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Staff training and development

The SAS Training & Professional Development (T&PD) Committee is excited to provide resource materials, activities and experiences that will enhance and build on the organizations values and help with your own professional development and connection to our campus community. Under each section at the bottom of this page you will find resources on that development topic. Resources may include short articles, webinars, books, videos and team activities that you can participate in individually or with your team. 

Each quarter, the T&PD committee will expand the list of offerings and resources based on the responses received from the SAS Professional Development Survey conducted in October.  Look for these development opportunities focused on SAS values as well as opportunities for professional development:

  • Goal Setting 1st Quarter 2021
  • Diversity & Inclusion 2nd Quarter 2021
  • Supervision 3rd Quarter 2021
  • Communication and Conflict Management 4th Quarter 2021   

Training Materials

  • Leadership

    Development resources to use on your own

    Webinars
    Leadership Videos
    Articles and Light Reading
    Book Recommendations

    Development resources for supervisors

    Leadership Discussion Questions
    Leadership Ice Breakers and Activities
    Webinars:
    Leadership Videos:
    Grit: the power of passion and perseverance How to fix a broken school? Lead fearlessly, love hard

    How great leaders inspire action Everyday leadership

    Why we have too few women leaders 5 pillars of effective leadership
    Articles and Light Reading:
    Book Recommendations:
    • Who Moved My Cheese? – Spencer Johnson (94 pages)
      • A short, light-hearted story about the different ways we respond to life’s changes and how doing so skillfully can help us find more success and happiness in our lives.
    • One Minute Manager – Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson (112 pages)
      • This book gives managers three simple tools, which each take 60 seconds or less, but can tremendously improve how you do your job: getting people to stay motivated, happy and deliver great work.
    • Change the Culture, Change the Game – Roger Connors (240 pages)
      • This book is all about accountability.   When your whole team feels accountable for the success of the business, magic can happen. This book will leave you with no doubt that a culture of accountability can bring game-changing results. This is a practical guide to get you there with proven case studies to keep you inspired.
    • Good to Great – James C. Collins (320 pages)
      • This book outlines a model for turning a good, average or even mediocre company into a great one. It includes a useful model which brings all the theory together in a meaningful and memorable way. By bringing together disciplined people, using disciplined thought and disciplined action companies can build up and break through the barriers that hold them back from greatness.
    • Start with Why – Simon Sinek (256 pages)
      • Start with Why is about a naturally occurring pattern, a way of thinking, acting and communicating that gives some leaders the ability to inspire those around them. The more organizations and people who learn to also start with WHY, the more people there will be who wake up feeling fulfilled by the work they do.
    • Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader – Herminia Ibarra (200 pages)
      • In this book the author gives very practical advice about the small but impactful changes managers and executives at all levels can make to position themselves for leadership and increase their impact across their organizations.
    • Love is Free, Guac is Extra – Monty Moran (318 pages)
      • The author shows how he used curiosity, vulnerability, love, and a unique understanding of the true meaning of empowerment to build a distinctive and wildly effective culture.
    Leadership Discussion Questions:
    Leadership Icebreakers and Activities:
    • Leaders You Admire 10-20 minutes (Can be virtual!)
      • Essentially this activity involves participants divided into groups and discussing leaders they know or know of and why they admire them.  Groups come back together for a larger discussion and communication session at the end.  An activity that helps define desirable leadership characteristics and improves team bonding.
    • Tallest Tower 20-30 minutes
      • For this activity you will need a variety of items to build with, these can be anything readily available, for instance toothpicks, newspapers, uncooked pasta, wooden blocks etc.  Participants are required to build the tallest freestanding structure from the provided items.  This is an ideal activity to see who takes the lead and how teams can form bonds.
    • Plane Crash 10-20 minutes (Can be virtual!)
      • This one requires a bit of imagination, participants must pretend they are on a plane that has crashed on a desert island and choose a set amount of items from around the workplace (or their home!) that they think would be most useful to aid in their survival.  Each item is ranked in its importance and the entire group has to come to a consensus. Leaders can advocate for their item and also learn to support others and their ideas.  An excellent creative problem solving and collaboration activity.
    • Jumping Ship 30-45 minutes (Can be virtual!)
      • The aim of this game is for participants to reflect upon different leadership styles and come up with a list of actual workplace scenarios which would need a leader to abandon a natural leadership style for one that is more effective (i.e., to ‘jump ship’).
      • Each group is given three large pieces of paper. Ask the teams to write one style of leadership on each (i.e., autocratic, delegative, democratic). Then, allow the groups 20-30 minutes to come up with real work situations for which employing the particular leadership style would be disastrous. You can break out into different parts of the room or in virtual breakout rooms.
