Staying Productive in the Modern Workplace

2021 Signature Seminar

Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 2:00 pm ET

Featuring Paul H. Burton, founder of QuietSpacing.

Others work while we sleep. That has never been truer than it is today. Technology speeds communications up while response time expectations shrink. Organizations grow larger and more distributed, casting people and projects far and near. The only certainty is that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.

Keeping up with globalism is a daunting prospect. How can we stay abreast without losing sight of the purpose for participating – enjoying rewarding personal and professional lives? What choices do we have and what actions can we take to best serve our clients, our loved ones and ourselves?

This program explores those questions, offering up eighteen suggestions on how to make the most of the time we have in this rapidly expanding playing field. We’ll address the following topics

  • Leveraging Distributed Work Environments. Working with people distributed across differing geographic locations is challenging. Consider these six suggestions on how to leverage this environment.
  • Running the Day Productively. Getting the work done is always Priority One. Here are six ways to accomplish that goal.
  • Demonstrating Leadership. Leadership is a state of mind, regardless of title or position. Choose from these six ways to demonstrate leadership on a global basis.

The workplace grows more global every day. We can react to that fact or we can lean in and participate. Choose to participate by attending this program.

Take Command of Unresolved Conflict

2021 Signature Seminar

Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 1:00 pm ET

Featuring Julie Holunga, Principal & Executive Coach of Chinook Executive Solutions

Problems typically begin with an unaddressed conflict. Unresolved breakdowns in communication are costly, and if left unaddressed, can derail a team, division, or company. Miscommunication is a precursor to conflict, and is draining your resources: productivity, people, and money. Creating mutual understanding and awareness is essential to your success, whether you’re developing a high-performing team, resolving a potentially explosive employee issue, or negotiating with a client.

In this powerful session, participants will gain insights into their natural responses to conflict, learn the strengths and preferences of their own communication styles, and build constructive behaviors to handle conflict. Participants will learn to:

  • Build personal and professional trust between employees
  • Develop and innovate solutions to everyday issues
  • Reduce time spent in (or avoiding!) conflict

Isn’t it time to stop paying the high cost of miscommunication and conflict? This dynamic presentation is designed for professionals who are ready to stop avoiding inevitable conflict and invest in their success. When we are conflict competent, we are engaged, productive, and innovative problem solvers, and that can’t help but impact the bottom line.

Where Do We Go From Here? Optimizing Lessons Learned by Recommitting to & Reimagining Flexibility in 2021  

2021 Signature Seminar

Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 1:00 pm ET

Featuring Manar Morales, President & CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.

A global pandemic, unprecedented shifts in how we work, and a national reckoning on race have made 2020 a year of accelerating and amplifying conversations around the future of work. As you look to 2021 and the new challenges and opportunities it will bring, join Manar Morales as she shares insights gleaned from the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance’s recent conversations with the heads of law firms, corporations, and associations around the country. Now is the time to spearhead discussions about what worked and didn’t work during COVID-19, how the pandemic has impacted your teams – particularly women and diverse employees – and how flexible work arrangements can lead to an even more successful and collaborative culture.

Strengthening Community in Virtual Teams 

2021 Signature Seminar

Tuesday, January 26, 2021 at 1:00 pm ET

Featuring Cara Alter, author of The Credibility Code and Founder of Speechskills.

Work From Home is the new reality.  And while we may relish the benefits, many of us are missing some aspects of the work experience that brought us the most satisfaction—a sense of community, authentic human connections, and the opportunity to collaborate toward a shared purpose. So how do we promote community and team cohesion even in a virtual workspace? Designed specifically for people who lead virtual meetings or manage remote teams, this seminar provides practical strategies for bringing more humanity to the virtual experience.

TOPICS INCLUDE:

  • Creating engagement while discouraging multitasking
  • Integrating moments of human connection—even when time is short
  • Understanding virtual meeting fatigue and how to minimize it
  • Leveraging platform features to increase interaction
  • Encouraging more equity in participation among team members
  • Onboarding new team members into previously established team

Civility: It’s More Than Just Being “Nice”

Tuesday, September 22, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:15 pm EST

Featuring – Rachael Bosch, Founder of Fringe Professional Development

There has been a lot of talk about civility in the news over the past few years but there are still so many misconceptions about what civility means and why you should engage in it. In this webinar, we will discuss the research behind civility both inside and out of the legal industry. We will share the documented impacts of civility and psychological safety in teams and organizations. You will also hear the latest insights into how organizations are using civility in their cultural and leadership development plans.

