We're confronted with difficult conversations in every aspect of our lives: at work, at home, with our friends and extended family ("I'm looking at you, Uncle Fester, and your crazy views about everything!"). Rather than shy away from these tough conversations, how might we better approach them? In this presentation, we'll talk about what makes some conversations difficult ("hellooooo, my beloved emotions!"), why we need to manage them well (hint: relationships matter more than anything else), and how we can do better (cue the tape reminding us about listening). Participants will leave with a clear and straightforward plan for managing their next difficult conversation -- and the ones that will inevitably follow.
About Dr. Arendt:
Dr. Lucy Arendt is married and has three sons, two daughters-in-law, three granddaughters, and a large extended family of people and pets. She is a Professor of Management in the Donald J. Schneider School of Business and Economics at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, is an expert on organizational and community decision making. She also serves as the Co-Director of the Center for Exceptional Leadership at St. Norbert College. She teaches courses in organizational behavior, strategy, and leadership and has been an active scholar throughout her career. Among other publications, Arendt is the first author of Long-Term Community Recovery from Natural Disasters (Taylor & Francis, 2014) along with Daniel J. Alesch. She chairs the federal Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazard Reduction and serves as the Secretary/Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI). Arendt holds a Ph.D. in Management Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an M.S. from UW-Green Bay, and a B.S. in Business Administration and Spanish from UW-Green Bay (Summa Cum Laude). She is a native of Northeast Wisconsin and therefore loves brats, cheese curds, and the Green Bay Packers.
The Donald J. Schneider School of Business & Economics
St. Norbert College Center for Exceptional Leadership
Dr. Arendt's Profile