UF Training and Organizational Development is committed to your personal and professional development. This general category of training includes a broad range of workshops designed with the UF employee in mind. Taught by UF Training and Organizational Development instructors as well as subject matter experts from across campus, you’ll be sure to find a useful workshop here.
Instructor: Irma Alvarez
Conflict is part of our daily lives and can undermine our success unless we get better at using it effectively. As surprising as this might sound, we want conflict in the workplace; but it has to be the right kind of conflict. In this class you will learn how to build your conflict competence and transform conflict for improving decision-making, problem-solving and relationship-building at work.
Instructor: Gwynn Cadwallader
Interacting with people is a large part of our jobs and how we use our emotions and react to others affects our performance. Explore ways to understand your own emotions and how to perceive the emotions of others. Find ways to strengthen relationships, build networks and find common ground. Generate ideas and “next steps” for leveraging your emotional intelligence in the workplace for improved effectiveness.
Instructor: Sarah Hanson
Instructors: Irma Alvarez, Gwynn Cadwallader
Do you engage with your colleagues in a way that brings out their best? Does your team collaborate in a way that combines the unique talents and abilities of each member to achieve big goals? In this discussion-based course, you will discover specific behaviors and strategies proven to increase engagement, innovation, and productivity in the workplace. Participants will recognize unconscious behaviors that derail a team’s full potential and practice strategies to create a respectful culture that optimizes performance and produces great results. Embark on a shared journey with Gators Together!
This course also counts for the Passport for Great Teaching program. For more information, click here.
Instructor: Gwynn Cadwallader
Instructor: Becky Younglove
Change happens. It is a real, concrete, often stressful fact of life. Do you ever wish that change would go away–or at least slow down? If so, this class is for you. During this course, participants will:
Change is inevitable; long-term misery is optional!
Instructor: Kandice Lloyd-Weech
Did you know that as much as 40% of the average workday is spent listening to others? That’s close to half of your day! Isn’t it time, therefore, to stop and make sure you’re using your time to its greatest advantage? Take a few moments and ask yourself: Are you an effective listener? How often do you assess your listening skills? Could you improve? That’s where “Now Hear This” can help. In this workshop, we’ll:
Effective communication does not happen by chance; it requires practice and good technique.
Instructor: Ronda Mitchell
Most of us think we’re good communicators. Listening and talking are things we engage in all the time, so we assume we do it well. Unfortunately, that’s often not the case. Attend “Communication Confidence” to learn a number of skills and tools to improve the way you communicate with others. Behind these skills are these fundamental concepts:
Available as an on-demand online course through myTraining
This online course focuses on a key workplace skill: identifying and achieving the desired results of your work. In this session, you will learn to:
Instructor: Kandice Lloyd-Weech
We all have customers. The question is “Do we serve them well?” In this workshop, participants will identify customer expectations, review assertive communication as a key component of quality customer service, and discuss common customer service interactions and how to improve them.
Instructor: Ronda Mitchell
Would you like to substantially increase your ability to communicate with other people? Can you imagine the ways this might benefit you in your career, your day-to-day dealings with people, and in your personal relationships? “Relationship Strategies” assembles a number of simple tools that can be easily applied to improve both business and interpersonal relationships. This workshop offers guidelines for understanding and adjusting to the differences in people, through observation of their behavior. The tools presented here will enable you to see yourself and your world through someone else’s eyes—and that can go a long way toward increasing communication effectiveness!
Instructor: Becky Younglove
Instructor: Angie Brown
Instructor: Brandon Telg
Instructor: Shannon Powell
Things change rapidly and continually at work which requires us to address unanticipated, uncertain, time-pressured and complex problems and decisions. In this session we will consider how critical thinking, along with self-awareness and understanding of the mental shortcuts we often, and unknowingly, take can be integrated into a process to help cultivate good judgment.
This class qualifies for CPE Credit for Florida CPAs.
Instructor: Shannon Powell
Project management, whether aimed at improving service or solving major organizational problems, requires a different set of management skills than those needed to oversee routine operations. Project management involves leading a diverse group of employees who are working in an environment that is highly dependent upon planning, limited by budget and scheduling controls, and subject to constant progress evaluations. You can make project management a positive work experience through understanding project functions from start to finish.
Instructor: Nicole A. Harris
How many meetings have you attended or conducted where they just seemed like wasted time? Well, no more! Attend this workshop to learn techniques for planning and facilitating effective meetings.
Instructor: Verlissa Ford
Assertiveness is a skill you can acquire, not a personality trait that some people are born with and others are not. When we communicate assertively, we express our feelings, thoughts, and wishes–standing up for our legitimate rights without violating the rights of others. In this workshop, you’ll learn to: Distinguish between assertive, aggressive, and non-assertive (or passive) behaviors. Include the three parts of an assertive message in your communication approach. Listen assertively by concentrating your attention on the other person. Respond appropriately to criticism Building on the topics discussed in “Communication Confidence,” this workshop highlights communication skills that are essential in many day-to-day situations. Improve your relationships and personal effectiveness at work and at home: Attend “Communicate Assertively!”
