The Great Canadian Leadership Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Get ready for "The Performance Review" - that time of year when emotions run high and the impact on your organization and employees is significant.

In this episode, we delve into how you can make this meeting engaging, clear, and respectful, ensuring it has a positive ripple effect. With the evolving work environment and the rise of hybrid setups, the performance review holds even greater weight.

How the review is conducted determines the effectiveness. This is the opportunity for a manager to put on their coaching hat and see this review as an opportunity to build for the future of the employee, the team, and the organization.

Join our host, Joel Silverstone, as he equips you with the necessary tools to conduct a motivating and actionable review that benefits both sides. Learn the strategies, dos, and don'ts, and have the confidence to deliver a performance review that leaves a lasting, positive impression in this episode: "Performance Reviews Can Be Great…Seriously".

Do you have a question or comment about the podcast? We’d love to hear from you and appreciate your thoughts - email us at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca.

Thank you for supporting the podcast. Please leave a rating or review and subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes.

Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars and tools. Also, check out our list of over 25 instructor-led Professional Skills Courses at The Great Canadian Training and Consulting Company.

Have you been trying to get your teams from good to great?  Improve how they collaborate, communicate, and achieve goals, plus balance productivity and morale? Wondering what’s the best way they can use Microsoft Teams? What team building activities and skills can help?

You’re not alone. That’s why we created this episode, the combination of technical and soft skills to guide you in bringing out the best in your organization’s teams.

We’re thrilled to have as our Guest Host Jon Neuhold, Co-Owner of Great Canadian Training, interviewing Senior Software Instructor Christine Irons and Senior Professional Skills Facilitator Joel Silverstone.

There is a gap in using technical capabilities of Microsoft Teams – but technical skills on their own aren’t enough. You need team building skills to match them.

This episode is part of our podcast series on Teams, helping you to be engaged and respectful in collaborating and working together towards a common purpose and goals.

We discuss:

• The elements to successful teams.
• The tools and activities teams need to be using.
• The qualities that make teams great.
• The best ways to use Microsoft Teams.

Our Guest Christine Irons is Great Canadian Training’s lead software instructor and courseware designer. Christine worked in Human Resources at York University in Toronto for over 20 years as an instructional designer, trainer, and learning specialist. As a certified master Microsoft instructor, Christine brings an extensive knowledge of Adult Learning Theory to her work, whether it’s designing and delivering live classes or creating e-learning that truly teaches. ​

Our Guest Joel Silverstone is the regular host of the Great Canadian Leadership Podcast. When not hosting, Joel is the Senior Professional Skills Trainer & Coach at Great Canadian Training. For over 20 years, he has helped leaders and their teams feel more confident and impactful with their communication and leadership skills in live and virtual sessions, from small businesses and government agencies to Fortune 500 companies in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Joel is also a speaker at HR, Learning, Leadership and Professional Services Conferences across North America. 

Great teams are not easy, but they can get better. It’s a combination of mindset, intention, and the tools to get from good to great.

Speaking of Teams… At Great Canadian Training we are offering our unique GREAT Series: “Become a Great Team with MS Teams and Team Building Skills”.

In one day, you will learn powerful skills and tools to connect and engage your teams by developing and mastering MS Teams and Team Building skills.

Email info@greatcanadiantraining.ca and mention ‘GREAT’ to get more information about our GREAT Series and how you can become a Great Team with Microsoft Teams and Team Building Skills.

Have you committed to making a change, or are currently dealing with a change? Maybe it’s your resolution to get fit. Or maybe at work you’re navigating a hybrid environment; your team is having to do more with less and navigate new technology and new roles. Change can be exciting, stressful or a combination of these heightened emotions. Logically, you understand all this – so why is change difficult to implement? 

In this episode, you’ll find some ideas that can help with change and relate to the examples of not just dealing with change, but how to build resilience from it.

This episode is called “Change - Turning Resistance into Resilience”. Our host, Joel Silverstone, shares with you the strategies and insights to make change an opportunity to move forward and not backtrack or get stuck.

This is part of our 4-part series on the soft skills you need for 2023 - empathy in business, persuasion in your writing and communication skills, and leading complex projects with clarity.

Do you have a question or comment about the episode? We’d love to hear from you and appreciate your thoughts - email us at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca.

• Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars, blogs, and tools

And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:

• Leading Complex Projects with Clarity
• Our series on soft skills - Change, Empathy and Persuasion
• Defining Your Brand
• Our series on Teams - Collaboration and Technology

For 2023, it’s not just a ping-pong table that’s going to keep employees (and you) motivated and feeling appreciated. HR trends for 2023 say that organizations will need to focus more on the well-being of employees. A Forbes article shares that 20-50% of all employee attrition is attributed to burnout.

This episode we’re discussing how to win the retention game through the idea of renewal. How do we make people more resilient against burnout? The importance of quality short breaks moves us to a better flow and quality to our work. We have been moving between hybrid, remote, and the office…we start to run out of mental energy, stop making rational decisions and feel stressed. For 2023, it’s important to prioritize renewal. How do you lead that? What does that look and sound like?

We discuss with Kerry O’Brien, Sr. Talent Development PM at Axonify, about how to put renewal into our work and why it impacts the retention and productivity of the people in your organization.

Our guest, Kerry O’Brien, is a 14-year veteran of Talent Development, primarily growing and scaling teams in the tech sector. This experience, combined with his master’s degree in leadership, has led to a leadership practice that centers on self-care, curiosity, and goal achievement. You can hear him on podcasts and keynotes talking about everything from learning frameworks to story crafting to energy management and being a better listener, usually with parenting stories thrown in for good measure.

Burnout is real for an increasing number of people in the workplace. A 2022 study by the McKinsey Health Institute highlighted how the impact of the pandemic has seen burnout levels reach an all-time high, with one in four employees experiencing symptoms of burnout. Microsoft’s Chief People Officer, Kathleen Hogan, encapsulates the challenge as a Human Energy Crisis.

Do you have a question or comment about the episode?  Send us an email at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca.

• Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars, blogs, and tools

And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:

• Leading Complex Projects with Clarity
• Our series on soft skills - Change, Empathy and Persuasion
• Our series on Teams - Collaboration and Technology

Have you missed an episode? Do you want to strengthen your leadership and communication styles and are looking for the star highlights from the past 6 months? Get ready to take notes, as we bring you the Shared Experience Extravaganza #3 "Connecting the Dots in Leadership."

In this episode, we reflect on the 'Greatest Hits' from our guests and our own experts on leadership and professional skills. These are the themes you can take away from this episode:

• How we think and deal with change
• How we can lead; the skills to develop
• How the future of training may look 
• How we can connect to inspire, persuade, and motivate
• How we can be better presenters and have better presentations
• How we can adapt when we may not have all the answers

Thank you to our guests, amazing leaders and experts who brought their insights, shared their ‘failure ta-da’ moments and inspired passion for leadership and communication styles. 

1. Diane Crawford: “How to Use Neuroscience to Feel More Confident”
2. Rance Greene: “Getting Started with Business Storytelling”
3. David Kelly: “The 9 Behaviours of Leadership Part 1 & Part 2”
4. Betty Dannewitz: “Soft Skills and Virtual Reality”
5. Rhonda Scharf: “What Makes a Great Presenter?”
6. Christine Irons & Jon Neuhold: “What Makes a Great Presentation?”
7. Caroline Cohen: “You Don’t Have to Know it All”

You can’t have an extravaganza without a special guest: Joy Neuhold, Co-Owner of The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company. Joy Neuhold knew she wanted to be a consultant and start her own business from a young age. After working for a small IT business and then moving up the career path for an insurance company within a year and a half, Joy took a travel break. She came back in 2002 to start what is now The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company, offering a range of software and soft skills training across North America.

• Do you have a question or comment?  Send us an email at podcast@greatcanadiantraining.ca
• Check out more free resources on software and soft skills with webinars, blogs, and tools

And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming episodes:

• Winning the Retention Game through Renewal
• Leading Complex Teams with Clarity
• And our series on Teams - Collaboration and Technology

Are you in a new role? New team, responsibilities, skills? Many are changing roles and having to do more with less but still be a leader - so how does one adapt?

