**Dealing with Hostility**

Dealing with Hostility

Professional Development Course Outline

Facilitator: David Smith, Leadership Coach

Course Overview

Now what if I told you that the most difficult people at your work can also be your best teachers? Recall the last time someone's hostility metaphorically knocked you over, when your heart started racing, your mind went blank, and you wanted the earth to open up and swallow you. I think we all know how that is, right?

Here's what I have learnt after years of working with Australian businesses: conflict is not only an unavoidable workplace hazard but is something much worse in disguise – it's an opportunity. If, that is, you know how to work with them. Few of us have a map we follow as we navigate these choppy waters: We go on instinct when someone's anger is aimed directly at us.

This full spectrum course will take you from surviving workplace aggression to thriving in your leading. You will acquire emotional intelligence and the skills required to not merely manage difficult interactions, but transform them into positive experiences. Whether it's an angry customer, a disgruntled teammate or outside pressure from stockholders, you'll leave with a tried and true plan that gets results.

Curriculum Based Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course the participant will be able to:

Recognise and Assess

Recognise the signs of souring interactions in the workplace and group dynamics.

Reflect on what may trigger you personally and impact how you feel, which may lead to conflict escalation.

Examine some of the causes behind aggressive behaviour in the workplace

Respond and Manage

Utilise de-escalation methods, including effective verbal and non verbal communication techniques

Self regulate in order to keep your cool under pressure

Show active listening techniques that acknowledge concerns, while being professional with boundaries

Resolve and Prevent

Develop follow up mechanisms that treat the causes and not the symptoms of conflict upheavals.

Develop safe workplace cultures to reduce antagonistic exchanges

Formulate documentation and reporting guidelines for major incidents

What You Will Learn

Module 1: The Hostility Landscape
Ever wondered why some people appear to generate conflict while others seem to breeze through the same situations with ease? You'll dive into the psychology of aggression, and find out how to spot the difference between everyday frustration and pervasive organisational issues. We will look at real case studies from Australian companies and how to see patterns before they become problems.

Module 2: Your Emotion Regulation Toolkit
Can you even fathom how you'd feel genuinely calm when somebody's challenging you about your competence? This module teaches you some simple skills to help you handle your own emotional reactions. Breathing exercises, cognitive reframing skills, and grounding exercises that work in high pressure meetings are just a few of the skills you'll learn.

Module 3: Communication Strategies That Actually Work
What Is the Difference Between Words That Gnash And Words That Heal? You will practice the vocabulary, specific phrases, and ways of communicating that defuse tension with interactive role playing scenarios. We're going to add everything from vocal variations to how to stand, so that your whole body speaks calm assertiveness.

Lesson 4: Mastering Specialised De escalation Technique
How to deal with a person who's totally unrestrained and seems unreachable? This senior module is in detailing steps that are uncommonly applied, the what if scenarios, when to get management involved, and how to cover yourself and others without offending, but diplomatic while being professional.

Module 5: Creation of Long term Solutions
Why do some workplace disputes continue to reappear like never ending sequel of a bad movie? You will also learn to solve systemic problems that create negative feelings in the workplace, and create "inoculating factors" — prevention strategies and building a positive team climate that will lessen the chances of future disputes.

Module 6: Personal Action Planning
What is your strategy for Monday morning of the real world? This last module is designed to help you develop a personalised action tool kit with scripts, contingencies, and ongoing development tactics just for your unique workplace challenges.

Concluding Remarks

Managing workplace hostility doesn't have to be the worst part of your job that causes you to lose sleep at night. With this course, you'll go from someone who dreads tough talks to a leader that embraces them with confidence and finesse. And you will recognise that for every threat of violence is a person who is likely to be feeling disregarded, frustrated or overburdened – and you will be equipped to speak to those deeper needs.

The reverberations transcend one on one connections. When you learn how to manage the hostility well, you will be the calming influence on your whole team. Stress is reduced, people are productive, and the workplace culture is transformed. Most of all, you'll forge the sort of emotional resilience you need not just at work but in all part of your life.

This isn't about needing to grow thicker skin or learning to put up with bad behaviour. It's about being the type of professional who can turn workplace conflicts into stronger relationships and better results. For when you stop to consider, isn't a leader like that the kind you want to work with?