Upcoming Workshops and Discussion Groups
NYU ALUMNI WORKSHOP:
Exercising Leadership: Elevating Team Performance
Intended for: People at all levels of organizations from entry to senior executive interested in how distributed leadership can be exercised at all levels of organizations in order to innovate, change and elevate general team performance.
Date: POSTPONED - April 22, 2020, 6-7:30PM. Rescheduled date TBD.
Location: NYU Wasserman Center, 133 East 13th St, Second Floor, New York, NY
This interactive workshop will examine some of the most common leadership challenges that managers at all levels face. We will explore and provide insight into questions such as: What does is take to motivate a team effectively? How can you create an environment where creativity and effective collaboration are the norm? How do you bring about needed change despite organizational resistance?
Psychotherapist and Adaptive Leadership instructor Erik Yazdani will lead you in a workshop rooted in individual and organizational psychology as well as the Adaptive Leadership model developed by Harvard leadership theorist Ronald Heifetz. The workshop will foster group discussion of shared challenges in the workplace and provide insights and follow-up action planning. Specific topics we'll cover include the following:
- Understanding and effectively framing the leadership challenges you're facing in your organization (distinguishing 'technical' from 'adaptive' challenges)
- Why do people and organizations resist needed change and what to do about it
- How to build 'adaptive capacity' across your teams or organizations to facilitate more nimble, creative and collaborative teams
- How organizational/systemic pressures manifest as pressures on you personally; how to distinguish what you can and can't take responsibility for and how to distribute work effectively
- How to identify the problems that your team is avoiding by diagnosing your organizational system
- Creating an action plan for rethinking your leadership strategy, objectives and near-term tasks
2020 Winter/Spring Discussion Group: ‘Exploring Purpose, Changing Careers’
Intended for: Anyone considering a career change or defining/re-defining professional identity; all industries, stages of career change and ages welcome
Schedule: Mondays, 7-9pm, 6 sessions from March 2nd through April 6th
Location: 156 5th Avenue, NY, NY Suite 612 (6th Floor)
Pursuing a career change can feel like an isolating experience; many of us feel in it on our own, while we look around at others who seemingly have it figured out already. In this 6-week discussion group, you’ll have an opportunity to identify a professional purpose that feels more true to your personality, skills and passions and you’ll learn theoretical concepts related to purpose through didactic instruction. You will also engage with a group of peers in similar situations, learning from their experiences while reflecting on your own, all in the presence of a group leader who will facilitate the discussion with an eye towards how peer groups can help one another embark on change... LEARN MORE
Past Workshops and Discussion Groups
2019 Fall Discussion Group: Developing Professional Purpose
Schedule: Wednesdays, 7-9pm, 6 sessions from October 30th through December 11th (excluding November 27th)
Location: 853 Broadway New York, NY, Suite 2001 (20th Floor)
Pursuing a career change can feel like an isolating experience; many of us feel in it on our own, while we look around at others who seemingly have it figured out already. In our discussion groups, you will engage with a group of peers in similar situations, learning from their experiences while reflecting on your own, all in the presence of a group leader who can provide perspective and guidance on the process of making significant change... LEARN MORE
Have you put off a conversation at work because you’re worried it will lead to conflict? Perhaps with a difficult manager? Or maybe you want to address an issue with a colleague but you worry that it won’t go well?
No matter where you are in your career, you are probably no stranger to the idea of conflict and the difficult conversations that can ensue. It’s a fact of life, but these situations can also bring up a sense of anxiety or even dread. And the ongoing stress can take a toll on our mental and even physical health.
Join psychotherapist and career counselor Erik Yazdani for this part direct instruction and part experiential workshop. It will provide actionable steps to navigate interpersonal relationships at work in a more productive and proactive manner; one that will help you preserve or even strengthen relationships with colleagues while moving forward with your goals.
NYU ALUMNI WORKSHOP: Navigating Conflict in the Workplace
Date: October 2nd, 2018 6-7:30pm,
Location: NYU Wasserman Center, 133 East 13th St, Second Floor, New York, NY
Many of us consider making career changes, but as alluring as a change can be, these decisions are often intensely difficult because they force us to choose between competing values and priorities. In such situations, we often delay or put off action. In this interactive seminar, you will learn how to approach the career change process. We’ll go through a variety of individual and group exercises designed to help you identify and understand the difficult tradeoffs that may be delaying action, help you clarify what you value in a new career and begin planning next steps. You will also have the opportunity to learn from peers in similar situations.
NYU ALUMNI WORKSHOP: Considering a Career Change?
Date: March 14th, 2018 6-7:30pm,
Location: NYU Wasserman Center, New York, NY
2018 Summer Discussion Group: Developing Professional Purpose
Schedule: Tuesdays 7-9pm
8 sessions from June 18th- August 13th (excluding week of July 4th)
Location: 19 W 34th St. New York, NY, 3rd Floor
Pursuing a career change can feel like an isolating experience; many of us feel in it on our own, while we look around at others who seemingly have it figured out already. In our discussion groups, you will engage with a group of peers in similar situations, learning from their experiences while reflecting on your own, all in the presence of a group leader who can provide perspective and guidance on the process of making significant change... LEARN MORE
NYU ALUMNI WORKSHOP: Developing Professional Purpose
Date: May 2nd, 2017 6-7:30pm,
Location: NYU Wasserman Center, New York, NY
A strong, guiding sense of purpose in our career is tied to success and fulfillment in important ways. Yet, for many of us, it can feel elusive. What makes a sense of purpose difficult to identify? And how do we go about clarifying a purpose that both feels authentic and balances our varied interests, financial concerns and other career values? In this interactive session, we’ll look first at what gets in the way of our search for a compelling professional purpose and then discuss what can be done about it.
Cornell Career Reinvention Bootcamp
Date: May 24th, 2016 6-9pm,
Location: The Cornell Club New York, 6 East 44th St., New York, NY
Hear Erik Yazdani speak as part of the Cornell Reinvention Bootcamp, a panel discussion and interactive networking event. Panelists will discuss their personal stories of career change and offer perspectives on (Note: Open to Cornell University students and alumni only.)
NYU Alumni Day: Wrestling with Major Career Changes
Date: October 24th, 2015 6-7:30pm
Location: NYU Kimmel Center, New York, NY
An NYU alumni event for students and families of alumni with an interest in how to make major career changes that you may be avoiding. Many of us put these decisions off, because as alluring as a change can be, these are often intensely difficult decisions because they force us to choose between competing values and priorities. In such situations, we often delay or put off action. In this interactive seminar, you will learn how to approach the career change process. We’ll go through a variety of individual and group exercises designed to help you identify and understand the difficult tradeoffs that may be delaying action, help you clarify what you value in a new career and begin planning next steps. You will also have the opportunity to learn from peers in similar situations.
Cornell Alumni Workshop: Considering a Career Change
Date: October 20th, 2015 6-7:30pm
Location: New York, NY
Many of us consider making career changes, but as alluring as a change can be, these decisions are often intensely difficult because they force us to choose between competing values and priorities. In such situations, we often delay or put off action. In this interactive seminar, you will learn how to approach the career change process. We’ll go through a variety of individual and group exercises designed to help you identify and understand the difficult tradeoffs that may be delaying action, help you clarify what you value in a new career and begin planning next steps. You will also have the opportunity to learn from peers in similar situations.