Brock faculty and staff interested in enhancing their leadership skills are invited to apply to one of two professional development programs available through the University’s learning and development initiatives.

Building on the success of last year’s pilot programming, Human Resources is once again offering the Leading at Brock Program for current people leaders, and the Emerging Leaders Program for employees in non-management positions.

Virginia Head, Director, Organizational Design and Development, said it is important the University support the success of faculty and staff and provide opportunities for career and professional development.

“Brock’s leadership programs are purposefully designed and focused on learning outcomes that will benefit both the participant as well as their team,” she said. “Among other outcomes, our hope is that employees will gain new insights about their own leadership capabilities, recognize opportunities within their roles and larger University community to collaborate with and influence others, and feel confident in their abilities to make a positive impact in the workplace.”

The Emerging Leaders Program is for employees in non-management positions who wish to take on greater leadership roles within their current sphere of influence and scope of duties, and build skills needed to advance their career. Examples of workshop topics include influencing without authority, project management and change management.

The Leading at Brock Program seeks to deepen and strengthen leadership skills in current people leaders and increase their knowledge of core topics related to management at Brock. Participants can be new or seasoned leaders.

Deanna Sanders, Customer Service Co-ordinator with Facilities Management, was interested in participating in the Leading at Brock Program to learn new skills she could apply as a leader to a small team of administrative assistants.

“I gained valuable knowledge and insight over the course of the training and benefited from the experiences of others,” she said. “My biggest takeaways were from the discussions that took take place in breakout rooms. We have some impressive leaders at Brock, so at first, I found it intimidating to talk with them, but remembered we were all in the program to strengthen our skills and learn from each other. It was an amazing opportunity.”

Each program is limited to 24 participants. Employees interested in participating are asked to complete an application form by Friday, March 4.

For more information, including workshop dates and topics, frequently asked questions and links to online application forms, visit the Learning and Development SharePoint site.

Questions can be directed to Cathy Baillie, Learning and Organizational Development Specialist at cbaillie@brocku.ca