SEMINARS
I offer a number of different seminars and training opportunities.  My most popular seminars include:
Parenting Basics – Freedom Parenting – basic philosophy and practical ideas for being a great parent to raise kids for greatness.  Guests leave with a sense of confidence and tools to use as soon as they get home.
Parenting Teens – Freedom Parenting – understanding of teen issues and how to finish strong as a parent during these vital years!  Parents leave encouraged, uplifted with applications that can be made before they even leave!
Parenting Adult Children – Freedom Parenting – many young people still seem to need some parenting after moving out, and some “boomerang” back home for various reasons, some ok, some tragic.  How should the parents of these handle these situations with grace and wisdom?
 
CHARACTER CONFERENCES
This is a new idea I would like to explore:  offering character training for corporations – businesses and ministries.  Please tell me what you think, and let me know if you know someone I should get this information to.  Thanks, Chris.
Character Conference/Seminars
Chris Legg, MAMFC, MARE, LPC.
            During the last decade, we have been facing a serious recession in the United States.  Banks have lent billions unwisely, companies have been living off of employees’ retirement accounts, well known men have been using their influence to cheat people out of money with one developed con or another.  The consequences?  Unemployment is up, investment confidence is down.  Of course, we immediately think finances; but the truth is that the financial situation and all these other indicators and problems are the result of a more serious recession:  a recession in character.
            Character traits are those fundamental things about each of us that we choose.  They don’t describe our temperament (Myers Briggs, DISC, etc.), I.Q., or any other inborn traits.  These are those things we choose, but that define us every bit as much, and  more, than our raw genetics.
            Think about the potential staff you have interviewed.  How long does it take to evaluate their job competency?  Often, their resume’ alone gives you 80% of that basic information before you even meet them.  What do we spend our time doing in interviews?  Trying to evaluate how trustworthy, loyal, wise, or deferential they are.  How well a person works in a team is rarely about their competence in their area of expertise; it is about their willingness to trust others.  Whether they are going to skim 50k out of their expenses to cover their gambling debts is about their fidelity, not computer skills; whether they will sexually harass a co-worker is about their self-control, not their GPA; how they report to their subordinates your instructions as a boss (“well, you won’t believe what the old man/woman wants us to do now…”) is determined by their devotion… all traits of character.
            When we hire or train staff, it isn’t all that tough to communicate about our areas of expertise; we are trained in common language about P&L, SWOT analysis, or exit evaluations.  However, do we even agree on what we mean when we say “honest” or “gentle” or courageous, or even the all-important “integrity”?  We need a common language about character, and we need alignment in how we value them in our companies, ministries, and businesses.
            As a Licensed Professional Counselor and supervisor, and a former Sr. Executive of an 18 million dollar ministry (see resume’ attached), I am proposing a character conference will be valuable for many organizations.  My goals will be to take the 5-6 hours (adaptable) set aside for the seminar and give your staff a common appreciation for the power of character including taking the character traits that you choose as most important in your organization and

• Challenging lazy attitudes about character…
• Developing the mindset and tools for changing character…
• Valuing character virtues…
• Motivating change in character flaws…
• Creating working definition for some of the most powerful and significant traits… (great for evaluations!)
• Expressing insights into the traits using legendary and historical examples…
• Interacting with your staff about the application into your organization…
• And more…

 
            The format is:

1. You and/or your Sr. Leadership team will choose 5 character traits from the extensive list provided.  Find out what your teams need!  Are people impatient with one another?  Are fist fights breaking out in the halls?  Is there a general sense of not being able to trust one another.  If you decide it would be helpful, I may  also be able to make time to meet with your leadership team in advance to consult on making these choices!

1. At the beginning of the seminar, your staff will get the chance to write down one character trait they want to hear taught on.  In addition to the 5 you or your team have chosen, I will cover the three most common requested of your staff!

1. We will end our time with interactive discussion for applying these traits in the day-to-day life of your organization, in the midst of discussing how character changes.  To the degree that it is possible within your corporate culture,  I will express how a right relationship with God plays a vital role in character development. 

 
What is in it for you and your staff?
 First, this seminar encourages the kind of character you want to see developed and in-place with your staff.   To paraphrase Drucker, “The only thing worse than training an employee and having them leave is not training them and have them stay.”
Second, it gives you the common language for conversations about these character traits in situations like evaluations, confrontation, rapport and staff development, and encouragement – whether coming from you or to you.
Third, it will give your staff the opportunity for helpful and practical personal change and growth to establish in a variety of different areas.  Opportunities like these are great for staff morale and help them feel appreciated.