-- Dr. Sharif Abdunnur has received a 2025 Global Recognition Award for his work in corporate training and organizational development, specifically for designing and implementing a conflict resolution program at a petrochemical company that improved workplace communication across the Middle Eastern petrochemical complex.
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Sharif Abdunnur
The award recognizes a nine-month initiative that trained 60 professionals between November 2024 and September 2025, addressing longstanding communication challenges that had limited collaboration across departments. The program combined established behavioral assessment tools with interactive learning techniques, producing documented improvements in how employees handle workplace disagreements.
Program Design and Implementation
The petrochemical company engaged Dr. Abdunnur to address communication patterns that encouraged conflict avoidance rather than constructive problem-solving. The three-cohort program directly trained 12 percent of one department's workforce while influencing organizational culture more broadly through participants who applied new techniques in their daily work.
The curriculum integrated the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, which helps individuals understand their default responses to disagreement, with the Harvard Negotiation Model's framework for collaborative problem-solving. Interactive exercises, such as "The Perspective Switch" and "The Root Cause Maze," reinforced these concepts through simulated workplace scenarios that engaged participants from various departments, including human resources, engineering, operations, and administration.
Dr. Abdunnur conducted sessions in Arabic and English, accommodating the linguistic diversity of the company's workforce and ensuring all participants could engage with the material in their preferred language.
Documented Outcomes
Assessment data showed that participants improved their understanding of conflict resolution principles by 40-60 percent between pre-program and post-program testing. Some individuals demonstrated a 90 percent increase in their comprehension of conflict management strategies and an increase in confidence in applying them.
Participant evaluations rated the trainer's effectiveness at 9.9 out of 10, with engagement and interactivity receiving perfect scores. Content relevance scored 9.8 out of 10, and all participants indicated they would attend future training sessions led by Dr. Abdunnur. The Net Promoter Score ranged from 9.6 to 10.
The Global Recognition Awards used the Rasch model to evaluate Dr. Abdunnur's application, a measurement approach that creates standardized comparisons across different professional categories and achievement types.
Workplace Changes
The petrochemical company's human resources department documented a 20-25 percent decrease in formal conflict escalations during the three months following program completion. Managers reported faster decision-making processes and more collaborative approaches to problem-solving as employees applied techniques learned during training.
Participants initiated ongoing practices, including listening circles and peer dialogue sessions, extending the program's impact without additional external facilitation. These employee-led initiatives continued after the formal training concluded, embedding new communication approaches into routine workplace interactions.
"Pausing to listen and understand before responding has improved relationships at work and home," one participant wrote in post-program feedback, illustrating how workplace training influenced broader interpersonal dynamics.
The petrochemical company's learning and development manager observed that the program "changed how managers communicate, resulting in calmer dialogue, quicker resolutions, and greater team cohesion within weeks of program completion." Company leadership described the initiative as among the most impactful professional development interventions in the organization's history.
Professional Background and Methodology
Dr. Abdunnur holds a doctorate and brings more than two decades of experience in leadership development, negotiation training, and organizational psychology. He serves as faculty and senior facilitator at Informa Connect Academy and has published research on communication and emotional intelligence.
His facilitation approach, which he describes as "edutainment" and neuroscience-driven facilitation, combines behavioral science frameworks with storytelling, humor, and experiential activities to create an engaging learning experience. The method aims to make abstract concepts tangible through practical application, using case studies drawn from the petrochemical company's actual operational environment.
The program incorporated structured activities, including story circles, empathy mapping exercises, and reflection sessions, designed to build trust among participants and create conditions for honest dialogue about workplace challenges. Dr. Abdunnur's work aligns with the International Association of Facilitators' competency standards for encouraging participation, managing group dynamics, building consensus, and connecting learning objectives to organizational goals.
"Dr. Sharif Abdunnur's work demonstrates how expert facilitation can reshape organizational culture while creating lasting change that ripples far beyond the initial intervention," said Alex Sterling, spokesperson for Global Recognition Awards. "His ability to combine rigorous methodology with genuine human connection sets a standard for excellence in corporate education."
The recognition acknowledges quantitative results and qualitative impacts, including behavioral changes that participants reported applying in personal and professional contexts. The sustained nature of these changes, documented through follow-up assessments and organizational metrics, distinguishes the program from conventional training interventions that often produce temporary compliance rather than lasting skill development.
About Global Recognition Awards
Global Recognition Awards is an international organization that recognizes exceptional companies and individuals who have significantly contributed to their industry.
Contact Info:
Name: Alexander Sterling
Email: Send Email
Organization: Global Recognition Awards
Website: https://globalrecognitionawards.org
Release ID: 89173743
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