To counteract the negative, angry, inconsiderate, intemperate behavior of a significant person in your life or organization, consider a gift certificate for anger management. Anderson & Anderson offer a three hour Introductory Anger Management Class for the general public.
For more information click here: http://www.andersonservices.com/

An Enlightened Public Discovers Anger Management - By George Anderson, BCD

An Enlightened Public Discovers Anger Management

The recent pattern of referrals to anger management classes shows a dramatic shift in client profiles. Over the last seven years most referrals were from the Courts for misdemeanor offenses and infractions with aggressive behavior being the reason for order. Several weeks ago, I sat in on a class as a Guest Facilitator. When the group members were asked to introduce themselves and indicate their goals, the majority of clients were volunteers who wanted to gain a better control of their expressions of anger, enhance communication skills and learn to be more emotionally intelligent. Several clients were parents who were concerned over their behavior towards their children.

The second client group was employees who were mandated by their employers to complete an anger management class as a result of aggressive behavior at work. These clients were initially resistant until they had a chance to hear from the larger number of self referrals who view the class as a positive experience to improve their interpersonal skills. Most of the mandated clients express surprise that others come voluntarily. This realization quickly helps them see their mandated status as a blessing in disguise since they are given an opportunity to learn important new skills at their employer’s expense.

The smaller group of clients who were ordered to attend from 10 to 52 weeks of anger management as the result of road rage, simple battery, threats, harassment or some other person directed aggression are quickly influenced by the other clients to take the course seriously and actively participate.

This brief summary indicates that the enlightened public is rapidly recognizing anger management as a positive opportunity to lean skills in managing stress, anger and improving communication skills and developing emotional intelligence.

George Anderson, MSW, LCSW, BCD
Fellow, American Orthopsychiatric Association
Diplomate, American Association of Anger Management Providers.

George Anderson is a Board Certified Diplomate in Psychotherapy. He is the Clinical Director of Anderson & Anderson which is the global provider of anger management training, certification, classes, books and CDs.For more information, click here: www.andersonservices.com

Road Rage Prevention and Awareness

In recent years, aggressive driving and road rage has increased on City streets. When provoked, angry drivers have been known to commit acts of violence, including assaults and murder. It is important to recognize the warning signs of aggressive driving in order to avoid becoming involved in a potentially hazardous situation. Examples of aggressive driving include: tailgating, cutting off other vehicles, careless lane changes, speeding, and running red lights. Extremely aggressive driving can lead to road rage. Signs to be aware of include: obscene gestures, verbal assaults, intentionally crashing into other vehicles, and threatening to use weapons.

In order to avoid engaging in a situation with a driver you suspect may be violent there are precautions you as a driver should take every time you get behind the wheel.

Avoid offending other drivers
Some things that commonly provoke drivers to commit acts of violence include:

Being cut off by other vehicles,
Being tailgated,
Drivers who do not signal their turns or lane changes,
Driving behind a slow-moving vehicle in the fast lane of traffic,
Drivers who do not pay attention because of cell phone use, looking for an address, applying makeup or being overcautious,
Drivers stopping in a traffic lane to pick-up or drop-off passengers,
Motorcyclists splitting traffic,
Improper use of hi-beam headlights,
Inconsiderate municipal bus and taxicab drivers, and
Being the object of obscene gestures.
Do not engage other drivers. Avoid engaging other drivers, even if they have done something to make you angry or vice versa. Put as much distance between you and the other driver as possible and avoid making eye contact. Never pull off the roadway to confront another driver.

Change your attitude and approaches to driving. Avoid creating a competitive situation with another driver, even if they are at fault. In the end, it is a lose/lose situation that can cost you your life. Try not to take another person’s bad driving personally. Their problems on and off the road have nothing to do with you.

Keeping your anger in check. When someone is upset or under stress, sometimes all it takes is something trivial to set a person on a course to road rage. These things might include excessive vehicle horn noise, someone taking too long to move at a green light or loud music from another vehicle. But none of these minor annoyances is worth putting you or others at risk. The following tips should help you avoid having a stressful time behind the wheel:

Learn to manage the stress in your life,
Try to avoid driving when you are angry,
Allow plenty of time to get where you are going,
Listen to traffic and weather reports to learn of traffic delays, and
Listen to soothing music while driving.
If you suspect another driver is targeting you for an act of road rage or you are being followed, go to a safe place such as a police, fire or gas station where there are people. If you have a car phone, call the police immediately. DO NOT drive home!

