Leadership Series
When you look at the skills and attributes identified in your Individual Development Plan (IDP) — creativity, confidence, scholarship, ethical responsibility, communication and collaboration — you don’t see leadership listed. That’s because you need all of these skills to be a leader. Start developing your leadership skills by coming to one or all of these sessions.
The Leadership Series sessions will run during Professional Development Days in June. Find out more »
Leadership of Self (1 hour PD credit)
Leadership begins with self. What kind of leader are you? Does this matter? What makes a good leader? How can you build your leadership acumen? Join us in a conversation about leadership styles, determine what are your tendencies and gain a better sense of what matters when it comes to leadership of self.
Leading Others (1 hour PD credit)
Once you have a good handle on how you respond and interact with others and to events, you will want to add the next dimension of learning about others. How are people similar and different from you? What dynamics can come into play so that you can be successful in leading? We will examine how people learn as a tool for understanding how leadership is received by others and how this can impact team dynamics.
Leading Your Way Through Conflict (1 hour PD credit)
Many graduate students and postdoctoral scholars experience conflict as they move along their academic pathway. This aligns with the Myers-Briggs Company's finding that 85% of employees experience conflict in their workplaces. Lack of conflict resolution skills is cited as a major reason for this high percentage. Learning about conflict and how it can be resolved is a great step towards growing your leadership and diplomacy skills. This is an opportunity to assist you with moving from leadership of self to leadership of others.
Leading Small Projects, Making a Big Difference (1 hour PD credit)
You may spend a part — even a good part — of your career working in positions outside of formal leadership. But that doesn't prevent you from leading projects that are innovative and inspiring. Indeed, working on the front lines often gives you special insight into the kinds of initiatives that will benefit those you serve.
In this hour-long conversation, we'll consider ways we can be creative leaders when our title doesn't include the words "manager," "supervisor" or "director." We'll discuss strategies for conceiving small projects, gaining buy-in from those above us and involving other people in developing and promoting them.
Bridging Leadership of Self and Others through EDI (1.5 hours PD credit)
In this session, we will discuss why EDI work is, and should, be rooted in lived experiences and positionality. Using personal and professional stories, our featured guests will discuss how they came to work in the area of EDI and share thoughts and insights about what EDI is, what EDI isn't and what it could/should be. Throughout the session, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their own lived experiences and discuss the ways these experiences have shaped, and continue to shape, their own understandings and practices.
Leadership Instuctional Team
Facilitator: Robert B. (Rob) Desjardins, PhD
Rob is a professional development instructional designer in GPS. A U of A alumnus and seasoned communicator (MJ Carleton 1994; PhD Alberta 2010), Rob has spent nearly 14 years supporting and advocating for graduate students, including a decade as graduate writing advisor in the Academic Success Centre. He is also an active researcher in the field of late medieval cultural history and is co-editor of The Arras Witch Treatises (Penn State, 2016) and the Leab Award-winning exhibition "Tinctor's Foul Treatise" (Bruce Peel Special Collections).
Facilitator: Jay Friesen, PhD
Jay Friesen, PhD, is an Educational Curriculum Developer at GPS and an Assistant Lecturer in Community Engagement at Community Service-Learning at the University of Alberta. He received his PhD in Cultural Studies (MLCS) from the same institution in 2019, where his research focused on the relationship between comedy and multiculturalism in Canadian communities. Jay has taught diverse courses on a wide variety of topics, including community engagement, cultural studies and pedagogy, and he is particularly interested in making post-secondary learning accessible and equitable, especially through university and community collaborations. He is a two-time recipient of the CSL Instructor of the Year award, once as a graduate student and once as an ATS lecturer.
Facilitator: Renee Polziehn, PhD
Renee Polziehn, PhD, is the Professional Development Director for the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS). Following 20+ years of leading professional development programming for GPS and the Postdoctoral Fellows Office, she has heard many of the challenges faced by graduate students and postdoctoral scholars as they transition from their graduate degrees to the workplace. Renee is part of the executive leadership in GPS and has been recognized nationally for the programming offered to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.