Instructor: Verlissa Ford
Make your writing fast, fun, and fabulous! Come to Power Writing and learn how to design power-packed documents that your readers will actually enjoy. In this class we will focus on preparing professional business documents discuss, including a review of grammar, tone, stressing the positive, saying “no” gently, and doing a little more than you need to in order to get your message across. You will learn to:
Instructor: Brandon Telg
Do you control your email or does your email control you? Is email the best communication tool? Most of us spend a good part of our day using this powerful medium. Often we sort through emails with content that would have been better communicated via the phone, in-person, in a chat or in a virtual meeting.
Attend this interactive session to master how to select the best communication method for your message, review email etiquette, and learn to combine email best practices with the tools in the Microsoft Outlook desktop version in order to turn email into a valuable productivity tool.
Instructor: Brandon Telg
Can business grammar be fun? Absolutely. This fast-paced and interactive class is designed to help you catch common grammar mistakes that can hurt your professional image and your credibility. During this course, participants will explore those essential grammar rules that every professional must know such as:
Instructor: Verlissa Ford
Have you ever been in a meeting or making a presentation and wished you had prepared more fully? Has stage fright ever had an impact on your effectiveness? This program can help! Attend this program and learn how to:
Instructor: Courtney Moon
We are pleased to offer The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Introductory Workshop for Associates. This one-day session taught by a Covey-certified instructor represents a remarkable opportunity to learn, to share and to grow. Many people who attend this training describe the experience as the beginning of a lifetime journey. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Introductory Workshop for Associates, participants learn how to: take initiative, balance key priorities, improve interpersonal communication, leverage creative collaboration and apply principles for achieving a balanced life. This is a fast-paced, interactive, fun workshop designed to improve your effectiveness in work and life. A $300 value, this workshop is provided to University of Florida employees for $195. Space is very limited and is available on a first come first served basis. An invoice will be sent to registered participants prior to the session. Participants needing to cancel their attendance must do so at least one week prior to the session to avoid being charged for the workshop.
Instructor: Ronda Mitchell
Transform old attitudes of negativity and doubt to new attitudes of courage and possibility! Attend “Attitude: Radiating Possibility!” This program features the work of Ben Zander, world-famous conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Together with his partner, Rosamund, Ben instills his values of coaching employees by talking about enriching lives with enthusiastic participation and defeating fears with boundless courage. Key learning points include:
Instructor: Courtney Moon
Does the thought of giving someone candid feedback back make you uncomfortable? Is being on the receiving end of feedback something you dread? Whether you are the giver or the receiver, feedback is NOT an easy thing to do! Learn how to deliver direct and caring feedback, discuss ways to seek input and feedback from others, and practice strategies for responding to feedback without being defensive.
Instructor: Leif Stringer
A harmonious and connected workplace makes day-to-day tasks easier and enhances the level of enjoyment we experience at work. This course provides the opportunity to explore what influences your interactions with others and specific tools to use so you can discern what motivates people’s actions and communicate more effectively. The course is designed to give you time to explore the concepts, discuss ways to apply compassionate communication to your specific work environment, and practice with a skilled expert. You’ll have the opportunity to personalize the learning material to use in your own work environment.
Instructor: Dr. Nicole Stedman
No matter where someone’s role lies in an organizational chart, every person has the capacity to influence others around them. Every person can wield the power of influence to make change if they understand how influence works. In this course, you will learn what influence is along with what it is not, which builds into an understanding of how to apply your influence in many different settings. In other words, you will be able to use concepts of influence to create positive change in your environment.
Instructor: Brandon Telg
What is your “why”? What motivates you in your professional life? What future do you wish to create during your career? This course will help you leverage the power of storytelling to tap into your passions and purpose and unleash your best work performance. Your story is important and meaningful. By reflecting on your experiences and envisioning your professional and personal growth in the form of a story, you will be able to align your goals, your career trajectory, and your legacy with the story you want to live!
Instructor: Karina Kolb
Imagine you are giving the best presentation of your career. Your verbal delivery is captivating and masterfully choreographed with slide visuals and props that are attention grabbing, easy to understand, and even moving. This is what it means to use presentation visuals in a way that is “worthy of the TED stage.” In this course, participants will learn about the common mistakes presenters make with their presentation visuals, gain insights into the way the human brain best processes information while experiencing a presentation, leverage visual techniques for making your content resonate and stick, use next-level techniques to plan a visual presentation, analyze examples from some of the world’s best presenters, and apply key design principles. This course is helpful for both novice and even highly seasoned presenters. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop to this session to engage in hands-on design work activities in small groups.
/This course also counts for the Passport for Great Teaching program. For more information, click here.
We partnered with Creative Works to produce a presentation version of this course as a video. To watch this standalone presentation, which does not count as part of your Thrive certification, click the button below:
Available as an on-demand online course through myTraining
This interactive session is designed to increase institutional awareness so that employees may be more effective in their jobs as they navigate the complexities of our large university and serve as resources for others. This workshop reviews UF’s overall organizational structure, its managerial structure, and other relevant university relationships.
Getting Organized PDF
Goal Setting PDF
Track What You’ve Done PDF
Instructors: Brandon Telg & Courtney Moon
An important element of Productivity & Performance is one’s ability to apply performance measures to their everyday work, not just for an annual review. This webinar will help you apply an organizational structure to your work, identify and write your goals using backwards design, and ultimately track and maintain your performance records over time.