Daily Traffic Mission
It is responsibility of all drivers and pedestrians to observe all traffic laws as described in the California Vehicle Code; and the daily mission of uniformed officers to ensure the safe movement of traffic and to enforce the Primary Collision Factors that cause traffic collisions.

In recent years, the City of Los Angeles has experienced some exciting changes in the area of public transportation. With the implementation of the Metrolink passenger trains, the Metrorail lines, and the ongoing Metropolitan Transit Authority bus services, the transportation needs of many have been accommodated. Despite the accessibility of these resources the ever-changing demographics of the City have prompted more and more citizens to walk and use their personal vehicles as the two primary modes of transportation. Therefore, traffic safety issues continue to be a fundamental concern among law enforcement personnel and community members.

Most traffic collisions occurring in the City of Los Angeles involve five factors, which are all violations of the California Vehicle Code. They are:

Vehicle speed violations,
Red light violations,
Right-of-way violations,
Pedestrians violations, and
Driving-Under-the-Influence (DUI).
It is the objective of this circular to bring awareness to personnel and citizens about these traffic safety issues by offering solutions to help combat the factors that cause traffic collisions in your Areas and communities.

The Combination Effect (Speed, Red Light, and Right-of-Way)
It is important to remember that the five collision factors listed above often work together to create traffic safety hazards.

In recent years, with the availability of technological advantages such as radar devices, law enforcement agencies have made great strides in combating speeding motorists. However, speeding still remains a significant traffic safety problem. Studies have shown that drivers who speed tend to run red lights more than those who do not speed. A study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety of more than 4,500 traffic collisions found that speed was a contributing factor in over 1,300 incidents in which either a red light or left turn violation was the primary cause of the collision. Overall, speeding increases the likelihood of having a traffic collision and actually heightens the severity of the collision itself. It is obvious that speeding combined with additional violations presents a volatile traffic condition.

Pedestrians at Risk
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, more than 100,000 pedestrians are involved in motor vehicle crashes nationwide each year and, during recent years, more than 5,000 pedestrians per year have died. Collisions involving pedestrians are most likely to occur in urban areas where pedestrian activity is most concentrated. Children are most likely to be struck; however, they are less likely to die than their elderly pedestrian counterparts. Many pedestrian collisions are a result of a pedestrian darting out unexpectedly from the side of the roadway in front of oncoming traffic.

Driving-Under-the-Influence
It is common knowledge that alcohol impairment contributes to traffic collisions; however, most people believe that drivers must be "drunk" to be a considered a hazard behind the wheel. The fact is the probability of a collision increases with any driver who has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) higher than zero, and this probability dramatically increases when a driver’s BAC reaches 0.08 percent. Although a person may appear sober, even if they have consumed any amount of alcohol, their ability to safely operate a motor vehicle has been impaired. The BAC levels describe the concentration of alcohol in a person’s blood expressed as weight per unit of volume (i.e., at 0.10 percent BAC, there is a concentration of 100 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood). Although alcohol-related collisions tend to peak at night and during the weekend, they can and do occur at all hours of the day, and involve individuals from all walks of life.

Officer & Community Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of each and every uniformed officer to enforce violations of the California Vehicle Code, educate citizens on the importance of traffic safety, and make every effort to remove alcohol impaired drivers from City streets. These efforts, combined with the active participation of community members following the rules of the road and practicing good traffic safety habits, will help ensure the safety of motorists throughout the City.

For more information regarding anger management, visit out website at www.andersonservices.com and Notes From The World of Anger Management at www.andersonservices.com/blog.

