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Spirit at Work
Keynotes and Workshops
Are you looking for an inspirational keynote address?
Or a conference presentation that engages your audience?
Something different for this year's retreat, yet captivating?
Val Kinjerski is an inspirational speaker and facilitator who is on a mission to help others experience spirit at work. Her passion for spirit at work is contagious. Engaging and humorous, Val always speaks from the heart. Call now to book her for your next event.
Keynotes
All keynote addresses are custom designed to fit your company or organization and event. Here are some of our most popular keynotes:
Rethinking Your Work: From Making a Living to Making a Difference
Spirit at Work: The Power is Within
The Courageous Hearts of Social Workers
Workshops and Retreats
Our dynamic workshops empower the organization and the employees. Spirit at work has positive outcomes for employees and the organization in the areas of personal wellness, enhanced relationships, improved customer services, and increased performance. Many of these seminars
are included in our Continuing Education Program and qualify for continuing education credit. See below.
Continuing Education
Kaizen Solutions for Human Services, provider # 1116, is approved as a provider for continuing education by the Association
of Social Work Boards (ASWB) www.aswb.org through the Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Kaizen Solutions maintains
responsibility for the program.
ASWB Approval Period: August 8, 2012 - August 8, 2015.
Social Workers will receive Category "A" continuing education hours under the ACSW competence requirements for participating
in these courses. Spirit at Work: Finding the Power Within has also been approved for Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
by the Canadian Counselling Association. Other participants should contact their regulatory board to determine course approval.
Contact us to set up a continuing education session for your organization or read on to learn about how to gain CEUs through
distance learning.
Distance Learning
Getting the necessary coursework to fulfill one's professional development and meet the requirements for continuing education can be
a daunting endeavor for many working adults. Distance learning and home study programs are designed to provide professionals with
the ability to get additional education quickly, conveniently and affordably. Home study and online distance learning is now one of
the fastest and most common forms of higher education and career training for adults.
Click for more information
To learn about our eCourses
go to eCourse.
To learn about our Rethinking Your Work: How to Create
Spirit at Work and The How of Happiness: The Research and Strategies behind Happiness
home studies go to Home Study.
Workshop Descriptions
Spirit at Work: Finding the Power Within
Spirit at work is about finding meaning and purpose, beyond self, through work. It involves profound feelings of wellbeing, a belief that one's work makes a contribution, a sense of connection to others and common purpose. Individuals with spirit at work report enhanced personal wellbeing; improved work relationships; and increased personal and organizational productivity.
We are co-creators of our life experience, including the kind of experience we have at work. Individuals with high spirit at work take responsibility and action for creating the kind of life they desire. They consciously live a life that is purposeful and meaningful. They work at cultivating and living a spiritual, value-based life. They recognize their own worth and the value of others as well as express appreciation for self and others. Finally, they take time to refill their cup by pursuing that which is intrinsically rewarding and by engaging in self-care and rejuvenation in ways that are personally meaningful.
Participants are invited to explore their own spirit at work and the actions they can take to foster it. Completing the Spirit at Work Scale© will provide participants with a personal spirit at work assessment and clarity about the four dimensions of spirit at work: engaging work, sense of community, spiritual connection, and mystical or unitive experiences. The results will set the stage for developing an action plan to enhance spirit at work.
This course is for employees who aspire to assess, cultivate, and experience spirit at work. In this interactive workshop, you will learn about spirit at work: what it is, why it is important, how it develops, and ways to personally foster it. During this course you will:
- Examine your work in the context of the changing nature of work.
- Explore what spirit at work is and how it develops.
- Gain understanding into the meaning of your personal spirit at work score.
- Identify key strategies that foster spirit at work.
- Relate how spirit at work positively influences your practice.
- Create a personal plan to enhance your spirit at work.
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Inspired Leadership: Leading from Within
Leadership is much more than directing others. It starts from within. From seeing problems to seeing possibilities. From seeing the glass half empty to the glass half full. From looking outside for answers, to finding them within. Leading from within is a shift to focusing on our inner knowing and our inner strengths.
In our fast-paced and complex lifestyles, we often neglect that inner knowing which is our most unique contribution to the world. When we rely solely upon the external world we often feel displaced, fragmented and detached from our true selves. When we access our unique ways of knowing we feel whole, authentic, and connected.
This course is an invitation to explore leading from within, or what some authors refer to as enlightened leadership. Traditionally, leadership courses focus on the external or technical skills of effective leaders. While these skills are important, today's leaders need to take a more holistic approach to effective and successful leadership, not just for the organization and its employees, but also for themselves. We all have resources that allow us to feel centred and connected to an inner world of knowing and deeper wisdom as well as the outer world of knowledge and influence.
This workshop is for individuals who aspire to access, cultivate, and demonstrate the unique qualities that they bring to leadership. You will have the opportunity to be intentional about rediscovering your unique qualities and that which most clearly reflects your "true self" and to value and routinely access those resources deep within. Some management consultants and authors argue that successful leaders will be spiritual leaders.
Through the use of contemporary models, reflective practice, and deeper conversation, you will have an opportunity to:
- Explore what it means to lead from within
- Examine the essence of leaders who lead from within
- Determine the value of leading from within, personally and professionally
- Identify and access your unique qualities and inner world of knowing
- Learn how to cultivate the leader within
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Transformative Events: A Path to Spirit at Work
Times of crisis and times of enlightenment are times with potential for change and growth. It is often a time that we begin to question our values, priorities, way of living, and work. Thus, significant, painful life events including the death of a loved one, the break up of one's family, illness, organizational downsizing, or loss of job should be viewed as opportunities as well as challenges. Sometimes referred to as the "dark night of the soul," these events tend to bring forth the need to create meaning and the meaning that we ascribe to them is central to how we emerge from them. Similarly, profound spiritual experiences such as near-death experiences or personal epiphany experiences that occur while in a sacred place or being in nature can also be transformative.
