Event Details

Dana Samardzich is a life coach who works with professional women to help them take back their time so they can develop fulfilling lives for themselves.

Dana was a professional salesperson with over ten years experience in the steel, construction, and funeral service industries.  Although successful, she noticed that the effects of constant stress were taking its toll—she was tired and angry all the time and she knew that her long-term health would start to suffer if something didn’t give.

In 2009, she became a certified professional coach through the International Coach Academy Now, she spends her time helping women learn the tools and skills they can use to take back their time and help these ladies identify what excites them.  Dana says, “I am passionate about inspiring women to see that they matter.  I want women to find what is fulfilling to them because when a person is fulfilled, they just affect the world differently.”

Dana loves to learn and continues to expand her professional knowledge and expertise.  In 2013, Dana received her ACC credential through the International Coach Federation.  She is also a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator--Candidate, based on the work of Brené Brown.

Dana is married with a son.  When she isn’t coaching or spending time with her family, she indulges in her much-loved hobbies of knitting and singing in the Valparaiso University Bach Choir and Notre Dame Master Singers.

Learning Objectives:

1.  Understanding what teambuilding is and how it works
2. The importance of mindfulness to clarify values and goals
3. How to work together using good communication techniques

1.  My approach
   1. Roots vs. branches, leaves, and blooms
      1. You get the most sustainable growth when you take care of the “roots” in your business or in your life
2. How can teams be efficient?
   1. Employees are viewed as members of interdependent teams instead of individual workers
   2. Each team is made up of a collection of effective individuals
      1. Think of a fruit salad and not a fruit smoothie
   3. Complexity Theory and Systems
      1. If we increase the complexity of a system, it becomes more adaptable to any situations or problems it faces
      2. If a system isn’t complex enough, it will tend toward chaos or rigidity
      3. Ex.  Ecosystems
3. Strategies and techniques for developing positive team dynamics
   1. Shift from Independent to Interdependent using mindfulness
      1. Mindfulness
      2. Core Values
      3. Clear goals
         1. Which outcome are you looking for?
         2. What is the bigger picture?
         3. Why are we working together?
         4. SMARTA Goals
      4. Learning to work together
         1. The arena and the players (metaphor for the workplace)
         2. Building Connection
            1. What disconnects us
               1. Shame, humiliation, embarrassment
               2. Four Horsemen—John Gottman
            2. What connects us
               1. Vulnerability
               2. Empathy
               3. Presence
               4. Communication