Mitchell Friedman, Ed.D., APR

Have you ever worked with someone who, on the one hand, seems agreeable and easy to get along with? But on the other hand, they indirectly resist others’ demands and avoid direct confrontation at all costs? If so, you’re dealing with an individual who displays signs of passive-aggressiveness.

Passive-aggressive behavior confuses and maddens. Coworkers often feel ill-equipped to respond to it. This program will help to fill this need. You’ll gain insight and acquire tools to help you work productively with anyone who might speak, act, and think in a passive-aggressive fashion.

Program participants will learn:

•Characteristics of passive-aggressive individuals; •Signs and examples of passive-aggressive behaviors; •The not-so-subtle language of passive-aggressiveness; •Why people display passive-aggressive tendencies; and, most importantly, •Strategies for managing the potentially pernicious consequences of passive-aggressiveness in the workplace

In short, this informative program promises two things. First, it will help you to improve your abilities to recognize passive-aggressiveness. Second, you’ll learn how to respond constructively to such incidents.

Interpersonal communications in the workplace poses challenges even for the savviest of professionals. Yet some stand out. These include dealing with difficult people; handling complaints or tricky questions; incorporating tact and professionalism into diverse situations; and responding to negativity and gossip. This presentation will probe the nature of these and other thorny issues you’re likely to encounter no matter where you work. Most important, we’ll explore different strategies individuals can employ to manage these challenges with aplomb.

In this session, we will cover important information on:

•Fundamentals of effective workplace communication; •Identifying typical challenges in this area faced by library professionals; and •Brainstorming ways to respond to challenges and strengthen relationships at work.

Opportunities abound for working professionals committed to expanding their professional knowledge and connections outside of the workplace. Time and resources are limited, however, so it’s often difficult to prioritize among various options. After defining what’s available by way of networking and professional development, we’ll consider how discerning individuals can assess and prioritize opportunities to provide the fuel necessary to forward their professional growth.

In this session, we will cover important information on:

•Identifying relevant goals and strategies for networking and professional development activities; •Optimizing your use of offline and online tools; and •Tips for networking at events with style and ease.

You don’t have to look very hard to find crises in the news these days. Volkswagen and Chipotle are just two of the many organizations that have grappled with major threats this year. The incidence of such crises and the strong likelihood that we’ll no doubt see many more like them in the future make them a critical topic that organizations of all kinds must grapple with.

We’ll begin by defining crisis and then turn to detecting, preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from crises. In the process we’ll look at examples bound to shed light on what has worked, and failed, as individuals and organizations grappled with myriad crises over the years. Finally, we’ll work together to apply lessons learned to help your organization develop specific strategies to manage and respond to a crisis.

Leaders need the support of professionals to help them achieve organizational success. These followers, in turn, must cultivate specific aptitudes and skills to best work with leaders. Followers need leaders as well; moreover, in today’s world, everyone must have the skills to transition from followership to leadership roles and vice-versa.

Followership skills, like leadership skills, are often taken for granted. But they can and should be taught. To that end this workshop introduces critical success factors for followers. Through individual activities, small group work, case studies, and discussion, participants in this program will learn to:

•Debunk myths and embrace realities about the importance of followership for leadership; •Identify followership styles; •Determine how personality, work style, career goals, and organizational issues shape followership attitudes and behavior; •Identify key attributes of effective followers; •Assess their own followership style; •List daily activities to foster a mutually productive relationship with their supervisor and/or other senior executives in their organization; and •Develop a personal improvement plan to cultivate followership and related professional skills.