.jpg)
I wholeheartedly recommend Barbara to anyone seeking to unlock their leadership potential and embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and self-development.
Harleigh Zack, Senior Accountant at HGA Chartered Professional Accountants
THE STUMBLING BLOCKS LEADERSHIP BREAKTHROUGH
Unlock the Power to Communicate, Lead with Confidence, and Build High-Performing Teams
Turn real-world challenges into leadership breakthroughs—creating a culture of growth, collaboration, and high performance.
Transform the Way Your Team Communicates, Leads and Performs
​
What if the obstacles holding your team back are actually opportunities in disguise?
​
The Stumbling Blocks Leadership Breakthrough is a powerful, practical leadership development program designed by speaker, facilitator, and coach Barbara May. With a unique blend of personal insight, proven tools, and real-world experience, Barbara helps individuals and teams turn common workplace challenges into leadership breakthroughs.
​
This 9-part leadership training program is ideal for organizations that want to build stronger communicators, more confident leaders, and collaborative, high-performing teams. Each session can be delivered as a standalone seminar, full-day training, or customized leadership retreat.
3 Simple Steps. One Powerful Breakthrough
​
Step 1: Unlock the Power to Communicate
Build a strong foundation by helping leaders speak with clarity, connect with others, and create a culture of trust and respect.
​
Step 2: Lead with Confidence
Develop confident, capable leaders who can speak up, take initiative, and inspire others through presence, influence, and authenticity.
​
Step 3: Build High-Performing Teams
Foster alignment, strengthen collaboration, and empower your team to turn setbacks into building blocks for lasting success.​​
Program Overview
The Stumbling Blocks Leadership Breakthrough is divided into 9 seminars—each building on the last. Whether your team attends one session or completes the full series, they’ll walk away with practical tools and a renewed sense of confidence.
Step 1: Unlock the Power of Communication
Stumbling Blocks Leadership Mindset
Begin your leadership breakthrough by embracing the Stumbling Blocks Philosophy. Develop your unique leadership style and use it to your advantage to become a more effective and influential leader.
​
Here's what you'll learn:
-
How to develop your own unique leadership style and use it to your advantage.
-
A look at personality traits and how they affect your ability to build a stronger, more resilient team.
-
The importance of employee engagement and how to increase engagement within your team.
Emotional Intelligence Essentials
Enhance your ability to manage emotions during difficult situations, build healthy relationships, and foster a supportive team environment where people feel understood, accepted and valued.
​
Here's what you'll learn:
-
Dealing with pressure and stress—how to stay calm and in control, even in the face of chaos.
-
Tips for understanding and communicating effectively with people who are stressed out, upset or angry.
-
The keys to building trust between team members and team leaders under pressure, crisis and change.
Leadership Communication Toolkit
Elevate casual chats into engaging conversations. Develop the skills you need to communicate effectively with diverse individuals and build a truly inclusive and collaborative team environment.
​
Here's what you'll learn:
​
-
How to adapt your communication style and engage effectively with individuals on your team.
-
Listen between the lines—identify the hidden agendas and false signals that lead to misunderstandings.
-
The art of storytelling to communicate complex ideas, engage your team, and promote understanding.
"Barbara's program was very eye-opening for me. She gave me a new perspective, especially being an entrepreneur. Now I have a new way to communicate with my contractors, my audiences, my peers... my teams. Thank you for this insightful program!"
Kerri Jarrett, Owner, The Hair Coach
Step 2: Lead with Confidence
Confident Conversations Roadmap
Equip yourself with practical tools and techniques to lead small and large group discussions. Build trust, get buy-in and talk openly about challenges, obstacles and hurdles at work.​
​
Here's what you'll learn:
​
-
How to create an environment that encourages team members—even untalkative ones—to fully participate in the exchange of ideas.
-
Active listening techniques to foster a collaborative and supportive group environment.
-
The role of verbal and non-verbal communication in maintaining control over group discussions and dealing with disruptive behaviour.
Public Speaking Breakthrough
Get past your public speaking stumbling blocks and become an engaging leader. Learn how to use stories, case studies and audience involvement to motivate and inspire your team.
​
Here's what you'll learn:
-
Managing fear and nervousness: Relaxation and breathing techniques that keep you relaxed and in control throughout your presentation.
-
Tips and techniques to help you think on your feet and present your ideas and opinions positively and powerfully.
-
Proven techniques to help you become a more animated and engaging storyteller.
Leadership Presentation Mastery
Master the skills you need to make onboarding, training, meetings, and presentations more effective and positively influence corporate culture, team spirit and employee morale.
​
Here's what you'll learn:
​​
-
Gain high-impact presentation strategies to motivate and inspire your team to succeed.
-
Learn how to lead focused, productive meetings that turn ideas into action and action into results.
-
How to make networking and media relations a natural, comfortable part of your leadership routine.
“I have incorporated the public speaking techniques Barbara taught me and discovered the most amazing feeling—COMFORT combined with ENERGY while speaking.”
Patty Breton, Breton Consulting Services
Step 3: Build High-Performing Teams
Team Building Success Strategies
Help your team discover new ways of solving problems in the workplace, such as dealing and communicating with co-workers and bouncing back from mistakes with confidence.
​
Here's what you'll learn:
​​
-
Easy ways to nurture a growth mindset and promote an atmosphere of constant learning and improvement.
-
How to recognize potentially counterproductive or destructive team member activities—and deal with them before they lead to conflict.
-
Strategies to inspire and harness creativity and innovation within your team, turning challenges into opportunities for team building and leadership growth.
Coaching for Excellence Playbook
Unleash your team's potential with easy-to-apply coaching strategies. Learn how to inspire individual growth, enhance team performance and turn barriers into breakthroughs.
​
Here's what you'll learn:
-
High-impact coaching techniques to help people learn new skills and improve their performance.
-
Providing Feedback: Having the confidence and assertiveness to deal with people, problems and situations honestly.
-
Strategies for getting to the root cause of poor performance and dealing with underachievers.
Stumbling Blocks Game Plan
Step into strategic leadership. Develop a game plan that turns obstacles into opportunities and lays the foundation for a culture rooted in clarity, commitment, and accountability.
​
Here's what you'll learn:
​​​
-
How to assess your current situation, align team objectives with the organization's broader goals and formulate a compelling vision for the future.
-
Tips to help your team see the big picture, understand their purpose and position within the organization and work together to create a healthy work environment.
-
Strategies to prepare for unexpected and challenging situations, improve performance, and enhance overall team effectiveness.
