Team Training

GIVING, RECEIVING AND INTEGRATING FEEDBACK TRAINING

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership Skills

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In this training you will learn...

5 core principles to increase competency giving, receiving and integrating feedback
The science of belonging and how it works in feedback conversations
The latest research on bias in performance discussions and ways to mitigate it
Techniques to address power dynamics in feedback and share accountability
How to approach feedback in ways that feel fulfilling and JOYFUL

How does a feedback training relate to diversity, equity and inclusion?

Does this sound familiar?

You have a pit in your stomach when you know someone has critical feedback for you, and your conscious or unconscious avoidance of it is costing you personal and professional relationships.
You find yourself defensive when receiving feedback.
You’re ruminating with feedback you’re struggling to give and it’s filling your life with moments of violated boundaries.
Your organization makes no distinction between giving feedback and fielding constant opinions, and that dynamic could be leading to overwhelm and interpersonal tensions.
There's someone on your team who will not integrate feedback that they’ve repeatedly received. You need a way to talk about the difference between receiving feedback and integrating feedback, but you don’t have the tools or the language for it.
You can see patterns repeating themselves again and again because feedback is not integrated.

We know all about it! That's why we developed this workshop to help you...

Apply the stages of competency for giving, receiving and integrating feedback to specific work structures like leveling guides, performance evaluations, and management meeting templates.
Navigate the emotional distress involved in giving, receiving and integrating feedback.
Understand why receiving feedback through conversations, surveys, customer data, and stakeholder focus groups is not the same as integrating feedback, and what to do about it.

Nikki Silvestri, CEO, and founder of Soil and Shadow, facilitating training, embodying leadership, and expertise in a professional development workshop.

ngaging snapshot of Nikki Silvestri leading a dynamic training session, illustrating her expertise and commitment to empowering others.

Nikki Silvestri, CEO, and founder of Soil and Shadowfacilitating training, embodying leadership and expertise in an educational setting."

Nikki Silvestri, CEO, and founder of Soil and Shadow, engaged as a guest speaker at an industry event, sharing insights and expertise.

During this training you will:

Receive scripts, practice assignments and cheat sheets to apply the 5 feedback principles with your team.

Practice feedback techniques in real-time using situations in the workplace.

Track your progress through pre-training and post-training assessments.

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Feedback Training Modules Include:

Module 1: An inaugural session with a presentation of anonymized pre-training assessment results, feedback principles, and step-by-step processes.

Module 2: Skills labs for embodied practice with role-playing exercises for practical application of feedback principles to workplace and DEI scenarios.

Module 3: Space for reflection and the development of action plans for integration.

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OUR APPROACH: CONNECTION THROUGH FEEDBACK

Photograph showcasing Nikki Silvestri, CEO, and founder of Soil and Shadow, surrounded by her mentees. In this image, Nikki is actively engaged in mentoring and supporting a group of individuals, illustrating her commitment to empowering emerging leaders in sustainability and social justice. The photo captures a collaborative atmosphere as Nikki imparts wisdom and guidance to her mentees, fostering a sense of community and collective growth

At Soil and Shadow, we believe building a diverse, high performing team and strong company culture requires:

Frequent and high candor feedback

Psychological safety that translates to vulnerable, trusting relationships

A “higher purpose” that calls people into their best selves, inspiration and grit during times of conflict and change

Rigorous attention to history and ways that systemic discrimination and power dynamics play into distribution of resources and decision-making

Soil and Shadow’s Framework for Inclusive Leadership and Governance provides the structures, team culture processes and skills training for each of the above characteristics with attention to ongoing practice and enforcement (the “rubber meets the road” in execution over time) - and joy.

The primary skills upon which we focus in training relate to five professional development areas we have identified as vital to the nexus of high performance and inclusion:

Listening skills allow us to build trust and communicate effectively across cultural differences.

The stronger a team’s ability to give, receive and integrate feedback, the more effectively they can collaboratively and equitably prototype ideas to reach common goals.

Conflict navigation is inevitable when in a team environment, and general conflicts are exacerbated when issues of race, gender, socio-economic background, sexual orientation, etc add complexity to a tense dynamic.

The ability to recognize and confront your biases requires personal reflection and mindfulness with self above all.

IT ALL STARTS WITH A STRONG CULTURE OF FEEDBACK!

Soild and Shadow Framework for inclusive leadership and governance, promoting diversity and equity in organizational practices.

Meet Your Trainer

Lead trainer Nikki Silvestri’s wide-ranging career as a non-profit and for-profit Executive has taken her from presentations at the White House and negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency to intimate workshops with local businesses and small retail organizing. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including ELLE Magazine’s Gold Award and OxFam America’s Act Local, Think Global Award, and she was named one of The Root’s 100 Most Influential African Americans.

She has personal experience with high-stakes feedback in DEI situations, having led a bi-coastal team as an Executive Director. Her career involves a high degree of management, hiring and firing, and experiences on both sides of power dynamics. One of her passions is naming and de-mystifying the power of feedback loops on teams, and ways they can be a radical first step toward organizational culture shifts.

What people are saying...

I really admire Soil and Shadow's approach to feedback. After the training, I ended up constantly referencing and thinking about the frameworks!

Sara Chandler, Elemental Excelerator

Soil & Shadow’s “Giving, Receiving and Integrating Feedback” training was a powerful and rich source of content guided by expert instructors that hit the root cause of whether you have high-functioning successful teams that know how to grow trust, integrity, and empathy. During the workshop, we were able to break out into small groups and immediately put the principles into practice and work on our next action steps. By having the workbook, recording, slide deck, and other materials from the workshop, I can refer to the learnings and continue the process of getting feedback right, even when it’s challenging and uncomfortable. Everyone needs this critical training (and ideally we’d all have learned this as children)!

Elaine Patarini, No Regrets Initiative

Let us help you take your feedback practices to the next level.

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