VIRTUAL TRAINING programmes
We now offer the same training programmes in virtual mode. The same immersive and enriching Skillseed experience, but made even more convenient for all of us. Let’s consider the possibilities of expanding our leadership practices, strengthening our community-building capacities, as well as connecting with fellow changemakers, and more. All from the comfort of your chosen location.
Human-centred leadership and community engagement (HLCE)
In our line of work, it’s not just about what you do, but how you do it.
We developed a suite of Human-Centred Leadership tools designed to equip participants with the necessary sensitivities, competencies, and contextual awareness to maximise their time and impact in communities. Social sector work requires a deft touch: on top of mastering technical skills, it is paramount that one communicates and collaborates with diverse stakeholders respectfully, in a manner befitting their dignity.
ADDRESSING DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION (DEI)
At Skillseed, we constantly push ourselves to contemplate how complex issues in the community, workplace and society can be better approached. At the heart of this, these three themes emerged - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Given the importance and complexity of these topics, we are committed to facilitating brave and deep conversations surrounding them and holding safe spaces with authenticity and sensitivity.
Our modules are designed for participants to experience, viscerally, how issues surrounding DEI can manifest in our lives. Through the learning experience, participants will be empowered with practical handles on how they can hold space, manage conversations and initiate (or amplify) efforts to cultivate diverse, equitable and inclusive communities.
To kickstart this DEI journey for your community/ organisation, here are our suggested modules:
Power
Dignity and Stereotypes
Intentional Listening
Empathy Mapping
Facilitation
Community Canvas
We recommend these two primers to kick-start any course/ module, even if the core module is not conducted by Skillseed.
Virtual Team Building
We have designed this to be modelled after the realities of team dynamics and roles in real-world collaborations, by having participants engage in fun, time-based challenges. These team challenges will require them to communicate and work creatively in teams on a virtual platform. Based on these challenges, participants will also gain insights into leadership and teamwork through a facilitated reflection session.
Asset-Based Ice Breakers
We facilitate this through a ‘Gifts of the Cohort’ activity that identifies the gifts of participants using the H⁵ model (comprising gifts of Head, Heart, Hand, Heel and Human Connections). This ice-breaker will allow participants to warm up for conversations while getting to know each others’ gifts and strengths, thereby better preparing them for their upcoming project collaborations.
Level 1
These foundational modules help us develop a better sense of self-awareness, and set a firm foundation for subsequent tools and frameworks. We strongly recommend them as equipping modules for students’ service learning projects, CSR projects or as refreshers for staff and teachers working in service learning.
DIGNITY AND STEREOTYPES
2.5 hours - Theory and games/simulations
Dignity is defined as a person’s inherent value and intrinsic worth that they are born with, where we recognise the equal value and worth of a person regardless of their behaviour.
This module introduces the concepts of stereotypes, a taxonomy of dignity, conditions that lead to dignity violations, and essential elements of dignity promotion. Participants will uncover some hidden stereotypes they may have and better appreciate how to promote dignity in their interactions with others and communities. The equipping will include hands-on activities, scenario-based case studies for participants to understand the need to consciously practise self awareness and dignity-promoting skills in people engagement.
EMOTIONAL AWARENESS
1.5 hours
Emotional Awareness is fundamental to effective self leadership, and to building sustainable relationships. In this module, participants will learn and practise fundamental skills for developing Emotional Awareness.
Through the Thoughts-Feelings-Actions (TFA) framework, participants will better understand the relationships between the different components by reflecting on their lived experiences. By being more aware of the patterns in their thoughts and feelings, one can choose how to respond instead of reacting emotionally. Using TFA in reverse also serves as an empathy tool which helps participants to respond more empathetically.
INTENTIONAL LISTENING
1.5 hours
Active Listening is essential not only to community engagement, but to all facets of our personal and professional lives. Here, participants will practice a unique form of active listening that helps isolate and build the cognitive, emotional and empathetic muscles of listening, thus making it intentional and not merely active. The intentionality also arises through the purposeful sharing of peer feedback on the listening process, covering body language to facial expressions, distracting thoughts and more.
IDENTITY AND POWER
3 hours
Interacting with those who are different from you can be scary, messy, and confusing. Questions of identity and power quickly come into play. In this Module, participants will explore concepts that are fundamental to developing mutually empowering relationships across differences, such as:
Personal and Social Identities
Spheres of Influence
Informal and Formal Power
Collaborative Forms of Power
By beginning with awareness of one’s own identity, position, and power, participants will understand how their identity complements or conflicts with the identities of others. Once an awareness of the self within the collective is established, participants will be equipped with the skills to share power effectively, a fundamental part of any asset-based service project.
mindsets
Dependent, Transactional and Relational Mindsets
2 hours - Theory and hands-on team activities
In this module, participants will explore three types of mindsets - dependent, transactional and relational, and how they might be relevant in different contexts. In particular, we dive into when a relational mindset is necessary, and how one can shift from a dependent/ transactional mindset to one that is more relational. Participants will practise in a safe learning environment through case studies, peer sharing and reflections.
Overcoming a Scarcity Mindset (Level 1)
3 hours - Beyond Limitations: How to Optimise Your Resources
For the first module, participants will undergo a series of simulations to reflect on the effects of a scarcity mindset. Rather than a manifestation of personal traits, a scarcity mindset is a contextual issue that leads us to perceive that we have less than what we feel we need. Along with narrowing our focus solely on matters that feel more pressing, a scarcity mindset taxes our mental bandwidth and forces us to make trade-offs that might cost us more in the long(er) term.
