4:30PM – 5:30PM
Something to Talk About: A New Era for Workplace Wellbeing

Session Description: Efforts to promote wellbeing in the veterinary workplace have evolved often rooted in systemic factors and workplace culture. This engaging seminar explores elements of a new era of wellbeing, including the role of collective stories we construct to make meaning of our lives, and the factors that predict higher rates of wellbeing and lower psychological distress in the veterinary workplace. Participants will learn tangible skills that contribute to having a strong sense of belonging to the team, candid and open communication among team members, and a high degree of trust in the organization.

Learning Objectives:
1. Define narrative identity
2. Describe cognitive reframing
3. Describe techniques for promoting trust, belonging, and candid, open
communication in the workplace

5:30PM – 6:30PM
Sorry to Say It: Kicking the Over-apologizing Habit

Session Description: Do these sound familiar? “I’m sorry. I just needed to clarify…”
“Hey! I’m so sorry but I wanted to follow-up on…” “I feel that you should…” “Sorry. I’m just the front desk staff, I don’t…”

6:30PM – 7:00PM – Dinner

7:00PM – 8:00PM
The Double-Edged Sword of Communication 

Session Description: Communication is considered a double-edged sword because
of its power to move us closer to, or further away from, authentic, healthy
connection. For example, 24/7 news coverage can be informative and increase anxiety, social media can be used for networking and cyberbullying, and how we communicate with each other in the workplace can induce more psychological distress and be a buffer to psychological distress.

In the process of managing our day-to-day work life, we often lose sight of
how communication and interaction patterns impact our wellbeing and the
wellbeing of our colleagues. Effective communication is a cornerstone of
healthy workplaces, and yet it is often an afterthought. Under duress,
communication can become transactional focused on short term gains,
alleviating symptoms rather than addressing root causes of conflict, and
prioritizing winning over problem resolution and relationships. This
interactive seminar highlights core communication skills that promote higher
psychological safety, encourage innovation and timely decision-making,
create goodwill, minimize miscommunication, and better equip teams to
successfully navigate challenges.

Learning Objectives:
1. Define workplace wellbeing
2. Compare and contrast transactional and relational communication
3. Describe two core communication skills to promote connection
4. Describe one connection buster

Saturday, February 1 / Karlene Belyea, MBA

8:30AM – 9:30AM
Don’t Let the Tail Wag the Dog: Body Language for Building Personal and Professional Success

Session Description: In this entertaining presentation, learn how to convey trust, competency, empathy, and charisma by leveraging the signals you’re sending others through body language, word choice, and vocal inflection. You will be able to dial up your warmth and competence cues to help you achieve success in all areas of your life. This session will show you how to build rapport, confidence, and credibility. You will learn to catch and address the 7 universal micro-expressions and know what to do and where to sit to have greater influence. You will leave with strategies to help you successfully talk to and create meaningful personal and professional relationships.

9:30AM – 10:30AM
Creating a Positive and Productive Culture

Did you know that the average person spends 90,000 hours of their life at work? And
all of us want to spend this time in a positive, productive environment feeling like our
work matters! This session will help you increase your emotional intelligence and
help your team establish guidelines for how you want to be together. You will learn to
recognize different types of work cultures and begin to craft a positive emotional
culture. Strategies for building safety, increasing trust and handling conflict will be
shared as well as an example of and checklist for a great culture. We’ll also talk about
the importance of self-care, stress reduction strategies, and share lots of ideas for
creating a happy work environment.

10:30AM – 11:30AM 
How to Become a Trusted and Successful Leader

Session Description: The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. With today’s rapidly evolving workplace, strong leaders must work harder than ever to influence and engage others. When we meet someone new, we ask ourselves two questions: “Can I trust this person?” and “Can I respect this person?” Warmth is more important than competence when building trust. Learn some tough truths about leadership and become a trusted and successful leader by overcoming impostor syndrome, listening to others, and understanding power. This session will show you how to emulate rituals of enormously successful humans and create a positive ripple effect every day at work and in your personal life.