Learning opportunities
VCU Human Resources Office of Learning, Development and Organizational Culture (LDOC) offers a comprehensive suite of learning opportunities for VCU employees. Within the Talent@VCU learning system, users easily access learning opportunities and manage their learning transcript.
How is Talent@VCU like an iceberg? We’re glad you asked! About 90% of its power has probably been invisible to you! To explore Talent@VCU:
- Search for learning. Log into the system, hover over the "Learning" tab, select “Learning Search” then start a search for something that interests you.
- Don’t know what to search for? Use the “Event Calendar” selection under the “Learning” tab and select "All Events" to see what’s coming up each month.
Career Development Conversations: Career Development Conversations: In this learning session we'll focus on the tools available to managers and staff to facilitate good career conversations that lead to meaningful employee career development goals and plans.
Collaborating Remotely: A 60-minute webinar that explores how the change to working remotely during the COVID-19 crisis affects our lives and our work. It includes tactics to smooth the transition for yourself and others, collaboration features in Zoom, and appreciative practices that build positive momentum and resilience.
Crucial Conversations Structured Practice: The workshop is to practice using the skills from Crucial Conversations to reinforce and apply what was learned in the course to realistic situations.
Effective Groups and Teams: What makes a team different from a group? How do you design teams to be effective, and diagnose problems when teams break down? This course is based on Roger Schwarz's mutual learning and team effectiveness model. The course is appropriate for anyone who facilitates, leads or is a member of a team.
Leading Change: This 90-minute online workshop provides knowledge, skills, and tools to implement successful change initiatives. You will learn how we experience change as individuals, participate in activities based on relevant change management theories and best practices, and use actionable tools for managers to lead your teams through the changes we experience at VCU.
Leading with Emotional Intelligence: Developing emotional intelligence (EI), or the ability to understand and manage your own emotions and those of the people around you, is critical to professional success. This program includes two workshops, as well as pre- and post-work to help improve EI skills. Although somewhat geared toward managers, this program will benefit anyone interested in achieving the highest levels of success and happiness in both their professional and personal lives. For more information contact Jen Bagley at bagleyj2@vcu.edu.
Leading in Uncertain Times: Demonstrate the qualities of effective leadership during challenging times. Learn to lead yourself and others during times of uncertainty with optimism, purpose, and trust.
New Manager Orientation (NMO): This five session program is offered quarterly and is designed for managers new to VCU, new to management or both. Eligible managers are invited and encouraged to participate in identified cohorts. The content includes leadership visioning, application of essential HR and performance policy/practices via case studies, community building with other VCU leaders and the university’s Leadership Career Community, an inventory of management skills and development of a first year onboarding plan. For more information contact Jeremy Bost (jbost2@vcu.edu) or Penny McFarline (mcfarlinep@vcu.edu).
Reboarding@VCU: All employee training: This training is required for all faculty and staff members so the university can clearly communicate its approach and expectations regarding working on campus as we gear up to have students return. All faculty and staff members are required to complete this training so you have a better understanding of the steps being taken to ensure your health and safety, as well as an understanding of your expected contributions to the health, safety and success of our students and other employees.
Reboarding@VCU: Manager training: The second of two reboarding eLearning courses. It is designed for all individuals at VCU, faculty and staff, who supervise one or more employees (classified staff and university and academic professionals). The purpose of the course is to communicate expectations for management support of VCU's Return to Campus plan and a work environment that keeps everyone safe and well.
Resilient Leadership: A 60-minute workshop for managers and leaders at VCU that explores a strategy to lead others through turbulent times by reframing to leverage the best of the present situation, what is within your control and influence, what is working well for you and those around you, and building your preferred future based on your collective strengths and past experience.
Snappy Meetings worth Having: Research shows that unnecessary meetings cost U.S. businesses about $37 billion annually, and 37% of all meetings are valued by office employees as unproductive. Wasteful and frequent meetings take a mental, emotional and motivational toll on all of us. Productive meetings happen for a purpose and ON purpose.This eLearning is designed for all who facilitate meetings or who care about improving them!
