What You Will Learn

In this interactive and multimedia-driven session, leaders will learn how to:

• Recognize and cultivate a culture of healthy feedback
• Contribute to and encourage feedback behaviors
• Ask for and receive meaningful feedback without becoming defensive
• Provide specific and sincere praise
• Deliver honest criticism in a kind and clear manner

About the Instructor

Mike Allison is the Vice President of Talent at Spotlight (Analyst Relations) where he oversees talent acquisition, leadership development, and employee growth/engagement. Spotlight was named Kansas City’s best place to work (medium-sized company) by the Kansas City Business Journal in 2023. Ingram’s magazine also bestowed similar recognition. Mike is also an Adjunct Professor and Bloch Executive Education instructor within the Bloch School at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC).

Prior to his role at Spotlight, Mike enjoyed over 22 years of healthcare IT leadership experience working at Cerner. His final role there involved leading a group of faculty who developed and delivered advanced education to cohorts of Veterans Administration (VA) clinicians, informaticists, and analytics professionals. He also worked with internal and external leaders on change management and other organizational development initiatives. Previously, Mike held executive responsibilities over Cerner’s client and associate learning organizations. His award-winning teams, many of which were internationally based, provided practical and effective end-to-end learning solutions to Cerner clients and associates around the world.

Mike also spent a year as the Vice President of Learning and Development at AMC Theatres where he led a team of learning professionals focused on building, supporting, and retaining talent across multiple guest-facing brands.

Mike regularly carries out public speaking engagements and provides coaching to business leaders across the Kansas City metropolitan area. He presents and instructs on diverse topics such as leading through change, emotional intelligence, holding difficult conversations, building a culture of feedback, advanced presentation techniques, cultivating trust, and executive presence.

Prior to working in the private sector, Mike was involved in city management for three years. He worked primarily as a management analyst for the city of Kansas City, Mo. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in public administration (MPA) from Brigham Young University.

Mike is married to Amy Allison, a non-profit leader serving as the Executive Director for The Farmer’s House. They have three young adult children (girl, boy, girl). Besides being an avid family man, Mike is passionate about volunteering, seeing the world, hiking, music, disc golf, and all things San Francisco. He was born and raised in the “City by the Bay.”

What You Will Learn

Attendees will explore and understand the direct link between high emotional intelligence (EQ) and leadership success. Numerous recent studies show that society’s most effective leaders cultivate strong emotional intelligence skills. In fact, one such comprehensive study carried out across a variety of organizations determined that 90 percent top performers have high EQ. Leaders who incorporate EQ techniques into their lives experience great personal and professional gain. In addition to being grounded, they more easily seize new opportunities, manage difficult situations, make sound decisions based on fact, and set an energizing tone both inside and outside the workplace.

During an interactive and multi-media driven session, participants will discover:

• Qualities consistently possessed by great leaders
• Distinctions between intelligence quotient (IQ), technical quotient (TQ), and emotional intelligence (EQ)
• The four key elements which make up emotional intelligence
• Why influence and true leadership cannot occur without high EQ

Attendees will learn that in order to truly lead others and maximize results through EQ, one must:

• Master self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationships
• Exhibit genuine empathy. Make others feel it is about them and you have their best interests at heart
• Thoughtfully harness individual emotions and the emotions of others

About the Instructor

Mike Allison is the Vice President of Talent at Spotlight (Analyst Relations) where he oversees talent acquisition, leadership development, and employee growth/engagement. Spotlight was named Kansas City’s best place to work (medium-sized company) by the Kansas City Business Journal in 2023. Ingram’s magazine also bestowed similar recognition. Mike is also an Adjunct Professor and Bloch Executive Education instructor within the Bloch School at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC).

Prior to his role at Spotlight, Mike enjoyed over 22 years of healthcare IT leadership experience working at Cerner. His final role there involved leading a group of faculty who developed and delivered advanced education to cohorts of Veterans Administration (VA) clinicians, informaticists, and analytics professionals. He also worked with internal and external leaders on change management and other organizational development initiatives. Previously, Mike held executive responsibilities over Cerner’s client and associate learning organizations. His award-winning teams, many of which were internationally based, provided practical and effective end-to-end learning solutions to Cerner clients and associates around the world.

Mike also spent a year as the Vice President of Learning and Development at AMC Theatres where he led a team of learning professionals focused on building, supporting, and retaining talent across multiple guest-facing brands.

Mike regularly carries out public speaking engagements and provides coaching to business leaders across the Kansas City metropolitan area. He presents and instructs on diverse topics such as leading through change, emotional intelligence, holding difficult conversations, building a culture of feedback, advanced presentation techniques, cultivating trust, and executive presence.

Prior to working in the private sector, Mike was involved in city management for three years. He worked primarily as a management analyst for the city of Kansas City, Mo. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in public administration (MPA) from Brigham Young University.

Mike is married to Amy Allison, a non-profit leader serving as the Executive Director for The Farmer’s House. They have three young adult children (girl, boy, girl). Besides being an avid family man, Mike is passionate about volunteering, seeing the world, hiking, music, disc golf, and all things San Francisco. He was born and raised in the “City by the Bay.”

What You Will Learn

This intensive and fun workshop was created to help people position themselves to understand the numbers, how they work, and how to analyze financial statements, and the importance of asset management.

During the workshop, the attendees will gain a strong understanding of finance and accounting. They will learn how to use financial information to understand how to evaluate business performance for their own business unit, division, and their customers.

