Tuesday, 9/16/2025 from 1:15 PM - 2:15 PM EST

Room: W110 B

Topic(s):
Access for All, Career Development, Communication, Leadership and Personnel Management, 2025 Conference Theme: Build Together, Play Together

Description:
Creating a positive, safe and motivating environment for your staff and volunteers starts with leaders and managers within your park and recreation agency. This highly interactive workshop led by Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) provides attendees with the tools to build meaningful, understanding relationships with and amongst their team — and unlock the many benefits that a positive culture can provide. Attendees of this research-based workshop will learn how to seamlessly integrate empathy and positive motivation into everyday management by creating strong connections, listening to employees and understanding how individuals’ experiences impact how they show up to work everyday. Attendees will take away tangible tools and tips to create a positive, empathetic environment with their staff, so all members feel safe, seen, heard and valued. The tools taught in PCA courses are researched-based behavioral concepts honed over the past three decades and can help make your organization and team members more productive, more positive and more aligned in their goals. With the cultural and emotional challenges that individuals have faced over the last few years, the need to create a positive work environment that promotes mental well-being has never been more important.

Learning Objectives:

1. How to integrate empathy and positive motivation into management by creating strong connections, listening to employees, and understanding how individuals’ experiences impact how they show up to work.

2. Attendees will take away tangible tools and tips to create a positive, empathetic environment with their staff so all members feel safe, seen, heard and valued.

3. How to best motivate individuals and establish/maintain a positive culture; the “PACT” – a framework for applying empathy; how to have “hard conversations” and provide receivable feedback.

Speaker(s):
Jessica Perez