Stop Toxic Managers Before They Stop You
by Gillian Flynn
You've been there. We've all been there. The manager who bullies, threatens, yells. The manager whose mood swings determines the climate of the office on any given workday. Who forces employees to whisper in sympathy in cubicles and hallways. The backbiting, belittling boss from hell. Call it what you want -- poor interpersonal skills, unfortunate office practices -- but some people, by sheer, shameful force of their personalities, make working for them rotten. We call them toxic managers. Their results may look fine on paper, but the fact is, all is not well if you have one loose in your workforce: It's unhealthy, unproductive and will eventually undo HR's efforts to create a healthy, happy and progressive workplace.
Why are some managers toxic -- and why should HR care?
The looming question surrounding toxic managers is: Why are there so many? In these days of enlightened management, with so much emphasis on communication, interaction and valuing people, why does this breed still exist? In large part, it's because our bottom lines allow it. Companies often don't have a means of rating managers outside of productivity. If a supervisor is churning out the widgets, the questions are kept to a minimum.
"The biggest single reason is because it's tolerated," says Lynne McClure, a Mesa, Arizona-based expert on managing high-risk behaviors and author of Risky Business (Haworth Press, 1996), a book on workplace-violence prevention. She believes if a company has toxic managers, it's because the culture enables it -- knowingly or unknowingly through plain old apathy (see sidebar, "Eight Toxic-Manager Behaviors -- and the Cultures That Nurture Them").
Certain work situations foster toxic managers. When a company has gone through downsizings, pay freezes or other financial crises, negative management tends to thrive. The emphasis is often on get-tough turnaround, and as such higher-ups often turn a blind eye to crude management as long as the numbers are good. Similarly, employees are less likely to speak up about their rotten bosses -- they don't want to sound like whiners or risk their jobs.
Of course, some people are just going to be miserable to work for no matter what. Yet they end up as managers because they're good employees whose companies lack another way of rewarding them. "There are some people who simply should not be promoted to management," says Deb Haggerty, head of Orlando, Florida-based Positive Connections, a consulting firm that teaches employees how to deal with personality differences. "Just because someone is a brilliant engineer doesn't mean they'll be a brilliant manager. Yet that's too often how a company demonstrates status."
So a person is difficult to work for -- is that really an HR concern? Of course it is, and for several reasons. At the very least, there's the morale issue. Bad managers tend to infect their departments with bad attitudes. It's like a disease: They spread despair, anger and depression, which show up in lackluster work, absenteeism and turnover. Workplace guru Tom Bay has written an entire book about how ideas and moods can aid or sabotage the workplace, Change Your Attitude: Creating Success One Thought at a Time (Career Press, 1998). He believes it's toxic managers -- and the cultures that enable them -- that are at the core of today's job-hopping phenomenon. "Turnover is the highest it's ever been," he says. "Employees don't feel appreciated."
Obviously, turnover, absenteeism and uninspired work cost a company money, even if a department's output remains level. But there are other dangers of toxic management. Intense bullying over a period of time can cause emotional damage to employees. Says Haggerty: "In addition to being problems in themselves, toxic behaviors create a hostile work environment and can easily escalate to real violence, harassment and intimidation -- all of which end up landing a company in court." And you can imagine how sympathetic a jury would be toward a company that allowed its employees to be terrorized in order to keep a tidy bottom line.
So how does HR address the situation? Help those that can be helped, and excise those who can't -- or won't. But first comes what's often the tricky part: finding them.
Every company has them: Identify the bad apples
Toxic managers don't always stand atop your building, wearing a black hat and holding a placard telling you they're the bad guys. HR has to do a little detective work, particularly when employees are often loath to complain about personality differences, no matter how justified. Certainly, there are some warning signs. Check for instance, turnover in every manager's department -- are employees transferring or quitting a particular area? If so, that's cause to ask further questions.
"Being communicative and being observant is vital," says Bay, also a former HR director. "Don't wait for massive turnover, that's like realizing you've had a heart attack after you've died." At the first increased trickle of turnover or transfers, Bay says, start asking employees what's happening.
Have discussions both individually for those who need privacy to speak their minds and in groups to appeal to employees who like peer support. Listen for key words or notions; don't expect employees to explicitly say they hate their boss. Do ask follow-up questions. For instance, one common flag is for an employee to say their job is fine, but that they're under a lot of strain or pressure. Ask them why -- it's often an interpersonal problem, and a good way for you to get more information.
At Wescast Industries Inc. in Brantford, Ontario, Wayne Phibbs, vice president of HR, uses a monthly "report card" meeting for employees, designed to measure their job satisfaction. "Picture a union person frustrated with his boss -- he's not listening, he's not helping," says Phibbs. "Every month there's this opportunity to force your leader to be honest. He can't go in there and buffalo people; it won't work." Phibbs thinks such open talks and constant forums contribute to his workforce's high satisfaction level -- even among the Canadian Auto Workers Union, a group notorious for its scrappy members.
Of course, not all employees are going to be publicly forthcoming. So keep the lines of communication open in as many venues as possible. "Exit interviews are helpful, but they're too late," says McClure. "I wouldn't stop doing them, but you need to do other things."
