Check out Deborah’s Online Courses

If you are a busy professional who knows that your job—and your career—depend on being able to communicate clearly and concisely, manage leaders and team with confidence and credibility, and coach colleagues and clients to be self-directed and self-motivated, then I have a course (or two, or three) for you!

I created these asynchronous, online courses for anyone who wants to have more impact and influence at work — and in life. I have been teaching and coaching communication, presentation, supervision, coaching, and leadership skills for over three decades, across industries and around the world, including Fortune 50 companies, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and Ivy League academic institutions.

These courses represent my most requested, most tested, and most well-reviewed tips, tools, and techniques that I use with my clients. They are fast-paced and fun (yes, really!), and you’ll get the best of the best from my years of experience teaching and coaching busy professionals at all levels, my commitment to using research-based strategies from psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, etc., my personal experience as a parent of twins (talk about conflict!); as well as a taste of my background in stand-up and improvisational comedy.

What are you waiting for? (You could already have learned 3 new skills in the time it took you to read this!) Join thousands of other busy professionals from around the world and give yourself a competitive, communicative edge to help you advance in your job and career.

Talking to Your Employees about Stress at Work

What if my colleague tells me they’re overwhelmed all the time – what am I supposed to do?
What if my direct report’s stress is stressing ME out?
What do I do if my teammate is having a hard time at home – but I don’t want to pry into their personal life?
At least some of my colleagues are remote. How am I supposed to know how they’re really feeling?
The pandemic is on its way out. Shouldn’t people be over it already?

If you recognize that stress, burnout, and anxiety are at an all-time high – and you want to know how to help your colleagues without backing away or overstepping – then this course is for you.

A recent study of more than 2,000 global employees found that 38% of people say their company has not even asked them if they are doing okay.

That’s not okay.

Each of us has a responsibility to create an open, inclusive, and safe environment for our colleagues to bring their whole selves to work, including their mental wellbeing. In fact, research has found that feeling like you can share openly at work leads to better performance, engagement, employee retention, and overall well-being.

This is the ultimate self-help course: it’s helping you to help others around you (and you’ll definitely pick up some practical stress management techniques to use personally, too!)

So what will this course cover?

Why we are so stressed right now (and why it’s not going away anytime soon)
Why we all need to have “The Talk” about stress at work
What does stress actually look like?
How we can step in without overstepping
Understanding why your colleagues might be afraid to share
Managing your personal beliefs about mental health
Creating a culture of trust
Don’t assume you know who is stressed out: How to be mindful of bias
How to show empathy without getting sucked in
How to listen when someone is sharing something personal
How to ask questions without pushing or prying
What to say and what not to say to someone who is struggling
Offering a “Help Menu” of 20+ ways to support your colleagues
Practical strategies, tips, and tools for helping others deal with anxiety, overwhelm, and burnout
What to do if you’re having a tough time, too

The Manager’s Guide to Driving High Performance: 12 Proven Strategies to Motivate, Educate, Evaluate, and Inspire Your Team Members shares Deborah’s best practices for:

Creating a culture of trust with your team members
Tapping into intrinsic motivation so that your team members become self-motivated and self-directed
Setting high standards (and holding people to them)
Delegating successfully
Giving effective performance feedback
Having high-impact 1:1 meetings
Mitigating bias
Coaching for career development…and more!

What’s even better is that the whole course is about an hour (which can be completed in smaller chunks, on each participant’s own schedule), and includes downloadable handouts to help people participants remember the key points from each topic. This course is best suited for people managers who are newer in their roles, or who are more seasoned and haven’t recently had manager-specific professional development.

Click here to watch a clip on Delegating from The Manager’s Guide to Driving High Performance

Coaching for Growth and Success: 12 Ways to Bring out the Best in Your Colleagues, Clients, and Team Members includes the mindsets, skills, and coaching demos that address:

Why coaching?
When to coach – and when not to
How to get into the coaching mindset
How to look for “coachable moments”
Listening skills
Asking powerful questions
Demonstrating empathy
Summoning people’s strengths
Motivational goal-setting
Action planning
Anticipating and overcoming obstacles
Creating commitment and ensuring accountability

Also about an hour long (which can be completed in smaller chunks, on each participant’s own schedule), this course also includes downloadable handouts to help people participants remember the key points from each topic.

This course is best suited for people managers who are newer in their roles, or who are more seasoned and haven’t recently had manager-specific professional development. It is also suited for anyone in a customer-service role who wants to use these skills to build stronger and more trusting relationships.

Click here to watch a clip on Listening to Learn from Coaching for Growth and Success

Smart Tips: Communication offers Deborah’s weekly short video tips and tools for:

Telling a powerful story
Leading engaging online meetings
Navigating tricky conversations
Dealing with challenging people (professionals and lay leaders)
Receiving feedback without defensiveness
Networking creatively and proactively
Public speaking with less anxiety and more impact
Managing time and competing priorities

Each tip is between 1-5 minutes, delivered as a weekly “boost” (or at the participant’s preferred pace) and offers tried and tested actionable advice. This course is best suited for employees at all levels.