2019 People Management Conference Sessions
While the skills and knowledge gained from these sessions can be universally applied by all managers and people leaders, we wanted to recognize the unique connection each session has with our conference tagline — Grow. Empower. Lead. Participants can tailor their session selections to their individual needs. Please note that some sessions and workshops may be restricted as indicated in the legend below.
Session and Workshop Schedules Table of Contents
- Your career and relationships
- Gain information and insights that enhance your professional expertise
- Yourself and your team
- Discover new models that shift your perspective
- The organization to succeed
- Learn tools and resources that increase your management and leadership effectiveness
- Available to UC-Coro Systemwide Leadership Collaborative participants only
- This session is intended for Director-level leadership and above.
August 7 Sessions and Workshops Guide
| Workshop | Speaker | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Leader, Grow track session, director-level leadership and above only Author Your Brand: How Do You Show Up as a Leader? | Paul Larsen | Optimist A |
| Lead track session Leveraging and Integrating Strategic Planning | Kristin Kielich and Traci Carpenter | Exploration |
| Grow track session Resilience: Navigating the Unexpected with Grace | Adrienne Harrell | Enlightenment |
| Grow track session Design Thinking: To Collaborate and Enable Change | Christine Folck | Illumination |
| Grow track session Act Like a Leader | Rich Janis | Legacy A |
| Lead track session Naming and Taming Resistance to Change | Mary Morello and Lisa Terry | Legacy B |
| Empower track session Build a Coaching Culture on a Foundation of Trust | Katy Sharon, Matt Mansinne and Inette Dishler | Artistry |
| Session | Speaker | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Empower track session The High Performing, Committed Employee: The Nexus Between Employee Empowerment & Engagement | Marie-Ann Hairston | Catalyst |
| Empower track session "That's Not Fair!" — Operationalizing Fairness | Andrew Larratt-Smith | Discovery |
| Grow track session Keys for Mastering the New Leadership Landscape | Rob Shallenberger | Transformation |
| Lead track session Accelerating Digital Transformation: Top Priority for Talent Leaders | Morné Swart | Entrepreneur |
| Lead track session How to Spot and Manage Organizational Culture Barriers in the UC System | John Forsythe | Imagination |
| Session | Speaker | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Empower track session It Pays to Communicate About Compensation | Karen Berardi | Catalyst |
| Grow track session Toxic Leadership: A Systems View and What You Can Do | Gary Cheng | Discovery |
| Lead track session Leadership Trends — Successful Leadership in the Modern Age | Lisa Fagan | Transformation |
| Lead track session Applying the Modern Learning Formula to Leadership Development | Benny Ramos | Entrepreneur |
| Empower track session 21st Century Leadership — If You Lead, They Will Follow... Maybe | Terry Barton | Imagination |
| Workshop | Speaker | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Grow track session, UC-Coro participants only What's Your Line? Creating Your Professional Narrative | Courtney Young-Law | Exploration |
| Empower track session Managing Conflicts in the Academic Workplace | Kathleen Canul | Artistry |
| Lead track session Using Constructive Debate to Build Better Ideas | B. Kim Barnes | Legacy A |
| Grow track session Creating Coaching Conversations People Want | Carina Celesia Moore | Optimist B |
| Grow track session What's Your Line? Creating Your Professional Narrative | Nnenna Ozobia | Optimist A |
| Grow track session The Complaint Resolution Process: A Crash Course in PPSM 70 | Marie-Ann Hairston | Legacy B |
| Empower track session Your Personal Compass: Navigating Difficult Decisions | Jack Flaherty | Enlightenment |
| Session | Speaker | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Empower track session Engage Your Team Through Everyday Improvement | Ashley Gambhir | Discovery |
| Empower track session Do the Right Thing: Creating Trust Within Your Team | Jennifer Damico Murphy | Entrepreneur |
| Empower track session Relationship Intelligence: The Bridge Between People and Performance | Mike Patterson | Transformation |
| Grow track session Collaboration or Conflict: Labor Relations Viewpoint | Nadine Fishel and Anthony DiGrazia | Imagination |
| Empower track session Talent Talk! UC's Leading Talent Experts Talk Strategy and Reality | Michael Yates, Bridget Hough, Doug Levine, Mark Chatman and Alex Gomez | Catalyst |
| Session | Speaker | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Grow track session The Neuroscience of Psychological Safety and Trust in Effective Teams | Ken Nowack | Entrepreneur |
| Lead track session Don't Forget the People: Creating Effective Change | Jennifer Mushinskie, Rich Janis and Jo Mackness | Catalyst |