• The basic principles of financial management
• The key financial management functions and the uses of financial accounting
• The fundamental accounting principles
• The basics of financial reporting
• The use of basic financial statements in decision making
• The important financial concepts including General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
• The important accounting equation (Assets = Liabilities + Equity);
• The concepts of Cash versus Accrual Accounting
• The Key Financial Statements of business – Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Cash Flow Statement
• How to analyze financial statements
• The important business metrics and financial ratios, including EBIT and EBITDA;
• How to read financial statements to determine the financial health of an organization.

About the Instructor

William R. Kay, MBA, is an adjunct Professor for the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC), Bloch School of Management, and owner of W. Kay & Associates is dedicated to helping organizations and individuals enhance their competitiveness, productivity, and technological performance.

For the past 28 years, Mr. Kay has specialized in assisting businesses in the quest to improve performance in the areas of strategic planning, finance and accounting, project management, marketing, sales and sales management, and team building following the accelerated learning model for adult learning.

Mr. Kay’s professional experience includes over 20 years as CEO and owner of a major company and, for the past 28 years helping major Fortune 500 companies and Universities with organizational development and training.

What You Will Learn

Those in attendance will learn that in order to influence and persuade others:

• Solidifying trust must be a primary focus
• Your network must be defined, cohesive, and flourishing
• You must practice the law of reciprocity
• All “seven keys” of influence and persuasion must be leveraged

About the Instructor

Mike Allison is the Vice President of Talent at Spotlight (Analyst Relations) where he oversees talent acquisition, leadership development, and employee growth/engagement. Spotlight was named Kansas City’s best place to work (medium-sized company) by the Kansas City Business Journal in 2023. Ingram’s magazine also bestowed similar recognition. Mike is also an Adjunct Professor and Bloch Executive Education instructor within the Bloch School at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC).

Prior to his role at Spotlight, Mike enjoyed over 22 years of healthcare IT leadership experience working at Cerner. His final role there involved leading a group of faculty who developed and delivered advanced education to cohorts of Veterans Administration (VA) clinicians, informaticists, and analytics professionals. He also worked with internal and external leaders on change management and other organizational development initiatives. Previously, Mike held executive responsibilities over Cerner’s client and associate learning organizations. His award-winning teams, many of which were internationally based, provided practical and effective end-to-end learning solutions to Cerner clients and associates around the world.

Mike also spent a year as the Vice President of Learning and Development at AMC Theatres where he led a team of learning professionals focused on building, supporting, and retaining talent across multiple guest-facing brands.

Mike regularly carries out public speaking engagements and provides coaching to business leaders across the Kansas City metropolitan area. He presents and instructs on diverse topics such as leading through change, emotional intelligence, holding difficult conversations, building a culture of feedback, advanced presentation techniques, cultivating trust, and executive presence.

Prior to working in the private sector, Mike was involved in city management for three years. He worked primarily as a management analyst for the city of Kansas City, Mo. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in public administration (MPA) from Brigham Young University.

Mike is married to Amy Allison, a non-profit leader serving as the Executive Director for The Farmer’s House. They have three young adult children (girl, boy, girl). Besides being an avid family man, Mike is passionate about volunteering, seeing the world, hiking, music, disc golf, and all things San Francisco. He was born and raised in the “City by the Bay.”

What You Will Learn

Leading Yourself and Others Through Change attendees will explore the concepts of adaptive and technical change and discover why we often default to applying technical solutions to adaptive problems. In a multi-media driven environment, leaders will learn how to better influence others by harnessing proven behavior science techniques and models. They will be challenged to think critically about their organization’s power dynamics and better comprehend what truly inspires those around us to take action. Leaders will consider their own “change challenges” as they learn how to connect personal, social, and structural factors to results.

Key concepts covered in the session include:

• Learn why most change efforts fail
• Discover best practices for engaging and leading others through change, on an ethical foundation, to achieve desired results
• Understand why people do not truly transition without an emotional connection being made
• Explore best-in-class change management models which help enable measurable results
• Go over the “Top 10” ways leaders must get out in front of change efforts if they are to be successful

About the Instructor

Mike Allison is the Vice President of Talent at Spotlight (Analyst Relations) where he oversees talent acquisition, leadership development, and employee growth/engagement. Spotlight was named Kansas City’s best place to work (medium-sized company) by the Kansas City Business Journal in 2023. Ingram’s magazine also bestowed similar recognition. Mike is also an Adjunct Professor and Bloch Executive Education instructor within the Bloch School at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC).

Prior to his role at Spotlight, Mike enjoyed over 22 years of healthcare IT leadership experience working at Cerner. His final role there involved leading a group of faculty who developed and delivered advanced education to cohorts of Veterans Administration (VA) clinicians, informaticists, and analytics professionals. He also worked with internal and external leaders on change management and other organizational development initiatives. Previously, Mike held executive responsibilities over Cerner’s client and associate learning organizations. His award-winning teams, many of which were internationally based, provided practical and effective end-to-end learning solutions to Cerner clients and associates around the world.

Mike also spent a year as the Vice President of Learning and Development at AMC Theatres where he led a team of learning professionals focused on building, supporting, and retaining talent across multiple guest-facing brands.

Mike regularly carries out public speaking engagements and provides coaching to business leaders across the Kansas City metropolitan area. He presents and instructs on diverse topics such as leading through change, emotional intelligence, holding difficult conversations, building a culture of feedback, advanced presentation techniques, cultivating trust, and executive presence.

Prior to working in the private sector, Mike was involved in city management for three years. He worked primarily as a management analyst for the city of Kansas City, Mo. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in public administration (MPA) from Brigham Young University.

Mike is married to Amy Allison, a non-profit leader serving as the Executive Director for The Farmer’s House. They have three young adult children (girl, boy, girl). Besides being an avid family man, Mike is passionate about volunteering, seeing the world, hiking, music, disc golf, and all things San Francisco. He was born and raised in the “City by the Bay.”