      • Ask the groups to place the sheets of paper up on the wall, and to discuss the sheets as a team. As a whole group, review the posters. If you are doing this virtually, feel free to share your screen or have a group member present.
    • Who Ya Gonna Call 20-30 minutes (Can be virtual!)
      • You can’t have the Ghostbusters solve all your problems. Each participant begins by writing a one-paragraph description of a work situation either present or past that was difficult. Explain the problem in as much detail as possible without talking about specific people. Collect these, and at the top of each page, number them in consecutive order. Then, divide the participants into two teams.
      • Give each team half of the paragraphs. Then, ask the teams to choose the style of leadership that would be the least and the most effective in solving the problem. Have the teams note their answers on a piece of paper, being sure to identify the paragraph number on the top of each page, and their choices.
      • Then, ask the teams to swap paragraphs and repeat the activity.
      • When the teams have discussed all the paragraphs, discuss the scenarios and review the choices as a group. Where the team’s choices are different, discuss as a group. This will help the group learn what leadership style they would like to emulate in their own work.
    • Leadership Race 15-20 minutes
      • Before gathering everyone together for this leadership activity, write a list of 20 or more leadership qualities in the form of “I am…” statements.
      • For example:
        • I am comfortable making important decisions with plenty of lead time.
        • I am comfortable making important decisions with no lead time.
        • I don’t blame others for my problems.
        • I am approachable even during stressful times.
        • I have a positive attitude in the face of adversity.
        • When it’s time to conduct the activity, line up all of the participants side by side facing you. Read each leadership quality statement out loud and instruct the participants to take one step forward if the statement applies to them.
      • Tell them beforehand that they must be ready to explain why they feel that they possess these qualities. Everyone doesn’t need to justify every quality, but as the game progresses toward the end, ask the remaining participants to rationalize their steps forward.
      • Continue reading statements until you have a winner.
      • This leadership activity helps your team members get to know themselves and their colleagues better. It can also help you identify those with real leadership ability to whom you can begin to assign more responsibility.
    • The Round Table 30 minutes
      • For this activity, you’ll need four round tables of the same size. Before the activity starts, create a different complex, multi-step task for each table. For example, assemble a puzzle, build a Lego tower, write an elevator pitch on a certain topic, create a recipe based on the last thing every team member ate, etc.
      • Divide your employees into four teams — one for each table — and assign a leader to each. The leader can only communicate, direct, and delegate the work at hand, but they can’t actually do the work.
      • Begin the activity and time how long it takes each team to complete the task. Record the results and move each team to the next table. You can keep the same leaders or assign new ones each time you move.
      • Time all teams on all tables and the team with the lowest overall total wins. Discuss in a group the difficulties and successes.
    • 30 Seconds Left 10 minutes (Can be virtual!)
      • Gather all of your employees and ask them to close their eyes and imagine the best moment of their life. Explain that they shouldn’t exclude moments such as personal breakthroughs, professional achievements, exciting adventures, experiences they’ve shared with lovers, friends, or family.
      • Give them exactly one minute to reflect on their most exciting life moments. After that, ask them to narrow down their search and seek the best 30 seconds experience that they’d like to share considering that (hypothetically) they’d only have 30 seconds left in this life.
      • Let them think for two minutes and let them know they can open their eyes once they are done. The last step is to allow them to communicate the best 30 seconds of their life. Ask for transparency and honesty.
      • This team building activity will allow your employees to get to know themselves better while allowing others to understand what they enjoy or care about the most.
    • Shark Tank 1 hour (Can be virtual!)
      • Shark Tank is a famous entrepreneurship TV show that allows people to exercise their entrepreneurial skills. You can do this exercise in two ways. You can split your team into several groups of people. The main objective is to develop a business plan that includes all the steps required for a startup to turn into a successful company.
        • The brand’s name
        • The brand’s tagline (slogan)
        • The business plan (detailed)
        • The marketing plan (detailed)
        • The financial predictions (sales, profits, market)
      • Once they have the plan, ask them to develop a pitch that includes the following:
      • The potential problems (competition, lack of resources).  Choose a few participants that you believe would fit the position of “Sharks” (the ones who grade the projects and offer the imaginary investments) and assign them imaginary roles (the Founder of Microsoft, the director of an NBA team, etc.) Make the roleplay fun!
      • As every team presents his pitch, the sharks must assign investments and justify them. At the end of the game, the team that raised most of the money will win. Make sure you reward this person/team in the appropriate way.
  • Goal Setting

