The Massachusetts Library System is pleased to announce that we have contracted with ALA to provide our members with access to their live webinars.  These webinars are free to MLS members who register through our calendar.  Please do not register directly with ALA. Members who register directly with ALA are responsible for paying their registration fee. 

Please help us keep MLS sponsored training free for all members. If you are unable to attend the live webinar, please cancel your registration. A cancellation link can be found in your confirmation email, or you may contact Sarah Donnelly at sdonnelly@masslibsystem.org to cancel. 

Description

Are you noticing a generational disconnect in how your teams view and deliver feedback? You’re not alone. And this chasm is even wider between Gen Z and other generations within the workplace. Gen Z is only going to become a larger part of the workforce. Yet, they also report the greatest decline in feeling cared about at work, having the chance to learn and grow, having progress discussions with their supervisors, and feeling that their opinions matter (Gallup, 2024). 

When it comes to building more diverse teams across race or gender, maybe you’ve had challenges there, too: trying to gently “call in” a colleague about a microaggression you witnessed them make, for example. Or giving feedback about important EDISJ topics without have the “right” words at hand. 

Libraries are designed to be safe havens in our communities, and library employees are the stewards of creating that environment. Building a foundational healthy feedback culture can help better engage—and retain—staff. People want to work in a culture of healthy feedback. It fuels collaboration, innovation, and creative conflict—the essential ingredients of liberating and high-impact experiences at work. Healthy feedback is also the foundation for an inclusive organization where inequities can be surfaced and appropriately addressed while enabling everyone to thrive. 

Join us to learn the fundamental practices of giving and receiving feedback while considering how power dynamics and identity impact communication at work. In this webinar, you'll walk away with practical tools for feedback conversations and strategies rooted in self-awareness.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Articulate the connection between healthy feedback and inclusive teams;
• Reflect on how identity and power impact feedback conversations; and
• Effectively give and receive interpersonal feedback at work.

Who Should Attend

This webinar is intended for library directors, administrators, and people managers. 

Presenters

Michael Gregor (he/him) is a trusted partner for bold leaders hungry to change how their organizations collaborate. His approach combines the core principles of equity and inclusion, change management, human-centered design, and co-active coaching to create experiences, processes, and moments that lead to transformative results. As a seasoned consultant, inclusive facilitator, and expert coach, Michael has partnered with companies of all sizes to unlock their organizations' futures (working in tech, philanthropy, consumer goods, biotech, social services, and government). For fifteen years, he has consulted on equity-centered cultural change, strategic planning, organization design, change management, process design, interpersonal communication, and mindfulness. Michael’s career began in activism and community organizing, where he learned how to galvanize passionate groups of people toward strategic change. He has worked in electoral campaigns, environmental advocacy, LGBTQ advocacy, anti-racism education, and affordable housing. 

Viva Asmelash (she/her) is an employee experience consultant and certified DEI strategist specializing in inclusive instructional design, employee engagement, and critical team conversations. Viva’s professional purpose is to create spaces where people feel truly seen and are inspired to be their best and most authentic selves. Viva leads high-impact inclusive leadership development programs, poignantly delivers keynote speeches, moderates and produces panel discussions, and crafts custom DEI workshops for organizations like HubSpot, IDEO U, Reading Partners, and Capital Group. She also co-authored the viral 2023 Harvard Business Review article, “Creating Psychological Safety for Black Women at Your Company.” As a first-generation Eritrean-American, Viva leverages a unique, lifelong perspective on race, gender, culture, belonging, privilege, and education access. She is also an active mental health advocate and former member of the Sacramento County Mental Health Board.

Chantal Strobel (she/her) is the assistant director for community engagement at Deschutes Public Library, headquartered in Bend, OR. She has worked there for more than thirty years and oversees forty staff who support the library’s community engagement, events, communications, and fundraising efforts. Before working at the Deschutes Public Library, she served as an account executive with the public relations firm Hill & Knowlton.

Accessibility Information

If you have questions or requests regarding accessibility, contact ce@ala.org or at 312-280-5100.