Don't Bring It to Work: Breaking the Family Patterns that Limit Success

Don't Bring It to Work explores what happens when patterns originally created to cope with family conflicts are unleashed in the workplace.?This groundbreaking book draws on the success of Sylvia Lafair's PatternAware program Total Leadership Connections. Throughout the book she shows how to break the cycle of pattern repetition and offers the tools that can turn unhealthy family baggage into creative energy that will foster better workplace associations and career success.

Lafair identifies the thirteen most common patterns that correspond to characters familiar to anyone who has ever worked in an office: Super Achiever, Rebel, Persecutor, Victim, Rescuer, Clown, Martyr, Splitter, Procrastinator, Drama Queen or King, Pleaser, Denier, and Avoider. To help overcome destructive behavior problems, she maps out the three main steps for becoming aware of patterns and finding the way OUT:

• Observe your behavior to discern underlying patterns
• Understand and probe deeper to discover the origins of these patterns
• Transform your behavior by taking action to change

The book includes a wealth of real-life anecdotes and practical, workbook-style exercises that clearly show how anyone can get beyond old, outmoded attempts at conflict resolution and empower themselves to make profound differences both at work and in their personal lives.

THE AUTHOR

SYLVIA LAFAIR is an expert on leadership, workplace behavior, and relationships. She began her career as a family therapist and is fine-tuned to the reverberations from family life that play out in the workplace. Lafair is president of Creative Energy Options (CEO), a consulting firm with retreat centers in Pennsylvania and New Mexico, and clients that include Microsoft, AstraZeneca, Aveda Salons, and Novartis. Lafair has published numerous articles and is a much-sought-after speaker on the subjects of leadership, effective communication, conflict resolution, and creative collaboration.

Visit her website at www.patternaware.com.