secretary/Assistant  

• Managing the role, the relationships and the motivation
• Discover and solve challenges of the Assistant
• Identifying the skills and qualities of a highly efficient and successful Assistants
• Understand yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses
• Discover what makes a strategic Assistant
• Harnessing the power of emotional intelligence
• Maximizing opportunity and visibility
• The difference between gossiping and being the ‘eyes and ears’
• The importance of trust, confidentiality and being a confidante
• The importance of accuracy and attention to detail
• Developing your role, exceeding expectations and determining the way forward

 

Stress and time management 

• Identifying stress symptoms and how to deal with them
• Managing your own and your manager’s time and tasks effectively
• Prioritising and meeting the needs and demands of more than one person
• Organisation and planning techniques to keep you in control
• Understanding and using productive time
• The four quadrants of effective time management – setting realistic deadlines
• Identifying and dealing with ‘time thieves’
• Tips on working effectively
• Top tips for managing deadlines

 

12:15-13:00     Soup and sandwich lunch

13:00-16:00    Visit to the Funicular railway to the top of Cairngorm to experience the views and have lunch in the highest restaurant in the UK and visit the local beach on the shores of beautiful Loch Morlich overlooked by the Cairngorm Mountains

19:00               Dinner at Local Restaurant

 

Day Five – Friday

08:00-08:30     Home cooked English breakfast

09.00-13:15    Workshop (with a 15 min refreshment break at 11.00)

Managing Conflict and dealing with difficult people and situations 

• Confidently Assertive
• How to work with difficult behaviours
• How to work with different management styles
• How to use your emotional intelligence
• Choosing your attitude
• A quick and effective conflict management technique
• Specific steps of conflict resolution and a conflict model using assertive language
• Strategies to reduce conflict
• Influencing and persuading skills
• Problem solving and decision making tools
• Problem-solving technique – Case study:  we will work together on a ‘live’ problem of one of the delegates

 

Moving forward and taking action

• Continually learn and improve
• Complete the Wheel of Competencies and
• Goal setting/stretching
• Personal Development Plan and moving forward

 

13:15   Lunch

14:00   Close of Workation – free to travel home in afternoon

 

I enjoyed the whole session, working in groups, advice, valuable things I learned today.  I loved it all – Amazing !!!  This is a very good workshop for personal assistants. This was the day where I learned more than I did in years of work. All of the fabulous advice and techniques will help me to get better in what I do. Thank you Sue!

I met Sue at the annual conference of the European management assistants’ association (EUMA – now International Management Assistants – IMA), where she gave a keynote talk on “Neuroscience – maximize your brain for excellence.” Seeing her live after having read her book “The Definitive Personal Assistant & Secretarial Handbook” and several of her articles published in Executive Secretary Magazine was such a wonderful experience! She knows very well the training needs of the current EA/PAs, so her presentation was highly engaging and up-to-date. I would love to see her talk again!

Following an intense Workation week with Sue France, I am pleased to say that I went back to my job with some new resolutions, and a better understanding of different communication styles and behaviours. Sue France provides a clear picture of the position of “Assistant” in today’s business world. She gives valuable advice, and with a positive look on this role, she knows how to promote it for the benefit of each member of the organisation. Sue is also very interested in the discovery and sharing of others’ experiences, and I highly recommend getting to know her as it is a wonderful opportunity for every assistant wanting to foster his/her self-development.

I met Sue at the EA/PA Asia Summit in Singapore. She was both the Chairperson and Speaker for this event. When I spoke to Sue I could tell that she possessed a great deal of knowledge and passion towards helping other Executives. Sue has a very natural way of delivery, which kept the audience engaged throughout the two days. As she spoke I could see the eyes of the participants light up. Sue would also give all the participants her time whenever they had to ask her any questions or discuss any problems. Sue also has a very honest, kind and down to earth nature which makes it very easy for people of all ages and cultures to approach her. She is definitely the expert in this field and it was an honour meeting her at the conference. I highly recommend Sue for training, coaching and speaking at future events.