Anonymous hotlines are helpful, and can be set up as cheaply as dedicating one phone line with voice-mail or, more elaborately, through an outside agency that refers issues to HR or an EAP, depending on which is appropriate. "HR has to be careful not to get into counseling issues, and that's hard because we know how fuzzy that line is," admits McClure. HR can also encourage employees to send email. Employees need not use their work account; many Internet sites offer free email with anonymous user names (hotmail.com, for instance).
Using multisource performance reviews, in which employees can give feedback on their bosses anonymously, is also enormously helpful. At Spring Engineering Corp. in Livonia, Michigan, Tim Tindall, president in charge of HR issues, instituted a 360-degree survey based around "servant leadership," the theory that the best managers are those who serve their employees. In that mode, the questionnaire covered qualities like listening, empathy, awareness and healing. "The culture in this area is somewhat adversarial between labor and management. It's a long tradition and one that's hard to break, so this helped us get at some issues." Tindall included himself in the reviews, which were discussed openly, and used to plot next steps.
One word of warning about multisource reviews: These don't need to wait for a manager's yearly review, but they do need to be given to all managers in a department. It's key, says Haggerty, not to target one particular supervisor, even if turnover and comments have identified that person as problematic.
Finally, talk to your supervisors, says Bay. When you ask a manager how things are going in his or her department and you hear a lot of "I" rather than "we" or a lot of blame being dispensed, that can be a flag. So can constant griping about employees in general. Finally, keep your ear to the ground, even if a manager doesn't strike you as toxic. Says Sharon Keys Seal, a Baltimore job coach: "They're not going to treat you the way they treat their workers."
Put your managers into detox
So now you know who -- and what -- you're dealing with. What do you do next? First comes the confrontation: Sit down with this person, and tell him or her about the problem. Be as specific as you can. Don't couch it in vague terms, like saying the manager has "interpersonal issues." If the manager is perceived as a bully, say that. If she tends to explode at employees, tell her that. Then explain that it must be stopped and why. Don't come down too hard: This may be the person's first whiff of a problem. However, do be firm, and tell the manager that future performance will be noted.
Also set a time period for improvement. "Addressing this during a goal-setting session might be good," advises Haggerty. "It really has to be done in a positive fashion, because those kinds of individuals tend to take criticism and harbor it and nurture it."
After the intervention comes training. In many cases, the manager simply doesn't have the correct tools, particularly if the person's background is field-specific rather than managerial. "You have to give them alternatives for their behavior," says McClure. "Say not only ‘You can't do this,' but ‘You have to do this.'" If that means they need to go to seminars on employee relations, that's what they need to do. If the person is a poor manager simply because he's in over his head, give him some educational opportunities. Collaborate with the supervisor -- ask her what she thinks the problem is and what might help. There are seminars and classes for everything from anger management to accounting. Also offer EAP counseling -- sometimes a person's main issues are emotional, alcohol or drug related, and a good therapist can help.
If, after the intervention and follow-up period, the behavior hasn't changed, HR must decide what to do. If the person has skills useful to the company and is a good worker, you may consider transferring him out of a managerial position but keeping him at the company. Some people just don't work well with others, but may blossom when working in a more narrow sphere of interaction.
If that's not the case -- if you actually need to terminate the manager -- this can be done carefully. It's iffy grounds to fire someone strictly for personality issues. You need to define those issues as work-related performance problems, says Harold M. Brody, chair of the Los Angeles labor and employment practice of Proskauer Rose LLP. That means you don't just say a person is a bully, but that the person's bullying management techniques thwart productivity in the department. Once it's defined in this manner, you can discharge the person the way you would for any other performance problem. Keep a record of the incidents, document that you've given the employee time for change and make the termination. This is actually one case in which, if it should reach a jury, the employer has an advantage. "You get this rare opportunity, if you have the right record, to show you had the guts to go to a manager who's producing the widgets but driving everyone crazy, and saying, ‘You can't do that, and if you do, you're going to lose your job,'" says Brody.
Prevent future problems
Once you've addressed your current toxic managers, you have to make sure more don't sprout up. To begin with, make sure job descriptions include treating employees in a dignified and appropriate manner. Include behaviors that won't be tolerated and hold them accountable for turnover. This not only makes the company's stance very clear, it also emphasizes the importance of treating people well. "Behavior has to become part of the job description," says McClure. "That way you can no longer say that manager X is a great manager because they really produce, but they're terrible with how they treat their people. That way, manager X can no longer by definition be called a great manager."
Once the job description includes behavior, HR can effectively reward or discipline managers through performance reviews. "Tell them they're going to be evaluated, compensated and possibly disciplined based on their ability to effectively meet HR objectives -- relating to employees and managing them in positive ways," says Brody. Although Phibbs of Wescast says he uses performance ratings more as a discussion tool than as a punitive pay measurement, if a manager gets poor reviews and doesn't improve, he'd take the next step. "If someone kept messing up, we wouldn't give them an increase." Adds McClure: "Make it a pocketbook issue; that gets their attention."
Finally, make sure management isn't the only way to advance in your company. Build in pay increases or title changes to reward good work without forcing people to assume positions they're not suited for and won't enjoy.
You've been there. We've all been there. But if you're in HR, you have the power to help toxic managers, their employees -- and ultimately, your company.
Reprinted from Workforce Online (www.workforceonline.com)