| Empower track session Walking the Walk: Building Trust Through Ethics in the UC Workplace | John Torres, Kevin Confetti, Shanda Hunt, Nancy Pluzdrak and Louise Nelson | Imagination |
| Empower track session Find Your Greatest Strength Through Vulnerability: How Inclusion of All Abilities Leads to Positive Change | Jeff Wissel and Hale Pulsifer | Transformation |
| Lead track session Living Our Values: A Call to Action Around Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at UC | Yvette Gullatt and Tae-Sun Kim | Discovery |
August 8 Sessions and Workshops Guide
| Workshop | Speaker | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Leader, Lead track session, director-level leadership and above only UC Talent and Succession Management Strategies | Doris Sims-Spies and Donna Salvo | Legacy B |
| Senior Leader, Grow track session, director-level leadership and above only Kick Bias in the Fear | Tracy Preciado | Exploration |
| Empower track session Authentic Leadership Through Storytelling | Reba Rose | Illumination |
| Lead track session Lead with Authority (and Power) to Achieve Results | Gerry Preciado | Legacy A |
| Grow track session Feeling Frustrated? How to Feel Your Best at Work | Anna Rodrigues | Enlightenment |
| Empower track session Psychological Safety's Value: Foundation for Change | Stacy Starkka and Joyce Brown | Optimist A |
| Empower track session Coaching and Career Development Conversations | Wendy Hanson | Artistry |
| Lead track session Beat the Toxic Trio: A Shift in Leader Perspective | Matt Mansinne | Optimist B |
| Session | Speaker | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Empower track session How to Hold Peers Accountable and Not Alienate Them | Emily Gregory | Discovery |
| Grow track session It's on the Web, but I Can't See It, Hear It or Use It! | Yvonne Tevis, Judy Thai and Katina Ancar | Imagination |
| Grow track session The Value of Your Personal Leadership Philosophy | Jay Pullins, Tana Troke Campana and Linda Thai Schlossman | Transformation |
| Lead track session University of California Budget Overview | David Alcocer | Catalyst |
| Empower track session Leading the Workforce Today and Tomorrow | Ingrid Laman | Entrepreneur |
| Session | Speaker | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Empower track session Real Stories of Employment Practice Claims and Tips for Success | Bryce Besser and Kevin Confetti | Discovery |
| Grow track session Plan – Hire – Develop | Harshit Mehta, Ryan Zervakos, Allen Hom and Shannon Ryan-Riggs | Catalyst |
| Lead track session Leading Others: The Nine Roots of Effective Leadership | Paul Butler | Imagination |
| Lead track session UC Strategic Planning: Why Do It? How to Get Started? How to Make It Stick? | Julian Ryu and Kathy Eftekhari | Transformation |
| Empower track session Don't Hold People Accountable; Develop Accountability | Tom Weeks | Entrepreneur |
Session and Workshop Descriptions
- Your career and relationships
- Gain information and insights that enhance your professional expertise
- Yourself and your team
- Discover new models that shift your perspective
- The organization to succeed
- Learn tools and resources that increase your management and leadership effectiveness
- Available to UC-Coro Systemwide Leadership Collaborative participants only
- This session is intended for Director-level leadership and above.
August 7, 10:20am-12:20pm Workshop Descriptions
Senior Leader, Grow track session, director-level leadership and above only Author Your Brand: How Do You Show Up as a Leader?
Presented by Paul Larsen
In today's dynamic global community, leaders need to be able to effectively blend the "science of management" with the "art of leadership" so that they can lead themselves and their organizations successfully. Finding a unique leadership voice or brand is the key difference between becoming a boring and bland bureaucrat, or being an innovative and intentional influencer.
In this engaging and interactive session, you will learn how to create your agile and unique leadership voice by:
- Discovering your core leadership values
- Authoring your outcomes for a successful vision
- Exercising your Influence to build trust and credibility
- Demonstrating your courage to develop outside your comfort zone
- Communicating your leadership expression to create a lasting and positive legacy
Return to August 7, 10:20 Workshops
Lead track session Leveraging and Integrating Strategic Planning
Presented by Kristin Kielich and Traci Carpenter
Teams gather together to form their strategic plans, often investing critical time and resources only to find their efforts are forgotten weeks later. In this session attendees will:
- Obtain a high-level overview of traditional strategic planning components
- Identify how to develop or refine an existing strategic plan to ensure relevancy and to drive results across their team(s)
- Learn about key tools to assess strategic alignment and integrate strategic planning
Join Kristin Kielich and Traci Carpenter as they illuminate the ways that managers can integrate their strategic plans to develop cohesion, catalyze action and realize their strategic goals.
