2009 ANNUAL CONFERENCE SPEAKER BIO |
Carol Grannis & Cindy Maher
Carol Grannis Cindy Maher
Carol Grannis
Founder & Managing Partner –Leading Edge Coaching & Development, St. Paul, Minnesota
Carol Grannis founded Leading Edge Coaching and Development in 2004. She is responsible for managing critical client relationships, assessing organizational needs and implementing lasting organizational efforts from employee surveys and performance management processes, to leadership development and executive coaching.
With more than 18 years of experience in leadership development and HR strategies, Carol has worked with clients from a rich variety of industries including pharma, financial services, advertising and healthcare across the United States and Canada. Carol’s gift is in building trusted relationships with business leaders and executing on the key HR initiatives that will make a difference to their bottom-line and company’s overall reputation in the marketplace. Current clients include: League of Minnesota Cities, Cognitive Drug Research, Stratasys Inc., Medicus New York, Medicus Canada, Discovery Chicago, Science & Medicine, Scientific Voice, iMed, Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare, ING, HealthSouth, and the National Institutes of Health.
Prior to starting up Leading Edge, Carol held senior HR positions at ING Financial Services, Protocare Research and the Chicago Center for Clinical Research. She also holds a Masters of Education in Adult Learning, and is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in organizational development at University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. With a passion for helping client companies reach their potential, Carol never fails to leave a memorable and lasting mark on those who meet and work with her.
Cindy Maher
Managing Partner –Leading Edge Coaching & Development, West Hartford, Connecticut
Cindy Maher is also a founding partner at Leading Edge Coaching & Development. She is responsible for designing and implementing organizational strategies for client companies in a variety of industries including marketing & advertising, financial services, and government agencies.
With more than 20 years of experience in leadership education, executive team development, and performance management strategies, Cindy has developed and implemented many long-term projects for a number of companies including: Aetna, Inc., Medicus New York, Medicus Canada, Discovery Chicago, Science & Medicine, Scientific Voice, Discovery Institute of Medical Education, iMed, Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare, Fulcrum Analytics, Sanofi-Aventis, ING, State of Connecticut (Legislative & Judicial Branch), Manning Selvage & Lee Public Relations, and the National Institutes of Health. Cindy brings best practices and an innovative approach to all of her work whether she is working with a group of senior leaders, coaching executives on presentations, or implementing a company-wide employee survey.
Prior to starting up Leading Edge in 2004, Cindy led Leadership Development efforts at ING North America and held a number of senior HR positions at Aetna that included Talent Management and Succession Planning. By night, you can see Cindy performing comedy in venues around Connecticut. The combination of her expertise in business, leadership practices, coaching, organizational development and an infectious brand of humor sets her apart from other consultants in the marketplace.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Closing Plenary Session
Reaching Resonance: Engaging Your Workforce through Emotional Intelligence
How do your leaders impact the emotional state of your organization? What specifically do they do that can either raise creativity, productivity, and retention – or push employees down into apathy, anger, and disengagement? Find out how the emotional intelligence competencies of self-awareness, social-awareness, relationship management, and self-management link to employee engagement and organizational success. This unique session is comprised of interactive exercises, dynamic discussion and live improvisational theatre (no PowerPoint!). Experienced OD leaders (and veteran actors) Cindy Maher and Carol Grannis will demonstrate concepts and teach skills through realistic and often hilarious scenes that are performed right in front of you. You’ll leave our closing keynote laughing and ready to use practical and ready-to-apply skills and tools.
By the end of this presentation, participants will:
- Understand their impact on an organization’s emotional climate – and how that ties into employee engagement and retention,
- Recognize how dissonance can demotivate employees, undermining change efforts and organizational growth
- Self assess their own skills in the four emotional intelligence competencies of self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, and relationship management
- Understand how listening and being present can impact resonance – and begin to practice a new set of skills
- Identify some ways that they (as HR professionals) can coach and support the emotional intelligence of leaders in their organization