It starts with ‘You don’t have to know it all’. In this episode we discuss with our guest Caroline Cohen how to adapt, build trust and delegate - without having all the answers! Caroline went from a learning and development leader to the NEW Head of People & Culture at a new company, industry, and role. Not to mention, this is happening during Covid lockdowns, work from home to hybrid.

• Getting the most from your teams and networks
• Delegating effectively
• Building the right setting for trust
• Communicating a vision

Our Guest Caroline Cohen is the Director of People and Culture at Medisca, a distribution company specializing in pharmaceutical compounding products and services.

Caroline began her career in the area of training development and performance improvement for the airline industry before moving on to a transportation, logistics and supply chain company for which she headed a training department. Caroline has extensive experience at leading teams, managing multiple concurrent projects, implementing processes and, most importantly, approaches her work with the attitude of "anything is possible".

Speaking of Leadership skills… At Great Canadian Training we are offering our unique Leadership Packages. You can choose from:

1. LEAD with Trust
2. LEAD Strong Teams
3. LEAD with Executive Presence
4. LEAD Effective Presentations
5. LEAD Your Own Path

Email info@greatcanadiantraining.ca and mention ‘Leadership Packages’ to get more information about these packages and how you can build, develop and stretch your leadership skills.

Are you getting ready to do a presentation soon? You got this - but you would like some more tips and techniques just to feel more confident. In this episode, we’re sharing 12 minutes of our top ten tips to feel ready and confident to not just show up, but to show up as an insightful, engaging and more assured presenter.

This is the final episode of our significant 4 podcasts series on Presentation Skills.

Our host Joel Silverstone will be sharing his experiences as a speaker and presenter to varied audiences globally, from boardrooms to conferences, to the virtual world, as well as coaching hundreds of leaders on their presentation skills.

Joel is the Sr. Professional Skills Facilitator & Coach at The Great Canadian Training and Consulting Company. For over 20 years, Joel has helped leaders and their teams globally feel more confident and impactful with their communication and leadership skills. A former professional actor and improviser, Joel applies those acting skills to being a better presenter.

This episode can help with tips and strategies to make you feel great delivering your next presentation.

Take a few minutes to listen in as our host Joel Silverstone shares ten simple techniques you can use immediately.

Speaking of presentation skills… At Great Canadian Training we are offering our unique GREAT Series:

“Become a Great Presenter with MS PowerPoint and Presentation Skills”.

• In one day, you will learn powerful skills and tools to connect and engage your audiences by developing and mastering your MS PowerPoint and presentation skills.
• Email info@greatcanadiantraining.ca and mention ‘great’ to get more information about our GREAT Series and how you can become a Great Presenter with MS PowerPoint and Presentation Skills.

Do you have a fear, or feel anxious when it comes to public speaking? You’re not alone - we’re all nervous to speak publicly. In this episode we discuss the tips, techniques and mindset you can use to get past those nerves.

This is episode 3, as part of our significant 4 podcasts series on Presentation Skills.

Where do the nerves come from? Or, as our guest Melina Nacos asks, “What makes you tick?”. What behaviours or beliefs have kept you stuck with your doubts about speaking in public?

We certainly didn’t learn presentation skills at school. We were graded but did we get the tips on being better at it? Not really…  

We discuss:

• Nerves are deep rooted; how do you break that habit?
• Making the uncomfortable feel more natural
• What are the beliefs holding you back?
• How to change your script
• How to be more confident networking in person
• How are you preparing and why does it matter?

Our Guest Melina Nacos is the founder of Melina Nacos Coaching Inc. working with dedicated, thoughtful people, providing support, inspiration, and the direction you need to become the person you've always wanted to be and develop a legacy of positive change. 

For 20 years, Melina has worked with her clients to hone their skills and confidence and empower them to be in service of others for their own success. With a degree from York University and Adult Certification from George Brown College, Melina takes the time to learn each of her clients’ personal traits and build off of them, customizing her service to affect positive changes in defined areas of need.

• Speaking of presentation skills… At Great Canadian Training we are offering our unique GREAT Series: “Become a Great Presenter with MS PowerPoint and Presentation Skills”.
• In one day, you will learn powerful skills and tools to connect and engage your audiences by developing and mastering your MS PowerPoint and Presentation skills.
• Email info@greatcanadiantraining.ca and mention ‘great’ to get more information about our GREAT Series and how you can become a Great Presenter with MS PowerPoint and Presentation Skills.

