On Wed. March 10 I was fortunate enough to provide a presentation at the ExLibris Association I-Tea, at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Information,  The title of the presentation was, “The Journey From I to We: How to apply insight into others to achieve greater success through teamwork.”

Persuasive, clear communication is a topic that has been of keen interest to thousands of the Managers and Staff I have served over the years. In fact, this model of communication effectiveness is of great use to anyone who has to live or work in collaboration with other human beings. (and who doesn’t? -  unless your career is “Professional Hermit”!). The “Me-first” approach we have all learned in our youth and, perhaps even embraced as we struggled to succeed in our careers, is not conducive to success in the workplace and even gets in the way of building strong business and personal relationships.  But how does one make the shift in thinking from “I to WE” that is needed to communicate more effectively? How can we get out of our own heads to understand others? Using the simple but profound model of Behaviour Styles which I have developed, everyone had fun getting a “quick read” on their own Behaviour Style and laughed in recognition of the predominant style of some other key people in their lives. I then demonstrated how we can all communicate more effectively by adapting to other Styles – changing the language we use to better suit the other person’s perspective, based upon our insights into their predominant Behaviour Style.  This does not mean we lose ourselves, but is akin to adapting to speak a slightly different language. This simple, but profound shift has the power to transform individual lives and team performance.

On Wednesday Feb. 24th I will be presenting a Pre-Conference Workshop at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference.

Workshop Title: Best Foot Forward: Pro-active Service and Roving 2.0

Date/Time: Wed. Feb. 24th, 2010, 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM

Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front St. West, Toronto Ontario

Fee: OLA members $125, Non-Members $165

Register via the Ontario Library Association at http://www.accessola.com/ola/bins/content_page.asp?cid=5

Workshop description:

Best Foot Forward: Pro-active Service and Roving 2.0

The use of roving reference has been in practice in libraries for several years and much has been learned.  As one of the pioneers, Joan has travelled to the United States, Australia, and throughout Canada, leading libraries in their implementation of the concept.
In this new 2010 version of her practical and entertaining workshop, Joan reveals what libraries have shared with her about the most common challenges they face when trying to implement roving. More importantly, she will share updates on the latest and best tips, practical approaches, tools, and solutions she has seen libraries use to overcome their challenges.
You will walk away with
1. Current, practical approaches, tips and techniques
2. Common obstacles and pitfalls, and how to avoid them
3. Answers to your own specific questions about roving reference in your library
4. A comprehensive list of URL’s of pertinent articles, presentations, white papers, and more