Local 196 executive Joy Arntzen (President) and Sandi Johnson (1st VP) and members Heather Devine (locally funded) and Danusia Moreau (provincially funded) attended Jasper Labour School last week!
Take a read about Heather’s experience:
“This past week I had the opportunity to attend Alberta Federation of Labour’s Jasper Labour School at the beautiful Jasper Park Lodge. This was my first time here, and what an experience!
There are a variety of classes you can choose to attend: mine was “Facing Management Effectively”. I expected to come away with a few ‘tips and tricks’ for effective communication strategies. What I found was a fantastic communications class that really changed how I think about myself, how I interact with others, and how communications in general can affect change. We had some excellent facilitators that made us consider our own communication styles, biases, and assumptions and those of the people we’re speaking with.
We focussed on 5 management styles from “Change the Way You Persuade” by Gary Williams and Robert Miller – Charismatics, Thinkers, Skeptics, Followers and Controllers. We discussed how the manager’s style might affect the way that you discuss a topic (for example, by being direct, by providing more information or by providing reassurance).
We spent time learning about active listening, identifying barriers to communication, and the effect of trust on relationships. Emotional intelligence and critical thinking was also explored.
We looked at Steps in Reaching an Agreement (which is quite similar to our nursing process!):
Collecting and Analyzing Facts
Uncovering Interests (to figure out what’s really important)
Discovering Common Ground (looking for shared interests)
Finding Agreement (asking for ideas, brainstorming etc)
Implementing & Monitoring the Agreement (ensuring everyone is clear on what has been agreed upon, writing it down, and following up to ensure the agreement is being followed, or if it requires adjustment)
We put in a lot of work throughout the day, but there were lots of activities to enjoy through the evenings too! I was able to make connections and learn so much from not only our facilitators, but the other participants and guest speakers as well.
Jasper Labour School will benefit me in all sorts of situations. I am looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned with members at our local to help us all succeed in facing management effectively.
I highly recommend AFL’s Jasper Labour School! If you’re considering it or even a little uncertain – please put your name in the draws for future years! I can tell you from my experience that you will learn a lot not only about your work, but about yourself as well. And you’ll have a lot of fun while you’re at it! Thanks to Local 196 and Alberta Federation of Labour for this great experience!” – Heather Devine, RN, NE Homecare