Have you been trying to get your presentation from good to great? Wondering (ok, struggling) with the best way to use MS PowerPoint? And present it with a confident and engaging delivery style?

You’re not alone. That’s why we created this episode, the combination of technical and soft skills to guide you in bringing out the best in your presentations.

We’re thrilled to have as our Guest Host Jon Neuhold, Co-Owner of Great Canadian Training, interviewing Senior Software Instructor Christine Irons and Senior Professional Skills Facilitator Joel Silverstone.

There is a gap in people’s technical skills – but technical skills on their own aren’t enough. Each of us also needs the professional skills to match them. In the case of presenting in front of an audience, that means designing a slide presentation that effectively captures and holds the attention of others and knowing how to talk about the slides to match the content.

This is episode 2, as part of our significant 4 podcasts series on feeling more confident, engaging, and prepared with your presentation skills.

We discuss:

• The How and Why in designing your presentation
• Key principles in delivering your presentation
• Debunking fear of public speaking
• The best ways to use PowerPoint to be impactful
• How to start strong and why that matters to your audience (and you)

Our Guest Christine Irons is Great Canadian Training’s lead software instructor and courseware designer. Christine worked in Human Resources at York University in Toronto for over 20 years as an instructional designer, trainer, and learning specialist. As a certified master Microsoft instructor, Christine brings an extensive knowledge of Adult Learning Theory to her work, whether it’s designing and delivering live classes or creating e-leaning that truly teaches. ​

Our Guest Joel Silverstone is the regular host of the Great Canadian Leadership Podcast. When not hosting, Joel is the Senior Professional Skills Trainer & Coach at Great Canadian Training. For over 20 years, he has helped leaders and their teams feel more confident and impactful with their communication and leadership skills in live and virtual sessions, from small businesses and government agencies to Fortune 500 companies in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Joel is also a speaker at HR, Learning, Leadership and Professional Services Conferences across North America. 

Presentation skills are not easy, but you can get better. It’s a combination of mindset, intention, and the tools to get from good to great, whether you are presenting at a meeting or to hundreds.

• Speaking of presentation skills… At Great Canadian Training we are offering our unique GREAT Series: “Become a Great Presenter with MS PowerPoint and Presentation Skills”.
• In one day, you will learn powerful skills and tools to connect and engage your audiences by developing and mastering your MS PowerPoint and presentation skills.

Email info@greatcanadiantraining.ca and mention ‘GREAT’ to get more information about our GREAT Series and how you can become a Great Presenter with MS PowerPoint and Presentation Skills.

Presentation skills are not easy, but you can get better. It’s a combination of mindset, intention, and the tools to get from good to great, whether you are presenting at a meeting or to hundreds.

This is episode #1, as part of our significant 4 podcasts series on feeling more confident, engaging, and prepared with your Presentation Skills.

This episode, we’re thrilled to have Rhonda Scharf share how someone from a small town - outside a small town - became an in-demand speaker.

We discuss:

• How do you prepare to present?
• Where do you start?
• What to do when you forget
• Being you…but not too much you
• It’s not about memorization, the secret is…
• What is your intention? And why that matters to your audience
• How do you engage them to action?

Our Guest Rhonda Scharf is an author, speaker, trainer, training partner with The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company and earned her Certified Speaking Professional. Rhonda is a member of the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame and is one of only 35 speakers worldwide who have earned their Global Speaking Fellow (meaning she truly has an international business) and been awarded the Spirit of CAPS award. She was the first speaker in the entire world to earn all four awards. Her peers consider Rhonda a leader in the speaking industry! Rhonda’s professional speaking career began at age two… when her mother would offer her 25 cents to be quiet for five minutes!

• Speaking of presentation skills… At Great Canadian Training we are offering our unique GREAT Series: “Become a Great Presenter with MS PowerPoint and Presentation Skills.”
• In one day, you will learn powerful skills and tools to connect and engage your audiences by developing and mastering your MS PowerPoint and Presentation skills.
• Email info@greatcanadiantraining.ca and mention ‘podcast’ to get more information about our GREAT Series and how you can become a Great Presenter with MS PowerPoint and Presentation Skills.