Professional & Personal Development Programs 

Open to faculty and staff. Register at http://knowledgelink.upenn.edu/

Learning with Lynda: Building Accountability into Your Culture; January 9; 12:30-1:30 p.m.; free. Learning with Lynda classes use the University’s enterprise-wide license of Lynda.com to provide a blended learning solution to the Penn campus. In this session, leadership consultant and executive coach Mike Figliuolo reveals how to create a culture of accountability by developing accountability at the individual level, team level and brand level.

STEP UP Intoduction: First Steps to Excellence; January 10; 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; $150 for entire course. First Steps to Excellence is part one of STEP UP, Penn’s self-paced seven-part leadership development program. By the end of the First Steps to Excellence, you’ll have a deeper understanding of your five signature strengths and discover additional ways to take charge of your career at Penn. Other STEP UP sessions focus on developing skills to manage oneself, such as communications, getting work done, dealing with change and managing up.

Tools for Career Assessment and Development; January 17; 12:30-1:30 p.m.; free. A career plan is essentially a map you can use as you drive your career. In this program we will examine questions for assessing and developing your career. You will compare your career options using a variety of tools. By the end of the session you will have the resources needed to develop a plan for career success.

Project Management; January 18; 9 a.m. -noon; $75.  Managing projects can feel daunting. It requires a focus on defining the initiative, planning for work, managing the initiative and monitoring results. Join us for a seminar to learn about tools and techniques that can help you manage your projects.

TED Talk Tuesday: Yves Morieux—How too many rules at work keep you from getting things done; January 23; 12:30–1:30 p.m.; free. Modern work—from waiting tables to crunching numbers to designing products—is about solving brand-new problems every day, flexibly and collaboratively. But as Yves Morieux shows in this insightful talk, too often, an overload of rules, processes and metrics keeps us from doing our best work together. Meet the new frontier of productivity: cooperation.

Leading Productive One-on-One Meetings; January 31; 12:30–1:30 p.m.; free. Regular one-on-one meetings provide managers with an opportunity to head off problems and efficiently answer the many small, quick questions that arise during the workweek. This course, featuring a video by Dave Crenshaw, shows you how to establish a one-on-one meeting schedule and agenda, assign and review action items and assess the results of the meeting and follow up on promises. The course also explains how to effectively listen to employees’ needs and when to offer training and development.

Quality of Worklife Wokshops

Open to faculty and staff. Register at www.hr.upenn.edu/myhr/registration

Admissions Brown Bag: Navigating the High School Curricular Waters; January 10; noon-1 p.m; free. Faculty and staff with college- age dependents are invited to join Penn’s undergraduate admissions office to discuss the role of the high school transcript and course selection in the holistic admission review. This may be particularly timely for parents of high school freshman, sophomores and juniors as course selection will be happening in the New Year.

Mindfulness Monday: From Mind Full to Mindful; January 22; 12:30-1:30 p.m.; free. Mindfulness practice develops awareness of your present thoughts and feelings to help you manage different situations. In this once-a-month experiential workshop, you’ll see how mindfulness can help you become more engaged and effective both at home and in the workplace. No prior meditation experience necessary.

Guided Meditation: Take a Breath and Relax; January 26; noon-1 p.m.; free. Practice mindful breathing that focuses your attention on the present moment with kindness, compassion and awareness. Self-massage and gentle mindful movements that promote relaxation and reduce stress may also be included in the workshop. No experience necessary.

Healthy Living Workshops

Open to faculty and staff. Register at www.hr.upenn.edu/myhr/registration 

Gentle Yoga; January 16; noon-1 p.m.; free. Let your body reward itself with movement! Join us for this Gentle Yoga session and explore the natural movements of the spine with slow and fluid moving bends and soft twists. During this session, you will flow into modified sun salutations that loosen those tightened muscles and joints of the lower back, neck, shoulders and wrists. And as an added bonus, you’ll get a workout in the process. Mats and props will be provided.

Indoor Wellness Walk; January 19; noon-1 p.m; free. This month’s New Year’s Resolution-themed walk, held in the Palestra, will occur rain or shine—no excuses not to come! Whether you wish to lose weight, have more energy, or just be healthier, it is important to remember to reach your goals one step at a time. We hope you will be able to join us for this event co-sponsored by Human Resources and the Center for Public Health Initiatives.

Zumba; January 23; noon–1 p.m.; free. Perfect for everybody and every body! Each Zumba class is designed to bring people together to sweat it on. We take the “work” out of workout, by mixing low-intensity and high-intensity moves for an interval-style, calorie-burning dance fitness party. Once the Latin and World rhythms take over, you’ll see why Zumba Fitness classes are often called exercise in disguise.

Chair Yoga; January 24; noon-1 p.m.; free. Chair yoga is a more moderate form of yoga that’s done while sitting in a chair or using a chair for support. You get the same benefits of a regular yoga workout (like increased strength, flexibility and balance) but don’t have to master complex poses. Chair yoga can even better your breathing and teach you how to relax your mind and improve your wellbeing. 

Gentle Yoga; January 30; noon-1 p.m.; free. See January 16 program description for details.

—Division of Human Resources