Summit Topics Include:
Legal and Practical Aspects of Employee Discipline
There is potential liability for tribal employers in the discipline process. In this session, we’ll address potential legal challenges of disciplining employees and explore practical steps you as a manager should take to minimize the risk for yourself and your organization. You’ll receive sample policies and apply your knowledge to case studies based on real events.

Motivating Staff to Enhance Performance
Do you believe that salaries are what drive your staff to work hard? The latest research suggests otherwise. Performance is actually reduced when money is the only motivator. In this innovative session, we’ll examine other employee motivators, such as happiness, autonomy, sharing in the organization’s success, and open communication.

Creating Workplace Policies That Work for You
There are numerous aspects to making policy work for you as a manager. Policies should be user-friendly, should reflect the unique aspects of the tribe, and should allow you to enforce policies in a fair and reasonable manner. We’ll discuss common policy problems and explore how to customize best practices to work for you and your organization.

Social Networking Policies
According to a recent survey, nearly a quarter of employees say that they use some form of social networking at least five times per week, but few companies have a formal social networking policy. Social networking is becoming a rapidly increasing problem for employers and managers alike. This thought-provoking workshop will look at recent National Labor Relation Board decisions and examine the issues that should be addressed in your organization’s social networking policy.

Drug and Alcohol Policies
Some of the myths surrounding the topic of workplace drug and alcohol policies will be addressed and dispelled in this session. We will focus on the legal and practical sides of random, for-cause, post-accident and pre-employment testing, and explore the many “do’s and don’ts” regarding drug and alcohol policies in the tribal organization.

Politics in the Workplace
No matter the organization, politics play some role in employment-related decisions. As supervisors and managers in Indian Country, there are practical steps you may take to minimize the impact. This hands-on session will help you learn techniques for personally rising above politics in the workplace and limiting the impact they have on your staff and office environment.
Change Management
As the saying goes, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” How are you framing change in your workplace? Does your staff see it as opportunity or calamity? We’ll discuss different change management strategies that will help you move beyond change management to lead your staff through a changing work environment.

Professional Development: Skill Building to Improve the Organization
By investing wisely in your staff, you can add incredible value to your organization. Whether through coaching, formal coursework, conferences, workshops, or mentoring, knowing how, when, and under what circumstances to invest in your staff can help you to attract better employees and retain your best employees.

The Differences between Management and Leadership
The concepts of management and leadership, while similar, are distinct and complementary. While a manager implements and maintains, a leader innovates and develops. A manager enforces the rules, while a leader ensures the rules are fair and equitable. The most effective managers and supervisors are those who can combine aspects from both management and leadership. We’ll examine how you can do this to inspire and lead your staff.

Communication Skills for the Supervisor
Interpersonal communication in the workplace is the core of every manager’s job. The ability to communicate successfully — to speak, write and listen with ease — will help you to gain greater respect and will enable you to achieve powerful, professional results. You’ll learn the key to upward and downward communication and therefore be able to create new opportunities for your employees and yourself within your organization.

Diversity in Tribal Organizations
Diversity can have many faces in the tribal organization: age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, religion, marital, parental, and so forth. We’ll discuss the value diversity adds to the tribal organization and we’ll examine the role of Indian preference policies in a culturally diverse workplace.

Recruitment Challenges
When you’re responsible for finding and choosing the “right” people for your tribal organization, you must be sure that you know who you’re looking for and who will be the best fit. During this session, we’ll provide you with actionable expertise for improving your recruitment tools and procedures. We’ll examine practical recruitment challenges within tribal organizations, such as Indian preference, and provide you with practicable solutions.

Advocating for Your Staff to Upper Management
As a supervisor or manager in your organization, you are in the best position to balance the interests and needs of your employees with the structures and goals of your organization. It can be challenging to find a happy medium between these two approaches. While your employees rely on you to represent their best interests to upper management, upper management expects you to represent the needs of the organization to your staff. This session will help you develop the skills you need to serve both roles without shortchanging either one.