    Development resources to use on your own

    Webinars
    Goal Setting Videos
    Articles and Light Reading
    Book Recommendations

    Development resources for supervisors

    Goal Setting Discussion Questions
    Goal Setting Ice Breakers and Activities
    Webinars:
    Goal Setting Videos
    Start SMART Goal Setting Setting SMART Goals - How to Properly Set a Goal

    Personal Goal Setting How to Achieve Goals

    Articles and Light Reading:
    Book Recommendations:
    • Your Best Year Yet – Michael Hyatt (256 pages) 
      • This book is a fun, proven, interactive workshop-in-a-book that offers a transformational, goal-oriented program based on ten simple questions. These straightforward, life-changing practical steps will help you make this year -- and every year -- the best year of your life.
    • Big Potential – Shawn Achor (240 pages) 
      • Big Potential will show you that the real secret to success and thriving in all aspects of life is developing strong connections with others and treating them in a way that lifts them up. 
    • The Desire Map – Danielle LaPorte (230 pages) 
      • With The Desire Map, Danielle LaPorte brings you a holistic life-planning tool that will revolutionize the way you go after what you want in life.
    • Goals: How to Get the Most Out of Your Life – Zig Ziglar (192 pages)
      • In this book, legendary speaker and author, Zig Ziglar points out you can't hit a target you don't have. He shares the 4 Reasons People Don't Set Goals. Zig guides you through the 9 Steps of Setting Goals. And he encourages you with, 'A goal properly set is halfway reached.' 
    • Hard Goals:The Secret to Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be – Mark Murphy (181 pages) 
      • In Hard Goals, Mark Murphy explains the science behind getting from where you are to where you want to be in your career, business, and life. 
    • The Magic Lamp: Goal Setting for People Who Hate Setting Goals – Keith Ellisa (256 pages)
      • This remarkable book describes a simple yet unforgettable process for how to obtain whatever you want from both your personal life and your career. 
    Goal Setting Discussion Questions:
    • How do you define goal setting? 
    • What features of goal setting are important, if we want to ensure they are more likely to be successfully achieved? 
    • What kinds of goals are more likely to make us motivated to achieve them? 
    • How do you set SMART goals? 
    • Why do goals matter? 
    • How do you achieve goals that really matter? 
    • https://the-happy-manager.com/tips/goal-setting-questions/ 
    Goal Setting Icebreakers and Activities:
    • Average Perfect Day activity 
      • You can do this exercise in a journal, blank notebook or on your computer, and as the title outlines it’s very straightforward – you write about what your average perfect day looks like. 
      • Focus on what your perfect day looks like without any added extras or surprises (so no winning lottery tickets or surprise romantic getaways). The idea here is to create a detailed list of what an average day looks like, step by step. This could include: 
      • The perfect time for waking up and what that looks like – do you read for 20 minutes before getting up? Cuddle with your partner? Do a sun salutation or mindfulness to start the day? 
      • What do you do once you’re out of bed? Do you make coffee and breakfast first, or shower first? Do you pick out your outfit for the day or did you do that the night before? Is there music, the radio, morning TV in the background? Are the curtains or window blinds open fully or do you prefer them closed while you get ready? 
      • What happens next? Do you go to work – what does that look like? Whom do you engage with? What does your desk look like? 
      • Are you at home with the kids? What do you get up to? What activities or adventures do you do together? 
      • What does a nutritious lunch look like and include? 
      • And you keep going if you want. Create a day you will never get bored of, that you could happily repeat five or seven days a week. Create an ‘Average Perfect Day’ for your work day and your downtime days. With or without your partner or kids. Really think about the individual behaviors that go into that day. What you’ll begin to see clearly are little habits you can start actioning straight away to get you closer to your idea of a perfectly average day. 

