Managers' Essentials

Managers' Essentials is now held on a biennial basis and will be on hold for FY23. 

• Accountability.Take responsibility for actions, decisions and deliverables; establish a culture of accountability among direct reports and across the organization.
• Adaptability. Implement and adjust appropriately to change; seek out and anticipate opportunities where change will improve operational and management effectiveness.
• Teamwork and collaboration. Create and leverage networks and relationships within departments and across the FAS and University; seek to understand various perspectives and build broad consensus.
• Embracing change. Identify problems and opportunities for change and implement solutions where appropriate; maintain effectiveness when experiencing major changes; adjust effectively to work with new structures, processes, requirements or cultures.
• Communication. Clearly and constructively convey information in a manner that engages individuals and groups and helps them understand and retain the message; engage in difficult conversations in a constructive way. Approach communication with heightened listening skills.
• Developing individuals and teams. Build and support the development of individuals’ and teams’ skills and abilities, in order to meet current and near-future department needs effectively.
• Motivating and engaging. Clearly communicate the direction of the organization and seek and recognize positive performance and results.
• Organizational awareness. Gain knowledge of FAS environment, systems, and practices; understand the perspectives of others; recognize and balance the interests of one’s department with those of other departments and across the FAS.
• Problem solving. Develop practical solutions based on facts, observations, and reasoning that reflect consideration for resources, constraints, organizational values and goals; recognize patterns, connections, and issues, and connect the dots accordingly.

FAS Managers' Essentials is designed to maximize participants' ability to learn and internalize newly-gained knowledge and skills in their management role.

• Interactive, hands-on learning. Learning occurs best in an active, engaging context. Each session is highly interactive, with lively discussion and plentiful opportunities to practice newly-learned skills through role-playing and other actions. Learning activities are completed by individuals, in pairs, groups, and as teams.
• Opportunity to hear from other managers. Participants will learn directly from peers and more experienced managers through open and informal dialogues and invited FAS guest speakers.
• Assignments. Take home work will include readings about upcoming topics and prompts to guide participants in processing the program’s lessons.
• Introduction to HR colleagues. Participants have the opportunity to build relationships with HR consultants who co-facilitate and participate in modules.
• Practical application within personal situations. Rather than being expected to absorb information “in a vacuum,” participants are encouraged to discuss their own workplace challenges and view them through the lens of each presented topic.
• Useful learning resources. Participants will receive books and articles for continuing learning and reference.
• Creation of networks within FAS, for ongoing mutual support. Through their regular interactions and joint learning, participants naturally find among themselves a genuine cohort community from which they can draw support for future management challenges.