Professional Development

HR is hosting a half-day workshop,  Thriving in Change, on Oct. 29, 2018. This session is for UBC staff and faculty  who want to learn more about the natural cycles and impact of change in order to remain resilient and engaged through the transition.

About the workshop

If nothing changed in your life in the next five years, would that be okay with you? Change is normal and natural – how we respond to change and interact and support others affected by it can make all the difference. In this workshop participants will start by exploring their own attitudes and reactions to change, learn foundational models to broaden their appreciation of the change journey, and gain new tools and strategies for use in an interpersonal and organizational context.

Learning outcomes

• Be aware of you personal reactions and attitudes toward change
• Gain an understanding of key change models
• Be able to identify and use tools and behaviours that support and enhance personal resiliency in change
• Be better able to support others as you navigate change

Course information

Thriving in Change
Oct. 29, 2018, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Cost: $200
Tech Enterprise Facilities III, Room 610 [map]
Register online

You may be able to use your professional development funding towards this course. Please visit the PD funding page for your employee group to learn more. Contact pd.workshops@ubc.ca with questions.

HR is hosting a one-day workshop on Appreciative Inquiry: A Way to Generate and Nurture Effective Work Environments, on Oct. 12, 2018.

About the workshop

In our intention to make things better, we very often pick up on the things that don’t work: problems, wrong behaviours, errors, and try to fix them. Our lives become filled with problems to solve, one after the other, and we don’t see the end of them. Meanwhile, it becomes increasingly difficult to notice or appreciate what works well; and because these well-working things don’t need fixing, they simply lose their importance.

With Appreciative Inquiry we learn to shift our approach to change by focusing on creating what we want rather than eliminating what we don’t want. We learn to ask questions (or to inquire) in order to explore creative possibilities (appreciative).

Learning outcomes

Using a variety of formats such as paired interviews, small group exercises and video, you will:

• Explore the key principles of Appreciative Inquiry
• Learn simple ways to shift from a focus on problem solving to one of possibility creating
• Pay attention to the role of language/words to phrase appreciative questions
• Identify ways to apply the appreciative inquiry approach in your workplace

Audience

The session is designed for individuals who are intrigued by the statement that ‘we give power to the things we pay attention to,’ and are wanting to find practical ways to exercise personal agency to make a positive difference in the workplace.

Course information

Appreciative Inquiry: A Way to Generate and Nurture Effective Work Environments
Oct. 12, 2018, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Cost: $300
Tech Enterprise Facilities III, Room 610 [map]
Register online

You may be able to use your professional development funding towards this course. Please visit the PD funding page for your employee group to learn more. Contact pd.workshops@ubc.ca with questions.

We have a few spaces left in our Sept. 24, session on Building Resilient Teams. Register ASAP to learn about your conflict management style, and how to support your teams.

Learning outcomes

• Describe the five dysfunctions that can challenge a team’s performance and culture
• Identify strategies to build a high performing team
• Recognize your preferred conflict management style as a leader
• Explore and practice tools to manage conflict effectively
• Create an action plan to apply what you have learned to your workplace

Course information

Date: Sept. 24, 2018, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: TEF III, Room 610
Cost: $200
Register online

You may be able to use your professional development funding towards this course. Visit the PD funding page for your employee group to learn more, or contact pd.workshops@ubc.ca with questions.

Human Resources is hosting a half-day professional development workshop on Building Resilient Teams on Sept. 24, 2018. This session is designed for formal and informal leaders who want to learn about their own conflict management style, and how to support their teams.

Learning Outcomes

• Describe the five dysfunctions that can challenge a team’s performance and culture
• Identify strategies to build a high performing team
• Recognize your preferred conflict management style as a leader
• Explore and practice tools to manage conflict effectively
• Create an action plan to apply what you have learned to your workplace

Course Information

Date: Sept. 24, 2018, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: TEF III, Room 610
Cost: $200
Register online

You may be able to use your professional development funding towards this course. Visit the PD funding page for your employee group to learn more, or contact pd.workshops@ubc.ca with questions.

If you’re planning ahead for your professional development, or want to have some suggestions for professional development opportunities to share with your staff, we have some new workshops coming to UBC’s Vancouver campus this fall:

• Sept. 18:  Time Management: Planning, Prioritizing & Productivity (Cost: $300)
• Sept. 24: Building Resilient Teams (Cost: $200)
• Oct. 12:  Appreciative Inquiry: A Way to Generate and Nurture Effective Work Environments (Cost: $300)
• Oct. 16:  Selection Interviewing: Ensuring Equity (Cost: $25)
• Oct. 24:  Practical Project Management (2-Day) (Cost: $550)
• Oct. 29: Thriving in Change (Cost: $200)

These courses are eligible for professional development funding – visit the PD funding page for your employee group to learn more.

We have four spaces left in our July 24, 2018, session on Navigating Today’s Communication Challenges. Register ASAP to sharpen your communication skills.

About this workshop

Have you ever wondered why your communication efforts click with some people and not with others? Or how others perceive you when you interact with them? Whether working with other people in your department, on a team, or just having a social conversation over lunch, it is quickly evident that some relationships are more productive than others.

As the need to work collectively increases, good discussion skills, effective listening and positive modeling are essential. In this insightful workshop you will learn to assess the communication needs of others and see how you can make simple adjustments in order to communicate more effectively. It will help you develop methods of communicating that will build on your strengths and the strengths of others.

This session is designed for anyone that wants to proactively improve and fine tune their interpersonal and communication skills at work.

Course Information

July 24, 2018, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Tech Enterprise Facilities III, Room 610, 6190 Agronomy Road [map]
Cost: $350
Register online

You may be able to use your professional development funding towards this course. Visit the PD funding page for your employee group to learn more, or contact pd.workshops@ubc.ca with questions.

Have you ever wondered why your communication efforts click with some people and not with others? Or how others perceive you when you interact with them? Whether working with other people in your department, on a team, or just having a social conversation over lunch, it is quickly evident that some relationships are more productive than others.

As the need to work collectively increases, good discussion skills, effective listening and positive modeling are essential. In this insightful workshop you will learn to assess the communication needs of others and see how you can make simple adjustments in order to communicate more effectively. It will help you develop methods of communicating that will build on your strengths and the strengths of others.

This session is designed for anyone that wants to proactively improve and fine tune their interpersonal and communication skills at work.

Learning Outcomes

• Determine the key attributes of the most effective communicators;
• Identify four distinct communication styles;
• Practice a few simple steps to improving your listening skills;
• Assess their preferred communication style and the pro¿s and con¿s;
• Quickly recognize the communication preferences of others;
• Give and receive positive and corrective feedback;
• Identify the most common communication challenges;
• Determine how to make discussions more effective; and
• State how body language can be used as an effective communication tool

Course Information

Date: July 24, 2018, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: TEF III, Room 610
Cost: $350
Register online

You may be able to use your professional development funding towards this course. Visit the PD funding page for your employee group to learn more, or contact pd.workshops@ubc.ca with questions.