Return to August 7, 10:20 Workshops
Grow track session Resilience: Navigating the Unexpected with Grace
Presented by Adrienne Harrell
Building resilience is an important skill for managing the stresses (big and small) that impact our lives. Resilience increases our ability to "respond" rather than "react" to unexpected events and set-backs, while mitigating the impact these events can have on our mind, our body and our productivity. Adrienne Harrell will lead participants in the exploration of what it means to be resilient and why it is an important skill/competency to nurture and develop in self and others. In addition, people managers will practice specific tools and approaches for building resilience in their professional and personal lives, and learn how to support and inspire their teams and colleagues to cultivate a culture of resilience in the workplace.
Return to August 7, 10:20 Workshops
Grow track session Design Thinking: To Collaborate and Enable Change
Presented by Christine Folck
Embracing the concept of design thinking means believing that all problems, even the seemingly intractable ones, are solvable. Moreover, it means believing that the people who face those problems every day are the ones who hold the key to their solutions. Join Christin Folck in this highly engaging and interactive session to gain a better understanding of design thinking, and how design thinking processes and tools can help solve problems and enable change while building collaboration.
Return to August 7, 10:20 Workshops
Grow track session Act Like a Leader
Presented by Rich Janis
Leaders play a critical role in helping organizations achieve strategic and operational change and transformational goals. This session will highlight current research around contemporary leadership approaches and provide participants the opportunity to assess their own leadership skills and development opportunities. In addition, attendees will discuss some of the methods that present-day organizations are using to develop their leaders internally.
Return to August 7, 10:20 Workshops
Lead track session Naming and Taming Resistance to Change
Presented by Mary Morello and Lisa Terry
Resistance, the natural human reaction to change, remains one of the most challenging but critical aspects of driving change.
The question is not if we will encounter resistance to change, but rather how we support our people through the change process and manage resistance to minimize the impact on employees and the organization. This practical, hands-on session will provide actionable insights from Prosci's latest best practices research on resistance management to equip participants to actively manage and mitigate resistance.
Return to August 7, 10:20 Workshops
Empower track session Build a Coaching Culture on a Foundation of Trust
Presented by Katy Sharon, Matt Mansinne and Inette Dishler
Through active participation in this session, participants will learn and share how to build and preserve a culture of trust and collaboration. They will have opportunities to acquire and practice coaching skills and explore the effect of asking powerful questions. In addition, participants will learn best practices from UC Berkeley's experiences in creating a culture of coaching.
Return to August 7, 10:20 Workshops
August 7, 10:20-11:20am Session Descriptions
Empower track session The High Performing, Committed Employee: The Nexus Between Employee Empowerment & Engagement
Presented by Marie-Ann Hairston
Empowerment and engagement are two words that have been heavily used to describe ideal organizational goals for high performing employees, but what do they really mean? How do they work together? How does a manager or supervisor encourage and support their employees’ commitment to their jobs and the organization? Join Marie-Ann Hairston and learn about the connection between empowerment, engagement and the committed employee.
Return to August 7, 10:20 Sessions
Empower track session "That's Not Fair!" – Operationalizing Fairness
Presented by Andrew Larratt-Smith
The perception of fair treatment is integrally connected to building trust, enabling collaboration, managing processes and leading people. But what makes something or someone “fair”? Andrew Larrett-Smith will lead participants in discussions and the examination of pertinent case studies that articulate the importance of fairness at the University and in their own departments. In addition, attendees will walk away with an understanding of the dimensions and principles of fairness as well as tools to help apply these principles in their daily work.
Return to August 7, 10:20 Sessions
Grow track session Keys for Mastering the New Leadership Landscape
Presented by Rob Shallenberger
It is difficult to be a leader, maximize the potential and productivity of your team members, and maintain peace and balance in your own life. That is why, after four decades of research, Becoming Your Best Global Leadership has identified 12 principles that great leaders and high-performers need to focus on to get extraordinary results. Leaders around the world are using these principles at every level to be disruptive and create a high-performance culture. Join this session to learn the 12 principles and habits that will transform your life and the way you lead your team. Leave this session feeling refreshed, motivated and ready to become a transformational leader.
Return to August 7, 10:20 Sessions
Lead track session Accelerating Digital Transformation: Top Priority for Talent Leaders
Presented by Morné Swart
Digital technology is changing the way organizations operate, so adopting digital processes is imperative to remaining competitive. In this session, participants will explore three key digital initiatives that talent leaders can, if not should, undertake to accelerate their organization's digital transformation:
- Integrating brand and culture
- Building more efficient development pipelines
- Translating engagement into productivity
Return to August 7, 10:20 Sessions
Lead track session How to Spot and Manage Organizational Culture Barriers in the UC System
Presented by John Forsythe
In today’s environment, universities need to be more agile and collaborative across departments and colleges and to innovate beyond the traditional methods of delivering education, but how many times has “we've always done it this way” thinking, ingrained in many faculty and staff, gotten in the way of that progress? This session will prepare leaders to spot and manage organizational culture barriers in order to continue modernizing higher education and meet the needs of new students.