    • Treasure Mapping activity 

      • The Treasure Mapping exercise begins with some basic visualization techniques and takes it one step further. 
      • Visualization is a wonderful tool to help you build a picture of what you want certain aspects of your life to look like. When it comes to goal setting, visualization can become tricky as it takes time to concentrate and re-visualize what you’re working towards when you need a quick boost of inspiration and motivation. Visualization is a strong tool and the Treasure Mapping exercise can help to take it to a new level! 
      • With Treasure Mapping, you create a physical representation of your visualization. You can do this with a drawing, painting, collage, or digital art. It serves as a manifestation of your goals and intensifies the work you put into visualizing them in your mind. A few tips on getting started: 
      • First, clarify the goal you want to work towards. Visualize what this looks and feels like. Is it a personal achievement or more tangible, like running a marathon or paying off your debt? 
      • Now, write it all down in detail, using visualization as you go to build a clear picture. 
      • Think about the outcome of achieving your goal: What will you have? What will you be? How do you celebrate? What do your friends and family say? 
      • Once you have written this all down, it’s time to get creative! Grab your art supplies, a stack of magazines or whatever else you want to use to create your treasure map. At the top of your map create the visual representation of what achieving your goal looks like – this is the treasure you’re working towards. 
      • Now start thinking about all the steps required from where you are now, to achieving that ultimate goal. Begin the above process again for each step you can identify and work backward from your ultimate goal, creating a visual manifestation on your map as you go. 
      • Align your images – drawings or collage – in a way that you can see how they connect. This will help imprint in your mind how you are going to achieve them. 
      • Once finished, place your treasure map in a place where you can see it easily for a regular hit of motivation and inspiration. If you created in using some digital art software, print it or keep it as your background screensaver so you see it daily. 
  • Diversity & Inclusion

    Development resources to use on your own

    Webinars
    Diversity & Inclusion Videos
    Articles and Light Reading
    Book Recommendations

    Development resources for supervisors

    Diversity & Inclusion Discussion Questions
    Diversity & Inclusion Ice Breakers and Activities

    Webinars:

    Diversity & Inclusion Videos:

    Cultural Diversity Within Communities On Diversity: Access Ain't Inclusion

    'Ask Me': What LGBTQ Students Want Their Professors to Know  How Schools Can Improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Practices

    The Difference Between Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Misconception of Middle Eastern Culture and Religion 

    Articles and Light Reading:

    Book Recommendations:

    • Talking to Strangers – Malcom Gladwell (400 pages) 
      • In Talking to Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell offers a powerful examination of our interaction with strangers-and why they often go wrong. 
    • White Fragility – Robin DiAngelo (192 pages) 
      • With White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively. 
    • How to be An Inclusive Leader – Jennifer Brown (168 pages) 
      • In this book, diversity and inclusion expert Jennifer Brown provides a step-by-step guide for the personal and emotional journey we must undertake to create an inclusive workplace where everyone is welcomed, valued, respected, and heard. 
    • Click here for a full list of book recommendations

    Diversity & Inclusion Discussion Questions:

    • What are the benefits of diversity? 
    • What are some examples of diversity? 
    • Please share with us what Diversity and Inclusion mean to you and why they’re important. 
    • In your opinion, what is the most challenging aspect of working in a diverse environment? 
    • What is your approach to understanding the perspectives of colleagues from different backgrounds? 
    • How would you handle a situation where a colleague was being culturally insensitive, sexist, racist, or homophobic? 
    • How would you advocate for Diversity and Inclusion with colleagues who don’t understand its importance? 

    Goal Setting Icebreakers and Activities:

  • Supervision

    Supervision resources to use on your own

    Webinars
    Supervision Videos
    Articles and Light Reading
    Book Recommendations

    Supervision resources for supervisors

    Discussion Questions
    Ice Breakers and Activities

    Webinars:

    Supervision Videos:

    Effective Supervision:  Feedback for Learning Storytelling:  How to tell a leader from a manager

    What makes us feel good about our work? 3 ways to create a work culture that brings out the best in employees

    Articles and Light Reading:

    • 15 Qualities of a Good Supervisor (3 minute read)
      • This article describes the necessaries skills and qualities a supervisor needs to develop to successfully lead their team.
    • Becoming the Boss (10 minute read)
      • There are many misconceptions to being a supervisor but there are also great learning opportunities. Find out what supervising is and isn’t.
    • Supervisor, Leader, or Coach: Which is Best for Higher Ed? (5 minute read)
      • Higher education is a unique field and many of those in higher education believe supervision extends beyond the day-to-day function of the office.

    Book Recommendations:

