AAPS PD: Session 5: Managing from the Middle – Agency, Boundaries, and Relational Strength
Program Summary: Managing from the Middle – Agency, Boundaries, and Relational Strength
In large and complex organizations, it is easy to feel caught in the middle. Decisions may be made elsewhere, demands can come from multiple directions, and we may carry significant responsibility without having complete control or authority. Over time, this can leave us feeling disempowered, overextended, or responsible for problems that were never ours to solve.
This session builds on the previous sessions and explores how we can exercise greater agency and influence within the constraints of our limited roles in a much larger system. Together, we will explore practical ways to:
- Exercise agency without control by focusing on where we have influence and using the power we do have wisely
- Set boundaries as a way to focus our responsibility, distinguishing between what is ours to carry and what is not, reducing patterns of over-functioning and taking on unnecessary pressure
- Navigate difficult people and the collective stress in our workplaces by maintaining perspective, diffusing frustration where we can, responding rather than reacting, and staying connected without absorbing unnecessary emotional weight
Members will leave with greater clarity around where you have agency and influence, practical tools for setting healthier boundaries, and tips for navigating difficult relationships and organizational pressures.
How You Will Learn (online):
- Practices and reflection
- Small and large group discussions
- Slides, stories, and examples
- Third-party engagement tools (e.g. Mentimeter)
- Zoom meeting platform and tools
Developing Agency in Uncertain Times: A six-part series to help you build skills to adapt to our rapid world
There is a lot going on in our personal lives, professional workplaces, communities, and globally. What can we do to help ourselves so that we can continue our personal, professional, and community work? How do we stave off overload and overwhelm to be able to pursue our passions and joys? How do we find optimism and fun in the prospect of the future while making space for action?
In the continuation of this six-part series, we will build on the three Spring Sessions of regulating our nervous system, managing our reactivity, and sustaining our energy. From this foundation of personal self-care and resilience, we will build your repertoire of tools, skills, and practices. This collection of capabilities will allow you to make a difference on your teams, communities, and, to a degree, in the broader world around you.
We aim for you to complete this series feeling clearer, more confident, and more hopeful.
Session 1: Being in The Storm and Regulating the Nervous System (recorded version)
Session 2: Between Stimulus and Response - Managing Reactivity and Choice (recorded version)
Session 3: Energy, Focus, and Personal Cadence - Sustainable Performance in High-Demand Systems (recorded version)
Session 4: Building Strength, Resilience, and Capacity in “More With Less” Environments: Monday, September 21, 2026, 12pm-1:30pm
Session 5: Managing from the Middle - Boundaries, Civility, and Relational Strength: Monday, October 19, 2026, 12pm-1:30pm
Session 6: Making a Difference Locally, Finding Meaning, Contribution, and Hope Globally: Monday, November 9, 2026, 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
About your Facilitator
Scott is a resilience coach and trainer who gives busy professionals the tools they need to delete the overwhelm, focus on what matters most, and create the life they want. He helps them understand and better manage their reactive brain, teaching them how to be more focused, resilient and happier - even when stressed.
He previously had a career at one of Canada’s largest employee-owned engineering and science consulting organizations, moving from a role as a front-line consultant to a role on the senior leadership team. This brings a wealth of experience and understanding to Scott’s coaching and training.
He uses these tools every day in his own life and brings a practical, no-nonsense approach to it all. Scott is happily married to Meghan, is an engaged father of a 19-year-old son (Noah) and 17-year-old daughter (Kayla). He is a constant reader, avid mountain biker, passionate espresso maker, and loves staying active and healthy.
Registration
The AAPS Professional Development program is designed for and offered exclusively to AAPS members at no cost. AAPS members can register to attend an in-person, live Zoom session, or access the recorded version. Before registering, please consider your schedule and your ability to actively participate.
The live Zoom sessions require you to use audio, and video is also strongly encouraged. For the in-person and live Zooms, your presence and focus are important for the structure of this session. If that doesn't work for your schedule this time around, no worries, there is always the recorded version.
If you have accessibility requirements or questions, please email aaps.pd@ubc.ca. Zoom auto-captions are always enabled for our sessions. Please let me know if you need a live transcriber, interpretation, or other specific audio or visual supports for in-person or Zoom sessions. If you have other accessibility requirements for in-person sessions or would like more information about the venue, I can also answer those questions.