After spending more than a decade in legal talent management, Rachael Bosch founded Fringe Professional Development with the goal of helping people communicate better at work. Fringe is a training and coaching company that combines neuroscience-based learning techniques with customized and progressive programming. Our mission is to help ambitious, high-achieving professionals excel in their careers through improved communication skills. Rachael holds a brain-based coaching certification through the NeuroLeadership Institute as well as certificates of Women in Leadership and Mediating Disputes from Cornell University and Harvard Law School. She is an active member of the invitation-only Forbes Coaches Council and is certified to train and deliver both the DISC behavioral assessment and the EQi 2.0© emotional intelligence index.

Personality Matters: Collaborating Successfully with Others!

Thursday, July 16, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:15 pm EST

Featuring – Mary Abbajay, President of Careerstone Group.

Personality preferences and communication styles play a significant role in our interactions with coworkers, team members, supervisors, and staff members. Working successfully with others requires developing self-awareness and an understanding of how we, as individuals, impact others—both positively and negatively. In this high-spirited webinar, participants will gain heightened awareness of their own distinctive personality type, communication style and preferred ways of working with others. This interactive and eye-opening webinar helps participants understand their own personalities, personal strengths and potential areas for improvement. Participants learn to:

  • Raise awareness around preferred work style and behaviors—of self and others.
  • Increase understanding about how they communicate, receive information and make decisions.
  • Develop insight into their own style and the style of others.
  • Develop flexibility during workplace interaction in order to interact effectively with people who have different personalities and communication styles.
  • Understand how personality type impacts leadership and teamwork.

The Careerstone Group is a full service organizational and leadership development consultancy that delivers leading-edge talent and organizational development solutions to business and government.  Mary is also the author of Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work and Succeed with Any Type of Boss.

Become a Virtual Meeting Virtuoso (Bonus Seminar)

Thursday, June 4, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:15 pm EST

Featuring – Christine Clapp, President of Spoken With Authority

Just a few weeks ago, proficiency in technology-mediated communication was optional; today, it is essential for connecting with colleagues, clients, and other stakeholders who are located in another part of the city, state, country, or world. In Become a Virtual Meeting Virtuoso, Spoken with Authority will equip you with expert tips on your content, physical setting, technology setup, and speaking style that will dramatically improve your confidence and effectiveness in virtual meetings and presentations.

In this session, you will:

  • Identify ways to adapt meeting agendas and presentations for technology-mediated communication
  • Explore strategies for optimizing video conference platforms
  • Review etiquette of speaking online
  • Learn the fundamentals of executive presence and the nuances of conveying confidence in online speaking situations

Mindfulness for Professionals: How to Reduce Stress and Improve Performance

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:15 pm EST

Featuring – Jon Krop, Founder of Mindfulness for Lawyers.

Do you want to develop greater focus and efficiency? Reduce stress and avoid burnout? Improve your performance under pressure?

Join lawyer and mindfulness expert Jon Krop for a hands-on introduction to mindfulness, a simple mental practice you can use to reduce stress and improve productivity. Jon will guide participants through short exercises that sharpen focus, calm the mind, and cultivate resilience in the face of anxiety and stress.

Back to the Office: Re-Entry Strategies Under COVID-19 (Bonus Signature Seminar)

Thursday, May 14, 2020 – 1:00 pm EST
Featuring – Manar Morales, President & CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance
Manar Morales, the Alliance’s President & CEO, will lead this webinar on best practices and suggestions for re-entry success as organizations and employees prepare to return back to the office.
  • Does your organization have a game plan for when physical offices re-open?
  • How will you continue to support your teams when they come back but schools are still closed?
  • What will your organization’s definition of a “new normal” and return to the office look like?
  • What new support systems will be in place?

Business Continuity, Success (and Sanity) During COVID-19 Telecommuting (Bonus Signature Seminar)

Tuesday, March 24, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:15 pm EST

Featuring – Manar Morales, President & CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance

Whether or not you have a telework policy already in place, there are best practices to follow, both as a supervisor and as a teleworker, when unforeseen circumstances force organization-wide, unscheduled remote work.  It’s not always a simple matter of logging in, especially when you may not have been prepared to telework for an unspecified length of time.

The Alliance has always been a proponent of teleworking, and we’re here to share best practices for business continuity, success, and maintaining your well-being during this time. What can managers do to make sure employees have the resources they need to keep workflow seamless? What can employees do to stay engaged and productive? What can we all do to support each other? What are additional telework policy considerations to think about moving forward?

Join us for our special webinar for members where Manar Morales, the Alliance’s President & CEO, will share guidelines on these issues and answer your questions. Although we will be taking questions during the webinar, please feel free to forward any before the webinar (email manar@dfalliance.com) so we make sure we get to everyone.