Return to August 7, 10:20 Sessions
August 7, 11:30am-12:30pm Session Descriptions
Empower track session It Pays to Communicate About Compensation
Presented by Karen Berardi
Many managers dread, avoid or squander the opportunity to have candid conversations with their employees about pay. This session will provide participants with the tools and resources needed to build credibility and trust around the highly sensitive topics of pay and classification. Transparency, consistency and alignment with the external labor market — all foundational principles of the Career Tracks structure — will be explored.
Return to August 7, 11:30 Sessions
Grow track session Toxic Leadership: A Systems View and What You Can Do
Presented by Gary Cheng
Toxic leadership is an important topic that affects many of us and the more we understand it, the better we can act to address it. During this session, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the systems that enable, support and even create toxic leadership by learning about the research that exists, and does not exist, around this topic. In addition, attendees will learn to analyze any toxic leader situation as a system using the Toxic Triangle framework and will walk away with at least one idea of how to make progress on this issue in their own particular workplace.
Return to August 7, 11:30 Sessions
Lead track session Leadership Trends — Successful Leadership in the Modern Age
Presented by Lisa Fagan
Businesses are only as successful as their leaders are effective. Are you equipped to lead in this modern era? Learn about the latest business trends that drive the skills that leaders need to be successful today and into the future. Lisa Fagan, Vice President, Global Leadership, will share the perspectives and leadership performance drivers identified by Training Industry, Bersin by Deloitte, GP Strategies and the Association of Training & Development.
Return to August 7, 11:30 Sessions
Lead track session Applying the Modern Learning Formula to Leadership Development
Presented by Benny Ramos
In a continuation of Morné Swart’s earlier discussion around organizational adoption of digital processes, Skillsoft’s Benny Ramos will discuss the increasing focus on modern learners and the role technology plays in their engagement. Additionally, Benny will explore the ways in which leadership development is evolving and how organizations can apply a modern learning formula to increase leadership development efficacy in the modern, digital age.
Return to August 7, 11:30 Sessions
Empower track session 21st Century Leadership — If You Lead, They Will Follow... Maybe
Presented by Terry Barton
In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous business world, managers and leaders may set the vision and direction, but it’s their teams who decide whether or not they will follow. Join this session and gain new insight into the future of the workplace and a new perspective on leadership, and learn how to be more collaborative and evaluative in your leadership approach.
Return to August 7, 11:30 Sessions
August 7, 2:30-4:30pm Workshop Descriptions
Grow track session, UC-Coro participants only What's Your Line? Creating Your Professional Narrative
Presented by Courtney Young-Law
All professionals need a polished professional narrative, regardless of their industry or years of experience. 2019 UC-Coro Systemwide Leadership Collaborative participants will leave this session with a first draft of their professional narrative, so that, when asked, "what do you do?”, they will be able to highlight compelling themes in their career and the impact they have made in their work. A polished professional narrative is useful in many settings, ranging from professional conferences to cocktail parties.
Return to August 7, 2:30 Workshops
Empower track session Managing Conflicts in the Academic Workplace
Presented by Kathleen Canul
Join Kathleen Canul as she offers guidelines and strategies to campus leaders dealing with difficult interpersonal relationships in the workplace. Managers and leaders who attend will learn to:
- Identify signs and patterns of incivility and bullying
- Recognize the vulnerability of women, ethnic minority and LGBTQ individuals
- Implement strategies of inclusion to reduce bias and abusive conduct
- Gain self-awareness about personal strengths and possible areas of growth when dealing with conflict
- Increase effectiveness in managing workplace conflict
Return to August 7, 2:30 Workshops
Lead track session Using Constructive Debate to Build Better Ideas
Presented by B. Kim Barnes
Ideas are the lifeblood of organizations in the current climate, but having a constant flow of new and interesting ideas to explore, develop, test and bring to fruition is not a given. Three major factors contribute to the dearth of great ideas. First, few ideas are great to begin with. They have to be questioned, critiqued, improved, and developed, and then they compete with other ideas for support, commitment and resources. Second, few people have been well-trained in the skills that enable them to work with their own and others' ideas in a tough, honest, competitive, yet collaborative, way. And third, organizational politics, tribal loyalties and human emotions, such as fear of loss, are a powerful, yet sometimes invisible, factor in communication and decision-making within organizations. In this session, participants will explore an approach for engaging team members and others in soliciting, offering, developing, improving and challenging ideas so only the best and most robust ideas move forward.
