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Dr. Larry Stybel    

Psychologist & Entrepreneur-in-Residence With a Private Equity Firm and Author of "Navigating the Waterfall"

Dr. Laurence J. Stybel is a psychologist, regular contributor on leadership at Psychology Today, co-founder of two companies, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at a private equity firm. He is a co-founder of Stybel Peabody Associates, Inc. Its mission is to partner with clients to put success into leadership succession.
Core services revolve around retained search for Board members, CEOs, COOs, and CFOs; relationship management consulting at the C-Suite, and C-Suite Outplacement.

The readers of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly named Stybel Peabody the #1 or #2 outplacement firm for six years in a row. Stybel has been on the Board of Directors of the New England Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. He also has been on the Board of several companies in the HRTech space and was on the Board of Directors of the National Human Resource Association. Stybel is the former President of the Boston Human Resources Association (BHRA). Since 2011, Psychology Today has published Stybel Peabody’s monthly perspectives on leadership and career management. There have been nearly 500,000 downloads.

Stybel is the co-author of "Navigating the Waterfall", a book about career management and job search in the 21st Century. His perspectives on leadership have been published by California Management Review, Directorship, Harvard Business Review, and MIT Sloan Management Review. Stybel is listed in Who’s Who in Business and Finance and Who’s Who in America. In 2019 the publishers of Who’s Who presented Larry with the Albert Marquis Distinguished Service Award for 'his enduring contributions to the field of leadership'.

He received a doctorate in organizational behavior from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and is a licensed psychologist in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Stybel was named a Career Management Fellow (CMF), the highest level of professional certification by the Institute for Career Consulting International. ICCI is the world’s only international certifying body for the career services industry (www.careercertification.org)

Speech Topics


CALM ASSERTIVE LEADERSHIP: HOW TO FAKE IT UNTIL YOU BECOME IT

You may receive criticism that you are too assertive, and your direct reports resent you. On the other hand, you may receive criticism that you are so unassertive, your colleagues do not respect you. Consider the case of a leader who faked it until he became it, Young George Washington was the Assertive Not Calm Leader whose outrageous murder of French soldiers while they slept created the spark that caused the French and Indian War.
The War was a victory for Britain but it destroyed Washington’s hopes of having a military career as a British citizen.

Washington’s natural temper was so violent, his aide Alexander Hamilton resigned his commission on the grounds of Washington throwing Hamilton down a flight of stairs on two occasions.

Washington apologized and Hamilton remained on the staff. George Washington understood that his natural tendency towards Assertive Not Calm Leadership had cost him a cherished role in the British military. He didn’t want it to destroy his effectiveness in commanding untrained farmers who were fighting the world’s best military force.

General Washington deliberately chose to become the Calm Assertive Leader we respect today. He created the role. And he faked it until he became it. Let us help you create your own model for Calm Assertive Leadership.

Program Objectives:

  • How to differentiate yourself in interviews using Calm Assertive Leadership techniques.
  • How to create scripts you can use during meetings.
  • How you can alter blood levels of testosterone and cortisol without the use of drugs.

"M*A*S*H*"

"MASH" was a popular movie and television comedy in the 1980s. It can still be seen on television today. We argue that the tension within this fictional unit parallels the corporate culture tension we see today. We suggest MAS*H's leader Colonel Sherman T. Potter, M.D. as the appropriate role model for conflict management. Learning Goals:

  • Welcome to MASH Times: there are two classes of workers and there is tension between the classes, employees are understaffed and overworked. Some feel angry and trapped.
  • How Colonel Potter converts an enemy into an adversary-chum.
  • How to differentiate between adversaries and enemies.
  • It is critical that your team have a common vocabulary to discuss relationships at work.
  • The 'Courtyard' for turning adversaries into chums.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BALL’ AND OTHER DANGEROUS CLICHES THAT COULD DESTROY YOUR BUSINESS

Andre Tippett was a New England Patriots Outside Linebacker for eleven seasons and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His mother, coach, and agent all told him to 'Keep Your Eyes on the Ball'. Andre realized that if he took this cliché’ seriously, he would not be an aggressive player.

In this talk, we discuss the Andre Tippett story in the context of common business cliches. We will review common business clichés and explore assumptions. How can you manage your people more effectively?

Program Objectives:

  • Understand how the Andre Tippett story applies to you. ('Keep Your Eyes on the Ball'.).
  • Learn how to encourage your employees to be innovative ('We Follow Industry Best Practices').
  • Understand how to create reward systems that encourage innovation and learning from failure. ('Win-Don’t Lose').
  • Developing a dynamic systems approach to employee termination ('Off the Bus-On the Bus').

HOW TO READ PEOPLE: A New Framework for Improving Communications.

The 'Golden Rule' says 'Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You'. Applying the Golden Rule to business communication, 'present information to others the way you wish others would present information to you'. From a leadership and sales perspective, that is a recipe for failure. The purpose of this workshop is to provide a new framework for reading people you know and for reading people you have yet to meet.

This structure is based on research conducted by Harvard University psychologist Dr. Howard Gardner and sub sequentially modified by Dr. Laurence Stybel and Maryanne Peabody of Stybel Peabody Associates, Inc.

After attending you will be able to:

  • Improve leadership communications and sales effectiveness by utilizing the 'How to Read People' framework.
  • Understand how the framework is used in a business situation.
  • Review a presentation you will be making in 2-4 weeks.
  • Identify primary and secondary research techniques for “reading people.

CREATING-EXPANDING BOARD OF DIRECTOR OPTIONS IN YOUR CAREER.

Creating and expanding board options in your career is not the same as finding that next job. A board options program requires a customized strategy, a two-year time horizon, and focused networking.

This talk has been given at Harvard Business School, Yale University School of Management, Georgetown University, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University, The Society for Information Management, Financial Executives International, and the National Basketball Retired Players Association.

Program Objectives:

  • How to look at Board membership from a food chain perspective.
  • How to focus on the next rung up in that food chain.
  • What goes into a Board of Director Executive Summary?
  • Distribution Channels for your Board campaign.
  • Positioning Statements for your Interest in Board Work.
  • How to speak with attorneys about your interest in serving on Boards.

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