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The February Agenda

KNOW THYSELF | Increased self-awareness helps managers define their own leadership style

Things to do and read this month to nourish the corporate mind and soul

COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR MANAGERS
Leaders need all kinds of communications tools in their kits, and the Leading Self, Leading Others executive education course at Sauder School of Business packs two days full of strategies for managers to sharpen their impact. First step? Increased self-awareness–this helps students uncover and define their own leadership style and understand how words and actions affect and motivate others. Students can then begin to communicate with empathy and compassion, inspire people by appealing to their emotions and defuse difficult circumstances. Team members teach each other how to bring out their best talents through a dynamic mix of group discussions, activity-based development and feedback using theories like the Johari Window and Bolman and Deal’s 4 Frames.
Sauder School of Business; February 10 and 11 $1,695 

THE ART OF SALES
Sales and business development professionals, start your engines. The Art of Sales conference, featuring five bestselling authors, pulls into town for a day of cutting-edge thinking, best practices, current trends and real world experience on today’s most critical sales issues, plus the chance to network with over 1,200 of Canada’s most influential sales professionals. Headlining is Daniel Pink, number one New York Times bestselling author of To Sell Is Human. His agenda includes: why the most successful salespeople are not extroverts; two principles that can move your sales from transactions to transcendence; and why problem-finding has become more important than problem-solving. Currently Pink hosts Crowd Control, a series on National Geographic Television.
Vancouver Convention Centre; February 5, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. $449, $649 for better seats/perks, $849 for best seats/perks 

CMHA’S NATIONAL BOTTOM LINE CONFERENCE
Improving psychological health and safety in the workplace is good for business according to the Canadian Mental Health Association. That’s why its annual event is called the Bottom Line Conference. For two days CMHA brings business leaders, union representatives, policy-makers, researchers and workers to share strategies and practices that promote mental wellness at work. This year’s conference theme is Heroes in the Workplace: Stories from the Champions of Change, which celebrates individuals and organizations who help to achieve psychological health and safety for all in the workplace. 
Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel; February 23 and 24 $925, one-day $465

BUILDEX VANCOUVER
The excitement builds. Soon visitors will stroll the passive house pavilion, tour a world of concrete and, for the first time, step into the roofing zone. Buildex Vancouver, Western Canada’s largest trade show and conference for the construction, renovation, architecture, interior design and property management industries, is coming to town. With over 600 exhibits and more than 70 educational seminars, Buildex draws more than 14,000 attendees annually. Visitors can construct their own conference schedule by choosing from seminars on architecture, building code, construction and renovation, engineering, interior design, property management and sustainability.
Vancouver Convention Centre West; February 24 and 25 Before February 12, free admission, seminars $35-100; after February 12, $25 admission, seminars $45-125 

THE END OF AVERAGE: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness
Anyone who suffers from report card envy can rejoice. GPAs, personality tests and performance review ratings seem to measure our potential but don’t, says Todd Rose, who teaches educational neuroscience at Harvard. We measure our kids, our employees and ourselves against the yardstick of averages even though science says people develop in unique ways. Our schools and businesses are designed around the “average person” and often fail to recognize talent. Rose offers three principles of individuality: jaggedness (talent is always jagged), context (traits are a myth) and pathways (we all walk the road less travelled). 
HarperCollinsCanada $34.99 hardcover