McAlister Institute Presents
Presents
George Anderson, L.C.S.W., B.C.D & John Elder, M.A., C.A.M.F.
January, 25, 26, 27, 2006
8:30 AM – 5:30 PM
McAlister Institute
1400 North Johnson, Suite 101, El Cajon, CA 92020
616-441-2493
COST: $250.00 per day
Three Days of Anger Management Facilitator Certification Training
Approved for 8 CEUs by CAADAC (#2n96-341-0805), BBS (#PCE60),
CAADE (#CP10-699-C-0305), TCBAP, and the CA. Board of Corrections.
The Anderson & Anderson Anger Management Curricula was featured as the Cover Story of the August
28, Los Angeles Times Magazine: ‘The Storm’s Quiet Eye” which can be downloaded from our
website at www.andersonservices.com. This intervention is the only anger management training
approved by the state Board of Corrections for the training of Probation, Parole and Correctional Officers
in California. This widely recognized curriculum is used in all of California’s Thirty-two Prisons. This model
is also used in Canada, Philippines, England, Mexico, Germany, Japan, Guam, United States, Ireland,
South Africa, Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Italy. Our certification training and approved provider list is
the industry standard worldwide and dominates the internet.
The first day of training will focus on Adolescent Anger Management and will use the Anderson workbook
“Controlling Ourselves” as the text. Videos and exercises will be used. A demonstration and discussion of the
Conover Assessment Component will be conducted. This one-day training is designed for Nurses, School
Counselors/Psychologists, Substance Abuse Counselors, Case Managers, HR Managers, Clinicians, Probation
Officers, as well as staff from group homes, and agencies serving families and youth. This curriculum is currently
being used in school districts in Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, Concord and San Diego, as well as school
districts in Texas, New York and Louisiana. In addition, probation departments in Arizona, Kansas, California and
Texas are using this model.
On the second day, Adult Anger Management will be examined. A demonstration of the Conover Assessment will
be conducted with a discussion of its usefulness. Gaining Control of Ourselves, in conjunction with experiential
exercises and videos, will be used to introduce the participants to this intervention. Most major corporations have
accepted this model for use by H.R. and EAP Managers. Executive Coaching in relation to anger management will
also be introduced.
The Third day of training is Executive Coaching. This training will include a demonstration of the contents and
presentation of a ten hour Executive Coaching class along with assessment and Post Test. Special emphasis will be
placed on providing coaching to physicians and high profile clients.
*Each day of training counts for 8 hours of credit towards the 40 hours required for Certification. *The bonus, free, $200.00
Motivational Interviewing CD permits the participants to receive the Forty-Hour Certification once the tests have been
completed. Participant must attend all three in order to receive this free package. **This training is also available on
Interactive CDs. Contact our office at 310-207-3591 to register.
Registration
Please indicate which dates you’d like to register for: January 25 January 26 January 27
(Purchase orders for Business checks are also accepted)
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