In addition to the experiential element, participants will be challenged to consider the implications of a scarcity mindset in various case scenarios. Strategies on how one can design a scarcity-resistant environment to overcome the detrimental effects of a scarcity mindset would also be shared for participants to consider applying within their personal spheres.
Level 2
These modules offer an added challenge to participants or organisations who may be operating in the field/social sector/education sector and are interested in building further capacity in human-centred leadership skills and community engagement competencies. They are also appropriate for student leaders and CSR leaders.
EMPATHY Mapping
3 hours
Participants will be introduced to the methodology of Empathy Mapping. The generation of an empathy map helps us better understand our intended end user(s), including their fears and hopes.
The intent of exposing participants to this empathy mapping tool is to equip them with the ability to understand their intended stakeholders (i.e. persons of interest/ end users) on a deeper level, and help them identify and test any inherent assumptions they might have about their intended audience. We will take participants through the practice of Empathy Mapping in projection, observational and retrospective modes.
influencing with empathy
2.5 - 3 hours
While empathy mapping helps us better understand the world of our stakeholders and gain deeper insights into their inner motivations and fears, there are times when we may need to intervene and influence our stakeholders.
For example, when we witness that our stakeholder is engaging in self-destructive behaviour, or when they share that they are struggling with a bad habit. How do we then respond, and influence them in a way that fosters trust and mutual respect, and nudges them towards positive change?
The second segment of the module focuses on practical strategies on how we can influence our stakeholders, whether internal (e.g. project teammates) or external (e.g. community members) with empathy.
Citizen Library™:
Optional Add-on to ‘Empathy Mapping’ and ‘Influencing with Empathy’ modules
(additional 45 mins)
To put theory into practice, a Citizen Library segment can be added where participants will have the opportunity to empathetically interview Citizen Books from Skillseed's network and existing communities. This segment allows participants to engage with Citizen Books who could be their potential end users / audience. Our Citizen Books come from all walks of life and may comprise Persons with Disabilities, retirees, caregivers, environmental activists etc, who are remunerated for their valuable time and contributions, which helps to amplify our social impact.
Effective facilitation
3 - 3.5 hours - Theory and hands-on team activities
Being able to hold space for powerful, difficult, and important conversations is a skill that is indispensable for leaders, employers, educators, parents, or anyone who works with people-centred processes. With the changing norms, being able to engage in mutually respectful and productive conversations with others online becomes an essential skill as well.
Through dynamic role-plays, quizzes and group activities that stimulate peer learning, this module will introduce participants to the skills and frameworks most fundamental to effective facilitation in-person and virtually, such as:
Styles of Facilitation for Different Contexts
Modes of Communication for Different Contexts
Core Facilitation Skills and Strategies
Managing Different Personality Types
RELATIONAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCIES™
3 hours - Theory and hands-on activities
Recommended Prerequisite Level 1 Module(s): Emotional Awareness, Dignity and Stereotypes
Relational communication is key to building empathetic, mutually empowering, and sustainable relationships among different stakeholders.
Discord Prevention: RRAAA(A)™
In engaging stakeholders, there may be occasions when an unreasonable request frustrates us, and we feel tempted to lash out. Sometimes we do, to disastrous outcomes. And even if we don’t, we may unintentionally reply in a manner that is dismissive, sarcastic or expresses passive aggression. Either way, it results in stakeholder anger and exacerbates the situation. So how might we respond in a way that preserves the relationship whilst bringing the engagement towards our desired outcome?
Meet RRAAA. That’s not the sound of fury voiced (though it’s a helpful mnemonic). As the sibling to AAARR (please see above), RRAAA gives us a framework of relating with a stakeholder that helps them discover their blind spots (in the context of their request), builds mutual understanding, and preserves the relationship. When practised well, we might even cultivate an ally in the process. And all these without losing our cool.
Similar to AAARR (below), participants will catch RRAAA through a myriad of immersive activities including role plays, participatory theatre, case dissections, pair and reflections and group work.
RRAAA is best encountered with Emotional Awareness, Level 1 Mindsets and AAARR as complementary pre-modules.
Discord Resolution (AAARR)™
Projects and programmes are often never smooth-sailing. Hence, being able to respond relationally is even more critical when one has to relay bad news or constraints to stakeholders, or when your stakeholders are already upset or angry over a certain situation of which you had influence over.
In this dynamic module which invites participants to step out of their comfort zones to role play, they will learn and practise the following skills, which build upon one another to achieve the most effective community engagement outcomes:
Affirming Responses (AAARR)™
Relational Questions
mindsets
Overcoming a Scarcity Mindset (Level 2)
3 hours - What is Lacking: Making Programme Interventions Work
For the second module, participants are invited to deliberate over the systemic effects of scarcity traps through carefully-designed interactive activities, especially on the outcomes of programmes and projects as well as policies (where applicable), particularly if they involve under-resourced individuals and communities. There will also be opportunities for participants to discuss and brainstorm on how one might design more effective programmes, projects, or policies that will have increased participation from the community they serve by taking into account key concepts such as ‘Slack’ and ‘Bandwidth Tax’ shared during this module.
Finally, using real-life case studies, we will also discuss how the application of a Scarcity Lens might integrate with existing social innovation frameworks such as Needs-Based Analysis, Design Thinking and Asset Based Community Development for a more holistic approach to community-centered solutions.