Return to August 7, 2:30 Workshops
Grow track session Creating Coaching Conversations People Want
Presented by Carina Celesia Moore
Do you have 10 minutes? Then you can create a coaching conversation using a “coach approach.” In this workshop, you will practice getting to the heart of meaningful matters in moments through the art of asking powerful, open-ended questions. You will explore the International Coach Federation (ICF) core coaching competencies and discover how to set the foundation for coaching conversations built on trust and effective communication. In this interactive workshop, you will experience exercises designed to build coaching conversation skills and gain tools for your ongoing coach approach that inspires people’s best work.
Return to August 7, 2:30 Workshops
Grow track session What's Your Line? Creating a Professional Narrative
Presented by Nnenna Ozobia
All professionals need a polished professional narrative, regardless of their industry or years of experience. Participants will leave this session with a first draft of their professional narrative, so that, when asked, "what do you do?”, they will be able to highlight compelling themes in their career and the impact they have made in their work. A polished professional narrative is useful in many settings, ranging from professional conferences to cocktail parties.
Return to August 7, 2:30 Workshops
Grow track session The Complaint Resolution Process: A Crash Course in PPSM 70
Presented by Marie-Ann Hairston
As a Manager/Leader of a team, there are few things more upsetting, frustrating or awkward than having a team member file a complaint. It could be against a co-worker, someone outside of your unit or against you as the supervisor. How does the complaint resolution process work and what is your role in resolving the complaint? How can your department become so disrupted when this is a confidential process?
Return to August 7, 2:30 Workshops
Empower track session Your Personal Compass: Navigating Difficult Decisions
Presented by Jack Flaherty
Many of today's leaders lack the tenure and mentorship to develop a strong foundational decision making toolset to enable personal success. In this session participants will discuss current trends at the University of California and in corporate America that are negatively impacting today's and tomorrow's leader's ability to make efficient and effective decisions. Lessons learned from across industries and levels of management will be shared, and attendees will walk through an easy to implement framework that will help them make efficient and effective decisions.
Return to August 7, 2:30 Workshops
August 7, 2:30-3:30pm Session Descriptions
Empower track session Engage Your Team Through Everyday Improvement
Presented by Ashley Gambhir
Would you like your teams to work proactively to solve problems on a daily basis, reduce the amount of time your managers spend fire-fighting and improve engagement? If so, join Ashley Gambhir to learn more about lean thinking. During this session you will receive an overview of key lean principles and how you can apply them in your leadership and management practices to create a culture shift towards collaboration and trust.
Return to August 7, 2:30 Sessions
Empower track session Do the Right Thing: Creating Trust Within Your Team
Presented by Jennifer Damico Murphy
In today's competitive job marketplace, good supervisors are critical to attract and especially retain talent. But incoming talent – Millennials and Gen Z – value different things from their organizations and from their supervisors than previously understood. The 2019 Deloitte Millennial Survey results show that millennials want to work for employers who are "proactive about making a positive impact in society" and "responsive to employees' needs." When tied to the fact that fewer than half the survey respondents believe that corporations behave ethically, this creates an opportunity for UC supervisors to show, through their own ethical behaviors, how UC contributes to making the world a better place. This session will provide an overview of the 2019 Deloitte Millennial survey results as well as insights from texts/research on trust and integrity in the workplace. Building on those insights, participants will engage together in sharing experiences of what “doing the right thing” looks like as a supervisor and how it can be leveraged to build trust within teams.
Return to August 7, 2:30 Sessions
Empower track session Relationship Intelligence: The Bridge Between People and Performance
Presented by Mike Patterson
Whether in times of harmony, opposition, or when tensions rise and conflict occurs, the right information and behavior coaching, provided in the moment, can empower your people to become more fearless, innovative and productive. Relationship Intelligence in action also cultivates ways for all members of your organization to value, appreciate and honor one another, a trait much needed as enterprises become more social, both internally and externally.
In this breakout session, participants will experience a platform for team effectiveness that harnesses Relationship Intelligence to empower manager coaching conversations and other key interactions among the talented people you rely on to drive results. Whether it’s a face-to-face meeting, presentation, text or email, you will learn how to respectfully communicate and build trust using a tailored approach designed to bring out the best in each person on the team.
All breakout session participants receive a complimentary Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI 2.0) assessment, along with free temporary access to the team effectiveness platform.
Return to August 7, 2:30 Sessions
Grow track session Collaboration or Conflict: Labor Relations Viewpoint
Presented by Nadine Fishel and Anthony DiGrazia
In Labor Relations, collaboration is the ideal method for finding middle ground and balancing the interests of the organization with the interests of its employees. This is the ultimate goal of collective bargaining, though many times, relations are adversarial. In this workshop, Nadine Fishel will provide a realistic, yet humorous, depiction of how to (and how not to) collaborate. Participants will leave with additional perspectives that include the politics, the compromises and the insights into how a final product is derived.
