Leadership Institute for Interpreters
Embracing Change: Cultivating Leaders
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Knowledge is the antidote to fear.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Each LII workshop is custom designed to meet the specific needs of your group. The following workshop descriptions, then, offer only a broad look at each topic to allow for flexibility in customization. The workshops listed below are arranged based on who they were originally developed for - interpreters and leaders in K-12 settings, community-based /post-secondary settings or general leadership audiences - but each workshop can be modified for presentation to any audience. 
Below each description you will notice additional information on specific target audience and ideal workshop size. We're pretty creative here at LII so if you see a topic that interests you, we will customize it to suit the size and nature of your group. In addition, each topic is offered in condensed or expanded versions to match your preferred time frame - ranging anywhere from an hour and a half to a day and a half.
Finally, before you leave this page be sure to check out the most creative LII offering under the performances section; "RID - The Musical." Performed in collaboration with Fierce Coda Productions, this performance made it's debut in Colorado in April 2007. It has also been performed at the 2007 RID National Conference during the Region IV Caucus, at the 2008 KAI-RID Conference and most recently at the 2008 RID Region IV/TSID Conference in Houston.
Click here to request more information on presentation rates, creating, and scheduling a workshop or performance for your group.
Note: All WebShop topics (live and recorded) presented by Amie Seiberlich are also available as in-person workshops.
K-12 Hierarchy of Needs
This workshop examines the needs of interpreters working in a K-12 environment through assessment and discussion of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Participants are introduced to Maslow’s model as a foundation for creating their own Hierarchy of Needs (HON). This HON is then used as a vehicle for discussion related to how needs affect perceptions, relationships, and workplace dynamics.
Ideal for: interpreters,teachers of the deaf,administrators, and other leaders in K-12 settings.
Ideal group size: small to medium
This information helped me to "understand why we're all at different levels and how we can elevate each other."
--Workshop Participant--
RID and K-12 Interpreters: Can it work?
This workshop introduces participants to the occupational culture of sign language interpreting, the history of interpreting in K-12 settings, and the organizational history and culture of RID specifically as it pertains to interpreters in K-12 environments. The initiative to incorporate EIPA certification into the RID structure and other RID leadership efforts to be more inclusive of those working in K-12 settings is then explored through both an RID and a K-12 historical lens.
Ideal for: interpreters in K-12 settings and leaders in the field.
Ideal group size: medium
"Incredibly interesting topic and presenter. The background helped me to understand the divide between K-12 and community interpreters. It opened up dialogue between the RID and EIPA interpreters; very beneficial. Her perspective and information must be published!"
--Workshop participants--
Community-Based /Post Secondary
The Dual Nature of Hierarchy in Interpreting: Needs and Power
This workshop examines the needs of interpreters and interpreter coordinators working in a post-secondary environment through assessment and discussion of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Participants are introduced to Maslow’s model as a foundation for creating a Hierarchy of Needs (HON) for themselves as administrators as well as for their interpreting team. Participants also examine the “hierarchy of interpreting” through guided discussion and activity. The group created HONs and the hierarchy of interpreting are then be used in tandem as a vehicle for discussion around perceptions and the creation of healthy relationships and supportive workplace dynamics both within the interpreting and administrative teams.
Ideal for: post secondary interpreters and interpreter coordinators
Ideal group size: small to medium
Conflict Management
Many of us avoid conflict like the plague. Yet conflict is not always something to be avoided - in fact, it can often have positive outcomes. This workshop addresses conflict and it's potential positive outcomes for the field of interpreting. Generic causes of anger and conflict are identified and then applied to and analyzed in light of situations unique to our field. Participants are introduced to the notion of conflict styles and given an opportunity to assess their own style of conflict. Varying conflict styles are then looked at in relation to one another and applied directly to how they play out for us on the job.
Ideal for: interpreters, interpreter coordinators, and those that function as a part of a larger team
Ideal group size: medium
"Give her 5 stars. How many Conflict Management workshops have I sat through? Too many and none of them held a candle to Amie's. Ta da! No empty rhetoric to be endured for CEUs. Grazie!"
--Workshop Participant--
Authentic Inquirers Want to Know!
Organizations, simply stated, are a series of relationships. And when these relationships are strengthened, so is the organization. One of the most effective ways to strengthen relationships is to approach them with childlike curiosity…with the same type of inquisitiveness that guided us through our young years….when “why” was our favorite word and when our thirst to understand was seemingly impossible to quench. 
This workshop introduces the concept of being an “authentic inquirer.” Learning to be an authentic inquirer incorporates skills we intuitively used in childhood, and that we still possess but unknowingly reserve for our closest friends. Being an authentic inquirer deepens our understanding of one another, encourages the non-judgmental innocence of our past and strengthens the relationships that make up our organization.
Ideal for: members of professional organizations, teams or workgroups
Ideal group size: small to mediumChanging the Leadership Mindset: The “Everyday Leadership” Model
This workshop explores the current paradigm of leadership within RID; leaders as “doers” and members as “followers.” It then proposes a new model of leadership – “The LVE Model of Everyday Leadership” - that encourages greater membership participation, accountability and the promise of a more collaborative, unified organization.
