Nan Gesche
"Cracking the Collaboration Code" to allow individuals and teams to connect more authentically, engage more respectfully, and work more effectively together.
Nan Gesche, MA, is an energetic educator who uses experience, insight, and some sturdy research, all sprinkled with a little humor, to get people to see themselves and the world differently. Her passion is to “Crack the Collaboration Code” and to allow individuals and teams to connect more authentically, engage more respectfully, and work more effectively together. Her goal is to build collaboration skills to work through challenging conversations and problem-solving so people can get back to the business of reaching their goals while strengthening relationships.
Nan has been engaging large and small audiences nationally. She is a catalyst who makes change doable! Her 20 plus years of independent and corporate experience allow her to stretch people's thinking to help them focus on the realities of life and business. She has worked with diverse organizations on projects such as change management, resiliency building, conflict management, as well as working with individuals on conflict management issues.
Previously, Nan was a Change Enablement Manager for Arthur Andersen where she partnered with organizations at the outset of change initiatives to help ease organizational and personal transitions. As the Director of Training and Development for Marquette Banks, her primary responsibility was to assist in rolling seven bank charters into one. Prior to this, Nan was a commissioned National Bank Examiner and District Training & Development Officer with the Comptroller of the Currency, a division of the U.S. Treasury.
Nan currently teaches for the University of Minnesota in their Communication Studies program and the College of Continuing and Professional Studies. She also teaches at the Graduate School of Banking in Madison. She graduated with a BA in Economics from the University of North Dakota. She received her MA in Organizational Communications and a professional certificate in Training & Development from the University of Minnesota. She is qualified to administer and train in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, ExperienceChange™, the Conflict Dynamics Profile, and the Life Style Inventory. Nan is also a member of the MN and National Speakers Association.
She also loves a good vintage clothing shop, so stop her after your session if you know of any in the area.
CONVERSATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
It isn’t always about how smart you are, rather how effective you are in creating powerful conversations to build trusting relationships and mutual success. Business at its core is about people connecting with people, everything happens thru conversations. Sharing and challenging different perspectives comes with the territory of moving up the ladder. Yet authentic communication can be a challenge, and if done poorly, can lead to miscommunication, lack of trust, and poor collaboration between team members.
If you tend to put off business conversations and want to expand your conversation skills to help you create buy-in for your ideas, make better-informed decisions and obtain committed action from others, this session is for you.
CRACKING THE COLLABORATION CODE
Collaboration is something most of us value, yet we struggle with how to put it into practice when working with others. This session is about creating the right mindset and practicing skills to help you expand the contributions of others while understanding how one’s own actions can affect others and outcomes. Learn some tips and tools on how to work more effectively together, connect more authentically, and engage more respectfully.
CRITICAL THINKING: MAKING DECISIONS THAT STICK
Working with teams over the years, it is clear that many voices and perspectives get lost during the decision-making process. To make more effective decisions, we need to better understand how to expand our own ability to thinking critically, as well as the ability of others. We also need to ensure that multiple perspectives are being considered.
During this interactive session, you will explore one of the most sought-after workplace skills – critical thinking. We all know smart people who make decisions that just don’t work out. So having a high IQ clearly isn’t enough. It takes looking at situations differently and applying new ways of thinking. The good news is that critical thinking is a learned skill. In this low-risk, high energy session you will see how critical thinking can get derailed and what you might do differently to keep it on track.
DISAGREEMENT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE DIVISIVE
There is a big difference between healthy, productive disagreements and heated arguments. For two parties to come to a mutually beneficial agreement, there must be a level of professionalism and respect. While navigating this territory can feel uncomfortable, it is possible for people with different points of view to have a constructive conversation. This brief yet dynamic session will equip you with the tools to speak your mind, while allowing the other side to feel heard and respected, and to finding common ground for moving forward with grace.
ELEVATE YOUR TEAM: EMPOWERING YOUR TEAM TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL
Gallup found that 70% of the variance in a team’s engagement and motivation is related to their management. If this is true, would your team members describe you as a motivation-creating coach or a soul-crushing boss?
True leaders don’t just delegate, they elevate. They recognize that performance is not a fixed output and have mastered the subtle nuances of communication that ignite team motivation.
Don’t miss your chance to become the motivation-creating coach your team craves and create the engaged, high-performing team you deserve.
