Talent Optimization
Join us in 2025
Join humanworks8 all year long for interactive workshops that address opportunities for elevating leadership and organizational culture.
Each session in the Talent Optimization Series is designed to engage participants in reflection, learning and action. Workshops will leave leaders with sustainable people practices to carry into the future, along with tools and takeaways to implement the next day.
To get the most from these workshops, participants are encouraged to bring a writing utensil for provided handouts and business cards (or LinkedIn QR code) for connecting with other leaders.
This series is held in partnership with the North Shore Chamber of Commerce (Milwaukee).
2025 Learning Sessions
February 26: Authoring Your Personal Core Values
February 26 | 9:30-11:00am | Milwaukee
Everyone has core values, but few people ever write them down or share them with others. When captured and applied, core values provide clarity, energy and aliveness to individuals and entire businesses. They are a powerful differentiator that attract and connect individuals and organizations to each other. Explore the value and power of authoring personal core values and the importance of organizational core values in leadership roles. Develop values language you can use to distinguish yourself, make decisions and build confidence whether you’re a firmly established leader, just beginning a leadership journey or anywhere in between. Strengthen your ability to align individual and organizational core values resulting in better hiring decisions, more meaningful employee relationships, clearer vision and stronger decision making.
May 28: The Missing Piece: Understanding People & Productivity with Conation
May 28 | 9:30-11:00am | Milwaukee
There’s something missing from the productivity conversation in our workplaces, and it has to do with how we understand one another. We tend to see people in terms of their cognitive traits (their knowledge and experience) as well as their affective qualities (their emotions and beliefs) … but that only accounts for two parts of a person’s mind. There’s another way to understand people and it’s completely separate from how we think or what we feel – there’s a third part of our minds. This session will introduce attendees to Kathy Kolbe’s research on the conative part of the mind, the innate drive within all of us to take action and solve problems in our own unique way. This session will illustrate the importance of conation in understanding people and productivity and answer the question, “Why do people need to be free to do things their way?” (And what happens when they are not?) Explore the implications of understanding all three parts of the mind, and how that understanding can be used by managers and employees to reduce stress and burnout, strengthen relationships and foster greater productivity in the workplace.
August 26: The Gift of Critical Feedback
August 26 | 9:30-11:00am | Milwaukee
Do you see critical feedback at a “gift?” Giving and receiving feedback is an essential capability for people-leaders and team members alike, but it’s also one of the most challenging interpersonal skills to develop. In this “train-the-trainer-style” workshop, participants will explore practical tactics for effectively giving “the gift” of critical feedback as well as how to receive feedback from others with gratitude, empathy and confidence.
October 28: Creating a Culture of Belonging
October 28 | 9:30-11:00am | Milwaukee
How can we create habits that lead to cultural belonging and a renewed sense of mattering? What “bubbles” can we burst that lead to new perspectives and openness? Let’s strengthen the engagement of your workforce, whether through one Employee Resource Group or an organization-wide movement on mattering. This workshop will include storytelling of personal experiences and use of unique images to build one’s confidence and empowerment in the workplace. Expect tools and tactics that will jumpstart efforts and provide direction for employees of all levels to have an impact on belonging and mattering across their organization.
Register
Registration is now open for the February 26th session: Authoring Your Personal Core Values