Sylvia Lafair

Sylvia Lafair, Ph.D, President of Creative Energy Options (CEOinc) is an internationally recognized expert on workplace relations with a strong focus on resolving organizational conflict. She is a senior leadership educator, executive coach, speaker, and award winning author. She has been named one of the 200 thought leaders to follow in 2021 by peopleHum.com.

Dr. Lafair’s programs and executive coaching help decrease conflict and increase collaboration in the workplace. Her award winning book Don’t Bring It to Work (Jossey-Bass 2009) is listed as one of the top nine books for every boss to read; one of the top twenty books for emerging leaders, and has won ten awards nationally and internationally.

Dr. Lafair’s research shows that, much as we like to believe that our behavior is entirely rational, our thoughts and actions are often driven by the roles we learned in our families as children for safety and survival. Under pressure, we tend to revert to old patterns, often creating workplace drama that diverts attention from business and undermines productivity.

Other award winning books are: GUTSY: How Women Leaders Make Change, (earning six book awards), and Dr. Lafair’s newest book, UNIQUE: How Story Sparks Diversity, Inclusion, and Engagement (with three book awards to date and counting).

As a noted authority on leadership, a consultant to family firms, Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, and entrepreneurs, her message is unique and timely; her insights universal and relevant. Office drama and politics, human resource issues, absenteeism, and litigation often increase when stress is high in companies. This is where Dr. Lafair’s unique model becomes vitally important as she teaches key leaders, managers, and teams how to transform ingrained patterns that get in the way of effective collaboration and organizational productivity.  Sylvia’s Total Leadership Connections™ program now in its 15th year, has been named in the top twelve leadership development programs for the 9th year in a row (2011 through 2019) by HR.com/Leadership Excellence. It is now be formatted to be available on-line.

As a keynote speaker, Sylvia engages audiences with her natural storytelling ability. She weaves her knowledge about personal relationships and business culture into easily understood messages, using both humor and suspense that leave audiences with informatio to take back to the office and immediately put into practice.

Dr. Lafair  has been a columnist with Inc. Magazine and National Business Journal. She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Time.com, Fortune, Forbes, and The New York Times, and has been a guest on The TODAY Show.  Dr. Lafair’s leadership expertise has been called upon numerous times during hundreds of television and radio programs.