Effective leadership in working relations is an important element for success in every research career. PhD students and Postdocs often find their working relations complex. They are approached from diverse perspectives that can change over time. Supervisors, students, colleagues, future employers, grant providing stakeholders, etc. each perceive early career researchers differently. The trick is to not remain passive to the dynamics of this variety of perspectives, but to actively shape it in a strategic way. This requires social and communication skills that will serve you well both within your PhD or Postdoc project and during your next job search.

The training Personal Leadership in Working Relationships is designed to help early career researchers  interact with confidence and good judgement with their supervisors and other working relations within and without the academic environment. It offers insight in the way your own perception of your position in relation to the other colors your communication. With this insight you can consciously shape how others perceive you. This helps you to better deal with difficult situations and communicate more effectively in various working relationships.

Session by session

• The first session aims at gaining insight in your role and position within your network of working relationships, as well as optimal use of your personal core qualities. The session concludes with a questionnaire about one of your working relationships that the trainer will analyse and provide with personal feedback for the next meeting. Between the meetings you collect specific personal feedback in your own actual working environments.
• The second session aims at practicing effective communication and behavior in working relationships in order to implement the insights you gained during and after the first session. Role playing exercises and assertive feedback offer a solid base to continue developing personal leadership in working relationships after the training.

In this compact training you practice self reflection and discuss your findings in a small group of peers. With concrete exercises you then get to work with the insight you gained. Role playing exercises facilitate practical implementation of your insights and behavioral change. Additionally, you receive a personal in depth analysis of one working relationship.

Shared experiences, peer recognition and peer feedback add value to the training.  Because you get to know each other well during the training, participants are capable of exchanging relevant and focussed feedback. In this way, as a participant, you not only learn how to give assertive feedback, but you also practice receiving personal feedback on your qualities and communication style.