As a veteran of business for over 25 years, I have been part of more training sessions and seminars than I care to remember. Many were not worth the time they took away from other work. My time at Priority Learning has been a decided exception to that pattern.
At Priority Learning I have gained critical insights and knowledge that I did not even realize I was lacking. The experience of understanding how we are fundamentally motivated and how each of us perceives and acts has been a remarkable awakening for me. As a trained engineer and manager, I had a very rigid fact based world view. If there was a problem, I often directed the fix. I may have been right, and I may have had good answers, but I now realize that I frequently did not empower or grow my direct reports or coworkers. Being right does not always mean getting the best result for everyone
What Priority Learning has taught me is that I can be more beneficial to my company and peers by coaching them to constantly grow and solve their own problems. I have learned to have more faith in others, and to recognize the power encouragement as opposed to criticism.
With out doubt, Priority Learning has provided me with some of the most valuable learning experiences of my life.
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The Facilitators Series at Priority Learning provides discussion and training on the core skills and process required to successfully transfer learning to an audience. By continually practicing these skills in a live setting and receiving critical, honest feedback provided by the organizers and other participants, this course has enabled me to better document and plan my training sessions as well as substantially improve my overall delivery abilities. This course is highly recommended and is ideal for those new at the craft, trainers with varying levels of experience or any individual with leadership desires.
Jay Hallam - VP of Training
The Facilitators Series is a very effective program which delivers the theoretical knowledge and the hands-on experience for successful group facilitation. This program should be a requirement for anyone in a position of leadership, training, or any position where strong effective communication is a must.
Rob Lombard - VP Human Resources
The Facilitators Series at Priority Learning, has been a great learning experience for me personally. Through each class I have not only been challenged by the content but also by the other participants. During each session, we have learned new techniques for the teaching, training or facilitation crafts and then had an opportunity to apply them with the group. As with all other Priority Learning classes the learning also happens from hearing the successes and challenges that the other students have faced, both in the classroom and in their work settings. The lessons that I am learning through this series are changing, for the better, how I approach everything from day to day meetings to our longer term continuous improvement initiatives.
Scott Clinch - Manufacturing Manager
I had the opportunity to explore transferring knowledge through facilitation in ways I never would have tried. Reading and doing are two very different things. Now I walk away with experience and more confidence. A very challenging course, but soooo worth it!
Kandy Moreau
I wanted to take a second and thank you and the Priority Team for the great Direct Manager Series. Every session gave me ideas in ways to work with and improve my staff. It was great getting to know the people in the training and to get a different perspective on certain issues. You and your team always make the learning fun, interesting and comfortable. I would recommend every manager in every type of business go through your training. Too often the people side of business gets lost in the money, and you have a great way in showing it's the people side that make a company succeed. I look forward to the next training I can get to. Again thanks for everything.
Scott Peters
The class provided great tools to help not only present to an audience but to interact and become part of the audience as well. I found the increased level of comfort speaking to a group brought about by regular and varied presentations extremely helpful. Another great asset I took away was the ability to develop a multistep program to educate based on the various tools provided, i.e. Three Types of Learning Styles, Outlining & Sequencing Content, ROPES Method, etc. All three tools have already been used in successful presentations to customers and work colleagues. These are valuable tools I will keep on hand in the work book and continually refer to. All in all a great class that was fun and comfortable to attend. I believe the comfort factor made the pickup of information and overall take away key to a successful and ultimately profitable learning experience. I look forward to the next one.
Testimonial By Pete Sullivan of Southworth International
"It hit me as we went through out presentations how much we've learned in the eight-class series. I can't thank you enough for the opportunity. Between all the material, practice, and feedback, I'm so much better prepared to do my job. Even though I went into the class kicking and screaming, I'm beyond grateful to have completed it under the guidance of you both as facilitating gurus. You make such a difference to me and Jotul. Many, many, thanks
Krista Irmischer
I had the privilege of participating in Priority Learning's first Executive Series. What an incredible experience! The opportunity to share ideas with and learn from the experiences of other C-Level executives in completely different fields than mine was invaluable. I gained a deeper understanding of my capacity as a leader, new perspectives on how to be a more effective leader, tools for managing teams and strategies for advancing my organization. Ralph is a dynamic and engaging facilitator, keenly sensitive to when to let participants dictate the rhythm and direction of the conversation and when to re-focus us
Lauren Dietlin - COO
I wanted to say how we really appreciate our business partnership and the value-added service that we receive from all of you at Priority Learning. You are family. We feel well covered for our Leadership Training initiatives over the past two years and our employees have sought out your advice regarding performance management challenges with theirs and my direct reports. Many of our employees comment on how helpful your organization has been in training them on such key initiatives as the Jotul Idea System, Coaching Others, Myers-Briggs, Emotional Intelligence/Appreciative Inquiry and Building a Business Case among others. You also have graciously extended many open seats for seminars that you are conducting with other companies. This has helped with networking and benchmarking best practices with other companies. The other equally important part of this value-added relationship is that you try to understand our business needs and truly work with us in coming up with WIN/WIN scenarios where both Jotul and its employees can come out favorably. It\'s all about keeping our internal customers happy and motivated in order for us to maximize the positive business partnership we strive to have with them. The results during the past two years have been dramatic. Our idea system realized its annual goal of 4 ideas/person/year after eight months, our leadership group (Team Leaders, Managers, Supervisors) has had minimal turnover and are learning how to write more effective reviews, and our management team continues to lead Jotul to record-breaking growth and financial success. Some would say Leadership Training is soft, we say that training our leaders is imperative for our growth. We appreciate our partnership with Priority Learning.
