LeadSpark Webinars

LeadSpark has worked with our clients to develop a series of webinars to help them lead, sustain and grow their businesses. Beginning in spring 2024, we have added an open enrollment virtual Roundtable Series on innovation for leaders and CEOs. We are pleased to make these sessions available to you and your colleagues.
​
The information below is a sample of the webinars we have available. We have additional webinars and other offerings available and can customize our services for your specific needs.

---

Sparking Innovation - Roundtable Series

Innovation isn’t just about new products or technologies; it’s the driving force that propels companies ahead of market trends. Innovation is diverse, dynamic, and crucial for your organization’s success.  But how do you get your organization to move towards innovation?  What are the behaviors and activities you want to encourage in your people, and how do you lead an organization that understands what innovation is and is ready to tackle the challenge?
 
Our spring 2024 virtual Innovation Roundtable Series are enrolling now!  Topics include:  *The Innovation Imperative and Your Role  *Understanding the Link - Business Models, Strategy, and Innovation  *Organizing for and Driving Change   *Resourcing Innovation  *Successful Execution Strategies.

For more information, contact Susan Rucker at [email protected].

Leading in Times of Uncertainty​

Presenters
Susan Rucker, Managing Partner, LeadSpark, and CFO of the William & Mary Business School Foundation
Paula Otto, Partner, LeadSpark and former CEO of the Virginia Lottery

Description
This three-part series is designed to help leaders think about how to best adapt to times of uncertainty and stress. In today's post-pandemic workplace, what strategies can we employ to not only survive, but also keep our businesses thriving.  Each of these webinars explores tools and techniques that can be immediately applied in your business setting and help you continue to move your business forward. NOTE: Each of these webinars can be offered on a stand-alone basis.

Making Decisions in Uncertain Times
(2 hours) Leaders must make decisions in the face of uncertainty while moving their organizations ahead in the face of uncertainty. What are the perils of making decisions and the risks of not moving ahead? What tools can be used to assist in decision making? This webinar will help you think about how you should be thinking about the future and helping your leadership team do the same.

Using Emotional Intelligence to Lead in a Crisis
(2 hours) Leaders must understand and consider the emotions of staff and residents during periods of high stress. One tool to help you do this is emotional intelligence. We will cover the definition of emotional intelligence, how leaders can develop emotional intelligence, and discuss how emotional intelligence can be leveraged when leading during a crisis or in times of unusual circumstances.

Communicating in a Crisis: Managing the Media
(1 hour). NOTE – This can be turned into a two-hour webinar for general crisis communications

---

Managing Communications​

Presenters
Susan Rucker, Managing Partner, LeadSpark, and CFO of the William & Mary Business School Foundation
Paula Otto, Partner, LeadSpark and former CEO of the Virginia Lottery

Description
​​​Today's economic and employment challenges represent a unique threat for businesses, particularly those working in the healthcare, senior living, food service or retail industries. If your business or organization has a crisis, and the media calls, what should you do? This webinar is designed to help you understand the anatomy of a crisis and how it affects your communication strategy. It will also help you determine how to use best practices in communicating with the media.

This three-part series is designed to help you be intentional about communications with all your stakeholders. Each webinar is one hour and addresses a different aspect of stakeholder communications. NOTE: Each of these webinars can be offered on a stand-alone basis.

Getting Your Message Across: Reaching Your Stakeholders
(1 hour) Good messaging means that you know who your stakeholders are and what messages they need to receive. You will learn how to identify stakeholders both inside and outside of your community, and to design simple and effective communications plans to reach them.

Making News: Generating Positive News
(1 hour) Your local news media can be your friend and deliver key messages and positive images of your business. This webinar will explore how to develop and nurture relationships with your local news media. We will also talk about what types of information the local news media is interested in, and how you can turn that interest into good publicity.

Lights, Camera, Action: Shining on Camera
(1 hour) Looking good in front of a camera and/or sounding good in front of a microphone takes know-how. This webinar will outline how to look and sound your best when delivering messages either in person or virtually. We will also explore how to best link these opportunities with social media to maximize messaging and exposure to the community.

---

Building Self-Awareness: Understanding Yourself as a Leader, Communicator, and Team Member ​

Presenter
Susan Rucker, Managing Partner, LeadSpark, and CFO of the William & Mary Business School Foundation

Description
Understanding who you are is a critical element of leadership. Not everyone is “wired” the same way. We each have our own profile, communication, and leadership styles, and respond differently to the profiles, communication, and leadership styles of others.

In this webinar series, we will help you understand your own profile through the use of the ProScan survey. Given to over 6 million adults, this instrument gives you an understanding of who you are, how you react to circumstances and others, and how you respond to stress. The web-based survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, and you receive a customized report very soon after taking the survey.

The first session covers how to interpret the survey, and the second session is a deep dive into the communication and leadership style indicators. There is a materials fee for access to the survey which must be completed prior to participating in Session 1, and Session 1 is a pre-requisite to attend Session 2.

Building Better Leadership Through Self-Awareness (1 hour 15 minutes)
Understanding Communication and Leadership Styles (1 hour)

---

Giving employees the opportunity to learn more about themselves is a real bonus. We are especially excited that these sessions have laid the groundwork for the future professional development of our workforce and that we will be able to build on it as we move forward."