In this workshop, participants will discover the elements of their working style and communication preferences within four key dimensions: how we like to communicate, how we take in and process information, how we make decisions, and how we organize our lives. Through group learning, individual reflection, and group discussion, participants will walk away from this workshop with an increased confidence in their ability to articulate their needs to others, and heightened ability to adjust their styles to meet the preferences of others. This session takes a humorous and informative look at how we operate, providing us with the tools to adjust our styles to work effectively with anyone.
Development Training
Leaders Aren’t Born – They’re Made.
We deliver dynamic team + leadership development experiences that address the unique pressures of the energy sector. We partner with energy teams to bolster operational resilience, drive sustainable innovation, and develop leaders who thrive through the energy transition, regulatory complexity, and technological disruption. From teams of plant managers and project engineers to HSE directors, grid supervisors, and emerging energy professionals, our high-impact, expertly-tailored process ensures practical application and strengthened organizational alignment.
Suggested Leadership Workshops: Energy
Building the Dream Team
Adjusting Styles To Enhance Relationships & Build Trust
Learning Objectives:
- Clarify leadership and communication preferences, and develop a “user’s manual” to articulate our findings
- Discover the attributes, behaviors and common blind-spots of natural preferences, and explore and understand the same attributes and behaviors of opposing types
- Highlight specific actions we can take when working with someone who leverages opposing preferences, and develop a plan to adjust our styles with at least one current colleague
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Effective Communication
- Collaboration + Trust
- Openness + Awareness
Learning Objectives:
- Differentiate between the topics of CHANGE and TRANSITION, exploring “the people side” of change
- Identify key actions to successfully navigate each phase of transition
- Develop an action + implementation plan, fit with details of specific steps to support others during times of ambiguity
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Change Agility + Adaptability
- Increased Empathy + Awareness
- Team-Focused Strategy + Mindset
Taking Charge of Change
Navigating Ambiguity During Change + Transition
Until we can predict the future, we all must rely on an increased change agility to handle the surprises we’re thrown each day. Whether preparing for an upcoming transition, or reflecting on change scenarios we’re currently navigating, this session helps to delineate between the concepts of change and transition, showcasing key frameworks and tools that help individuals identify their own responses to change, and support one another to successfully navigate times of ambiguity.
We Can Work It Out
An Experiment with Conflict & Consensus Building
While frequent conflict can certainly be taxing or uncomfortable, disagreements can often lead to enhanced respect, open-mindedness, and innovation. In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to understand various reactions to conflict, and discover which response is most appropriate for a given situation. Participants leave this session with a deeper understanding of their natural communication style during times of conflict, and a refreshed outlook on how to approach these conversations in the future.
Learning Objectives:
- Determine personal approach to conflict conversations, and discover the five differing conflict styles
- Identify benefits and potential obstacles for each style to clarify effective conflict communication strategies
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Effective Communication
- Adaptability + Assertiveness
- Consensus Building + Alignment
Learning Objectives:
- Identify current decision making practices, both on an individual and team level
- Discover The Four Phases of Team Development, overlaying the model to spark dialogue on the current state of team dynamics
- Measure individual and team-based decision making success, and develop an action and implementation plan of new leadership competencies
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Data-Based Decision Making
- Consensus Building
- Effective Communication
Survival Simulation
An Experiment with Team Effectiveness & Decision Making
During this interactive and experience-based simulation, the playing fields are evened and participants are tasked with a specific objective to ensure survival. Leveraging their decisions, teams are able to measure their individual and group effectiveness, and walk away with a deeper understanding of the four stages of team development, and experiment with tools to enhance their approaches to decision making on their own and as a team.
Why Choose Us for Energy Leadership Training?
Looking to strengthen safety culture, innovation, and performance across your energy organization? The Leadership Laboratory delivers team + leadership development workshops that are fun, grounded in research, and built to reflect your organization's unique culture. Our data-driven workshops are meticulously designed and interactive – elevating your team and leaders to the next level.
Energy professionals manage high-stakes operations and complex systems, and we're committed to sharpening those leadership capabilities for maximum impact. Whether your team includes operations managers, regulatory specialists, R&D leaders, or senior energy executives, The Leadership Laboratory creates comprehensive workshops that harness existing technical expertise, strengthen strategic leadership, and drive enhanced operational excellence, cross-functional collaboration, and a robust safety-first culture. Our approach focuses on growth, not gaps, to facilitate sustainable, meaningful change throughout your company. Our data-driven energy leadership workshops utilize proven frameworks developed specifically for high-reliability sectors to inspire long-term, positive behavior change.
The Leadership Laboratory operates nationwide with both in-person and virtual energy leadership development workshops. We proudly serve energy organizations across the country, including Chicago, Houston, New York, and Washington DC.
Building tomorrow's leaders today.
The Leadership Laboratory works across multiple industries - including start-up and established technology firms, non-profit and government agencies, finance companies, healthcare organizations and more. We are proud to collaborate with individuals and teams of all sizes.
Contact us and say hello! We're excited to get to know you and share our ideas on learning + leadership development.
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Collaborating Partners
“I laughed harder than I have in a while!”
Our workshop was engaging, informative, rejuvenating and pure fun. I laughed harder than I have in a while! This was a phenomenal way to get more comfortable as a team.
— Director of People, SpotHero
“You made this easy to apply and implement”
You listened to our needs and adapted on the spot to incorporate leadership lessons. Every element was backed up by research, and you made this easy to apply and implement.
— VP / HEAD OF PEOPLE, WARBY PARKER
Meet Jacob Goldstein
Jacob Goldstein is the founder of The Leadership Laboratory, and leverages his experiences in education, the performing arts, and corporate learning & leadership development to his work. As a performer, Jacob has sung as a backup vocalist for musical artists such as Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, and Patti LuPone, as a recording artist for Netflix series Sense8, and at venues including The United Center, The Chicago Theater, and Chicago Symphony Center. In the education space, Jacob has served as an educator for high school, undergraduate and graduate students, and has been a Guest Lecturer at Northwestern University since 2016. As a Learning & Leadership Development Consultant, Jacob has worked as a one-on-one coach and group workshop facilitator to organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies in diverse industries, including technology, healthcare, non-profit, and fashion/apparel. Jacob holds a Bachelor’s degree from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master’s of Science in Communication from Northwestern University.