New Content for Supervisors Attending SLP
This fall, supervisors attending Level 1 of the Strategic Leadership Program are benefitting from new and revised content on employee development, change management, and motivation. In addition, new supervisors now have the opportunity to take the stand-alone SLP Supervisor Orientation workshop to explore their responsibilities as an agent of the University, discover how to partner with UW Human Resources, and review HR and UW policies and resources.
For leaders who are curious about the material their supervisors are learning or who want to tackle some new material themselves, here’s an overview of the SLP Level 1 changes.
A number of the changes center around the Creating Exceptional Performance model, which SLP alumni may remember provides the foundation for the People section of the workshop on day two. This model has been retooled with a new look and a shift from “assuring supportive systems” to “supporting employee development.”
POD expanded the content on supporting employee development, which dovetails with the work UWHR is currently doing to foster succession planning and total talent management across the University. The material includes different types of and approaches to development as well as case studies around supporting development at various stages in employees’ careers. Leaders looking for additional resources can visit POD’s employee development page, which includes a Career Planning Resource and other tools.
Another part of the Creating Exceptional Performance model that POD revisited was the module on motivation, adding new content about intrinsic motivation and employee engagement. For those wanting to learn more, Lynne Lazaroff’s "Fostering Intrinsic Motivation" article from the last issue of The Leading Edge delves into this topic and includes a resource list at the end.
The module on change management, which is presented as part of Organizations on the fourth day, was also updated to include John Kotter’s widely respected eight-step model. Leaders hoping to learn more about this approach can see Kotter’s Leading Change. Dan S. Cohen’s The Heart of Change Field Guide: Tools and Tactics for Leading Change in Your Organization also provides an excellent resource. Cohen’s book includes a foreword by Kotter, heavily references Kotter’s work, and offers tools, frameworks, and practical advice for implementing change methods.