    • Supervisor's Training Guide: The How-To Book for New and Experienced Supervisors – Joyce Karns (248 pages) 
      • Through the use of entertaining stories of realistic supervisory situations, readers quickly learn their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of their employees, to create a balanced and productive workplace.
    • Being a Supervisor 1.0: A Handbook for the New, Aspiring, and Experienced Supervisor – Joseph F. Duffy (176 pages) 
      • For first-time and aspiring supervisors, covering information useful in preparing to step into that role and fulfilling the duties of a supervisor on a daily basis, the book will also be a useful resource to experienced supervisors looking for help with daily supervisory tasks.
    • Perfect Phrases for Managers and Supervisors – Meryl Runion (208 pages) 
      • This book is designed to help you communicate as a supervisor in today’s workplace, where collaboration, cooperation, and personalization are critical to building an efficient, productive work environment.
    • Qualities of a Bad Supervisor: Skills for Supervisors - Qualities of a Good Supervisor – Mitchel Salesky (236 pages) 
      • Supervisory skills are essential for every employee since they are the foundation for moving up in your career to leadership positions.  This book gives you guidelines on how to become a supervisor.  If you currently work as a supervisor, you will find this guide a helpful tool to improve and excel in your job.
    • The Supervisor's Companion: A practical guide for new (and lightly trained) supervisors - Jeanne Thomas Hugg (188 pages) 
      • This book offers practical guidelines for supervisors and managers using relevant stories and a bit of humor so that learning is enjoyable and useful.
    • From Supervisor to Super Leader: How to Break Free from Stress and Build a Thriving Team That Gets Results – Shanda K. Miller (159 pages) 
      • In this book you'll discover simple strategies for building strong relationships with your team members, step-by-step guidance on how to delegate and hold staff accountable, how to set high expectations for your team but also provide high support, ways to engage, coach, and develop your staff, and easy strategies for managing your time and increasing your productivity.

    Discussion Questions:

    • What could leadership do to make your work easier?
    • What learning and development would be useful and that our division could support?
    • What is your biggest accomplishment this month?
    • What is your biggest challenge right now?
    • How do you handle conflicts with people you supervise?
    • Can you define your supervisory style?
    • What characteristics make a great supervisor?

    Icebreakers and Activities:

    Constructive Feedback

    Supplies Needed: Constructive Feedback Box, 30 pieces of wadded papes

    Number of People: 6-12 group size

    Instructions:

    1.  Ask for one volunteer.
    2.  Position the volunteer in a standing position and place an empty cardboard box somewhere behind the person, but at some distance.
    3. Place the thirty pieces of wadded paper within reach of the volunteer.
    4. Explain to the group their job is to give clues to the volunteer that will help him or her to throw the wads into the cardboard box without turning around. Give examples of clues such as, “A little further to the left.”
    5. Begin the activity.
    6. About halfway through the activity, remind the volunteer of some of the clues given. Ask which ones were helpful and why.
    7. Keep the activity going until the volunteer has successfully thrown three wads into the cardboard box.

    Variation: If you have fewer that seven people and more than five minutes, ask them all to stand in a square and do the activity for each person, one at a time.

    Debriefing Questions:

    1. What is true about feedback based on what occurred in the exercise?
    2. How did it feel to receive feedback from so many people?
    3. What feedback was most/least helpful? 4) What else could your group have done to increase your success?

    Three Shining Work Moments

    1. Divide the participants into small groups.
    2. Tell the groups that their assignment is to look back over their careers and identify three events, activities, accomplishments, collaborations, or moments of recognition by others that were shining or important to them. (10 minutes)
    3. When all participants are ready, ask them to share their shining moments with their small group. For maximum impact, it's best to let each person share one shining moment at a time, then to move on to the next person. Tell the small group members to listen carefully and to look for common themes and similarities in the stories. For example, did many of the shining work moments involve praise and thank yous from a respected supervisor?

    OR Tell the groups that each person will be asked to share just one of their shining moments with the entire group upon completion of the small group exercise if they are comfortable doing so.

    1. To debrief the team building icebreaker, ask the group how they reacted to the icebreaker (i.e., their reaction to the experience of telling their own stories and hearing the stories of coworkers).
      • Ask the entire group if they noticed any themes in the stories. One theme that tends to be mentioned a lot is about receiving recognition for one's work.
      • Ask the participants if they have anything they'd like to add to the discussion before closing the session.

    Tell Me Something Good:

    1. Get a stack of Post-It notes and put a single name of an employee on each page. (20 employees = 20 Post-It notes each with a single name on it).
    2. Give a Post-It note to every employee in the room, making sure the name they get is not their own.
    3. Ask your employees to write something good about the person on their Post-It.
    4. Have the employees fold their papers up and pass them to the front of the room.
    5. Redistribute the Post-Its making sure the employee does not get their own name, or the one they filled out.
    6. Have the employees take turns reading the name of the employee and the comments on the page.

    This exercise helps you as the supervisor get to know something about your team.  What sorts of comments are offered?  How do the employees respond to what is said about them?  Are the comments work-based (“Bob is very detailed in his work”) or more personal (“Mary is great to work with and always has a positive attitude”)?  After everyone shares what’s on their Post-It note, talk to the team about the positive things you hear and highlight any themes you noticed.  This is as much for you as it is for them.  It’s also a great lead into a general team dialogue.

  • Communication & Conflict Resolution - coming October 2021