7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. - Registration and Breakfast
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.:
Welcome Energizer
Crucibles of Leadership: Embracing Growth Through the Fire!
Speaker: Julie Nash, CVPM, PHR, SHRM-CP
The crucible is often described as a vessel in a refining fire - a place where materials are tested, purified, and strengthened. Similarly, as managers, there will come a time when you find yourself walking through the fire. Whether you are currently in the midst of a challenging situation or have experienced one in the past, these moments have the power to shape and define you. By embracing a new identity and adopting a fresh approach, it is possible to transform yourself during life's hardest and most difficult times.
In order to navigate these crucible moments, it is essential to understand the principles of crucible leadership and to explore powerful examples of personal and professional growth and transformation. By studying these examples, you can gain insights into how individuals have overcome challenges and emerged stronger and wiser.
Utilizing the concepts of crucible leadership as a guiding model, you can then develop a personal learning strategy to effectively confront future challenging situations. This strategy will enable you to extract valuable lessons from these experiences and learn what it takes to be an effective leader. By consciously engaging in deliberate learning experiences, you can nurture and develop new leaders who are equipped with the skills to grow through adversity. These experiences should aim to cultivate resilience, humility, and a lifelong curiosity for learning.
By embracing the crucible and its transformative power, managers can navigate difficult times with grace and emerge as stronger and more effective leaders.
Networking Break
Application Stations
Application stations give attendees the opportunity to create tool kits they can take back to their practice and immediately implement.
Station 1: Unique Human Resources Practices
Station 2: Creative Ways to Shake up Staff Meetings and Check-ins
Station 3: Interviewing and Onboarding Processes that Help Retain Staff
Station 4: Wheel of Fortune Team Activities
Sponsored Lunch Program
2024 Employment Law Changes and Challenges / Discipline and Termination the Right Way
Speaker: Lara de Leon
It has been another busy year for lawmakers and courts. Ensure you are prepared for the changes ahead! This workshop will begin by highlighting important new changes that every employer needs to know heading into 2024. From new rules on workplace accommodations, retaliation standards, and even labor union protections, this is a session you will not want to miss.
With the number of lawsuits and charges soaring, it’s never too late to shore up your performance management practices. This part of the session will discuss the three golden rules optimizing performance and minimizing the legal risk associated with disciplining and terminating employees.
This session will be presented by Attorney Lara de Leon, whose legal practice concentrates on labor and employment law from a management perspective. Lara is licensed to practice law in both Texas and California, and is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Networking Break
Roundtable Discussions
Roundtable Discussions are among the most flexible and informal educational formats offered at VHMA education events. Roundtable Discussions allow for extended discussion among a small cohort of professional colleagues. Roundtable Discussions are excellent venues for giving and receiving targeted feedback and engaging in-depth discussions. Attendees are broken up into groups of 6-10 individuals and are presented with predetermined topics for time-limited discussions.
5:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. - Welcome Reception
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. - Hospital Tour (optional) - Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists