The Archer Center works with faculty, staff and students within the RPI community and provides custom-designed workshops to meet their needs.
Most workshops are free of charge to campus community members. Costs, if any, are usually associated with requests that require the use of copyrighted materials. Your facilitator will consult with you on your workshop and will let you know all of your options. The Archer Center works diligently to meet the needs and limitations of every workshop as best as we can.
Workshop Topics
Below is a list of potential workshop topics offered by the Archer Center for Student Leadership Development. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list, and many of these topics can be combined or adjusted based on each organizations’ particular needs. The facilitator will work with you to determine what topics will work best for your organization. The request form asks you to identify a topic in advance to assist in the design processes.
Effective communication is an essential part of leadership. Sessions that focus on communication can include areas such as: the flow of communication, communication processes, delivering and receiving feedback, public speaking, and marketing yourself.
Sessions on this topic could include preferred styles of managing conflict situations, effective communication when dealing with conflict –what to communicate and how, and potential processes for reducing or resolving conflict.
In the constantly changing world that we live in, we are frequently called upon to make decisions. Workshops on this topic will focus on identifying appropriate decision making strategies, helping organizations to make effective decisions, clarifying the groups’ decision making processes and integrating those processes into the culture of the organization.
Even seasoned professionals can struggle with recognizing when to delegate projects and tasks to others within the organization. Sessions that focus on delegation could cover when to delegate, how do determine who to delegate to, building trust with members to encourage delegation, and setting expectations for tasks that are delegated , just to name a few.
Establishing appropriate and motivating goals is a significant component of organizational life. Sessions on goal setting will cover the importance of goal setting, how to structure organizational and personal goals, and how to seek organizational agreement on goals.
The first step in building a strong relationship amongst group members is to get to know each other. Icebreakers can serve multiple purposes: they can introduce members to one another or they can serve as boundary breakers - helping to remove communication and trust barriers between people within an organization.
Everyone has their own personal leadership styles and recognizing the benefits and detractors of the various styles is key to effective leadership. These sessions will use interactive exercises to explore different styles and understand when each style might be the most effective.
Meetings can be an effective communication tool, and a way to keep organizations on-track , well informed, and can help to facilitate the decision making process. Sessions that focus on meeting management will allow organizations to learn the components of successful meetings, how to structure meetings and how to deal with difficult people and meeting distractors.
Organizations rely on mission statements to supply focus and purpose for their existence. Through participant analysis of the organization’s purpose, stakeholders and values, a mission statement can be formed. Often times, a mission statement session is the first step in the strategic planning process.
Each person is motivated by something different. Leaders are able to recognize these differences and adjust their strategies accordingly. Sessions that focus on motivation will help your group to learn the different types of motivations, how to react to the various sources, and learn strategies for dealing with unmotivated, organizational members.
Understanding your personality and the personalities of others can dramatically improve communication, conflict resolution, and productivity & leadership. Sessions dedicated to Myers Briggs Type Indicator, a personality inventory will allow participants to take the inventory, and learn the theory behind the instrument in an interactive way. Sessions can then be modified to address many issues your organization is facing. Due to the materials needed, there is a small fee associated with using the MBTI. Your facilitator will discuss these fees with you.
Request a Workshop
To request a workshop, please read the policies and requirements listed below. Once you have read the policies, submit a completed request form. A representative from the Archer Center will contact you to confirm that the workshop is possible.
- To ensure enough time for a custom designed workshop, all requests must be submitted at least two weeks before the scheduled event.
- In consultation with the Archer Center facilitator, the person requesting a workshop is responsible for reserving a location and any media equipment needed for the workshop.
For your convenience, below are links to room reservations across campus: - In an effort to ensure a meaningful and effective workshop, attendance of expected participants is required. A majority of the anticipated participants or a minimum of 10 people must be present for the session to occur. Exceptions to this policy can be made with the facilitator in advance of the session and indicated on the Request Form.
- Submission of a Workshop Request does not guarantee a workshop will occur. All workshops are contingent upon facilitator availability, expertise in content to be addressed, and access to needed resources.
Team Challenge Course
The Team Challenge Course is a highly interactive team development and communication experience designed to help existing teams improve and enhance their communication and team functioning skills. The course features a series of experiential hands-on activities and challenges for groups to face and learn from as a team. The course is ideal for IED and Capstone teams, club E-Boards, Residence Halls and any group wishing to more fully capitalize on their performance as a team
Logistical Considerations
The course is generally geared for groups of between 6-26 participants but can accommodate multiple groups at one time depending upon scheduling and the availability of facilitators. The course can be developed for experiences lasting anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours depending upon the needs and time constraints of the requesting group. Each experience is custom designed to meet the needs of the requester and can be facilitated either outdoors or inside a campus facility. Courses can be designed to accommodate all levels of physical ability.
Cost
There is no cost for RPI students, staff or affiliated organizations.
Scheduling the Course
To schedule the course please email The Archer Center at ARCHERCENTER@RPI.EDU or call (518) 276-2119. Generally 7-10 days advance notice is required to secure staffing and available locations.