Bret Watson
We are working our way through the participant discussions with managers on the Pro Lead exercise and I want you to know how much we all appreciate your support of our team. The Pro Lead tool has helped facilitate some conversations and will hopefully lead to setting of personal developmental goals for our managers. We realize this is just one of many ways you have supported the growth and development of JMG leadership.
I also know how much you have invested over time in some of our managers and that you continue to offer support and development opportunities for JMG. One of the points we try to make to our students is they are not in it on their own. We try to help them see the supports they have around them to help them move forward and grow when confronting challenges. Priority Learning is doing just that for JMG! You and your team continue to be a trusted partner in helping the JMG team improve and thereby deliver on our vision to be a champion for all Maine students facing barriers to education.
Thank you for all you have done and continue to do in support of JMG and Maine students!
Neal Williamson - HR Director
It's all about connections! As I think about what the folks at Priority Learning brought to my credit union over two years ago, I am struck at the ease upon which they immediately became an integral part of the team. Because Ralph, Lorraine, and Craig readily engaged the management in the learning process, they became a trusted resource for the most inexperienced manager and the most senior team member. Finally, it's important to note how a training class at Priority Learning connects theory with practice-a true value for any organization.
Jim Nelson - President and CEO
The Facilitators Series at Priority Learning provides discussion and training on the core skills and process required to successfully transfer learning to an audience. By continually practicing these skills in a live setting and receiving critical, honest feedback provided by the organizers and other participants, this course has enabled me to better document and plan my training sessions as well as substantially improve my overall delivery abilities. This course is highly recommended and is ideal for those new at the craft, trainers with varying levels of experience or any individual with leadership desires.
Jay Hallam - VP of Training
As a long time client of Priority Learning's Leadership trainings, I naturally had high expectations for the Facilitator Series. As usual, I wasn't disappointed. The content alone is enough to allow you to "step up your game" as far as facilitation goes, but the interaction of the other attendees, the encouragement, and the hands on practice has allowed me to really get a comfort level when it comes to presenting to groups and facilitating a successful session. I believe that anyone participating in the course, rookies and seasoned facilitators alike, would gain valuable information amidst a judgment free audience that can make any facilitation fun and successful.
Alison Spaulding
I would highly recommend the Facilitators Series Workshop to anyone with a desire to improve their personal skill set and comfort level in group facilitation and public speaking. Ralph and his Team have put together a comprehensive program that includes all the bells and whistles one needs to become a masterful facilitator. The benefit of attending a "series" like this versus jam packed and compressed one, two, or three day workshop are numerous. It allows the participants to build new relationships with other professionals, many opportunities to truly "play" with the new tools they are learning about, and a layered way of learning that is fu, interactive, and sticks. At JMG we think we are pretty well versed at how to best optimize learning experiences for our students and I can tell you firsthand THIS IS IT!
Katy Foley
From the perspective of a customer and a client, and definitely as a friend, I can sum up my recommendation this way: Ralph is someone who helps. He wants to help, he seems to cherish the opportunity to help, and one gets the impression it's not in his nature to withhold help once he knows someone is in need. Behind the scenes Ralph is loyal, industrious and diligent, continually working to keep his skills sharp and knowledge base sound, and he is a strong team leader. Underpinned with considerable real world experience and fueled by insatiable curiosity, Ralph has the capability, and not just the willingness, to help managers and leaders develop and organizations grow. I have personally benefited from his coaching and training and I have witnessed many others grow with his support.
David Spaulding
In 2005, Norway Savings Bank began a 3 year project with Ralph Twombly and Priority Learning to help us identify and implement the type of culture we, as employees, wanted for the bank. It was overwhelmingly determined that we wanted a culture of achievement and support. Following several meetings to understand our goals, Ralph worked with the Cultural Steering Committee and bank employees to gather their ideas and thoughts as to how to implement our culture of choice. He has been very helpful to and supportive of the bank's culture crews in helping to firmly establish the culture of choice. The new culture has been a tremendous success and we feel it plays a major part in Norway Savings Bank having been named the Best Place to Work in Maine in 2008.
Robert Harmon
