8:30am – 9:15am                      General Session – Top Interpersonal Communication Skills for the Workplace

9:15am – 10:30am                    General Session – Ethical Tribal Leadership

10:30am – 10:45am                  Break

10:45am – 12:00pm                  General Session – The Art of Strategic Leadership

12:00pm – 1:15pm                    Lunch on your own

1:15pm – 2:30pm                      Concurrent Session 3

2:30pm – 2:45pm                      Break

2:45pm – 4:00pm                      Concurrent Session 4

8:30am – 9:15am                      General Session – Creating a Culture of Excellence

9:15am – 10:30am                    General Session – Staying Up to Date on Tribal Employment Law

10:30am – 10:45am                  Break

10:45am – 12:00pm                  General Session – Ready…Set…Lead

12:00pm – 1:15pm                    Lunch on your own

1:15pm – 2:30pm                      Concurrent Session 5

2:30pm – 2:45pm                      Break

2:45pm – 4:00pm                      Concurrent Session 6

*Agenda subject to change.

Are you experiencing information overload when it comes to legislation affecting Indian Country? In this session, our legal expert will review recent Supreme Court and lower court cases that impact sovereign immunity, a tribe’s ability to take lands into trust, civil and criminal jurisdiction on tribal lands, and so much more.

• Civil and criminal jurisdiction
• Federal, state and tribal criminal cases
• Laws, case law and federal policy impacting Indian Country
• Major pending legal issues

The most successful leaders put the human in human resources. Demonstrating empathetic and powerful interpersonal skills, will enable leadership at the highest level. This session emphasizes the techniques to help you recognize and use these qualities in yourself and help to develop them in your team.

• Recognizing your emotional intelligence
• Building a collaborative team
• Listening for understanding
• Improving the communication process

Are you prepared to navigate the maze of ethical issues that tribal government officials face today? We’ll guide you through the process of establishing and enforcing high ethical standards in the workplace while examining real-life scenarios from case studies tailored for issues relevant to Indian Country.

• Developing a code of ethics
• Enforcing standards of conduct
• Avoiding conflicts and ethics violations
• Employing problem-solving strategies

A strategic thinker creates clarity out of complex and seemingly disconnected details. This session will equip you with the strategies to look at things from different perspectives and teach you the skills to get ahead of potential issues.

• Applying your mission, vision and values
• Setting team priorities
• Clarifying roles and responsibilities
• Identifying growth opportunities

It may be a challenge to maintain high performance in operations when there’s a change in leadership. Yet our communities benefit from the continuation of programs that produce results. In this session, we’ll discuss proven strategies for setting performance goals, and how to make them a permanent part of your best leadership practices.

• Cultivating engagement and ownership
• Developing meaningful performance metrics
• Building community support
• Implementing a mentorship model

Have you ever had an employment law-related question, searched for a definitive answer, and the best answer you could find was, “it depends?” With nearly 600 federally-recognized tribes in the United States, each with its own government-to-government relationship with the United States government, tribal employment law is complex. Gain clarity and peace of mind as this session lays out the fundamentals of tribal employment law and its impact today.

• Reviewing employment claims in tribal court
• Preserving employee privacy rights in the workplace
• Protecting and enhancing sovereignty through sound employment practices
• Drafting tribal employment laws and policies

Increase your personal power by developing a greater appreciation for individual leadership styles. Recognize and apply the distinct differences of leadership vs. management. Good tribal leaders demonstrate consistency and fairness in how they approach their responsibilities.

• Developing your team through coaching and teaching
• Organizing and staffing for increased effectiveness
• Producing productivity and order in your workplace
• Recognizing team and individual contributions

Becoming a collaborative leader requires optimum communication skills and know-how. Having a deep understanding of unique roles between all levels of tribal management is imperative.  This workshop will provide resources for streamlined policies that will guide productive relationships.

• Working effectively with your board, council and tribal leaders
• Establishing protocols
• Creating synergy
• Discovering what turns a group into a team

A key leadership role is to protect and enhance tribal sovereignty. You’ll gain a better understanding of how to assert and preserve your members’ rights, and impactfully serve your community. It’s important to understand how your choices will impact generations to come.

• Origins and development of sovereignty
• Tribal leadership safeguards
• Stable, fair tribal governments

Are you being strategic about how you use your time and energy? These days it can feel like you’re being pulled in all directions. This workshop will provide tips and tricks on how to use your personal and professional resources wisely.

• Defining your role
• Prioritizing team objectives
• Organizing for results
• Communicating clearly

Don’t be intimidated by large-scale project management.  Build a solid foundation of project management knowledge, techniques and tools. If you’ve ever been tasked with managing an important project or if you’re ready to take on a new challenge and become a project manager, this workshop is for you.

• Managing basic to advanced projects
• Working with contracts and grants
• Reviewing the project life cycle
• Presenting the fundamentals of the project

A key part of empowering and developing your team involves understanding what motivates people and providing them with meaningful and challenging work. This workshop teaches specific techniques that not only motivate your team but equips them with the skills to become leaders themselves.

• Applying motivational theories
• Examining generational differences in motivation
• Building a team with mentoring and coaching
• Supporting your team’s mission

The role of a board or council is to develop the vision and mission, create the strategic plan and direction and set policies for the tribe.  No two tribes are the same, and the exact structure that works best will vary somewhat. Roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined for optimum operations.

• Building trust between boards and staff
• Establishing ground rules
• Dealing with difficult relationships
• Preventing conflicts of interest

Learning how to delegate efficiently can be one of the biggest time savers any manager can implement. Not only does it develop the skill set of your team, it can also increase your flexibility and allows you to accomplish more as a manager. Together, we’ll go over various strategies to make you a more effective delegator.

• Delegating effectively to your team
• Applying the steps clearly
• Achieving more and developing your team
• Inviting commitment through ownership

Our culture defines many aspects of how we think, feel and act. It can be challenging for managers to bridge cultural differences and bring employees together into a functioning team. This workshop will give supervisors and managers easy-to-use techniques for communicating across cultures, building teams, promoting multiculturalism in the organization and leveraging the global talent pool.

• Team building across cultures
• Building a multicultural organization
• Communicating effectively across cultures
• Promoting acceptance and awareness in your organization

Does your meeting style need some polishing? Our goal is to help you master the art of making meetings work. You’ll learn how to create a positive atmosphere where members feel their opinions are important and respected. This workshop will help you turn boring, mediocre meetings into ones that get results and motivate participants!

• Identifying what is needed before, during and after meetings
• Understanding the roles and responsibilities of all meeting participants
• Preparing agendas for efficient meetings
• Generating engagement and ownership among employees

Applying governmental consultation policies may seem overwhelming at times. Tribal consultation is an historic component of the federal-tribal relationship. More recently, tribal consultation has been mandated by Executive Orders. This workshop is designed to provide you with timely updates, information and guidance you can use on the job.

• Following the necessary steps in the tribal consultation process
• Understanding established protocols
• Recognizing cultural differences
• Putting it all together: consultation in action

The best managers and supervisors are the ones who inspire their employees to be proactive and to take ownership of their growth. This workshop emphasizes proactive communication techniques and work-saving planning measures to help you maintain positive employee relations and a thriving work environment.

• Implementing comprehensive standards
• Establishing the performance appraisal process
• Practicing daily observations and informal feedback
• Providing guidance and support for employees