Ideal for: all audiences, particularily members of professional organizations
Ideal group size: medium to large
"Focuses on possiblities and positive reinforcement. Motivational, encouraging, informative and inspiring...you always make me feel like I can do it!"
--Workshop Participants--
Forming Partnerships and Building Communities
The field of sign language interpreting was built on a foundation of collaboration between the Deaf and hearing communities. When leaders of interpreting organizations are willing to examine our professional roots, and look outside of their own organization to the larger community, trust is built and tremendous progress takes place. This workshop examines reasons for establishing partnerships, identifies possible opportunities for collaboration, and presents strategies for building communities.
Ideal for: committee members, local and state affiliate chapter leaders
Ideal group size: medium to large
"The presenter is informed and motivated about the topic. This gave us many new ideas for our affiliate chapter and is very needed and timely."
--Workshop participants--
Leading Through Change
Humans are hardwired for stability - and are typically resistant to change. In a field that is changing as quickly as ours, this presents challenges for interpreters and leaders alike. This workshop discusses our innate resistance to change and proposes practical steps for leading members through change efforts.
Ideal for: local and state affiliate chapter leaders, and interpreters that function as supervisors
Ideal group size: medium
"You really encouraged me to change!"
--Workshop Participant--
Transformational Leadership
At one point or another most of us have been led by someone that has transformed our experience as a follower, and quite possibly our life. This workshop explores the notion, and the qualities, of transformational leadership. Participants are given an opportunity to assess their leadership style in light of this model, and are offered strategies for developing the qualities necessary to bring out the best in their followers.
Ideal for: local and state affiliate chapter leaders, and interpreters that function as supervisors
Ideal group size: medium to large
"Great job! Good meat and potatoes info that can be put into action right away. I will use this info to help motivate myself and fellow interpreters. We need more training along this subject, please come again."
--Workshop Participants--
Leadership 101 - Do you have what it takes?
Increased standards, the specialization of the field, the birth of a new “generation” of interpreters and the unprecedented growth of RID are highlighting the need for strong, well-equipped leaders. Gone are the days of voting someone into office while he/she is in the bathroom, or by appealing to a member’s sense of obligation. The decision to serve as a leader must be conscious and thoughtful - and leaders must be given opportunities to grow into their position. This workshop will help you assess whether leadership is in your blood, and provide you with the tools you need to begin.
Ideal for: interpreters interested in leadership
Ideal group size: medium to largeInterpreters as Leaders
Thisprofessional discussion presents the results of a survey of RID state and local affiliate chapter leaders that served as the foundation for the presenter’s Masters Thesis project. Survey questions analyze the respondent’s average length of leadership service, leadership training that respondents received prior to RID service as well as during their tenure as a state or local leader, leadership topics respondents have been exposed to, where they have received training and their perceived readiness for leadership. The survey also distinguishes between “soft” and “logistical” leadership skills, assesses the importance, usefulness and interest of specific leadership topics, and examines the difference in the perceived importance, usefulness and interest between soft and logistical topics. Additionally, this professional discussion will present the rationale for the survey project, specific findings, and areas for further inquiry.
Thisdiscussion is being offered in response to the perception of declining member participation in leadership roles and increased interest in more formal leadership training. Participants will glean an understanding of the current state of leadership on a state and local affiliate level and what type of training may be necessary in order to sustain RID’s success.
Ideal for: current and aspiring leaders
Ideal group size: small to mediumRID - The Musical
We are all aware of the fact that the field of interpreting has a short, but very rich history. What many of us don’t know, however, is that buried deep in this brief history are the roots of perceptions that control our interactions with one another and that left unchecked, have the power to adversely affect our future. By examining our history, we bring some of these perceptions to light so that we can make conscious decisions about what parts of our past we will bring 
into the present, and future.
This presentation is a musical depiction of RID’s history as presented by Lou Fant in his manuscript “Silver Threads – A Personal Look at the First Twenty-fiveYears of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.” Participants will be able to view RID’s history through a variety of visual messages, in a non-threatening environment, and in a way that allows for individual interpretation of our history and its lessons. This inspiring performance is one of a kind and will leave participants with a newfound sense of understanding and hope.
Offered in combination with the following workshop:
Perspectives
This workshop addresses the origins of some of the perceptions, or perspectives, which seem to dominate the field of interpreting. Building on the perceptions presented in “RID – The Musical” this workshop seeks to further examine the roots of these perceptions as well as how they have played out over the years and developed into myths such as “RID is for certified interpreters only.” Workshop attendees participate in a series of individual and small group activities designed to help them identify their own current perceptions, explore the effects of those perceptions, and adapt their perceptions as they see fit. The overall goal is that participants walk away from this workshop with the understanding, based on newly acquired experiential knowledge, that we can interact and move forward more productively by being consciously aware of our perceptions rather than be unconsciously controlled by perceptions based in our collective history.
Ideal for: all members of RID affiliate organizations
Ideal group size: "RID the Musical Performance - the more the better! "Perspectives" workshop - small to medium
"This is applicable to my whole life; professional, personal and spiritual. The presenter was very knowledgeable and authentic and presented in a non-threatening way. The one on one Authentic Inquiry was great - I wish we had more time."
--Workshop Participants--