THE GOOD FIGHT CLUB
Conflict is a normal by-product of communicating with other people. How we deal with conflict and differing perspectives impacts our ability to get along and work with others. As part of the course we will discuss they types of conflict that exist, use a self-assessment tool to identify your preferred style for dealing with conflict, outline strategies for dealing with differences, and build skills for positively resolving conflict.
REAL CONVERSATIONS, REAL CHANGE
Do you need your people to speak up? Are the best ideas only heard during "the meeting after the meeting"? Do you want to figure out how to make it safe to talk about anything?
People don’t stop sharing ideas because they don’t have or don’t know how to give an opinion. They stop sharing ideas because no one seems to be really listening. To help you generate honest conversations about how to bring about change and keep your team engaged, come along for this highly interactive session.
SETTING BOUNDARIES AND SAYING "NO"
"The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything." - Warren Buffett
While you might not have the luxury to say "no" to almost everything, we each have the right to speak to our needs and to share those things that don't serve us well anymore. The trick is knowing how to share your needs to reduce the potential for a negative reaction from the other person. If you want to walk away with some practical tools to boost your confidence and your outcomes, come join me.
TEAMWORK: SMALL ACT, BIG WINS
One of the top non-technical job skills desired by employers is the ability to work on a team. It isn’t enough to be good at your job, you also must be good at working with others and building a resilient team. So how do you build and maintain a resilient team? You may be surprised how some small changes can positively impact your team in significant ways.
If you want to jumpstart your team's level of engagement, this interactive experience is your you. Packed with powerful stories and practical tools, this session will shift people's thinking.
LADIES, LET'S NEGOTIATE!
Fact: Women who negotiate brilliantly on behalf of others often falter when it comes to asking for themselves. If we want more out of life, we need to learn to ask for what we want by embracing the power of negotiations. So, whether you avoid negotiating like the plague or consider yourself at the top of your negotiation game, come get some practical tools for getting more of what you want while building lasting relationships.
Therapeutic, impressive, knowledgeable, engaging, fun! Nan was AMAZING! - Topic: Cracking the Collaboration Code
M.W., Site Coordinator, Roseville School District
This is a worthwhile session that should be part of training for all employees. We have all dealt with disagreement and this is a good reminder of steps we can take to ensure our conversations and relationships are thoughtful and respectful of others and a good reminder to try and understand a person’s intent during conversations. Topic: Disagreement Doesn’t Have to Be Divisive
S.B., Employee, MN DNR
I appreciate how engaged you Nan was with her audience. I've always felt the best educators are those who encourage open communication and participation and I felt very tuned in to this. I know I will definitely be discussing this with my people (family, friends and coworkers) and using these things but I also plan to tell them where I learned this and to attempt to relay it in a way close to how Nan presented it to us. It's so open and inviting. it feels very inspirational that way, like it leaves room for thought and reflection and that's important, I feel, for people to find new ways to adapt the lessons to their own lives.
R.C., Employee, Winona Chamber of Commerce
Nan was well prepared and extremely knowledgeable. She possesses the rare ability to quickly take comments or questions and be able to translate them into the topic at hand. Would definitely recommend her again.
J.J., Employee, Winona Chamber of Commerce
I really enjoyed this presentation and the time went quickly. As a neurodivergent person it can be difficult to listen without interrupting and is something I really need to work on. - Topic: Disagreement Doesn’t Have to Be Divisive
K.H., Employee, MN DNR
She is able to boil down negotiating to its root human experience and make it feel not so scary. | Topic - Women In Manufacturing – The Power of Negotiations
T.S., Design & Sales Manager, Perfection Custom Closets
It taught me a lot of the different types of respect and how that plays into conflict. One of the biggest things I took away from this is that conversation makes the relationship, in that each conversation you have with that person your relationship with them will change. I highly recommend going to a workshop by her.
K.K., Office and Event Coordinator, LEEP
It made me think about how I managed conversations that didn’t go how I would have liked and taught me tools moving forward for managing discussions as well as how to address negative situations to have more productive relationships.
C., Territory Sales Manager, John Deere
It was an engaging session that demonstrated the power of both verbal and non-verbal communication during hard and potentially divisive conversations.
K., Corporate Account Manager, Ecolab, Inc.