Understanding Unconscious Bias: This 2-hour workshop that explores how unconscious bias affects our lives, our work, and ourselves. Content includes tactics to combat unconscious bias and stereotypes. We will utilize Zoom for this interactive, virtual, instructor led session.
Talent@VCU houses an array of LinkedIn Learning opportunities available to you at any time. These resources support career development and help you build skills that are essential in supporting the university mission. Accessing LinkedIn Learning opportunities through Talent@VCU provides you with your learning transcript, which is a record of all your completed learning opportunities. This transcript is useful throughout the year for events like the performance management process.
Try these LinkedIn Learning videos on working remotely:
- Video: On-boarding as a remote employee
- Video: Expectations with your remote manager
- Video: Building rapport with remote colleagues
- Video: Successful remote meetings
- Video: Managing conflict
- Video: Succeeding as a remote employee
- Video: Building culture in your remote team
Curated learning
The LDOC team has leveraged online learning by creating collections of courses, media and learning materials, in the form of playlists and curricula. Try these playlists:
VitalSmarts: How do I say that?: These are short videos from VitalSmarts, the crucial conversations people. They can help you have the conversations you need to have right now. Jeremy Bost writes, "The conversations we have with each other as we return to campus or continue remote working can make a huge difference in our abilities to navigate daily change." Want to know more about Crucial Conversations? Contact Jeremy Bost at jbost2@vcu.edu.
Roger Schwarz and Associates: The site offers articles and other resources on how to lead teams effectively. The model is based on buildinging mutual learning values and healthy group behaviors that lead to optimal team performance. Penny writes, "Effective teams and team leadership begin with mindset. Values and beliefs drive behaviors. That's what this approach to team performance emphasizes, and it's exactly the approach we need right now." Want to know more about effective team facilitation? Contact Penny McFarline at mcfarlinep@vcu.edu.
Harvard Business Review: This trusted source offers advice for leaders who want to learn. Articles, videos, and podcasts cover a wide array of timely topics. HBR videos are brief, free and range a variety of topics (business, bias, leadership, management, brain research, teams, strategy, performance, COVID, post-COVID, etc.).
Daniel Goleman: Emotional Intelligence: This website includes information about Goleman, his books, and links to podcasts and articles about emotional intelligence by one of the best known founders of emotional intelligence (EI). Jen Bagley writes, "Emotional intelligence, more than intellect, has been linked to workplace performance and happiness." For more information, contact Jen Bagley at jbagley2@vcu.edu.
The Emotional Intelligence Network: Six Seconds: This website includes a multitude of information about emotional intelligence (EI) from articles, events (e.g., free webinars), EI tests, and many other resources. For more information, contact Jen Bagley at jbagley2@vcu.edu.
Gallup Insights: Gallup links to current research and reports on workplace, educational and leadership issues. Gallup is the home of the Clifton StrengthsFinders and other employee engagement assessments/tools/resources. Leslee writes, "As a certified Clifton Strengths coach, I find it is imperative we focus right now on our talents and strengths to help us thrive and support each other." For more information on individual and team strengths coaching, contact Leslee Gensinger at lrgensinger@vcu.edu.
Kwik Brains with Jim Kwik: Kwik is a guru of learning and recall strategies that work. This site offers free podcasts, links to videos, articles and his blog postings. Penny McFarline writes, "I integrate Jim's learning tips into webinars and eLearning to build learner responsibility for self by asking these questions: What will you use? Why must you use it? When will you use it? To whom will you teach it?" Want to know more about effective learning strategies? Contact Penny McFarline at mcfarlinep@vcu.edu.
The Center for Creative Leadership: The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) notes that they have been “at the forefront of leadership development for nearly 50 years, innovating and pioneering the industry’s best practices.” You can access free resources - research, insights, blogs and articles-on their site. Get inspired by and with people who care about best leadership practices and creative thinking!