Town of Orangeville Employees,
Is team & company culture on your mind?! The Expert Talk is pleased to offer you access to a series of nine 60-minute training sessions that will help you grow in your professional journey. Whether you're an emerging or long-time leader, our summer series is packed with insights & strategies from our experts that'll support you in resetting & repairing workplace culture.
These sessions were all recorded as a part of The Expert Talk's Summer Camp for People Leaders that ran from July 2nd to August 27th - and now you get access to the full program FREE!
Do the sessions that interest you most or watch them all for a full learning experience.

Why The Expert Talk?
- Learn from Experts: Training sessions were developed by industry leaders and experienced professionals who have hands-on experience with the challenges you're facing. The strategies they give you are practical and can be implemented right away.
- Wide Range of Topics: We cover some of the most common topics that we're regularly brought in to train on. These include giving & receiving feedback, leading during uncertain times, and neurodiversity at work. See the full list below!
- Practical Strategies: The strategies they give you are practical and can be implemented right away.
- Learn at Your Own Pace: Each session is available on-demand so you can move at your own pace, and watch the training sessions that are most important to you.
- Supporting Resources: Each session comes with extras that may include handouts, worksheets, guides, and more to help you develop and practice your skills.
- Supplier Diversity: Summer Camp is a collaborative venture between two WBE-certified businesses - The Expert Talk & Hammond International - working to bring some of our most in-demand topics to you.
Register now for instant access!
Who Should Attend?
- Experienced People Leaders: Add to your already plentiful toolkit with new ideas & strategies.
- Future & Emerging Leaders: Learn how to inspire and manage teams effectively.
- Human Resources and Learning & Development Professionals: Discover new strategies & ideas to support the people leaders you work with.
- Literally anyone who works with other people: With colleagues, vendors, the public, or any combination thereof!
You'll get access to the following:
Click each topic for full description. Sessions do not need to be watched in any particular order.
15-22% of the population falls under the umbrella of Neurodivergence and includes diagnoses such as Autism, ADHD, Learning Disabilities, PTSD, Acquired Brain Injuries, and more. A largely unexplored frontier of inclusion in corporate spaces, understanding neurodiversity allows organizations to create neuro-inclusive workplaces & spaces that ensure all workers can do their job at the highest level possible.
Participants will leave this session with:
- An understanding of what neurodiversity is & some of the diagnoses that fall under its umbrella
- Common challenges faced by neurodiverse workers in the workplace
- Mental health impacts for neurodiverse workers who don’t receive appropriate support at work
- Three simple strategies leaders can use to start making their workplaces more neuro-inclusive
We’ve all been in meetings where the conversation gets sidetracked or goes off the rails, and we know how hard it can be to bring it back.
Stopping the interrupting and talking over one another may sound easy enough to do but how do you do it without sounding like you are calling someone out?
What if the conversation reaches a standstill and gets stalled, how do you re-engage people? How do respectfully address challenging behaviours that happen in meetings? When one team member continually monopolizes the time and focus in a meeting, how do you address this in a way that doesn’t shut them down but invites the involvement of others?
Meeting courtesies are developed, and agreed to, by everyone in the group and serve as a guide to what kinds of behaviours are expected and accepted during meetings. They cover who can speak when, time limits, adding items to an agenda, interruptions, and more. They also clearly lay out how participants can bring up a courtesy that’s being breached in a way that’s non-judgmental and that maintains psychological health and safety.
Participants will leave this session with:
- An understanding of what meeting courtesies are & why they’re important
- How to develop & frame meeting courtesies
- How to get buy-in from the group so people feel empowered to hold themselves and others accountable, and in a way that maintains trust and respect
As companies grow and face increasing challenges, leaders who can manage their emotions effectively stand out for their dependability and their capacity to steer teams through difficult times. Understanding emotional regulation involves recognizing, interpreting, and being intentional in our emotional responses. It goes beyond merely understanding our emotions to shaping how we respond to them. When we are regulated we have access to our highest potential for creativity, decision-making, communication, focus, and other executive functions. Learning simple practices that help with regulation mean interactions with colleagues and team members will be healthier, consistent, and more productive.