Such events can affect our relationship with work, precipitating the experience of spirit at work, that feeling that our work is purposeful and meaningful. But, the way to meaning is not passive. It is only through actions that put us in touch with aspects of ourselves that otherwise remain untouched. For example, mindfulness is a way of finding our authentic self. It is a way of finding how work has meaning and of bringing meaning to work. It is a way to spirit at work.
In this workshop you will learn about:
- Spirit at work, including the 4 dimensions of spirit at work.
- The 4 paths to spirit at work, including the path of transformative events.
- The 3 steps to spiritual transformation.
- Techniques to help yourself and your clients to use transformative events to enhance spirit at work.
- Being bolder as a way to spiritual transformation and spirit at work.
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Work as a Path to Happiness
According to Seligman, there are three paths to happiness: the life of pleasure, the life of engagement, and the life of meaning. The "pleasurable life" is what we experience when we do enjoyable activities like buying something new, playing games with our children, sharing a good meal, or taking holidays. The life of engagement is about understanding and using our strengths in day-to-day life. The "good life" comes through deep engagement in any activity that one finds challenging and rewarding and could be one's work, play, or family life. Csikszentmihalyi says that when we experience this deep engagement and total absorption, we are in flow. Finally, a life of meaning develops when we use our strengths for the purpose of something larger than self. A "meaningful life" comes from serving others and may include attending to the family, volunteer activities, or work. As we move from the life of pleasure to the life of meaning, our sense of satisfaction and fulfillment increases.
Meaning can be created through making choices, taking action, and engaging in relationships. This is often translated into choosing to live and work in a way that is congruent with our values and beliefs, committing to projects and other people, and establishing deep relationships. Given that we spend half of our awake time working, work is an important avenue to cultivate a life of meaning. Spirit at work is about making a contribution towards others and finding meaning and purpose, beyond self, at work. Spirit at work can be learned and fostered.
In this workshop you will:
- Identify three paths to happiness
- Discern the difference among these three paths in your life
- Explore ways to create a life of meaning
- Discover how work can be a path to meaning and thus, happiness
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Cultivating Spirit at Work:
An Organizational Approach to Fostering Spirit at Work
Organizational conditions are key to influencing spirit at work.
Research shows that individuals' experiences of spirit at work are enhanced through:
inspired leadership; a strong organizational foundation; organizational integrity;
a positive workplace culture; a sense of community; opportunities for professional
and personal growth; and appreciation for each member and his or her contribution.
The "Cultivating Spirit at Work" series includes all eight sessions; however
each session is designed in such a way that it can also be delivered as a separate workshop or covered through personal coaching sessions. Whereas each session can be delivered as a keynote presentation, longer sessions of a full or half day allow for a more interactive and hands-on experience.
In this series, you will:
- Review what spirit at work is and the benefits of spirit at work
- Learn about the seven organizational factors which enhance spirit at work
- Assess your organization / unit against these factors
- Identify opportunities in your organization to cultivate spirit at work
- Craft a spirit at work filter to evaluate work against your organization's shared purpose and strategic plan
Read about the individual sessions here.
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What our Clients Say About the Impact of our Keynotes and Workshops
Val's keynote presentation to our conference was enthralling. She is a gifted story teller who reminded us all of the importance of our work and the value
of the little things we do on a daily basis. Her presentation was from the heart; truly inspiring.
Alison MacDonald, MDipl, RSW,
Associate Registrar
Alberta College of Social Workers
"Positive impact - needed during H.R. restraints."
Bonnie Yaskiw, Director, Licensing Charitable Gaming Board, Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission,
St. Albert
"Everyone really enjoyed your work shop and felt that you provided
outstanding information. The new guys liked the foundation that you built for them and the senior guys liked the re-focus of things
they knew they should be doing but had become compliant with their jobs and customer relationships. They all felt it was a very worth
while day and that your professionalism, with examples of problems we face every day, was great. They said, 'She really did her homework,
didn't she?' Thank you again."
Gil Jouan
Service Manager, Getinge
Western Region
"A more positive outlook and more cohesiveness."
David Gilker, Edmonton's Food Bank, Edmonton
"Too much energy and potential to let it slip away - we have to follow up!"
Greg Morris, Westlock Independence Network, Westlock
"In these moments of financial crisis and cuts, I think it is of outmost importance
we learn to focus on the many positive things we see daily in our jobs and personal life."
Carolina Anaga, Skills Society
"In the face of the significant change that seems to exist within social work environments, I will remember that the ultimate question for me
is how do I serve my purpose?"
Suzanne Rosebrugh, Clinical Social Worker, Counsellor, Counselling and Career Centre, Red Deer College,
Red Deer
"Making simple changes can make the difference. Importance in humanity at work. Setting the example."
Valerie Marceau
Canadian Forces
Edmonton
"As an entrepreneur, I'm reminded to appreciate others and myself more. Sometimes life gets so hectic that we forget / neglect to do this."
Joanne Blake
Styles for Success
"Val's ability to connect people through the heart and about what really matters is admirable."
Charmaine Hammond
The Hammond Group
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