Being Integral: Developing You

It’s a given that much of our success depends on our ability to foster meaningful relationships with our colleagues and customers. But what about our relationship with ourselves? When we ignore our emotions, act against our values, and become indifferent to our surroundings, we lose who we really are and run a much greater risk of not achieving our clients’ goals (and our own). In this talk, Whitney will explore how presence, adaptability, empathy, and influence can be our most effective design tools. And she’ll address how to cultivate these qualities through intellectual, emotional, and physical practices we can integrate into our everyday routines.

Do You Speak Jackal or Giraffe? Resolving Conflict at Work

Join this interactive session and discover the Empathy First method for peaceful teams. Whitney Hess, User Experience Coach, will show you how to apply Nonviolent Communication to everyday work conflicts we all experience. Find out if you're stuck in judgments and blame getting in the way of effective collaboration, and learn how to create better relationships with clients, colleagues, and yourself.

Emphasis will be on practical ways to give and receive empathy, and simple techniques that help us take responsibility for our own feelings and needs. All attendees will receive free handouts tailor-made for this audience.

Come to this session with prepared questions about the causes of conflict in the workplace. You can ask her anything! She will also share many of her own personal experiences and insights to guide and inspire you.

Takeaways: - Exposure to the basics of Nonviolent Communication - An understanding of how judgments, criticism and blame cause conflict and hurt productivity - Clarity on why practicing empathy is important to effective teamwork - A simple technique anyone can use to practice empathy for ourselves and others - The desire to keep practicing, and an awareness of where to continue this learning