Don’t Just Do Something — Stand There! Replacing Impulse With Professional Presence

"Thinking on one's feet" is essential to success in an industry where "what can go wrong will go wrong." Being clearheaded, thinking strategically, keeping emotions in check and displaying grace under pressure take practice and an authentic professional presence. This session will explore the reasons professionals aren't always at their best in moments of crisis and how to develop awareness and strategies for relying on presence rather than impulse when problem solving on the job. Focus will be on ways a manager can help staff — and oneself — develop professional presence.

Peggy O'Keefe, Professor, New York University, Baruch College