Return to August 7, 2:30 Sessions
Empower track session Talent Talk! UC's Leading Talent Experts Talk Strategy and Reality
Presented by Michael Yates, Bridget Hough, Doug Levine, Mark Chatman and Alex Gomez
The PMC has brought together a collection of recruiting experts with over a century of combined experience in the talent acquisition field. Join them to hear about what they are doing to help their UC locations become strategic partners to improve hiring decisions, effi¬ciency and create a better candidate experience.
Return to August 7, 2:30 Sessions
August 7, 3:45-4:45pm Session Descriptions
Grow track session The Neuroscience of Psychological Safety and Trust in Effective Teams
Presented by Ken Nowack
Effective teams are characterized by high levels of both psychological safety and interpersonal trust. Recent research supports the need for both factors for teams to prosper and function effectively. Join Ken Nowack, Ph.D as he summarizes the neuroscience behind these factors and provides evidence-based approaches to enhance both psychological safety and interpersonal trust in teams. In addition, explore the link between high trust teams and important employee outcomes such as retention, engagement, reduced job burnout and well-being.
Return to August 7, 3:45 Sessions
Lead track session Don't Forget the People: Creating Effective Change
Presented by Jennifer Mushinskie, Rich Janis and Jo Mackness
A "one size fits all” approach to change communications doesn’t work in the UC system. What motivates some doesn’t motivate all. When key leaders are left out of the planning process at the strategic level and representation or collaboration excludes some constituents in the early phases of a project, confusion and frustration are inevitable.
This session explores six best practices for change management communications that will include real life examples from UC location partners. Participants will learn about what happens when these practices are followed (successful outcomes) or not (challenges that could have been avoided) on a local and systemwide scale.
Return to August 7, 3:45 Sessions
Empower track session Walking the Walk: Building Trust Through Ethics in the UC Workplace
Presented by John Torres, Kevin Confetti, Shanda Hunt, Nancy Pluzdrak and Louise Nelson
Join John Torres as he leads a panel of current UC managers from HR, Ethics and Compliance, Risk Management, OGC and at least one subject matter expert from outside of the UC system as they discuss best practices for UC managers when dealing with employee issues that could evolve into larger problems for them and their teams. Panel members will share experiences from their own careers and field questions from attendees on how they've managed specific situations, such as addressing employee complaints (HR, bullying, sexual harassment, whistleblowers, etc.), whether brought against managers personally or against their teams.
Return to August 7, 3:45 Sessions
Empower track session Find Your Greatest Strength Through Vulnerability: How Inclusion of All Abilities Leads to Positive Change
Presented by Jeff Wissel and Hale Pulsifer
Hale Pulsifer and Jeff Wissel of Fidelity Investments will share their experience of how an all-volunteer Employee Resource Group (ERG) uncovered an opportunity that led to the creation of a new department—The Office of Customer Accessibility. Once established, the department’s staff made concentrated efforts to improve the service experience for those with disabilities. Join Hale and Jeff to learn how one of the world’s largest financial services firms implemented a focused strategy to address customer accessibility.
Return to August 7, 3:45 Sessions
Lead track session Living Our Values: A Call to Action Around Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at UC
Presented by Yvette Gullatt and Tae-Sun Kim
Diverse and inclusive workplace environments are essential for cultivating more effective and creative teams, and for achieving greater institutional outcomes. In this informal, moderated session, participants will explore this principle through a dialogue around real-life scenarios. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to learn about concepts, techniques and available resources that have proved effective in promoting equity and inclusion in the workplace.
Return to August 7, 3:45 Sessions
August 8, 10:15am-12:15pm Workshop Descriptions
Lead track session, director-level leadership and above only UC Talent and Succession Management Strategies
Presented by Doris Sims-Spies and Donna Salvo
The University of California system faces economic, political and social challenges that require a more intentional approach to talent management, ensuring organizational readiness for the future. This means keeping the organization ready for today while preparing for tomorrow by employing the right people with the right skills, supporting a diverse employee population, and encouraging employees to grow and develop. In addition, for UC to be successful in recruiting and retaining talent, leaders must create a cross-system approach to talent and succession management.
Join Doris and Donna to discuss strategies, resources and programs to address UC’s talent and succession challenges.
Return to August 8, 10:15 Workshops
Grow track session, director-level leadership and above only Kick Bias in the Fear
Presented by Tracy Preciado
It takes conscious effort to identify and overcome unconscious biases. Shifting mindsets from those based in fear to those based in acceptance requires authentic connection. In this two-hour workshop, Tracy will bring her practical, real world style to engage participants as they learn how to identify their own biases, then practice tools they can use to engage in difficult conversations and begin a dialogue to lay the foundation for a culture of belonging.