Participants will leave this session with:
- An understanding of regulation and dysregulation, and what’s happening in our bodies in these states
- A toolbox of easy-to-use practices that can be used anywhere to help return to regulation
- Strategies to deal with team members who seem to be operating from a place of dysregulation
The most solid teams and organizations are built on a foundation of trust. Small intentional actions in everyday settings & exchanges have the power to start shifting culture and empowering employees. This isn’t about being “nice”, but about creating a workplace where people can feel safe knowing expectations are clear and consistent – and this allows workers to perform at their best.
Participants will leave this session with:
- A mindset shift and new lens through which to think about everyday interactions & communication
- An understanding of the ripple effects this will have on teams
- Simple and practical strategies to start implementing right away
- Questions for team members that’ll empower them to co-create a psychologically safe & healthy workplace
Giving feedback in the workplace is a critical component of effective leadership and team dynamics, yet is a challenge for many. The difficulty comes from a mix of emotional, communication, and cultural factors. Leaders need to balance them intentionally so as to maintain trust, motivation, engagement, and psychological safety.
Creating a culture where feedback is normalized and valued as a tool for growth can make a significant difference. Utilizing structured feedback models, such as the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) framework, can also help in delivering clear and constructive feedback. Regular check-ins and performance reviews can integrate feedback into the work process, making it a productive, consistent, and less daunting task.
Participants will leave this session with:
- Foundations of well-delivered feedback
- An understanding of how to prepare for for delivering feedback
- Awareness of the SBI model and how to apply it
- 3 Strategies to navigate conversations that become emotionally-charged or run off track
Receiving feedback can be challenging and uncomfortable.
When receiving performance-related feedback we may find ourselves freezing up or tuning out. The focus becomes trying to maintain composure and plan what to say next. These interactions can bring out emotional reactions, defensiveness, and blaming. They may even lead to complete disengagement from the conversation.
Instances of positive feedback can be challenging as well. We may feel a distrust of person’s intentions. We may shrug off or minimize a compliment. And we may find ourselves changing the topic or becoming argumentative. These responses can impact our relationship with the other person.
Understanding our own automatic reactions to feedback allows us to respond with intention. And this empowers us to convey our thoughts and perspectives in a way that is true to our productivity and values.
Participants will leave this session with:
- Knowing how to ask clarifying questions when receiving feedback
- Practical strategies to maintain composure when receiving feedback that may not be well delivered
- How to communicate to others how you best receive feedback
A culture of belonging is one where employees feel safe, included, and valued. One where they’re free to express their individuality without fear of discrimination and, more importantly, they’re celebrated for it. By taking proactive, intentional steps to create an environment that includes everyone, you help all employees feel confident and comfortable at work. As a result, individual workers are more likely to be engaged, meet their potential, and bring creativity to their roles and the team. Over time, small shifts can impact culture in major ways, and they pay off in higher productivity & satisfaction, and greater retention.
Participants will leave this session with:
- A clear understanding of Accessibility, Inclusion, and Belonging as they relate to the workplace
- Strategies to help create cultures of Inclusion
- Strategies to help create cultures of Belonging
Change can be tough even when we know it’s needed or welcomed. Whether it’s a new policy being implemented, re-orgs, budget cut backs, merging of teams, implementing new policies, or changes in leadership direction, change can create a ripple effect of uncertainty & mistrust.
When the old way isn’t yet out and the new way isn’t yet in, we find ourselves in the messy middle. It may feel like we’re walking a tightrope trying to get to the other side while feeling a pull backward to what’s familiar, and “how it’s always been done”. Leaders are in a unique position where they need to support their team members with confidence and transparency, while navigating their own feelings of uncertainty.
Participants will leave this session with:
- An understanding of their own response style & the response styles of others
- Strategies to communicate effectively during change & transition to maintain trust
- How to bust through assumptions and empower people to move toward change rather than resist it
Do you ever wonder what truly motivates you? Or how to focus your energy and make decisions that best support your aspirations?
Values determine how we live. They are what move us to action and tell us what’s important to us. They are the basis upon which we make all our decisions.
As a leader of an organization, how you behave sends a clear message to your employees, clients, and customers. With every action you take, you are saying “this is what is important to me”.
When our actions and beliefs are consistent with the goals, values, and culture of their organization, it’s called “organizational congruence”.
With organizational congruence, trust is built. When there is trust in leadership, work cultures are stronger & healthier, and organizations are more successful.
Participants will leave this session with:
- How to identify and articulate personal values
- An understanding of how values, beliefs, and actions are intertwined
- How, by fully understanding & living your values, you can make hard decisions more easily – and live with yourself afterward!