Register TODAY for Collaboration In A Box: In-Person Training! A series of in-person courses that can be taken together in a package or you can pick and choose which best fit your needs!
Collaboration in a Box Certificate for Managers, Supervisors, Leaders and Facilitators
It’s an unusual workplace that doesn’t have some level of conflict. And honestly, a healthy workplace needs a little disagreement to innovate, grow and find increasingly better solutions. But it doesn’t need to be the kind of conflict that leads to burn-out, low staff retention, and unmanageable workloads. With the right skills and tools, you can decrease that stress and free up your team’s time and energy — as well as your own — by resolving conflicts sooner and more easily… or preventing a lot of it before it escalates.
Collaboration in a Box is an effective and easy-to-use tool that supports managers, supervisors, facilitators and leaders to pinpoint the needs that must be met in any conflict, creating the foundation for satisfying solutions. This tool helps work teams to very quickly get to the heart of what matters, to articulate needs with language that de-escalates conflict, and to have values-based conversations that elevate problem-solving from “finding solutions people can live with” to “transforming relationships and preventing conflict.” Collaboration in a Box quickly transforms conversations to help people understand themselves and each other so they can strengthen team problem solving, build collaborative and trusting workplaces and increase productivity.
Courses
I’ve developed a series of courses that can be taken together in a package or you can pick and choose which best fit your needs. Shifting from Conflict to Collaboration is the foundation course and a prerequisite for all of the other courses (so if you want to take one of the other three, you first have to take Shifting from Conflict to Collaboration. If you’ve taken at least one day of training from me in the past, you may already have this pre-requisite.)
Pre-Requisite Course:
Shifting From Conflict to Collaboration
February 18, 2025 (9:00 am-4:00 pm), Charlottetown
* storm date February 19, 2025
Note: This course is a prerequisite for all other sessions.
In this one-day session, we will introduce collaborative communication skills and processes to support good relationships, increase mutual understanding and prevent and address conflict. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about their own preferences regarding communication and problem-solving style and learn and practice the key communication skills of collaboration necessary for preparing for and navigating a difficult conversation. Essential tools for moving forward with good solutions and good relationships, these skills are effective for preventing and addressing conflict, building trust and clarifying expectations.
The Collaboration in a Box tool will be introduced at this session and the tool, as well as all other materials, are included.
Advanced Courses:
Coaching for Effective Conflict Management
February 25, 2025 (9:00 am-4:00 pm), Charlottetown*
PREREQUISITE REQUIRED: Shifting from Conflict to Collaboration
If you are a manager or supervisor, a huge chunk of your time will typically be spent helping your team to resolve conflict. Yes, that’s part of a manager’s job, but you also have other work to do and when interpersonal conflicts erupt, they take way longer than they should because the team members involved don’t have the skills or desire to address it effectively. Mostly they want you to deal with it for them. And you are stuck working overtime doing the work on your own ‘to-do’ list. But if you take care of it for them, they don’t learn how to prevent another conflict from blowing up – and it does, over and over, often until someone quits or is fired. Sound familiar?
In this one-day workshop, you will learn how to use the Collaboration in a Box tool to coach team members to address and prevent conflict without you acting as the judge and jury. Not only can this help resolve conflicts that arise, but when you use the processes and tools to coach your whole team, over time you will start to see a more collaborative workplace and happier team members. And maybe you’ll have time to tackle your ‘to-do’ list within working hours. Maybe.
Facilitating Difficult Conversations
March 4, 2025 (9:00 am-4:00 pm), Charlottetown*
PREREQUISITE REQUIRED: Shifting from Conflict to Collaboration
Ok, so you’ve coached team members in conflict to prepare to address the situation but the coaching hasn’t taken away their nervousness about addressing the conflict and they just can’t or won’t address the situation without support. Maybe they say it isn’t worth it, or they worry talking about it will make things worse, or that they’ll forget what they want to say.
Interpersonal conflicts are generally a communication problem that’s gotten bigger over time until those involved are making such negative assumptions about each other they can’t find solutions without support.
In this one-day workshop, you will learn and practice how to use the Collaboration in a Box cards in a simple step-by-step process to facilitate a difficult conversation between co-workers that leads to an agreement about how to resolve the conflict and improve relationships and communication. That improved relationship will eventually lead to increased comfort and skills to have those difficult conversations without you. Fingers crossed.
Building Collaborative Teams
March 11, 2025 (9:00 am-4:00 pm), Charlottetown*
PRE-REQUISITE REQUIRED: Shifting from Conflict to Collaboration
Having a collaborative workplace culture means psychological safety, supporting team members to avoid burnout, increasing connection and inclusion, and preventing conflict. All the good things. This one-day workshop is all about how to use the Collaboration in a Box tool to build collaborative communication and build the relationships necessary for effective teamwork. You will learn and experience multiple uses of the cards that are fun, easy and big-time impactful. We will also do some “co-creating” and identify new innovative ideas for using this tool to support a healthy workplace culture.
N.B. The storm date for Days 2-4 is March 12, 2025
Space is limited. To register, fill out this form HERE today.
Your Host
I’m Kirstin Lund, B.A., J.D., owner of collaborationschool.com, and creator of Collaboration In A Box. I have been providing services as a mediator, facilitator, and conflict resolution coach and trainer since leaving the practice of law in 1996. I have taught thousands of people how to effectively resolve conflict, both at the UPEI Centre for Conflict Resolution Studies and through my own company, teaching courses in mediation, conflict resolution, and collaboration and communication skills. I am a certified Myers Briggs practitioner specializing in personality type and its impact on workplace conflict.
Program Cost
Per session: $475 plus HST
Four Session Bundle: $1595 plus HST
Space is limited. Register today HERE.
Or, if these dates don’t work for you, you can add your name to the waitlist and we will let you know when we have dates set for the next program HERE (we typically run it 2-3 time a year).
FAQs
What if I already have the pre-requisite?
If you have already learned the introductory skills from me, whether in a one-day course or as part of a longer program, you have the required prerequisite and I have a special bundle for you of $1250 plus HST (with the option to come to the foundation course, Shifting from Conflict to Collaboration, as a refresher for an additional $100 plus HST)
What if I don’t want to be the only one in my workplace with these skills?
If the idea of your whole staff having and using these skills sounds like a dream come true, send me a note and we can find a time to chat about customized training for your team (or send this to your manager and suggest they contact me via the form found HERE!)
What if I missed the pre-requisite and/or can’t make the dates for the subsequent training sessions?
Add your name on the waitlist to be the first to know about our next session openings: HERE.