Return to August 8, 10:15 Workshops
Empower track session Authentic Leadership Through Storytelling
Presented by Reba Rose
Today's organizations demand leaders who not only communicate well but are also able to do so persuasively, by inspiring others and creating cooperation among those who work with them. These leaders use storytelling to effectively impart their messages, advocate for ideas and proposals within their organizations, and deliver organizational messages with presence and conviction. In this workshop participants will learn:
- What makes an authentic leader
- How to communicate with presence and conviction
- How to identify their leadership story and tell it in the most authentic way
Return to August 8, 10:15 Workshops
Lead track session Lead with Authority (and Power) to Achieve Results
Presented by Gerry Preciado
When we are promoted to a position of leadership, with it comes the authority to direct the work of others. Many believe that the authority to lead is sufficient to achieve results. Truly effective leaders understand that while it is necessary to have authority to lead, what yields the greatest results is the power to lead. When we lead with power, we gain followers rather than manage employees. Authority and power are both needed, but it is the latter that yields transformational change.
This workshop focuses on both hard powers (derived from authority, fear and punishment) and soft powers (derived from inducement, persuasion and attraction). In the end participants will have explored why both are important and how to use each and develop both. By leading with soft power, and sprinkling in hard power when needed, employees respond well and feel valued.
Return to August 8, 10:15 Workshops
Grow track session Feeling Frustrated? How to Feel Your Best at Work
Presented by Anna Rodrigues
The mind is a powerful tool in creating and achieving professional and personal goals. Have you ever wondered why your mind locks onto certain details that may cause frustration, confusion or even inaction? Do you wish you could move past feeling overwhelmed and take action now? This workshop will define self-coaching and outline the steps to reach the personal and professional goals you desire. Using cognitive-based techniques you will explore the gap between the knowing and the doing, uncover the cause behind your current situation and develop a plan to create confidence that will guarantee you achieve your goals.
Return to August 8, 10:15 Workshops
Empower track session Psychological Safety's Value: Foundation for Change
Presented by Stacy Starkka and Joyce Brown
Join Dr. Stacy Starkka and Joyce Brown in this interactive workshop to develop an idea of how your UC environment could benefit from improved psychological safety. Participants will learn about:
- The main ingredients necessary to manifest psychological safety
- Case studies that highlight possible interventions for this group phenomenon
- The most common obstacles to achieving psychological safety and some successful ways to overcome them
- Tools to measure psychological safety in your organizations and forecast the value of improving it
Return to August 8, 10:15 Workshops
Empower track session Coaching and Career Development Conversations
Presented by Wendy Hanson
According to Project Oxygen, a survey of managers at Google, coaching is the #1 skill individual contributors desire from their managers. Coaching is a way of being in relationship with your direct reports that shows you care about THEM, not just what they DO. In this workshop, you will receive a toolkit to mentor your team members as they grow their careers, including the following:
- "Career Development Plan Template" to help team members assess their strengths, areas of improvement and aspirations, and get feedback and direction
- Case studies that highlight possible interventions for this group phenomenon
- "Memorable Moments Timeline" which captures the life experiences that have brought the person to this moment in their career
- Brainstorming tools for discovering creative ways for career growth beyond receiving training
Return to August 8, 10:15 Workshops
Lead track session Beat the Toxic Trio: A Shift in Leader Perspective
Presented by Matt Mansinne
In this interactive workshop, participants will become acquainted with the impulses and behaviors that undermine effective leadership and a culture of trust, while learning how to recognize the effects of these behaviors and how to counteract them. Through skills practice and small group discussions, participants will gain valuable insight into shifting their perspectives as leaders.
Return to August 8, 10:15 Workshops
August 8, 10:15-11:15am Session Descriptions
Empower track session How to Hold Peers Accountable and Not Alienate Them
Presented by Emily Gregory
How do you hold faculty, administrators, peers and students accountable for unmet expectations without damaging relationships?
Wherever there is poor performance or bad behavior, a crucial conversation is due. How quickly and effectively this happens makes all the difference. In fact, the health of any relationship, team or organization can be measured by the lag between identifying and discussing problems.
When leaders and managers learn skills to hold peers accountable, problems get resolved and relationships improve. Morale, engagement and productivity also improve.
Attend this session to learn skills for addressing performance problems in a way that strengthens relationships and gets results.
Return to August 8, 10:15 Sessions
Grow track session It's on the Web, but I Can't See It, Hear It or Use It!
