The EQ Movement - Webinar Series

Join The EQ Movement, our live webinar series, to learn valuable EQ skills and insights, discuss current workplace trends, and share best practices with industry experts, thought leaders and experienced learning and development trainers.

Friction Unfiltered

Friction Unfiltered: A Live Conversation with the Authors

9:00 am PDT/12:00 pm EDT
September 23, 2026

Friction is everywhere in leadership. It’s the conversation you’d rather avoid, the tension you can’t quite resolve, the change people are resisting, and the system that makes everything harder than it needs to be.

We often treat these moments as problems to eliminate. But what if they’re actually where some of our most important leadership happens?

To celebrate the release of Friction, join TalentSmartEQ CEO Howard Farfel for a candid live conversation with authors Maggie Sass, PhD, and Ross Blankenship, PhD.

Instead of another presentation about leadership, we’re taking the conversation behind the book. Maggie and Ross will share what surprised them most while writing Friction, the leadership assumptions they’ve reconsidered, where friction still challenges them personally, and what they hope leaders will do differently after reading the book.

We’ll also put their thinking to work on real friction. Bring the challenges you’re navigating and hear Maggie and Ross respond to situations submitted live by the audience.

Join us to:

  • Discover what Maggie and Ross learned, and unlearned about leadership, while writing Friction
  • Explore how to recognize what a moment of friction is asking of you
  • Hear practical perspectives on real leadership challenges submitted by attendees
  • Walk away with one thing you can do differently the next time leadership gets hard

Come for the conversation. Bring your leadership challenge. And help us celebrate the launch of Friction.

Difficult People, Team Drama, and Workplace Friction

Difficult People, Team Drama, and Workplace Friction: What Great Leaders Do Differently

9:00 am PDT/12:00 pm EDT
October 22, 2026

Every workplace has friction. People disagree. Personalities clash. Tensions rise. But when does normal workplace friction cross the line into destructive or toxic behavior, and what can leaders do to keep it from undermining their teams and results?

Join Maggie Sass, co-author of Friction: How Tension, Emotion and Change Reveal Better Leaders, and workplace culture expert Catherine Mattice, founder and CEO of Civility Partners and author of Navigating a Toxic Workplace For Dummies, for a candid conversation about one of the toughest challenges leaders face: navigating difficult people, unhealthy behaviors, and the everyday friction that can erode trust and performance.

Workplace friction can lead to better ideas, stronger decisions, and meaningful change. Or it can spiral into dysfunction, damaged relationships, and toxic behavior. The difference often comes down to how leaders recognize and respond to it.

In this session, we’ll explore:

  • How to distinguish productive friction from destructive or toxic behavior
  • The warning signs that everyday tension is becoming a bigger team or culture problem
  • Why leaders sometimes tolerate or avoid difficult behavior
  • How emotional intelligence helps leaders manage their own reactions and respond more effectively to challenging people and situations
  • Practical ways leaders can address unhealthy behavior, establish accountability, and turn friction into an opportunity for stronger teams

Whether you’re dealing with one difficult personality, recurring team drama, or broader culture challenges, you’ll leave with practical strategies for addressing friction earlier and creating a healthier, more productive workplace.

On Demand EQ Webinars

Emotional Intelligence & Sales: How to Maximize the Success of Your Sales Team & Increase Revenue Through EQ

Learn the connection between emotional intelligence and successful sales teams.

Emotional Intelligence & Leadership: How to Raise the Bar with Your EQ Skills to Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be

Learn why leaders should care about their emotions, and how to start your EQ path to becoming a great leader.

Emotional Intelligence & Resilience: EQ Strategies to Build a Resilient Organization

Learn how to adapt and cope with adversity, disturbing events, and ongoing stress.

Using Emotional Intelligence During Challenging Times

Learn the best emotional intelligence strategies to help manage your emotions during times of stress.

EQ: The Bridge from Diversity to Inclusion

In this webinar, we'll cover how you can build empathy, deepen trust, and create an inclusive culture with EQ.

EQ and the Power of Feedback

Join us as we talk about 3 types of feedback and steps for how to put your feedback into action at work.

Leveraging EQ for Better Productivity

Join us as we show how more effective awareness and management of our emotions will lead to more productivity at work.

How Successful People Stay Calm

90% of top performers are skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress to remain calm and in control. Join us for practical EQ strategies for managing your stress.

Why Good Employees Leave

If you are a leader of people or a person who cares about people, join us to learn key EQ strategies to stop your employees from leaving.

Emotional Intelligence and Our Personality

Join us as we discuss specific EQ strategies to help you maximize your tendencies, whether you are a proud introvert or an outspoken extrovert.

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