Do individual differences in personality play a subtle and vital role in the lives of professionals, their clients and the broader community? How is that compounded by the stressors of the current economic crisis?

In his humorous and often provocative presentation, Dr. Little explores how HR professionals can help employees find “restorative niches” to sustain them in challenging times. Using practical examples, he illustrates the effect personality has on communication, memory, learning styles and decision-making and argues that in our professional work, we are not always what we appear to be.

Biography

Dr. Brian R. Little is a personality psychologist who has significantly changed the direction of his field by developing the concept of, and ways of studying, “personal projects.” He purports that our well-being depends on the sustainable pursuit of our core personal projects, an idea that has enormous impact for organizations of all kinds and for individuals as we attempt to manage the strategic balance—and imbalance--between work and life.

Dr. Little has taught with distinction at Oxford, Carleton and Harvard Universities. He was awarded the 3M Fellowship, referred to by Maclean’s magazine as the Nobel Prize of University teaching, and was the first recipient of the Royal Bank Faculty Fellowship in University Teaching at McGill University. For three consecutive years, he was elected by the graduating classes of Harvard as one of their favorite lecturers and has been described by a client as a cross between Robin Williams and Einstein,

Believing that a prime function of scholarly research is to have an impact beyond the university, Dr. Little has given well over 600 keynote presentations to audiences around the world.