Presented by Yvonne Tevis, Judy Thai and Katina Ancar
Did you know that 20% of the US population has some type of disability? Depending on the disability, it may be hard for some to use a computer or mobile phone, navigate a website, fill out an online form or watch a video. If you and your team are posting anything online or sending anything electronically, you need to make sure everyone in your audience, including people with disabilities, can get to it and engage with it.
This session will provide an overview of the ways to make your websites more accessible to people with disabilities and actually more usable for everyone. That includes people with temporary injuries (think carpal tunnel) or aging eyesight, and those who want to avoid the frustration of poorly functioning websites. You will learn how to recognize common website accessibility problems, how to buy only accessible products and even a bit about the legal reasons you should care about accessibility.
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Grow track session The Value of Your Personal Leadership Philosophy
Presented by Jay Pullins, Tana Troke Campana and Linda Thai Schlossman
By developing and delivering your own personal leadership philosophy, you will gain greater personal clarity, confidence and courage, and learn how to unleash the same in your team. Join Jay Pullins and UC San Diego colleagues Tana Troke Campana and Linda Thai Schlossman to:
- Learn the importance and advantages of clearly understanding and communicating your personal leadership philosophy to employees
- Learn the elements of a personal leadership philosophy and strategies for putting it into writing
- Learn best practices for communicating your personal leadership philosophy to your team
Return to August 8, 10:15 Sessions
Lead track session University of California Budget Overview
Presented by David Alcocer
The University of California budget is a subject that many UC managers want to better understand. Join David Alcocer, Associate Vice President for Budget Analysis and Planning at the UC Office of the President as he delivers a UC budget overview, describes its internal and external influences, and provides perspectives and insights that will assist people managers in their role as financial stewards.
Return to August 8, 10:15 Sessions
Empower track session Leading the Workforce Today and Tomorrow
Presented by Ingrid Laman
This informative session will focus on the myths and misconceptions on what makes an effective manager and leader. Gartner will share their tips and tactics to help managers and leaders improve employee performance and productivity through coaching, career development and inclusion-building efforts.
Return to August 8, 10:15 Sessions
August 8, 11:30am-12:30pm Session Descriptions
Empower track session Real Stories of Employment Practice Claims and Tips for Success
Presented by Bryce Besser and Kevin Confetti
Building a collaboration of trust requires that managers continually ensure they are updating their toolkit to address arising employment issues in the workplace. This session focuses on emerging employment liability trends, including sexual harassment claims in the #MeToo era and disability discrimination claims from both a campus and systemwide perspective. Providing both statistical information and practical tips, attendees will be better able to address these complicated workplace issues.
Return to August 8, 11:30 Sessions
Grow track session Plan – Hire – Develop
Presented by Harshit Mehta, Ryan Zervakos, Allen Hom and Shannon Ryan-Riggs
LinkedIn helps organizations plan, hire and develop their talent using their unique member data and insights. In this session, LinkedIn staff will share key talent acquisition and talent development strategies that can help managers develop winning teams whose members are productive and successful in their current roles and also in exploring careers that they would ultimately like to pursue. These strategies range from recruiting to learning to employee engagement. LinkedIn staff will demonstrate how they can use their unique member insights to help organizations plan for strategic decisions, recruit and hire the right people efficiently, and continually develop teams to keep up with the changing skills needed to succeed.
Return to August 8, 11:30 Sessions
Lead track session Leading Others: The Nine Roots of Effective Leadership
Presented by Paul Butler
Never before in the history of our working lives has the call for excellent leadership been as strong as it is now. Great leaders are women and men of high character and high competence. Attend this session to explore a compelling new way of looking at the role of today's leaders as one of support rather than one of control. Come ready to be inspired as a current and future leader to achieve excellent results.
Return to August 8, 11:30 Sessions
Lead track session UC Strategic Planning: Why Do It? How to Get Started? How to Make It Stick?
Presented by Julian Ryu and Kathy Eftekhari
How many strategic plans end up on a shelf, gathering dust? Departments are frequently asked to create strategic plans without a full understanding of its value and the ways to secure employee buy-in from plan development through implementation. UCOP has developed a customized strategic planning process approved by the President and implemented across most OP divisions. This session will provide an overview of the UCOP process along with lessons learned for application at other UC locations and attendees will walk away with the UCOP Strategic Planning Handbook.
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Empower track session Don't Hold People Accountable; Develop Accountability
Presented by Tom Weeks
Ninety-five percent of employees are dissatisfied with their organization's performance evaluation process. At this engaging session, participants will learn about a self-accountability model that employees actually like while retaining an organization’s high-performance standards. Led by the author of a bestselling book on transforming work culture, attendees will learn about the power of mindset and how it drives self-accountable behaviors.
Return to August 8, 11:30 Sessions