Meet Michael
Entrepreneur, creative business leader, and the consummate educator
Early in his career Michael Seidenfeld founded an experiential marketing & brand culture agency. Through innovative design, flawless execution, and exceptional creativity, his client base grew to include nationally acclaimed clients in the real estate, healthcare, finance, and educational industries.
In 2017, Michael became the Chief Operating and Marketing Officer for a large commercial real estate company. His role included restructuring the company, managing dozens of employees, and developing & implementing best practices.
His expertise in corporate culture, communication, and the customer experience has led him to be a sought-after featured speaker at professional conferences, meetings, and workshops.
In response to the increasing demand from growth-minded companies for Wurkfit’s trainings, classes, and workshops, in 2023 Michael joined Wurkfit as a presenter, speaker, and educator. He brings his incredible clarity & articulation, passion, and creativity to each session and class.
FAQ with MICHAEL
How has the trajectory of your career influenced your approach to professional development? Throughout all my work and interactions with clients, stakeholders, and employees over the years, the single most important underlying theme that kept on recurring repeatedly was this simple truth: at the end of the day, all of us are human. That means that although we bring our strengths and assets into our professional life, we also bring our weaknesses and liabilities to the workplace. I have witnessed first-hand how industry leaders with very high intellect (IQ) have been their own worst enemy by leaving their emotional intelligence (EQ) undeveloped, thus allowing their untamed emotions to cause them untold damage in a professional sense. We are people first and employees, executives, and managers second. The better the person I am, the better my performance at work.
What exactly is Professional Development? Professional development is the process of learning, training, and improving my soft skills. These are the non-technical skills and practices that describe how well I work, and interact with, those around me. This includes, but is not limited to, effective communication, ownership and accountability, listening skills, intrinsic motivation, and having a positive outlook.
In your experience, what are the most important characteristics of an effective educator and communicator? An effective educator and communicator is: 1) Someone with exceptional verbal and non-verbal communication skills, is very articulate, has the ability to simplify complex and abstract concepts into tangible, relatable, and actionable items. 2) Someone with a passion for the relevancy and vitality of the subject matter is a key requirement. 3) A person who connects easily with and keenly understands their audience
How do you define Company Culture? Is it a company picnic, a team-building exercise, or is there more to it? Company culture is the systematic implementation of actionable practices that provide employees with consistent direction, purpose, aspirational goals, and emotional value. The first step toward that is to identify and discover your company’s authentic culture and create an actionable plan that can be implemented across your entire company. It requires long-term commitment and consistency for its success and effectiveness. Company culture is not a one-time, shot in the arm, feel-good event. Nor is it catchy slogans hung up in the coffee room. It needs to have relevancy, authenticity, and walking the talk.
What attitudes and beliefs have you encountered from clients that are their greatest obstacles to growth and positive change? What do you respond to them? The top two are: 1) The idea that improving and developing employees Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and soft skills has no positive impact on a company’s bottom line. Response: Study after study conclusively demonstrates that companies that offer their teams professional development, have healthy company cultures, and place a high priority on soft skills, experience drastically lower turn-over rates, have higher levels of loyalty and motivation, and they dramatically increase their productivity. 2) Men don’t need improvement and development in these areas. Response: Men need these trainings even more acutely than women. Men’s actions and attitudes are affected by the level of their Emotional Intelligence to the same extant as women. They are however at a disadvantage – most men are either too afraid to admit that or they lack the self-awareness to be conscience of it.
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732-677-8811