Human Resources

We matter. Since we spend nearly 90,000 hours working, we deserve to feel this at our jobs. Neurologically, a lack of safety prevents us from experiencing this truth. No matter the reason, when safety gaps emerge, we have no reason to show up and meaningfully engage. 

Our voices matter. To believe this, we must trust that our leaders value our perspectives and care about remedying issues. How can we advocate for others if we lack the skills or practice advocating for ourselves? And how can we ensure that everyone feels comfortable speaking up? 

This program challenges ineffective and outdated status quos to address what truly matters when building healthy, people-centered workplaces. In an authentic discussion, we will explore the importance of and how to define our safety needs. By adopting skills that enhance work relationships, participants will learn to advocate for themselves and others confidently.
 

Prior to the Course:

• You are encouraged – but not required – to complete this survey.

The survey will help customize content for the three upcoming virtual workshops brought to you by Create Safe on behalf of the City of Madison. During the workshops, the Create Safe team will never share data collected from an individual response, but overall trends will be discussed. Create Safe will only share the overall trends with the City, and will clean and make anonymous all provided information when weighing the total feedback.

Burnout is a growing challenge for leaders and teams. Many employees are struggling with exhaustion, loss of confidence, and disengagement. But burnout is not just an individual problem, it’s a systems and leadership issue too. This session focuses on workplace culture and leadership factors that contribute to burnout. This course is not a lecture; most of your time will be in small and large group discussion to analyze strategies for improving our workplace.

Note: If you are having a personal struggle with burnout, you are not alone. Consider reaching out to the Employee Assistance Program or their external partner, FEI Workforce Resilience for free, confidential support.

Learning Objectives:

• Define burnout
• Describe six common causes of employee burnout
• Discuss leadership actions that contribute to workplace vitality

An important component of bringing your best self to work is to bring your authentic self to work. This course strives to show you how being vulnerable while setting appropriate boundaries may improve your work relationships and reduce the impact that work stress has on your personal life. Additionally, we will discuss the benefits of self-care in order to boost your resiliency and emotional intelligence, two important factors that contribute to feeling more fulfilled in your job. Please join us for this interactive course and make a plan to manage stress and improve your overall wellness.


 

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In this two-part series, we'll decode the dynamics of high-performing teams.

Part 1: The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts; Understanding Inclusive and Effective Teams

Building effective teams is a fundamental management competency. This session starts with an invitation to reflect on your experience and the characteristics of effective teams. You will learn to identify different types of teams, the assumptions we make, and the impact of those assumptions have on management and team members. The session will close with a comprehensive discussion of Google’s Project Aristotle, its origin story, and the impact its findings has had on the field of management.

Part 2: We’re Simply the Best; Decoding High Performing Teams

Effective teams and their leaders achieve common goals that positively impact organizational objectives. They accomplish coordinated and integrated tasks independently and as a team, while creating efficient processes and building inclusive relationships. Using the model offered by Google’s Aristotle project as a roadmap to assess, address, and create environments where effective teams can flourish, we will take a deep dive into the five characteristics of effective teams. Placing a special focus on psychological safety, particularly in an increasingly diverse workforce, we will explore the behaviors and team dynamics of each characteristic. We will also learn to recognize our role as leaders and create plans to develop these characteristics in our teams.

This course is presented by Organizational Development as part of our Management Skills Webinars series.

Resiliency is our ability to bounce back from adversity. During these uncertain times, it is important to actively work towards being more resilient by learning to thrive within the stress. It is important to be conscious of how you are feeling, to be compassionate with yourself, and to be aware of how you have been impacted by the changes happening in our world.  Join us for one or all 6 sessions, to discuss how we can build skills of being happy and building resiliency: mindfulness, human connection, gratitude, positive outlook, purpose, and generosity.

This is a welcoming space for anyone in any department to share ideas, find support, and explore how resiliency can prepare us for whatever comes next.

NOTE: This is a repeat of our Fall 2020 series, but this is not a "training" per se and lots has changed since we first discussed these topics -- we encourage you to join us again or for the first time!
 

Complete the week's Prework before attending the session.

• Prework: Building Resiliency Series

• Prework: Building Resiliency Series

Register once and you're set for the series.

A single Zoom link means that you can log into any session on any date.  

Wednesdays 8:00 - 9:00 AM

• July 7th - Week 1 - Mindfulness

Curated Resources

The following curated resources have been generously shared by Building Resiliency Series session participants. Some hyperlinks have been added, to assist users with locating digital resources.

Please note that none have been formally researched or vetted by the sponsoring departments (HR and EAP), nor should the resources be construed as “recommended by” the City of Madison or sponsoring departments. If you have concerns about any of the resources, please contact us at OrganizationalDevelopment@cityofmadison.com

Books

• Unshakeable Confidence (Chapman, M.)
• Think Like a Monk (Shetty, J.)
• Atomic Habits (Clear, J.)
• Poetry of Mary Oliver
• Strength Finder 2.0 (Gallup)
• The Body Keeps the Score
• What Color is Your Parachute?
• The Geography of Bliss (Weiner, E.)

Video

• Take a Breath (Calm, via YouTube)
• Meditation (The Mindfulness Moment, via YouTube)
• Playing for Change (Movement to inspire and connect through music, via YouTube)
• The Good Place

Quotes, Mantras

• Serenity Prayer: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
• “Worrying won’t stop the bad stuff from happening. It just stops you from enjoying the good.”
• “Life is never not now.” Ekhart Tolle
• “Water the flowers, not the weeds”
• “We belong to each other”
• “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference”

Activities

• Walk at the parks
• Shoot pool
• Fishing
• Coloring books
• Crafts (painting, wood burning, etc)
• Meditation every day while my French press coffee brews
• Exercise
• Not too much TV
• Box breathing, Rhythmic Counting breathing
• Noticing and watching the trees and leaves
• Paying closer attention to the taste of foods
• Group discussion
• “Forgotten” hobbies
• Using my Fitbit to better track my exercise

Support and Affinity Groups, Organizations

• Black and African American Affinity Group
• Book clubs

Apps

• Healthy Minds app
• Calm app
• iSleep Easy Meditation app

Podcasts

• The Cultivating Place (Co-production and podcast of North Country Public Radio).  Conversations on natural history & the human impulse to garden

Websites

• UW Center for Healthy Minds (University of Wisconsin – Madison).  Founded by world renowned neuroscientist Dr. Richard J. Davidson, the Center for Healthy Minds envisions a kinder, wiser, more compassionate world. Our mission is to cultivate well-being and relieve suffering through a scientific understanding of the mind.

Many people struggle in the area of de-escalating conflicts with difficult people who become loud, rude, and obnoxious. Are you confident handling stress and conflict in a way that will not escalate the situation? 

If basic de-escalation techniques can be applied to stressful situations, the better the outcome can be.  Once you can connect and identify with something that is creating stress and frustration in a person, you are on your way to de-escalating the situation.

In this training, you’ll learn the basics of verbal de-escalation to give you confidence when dealing with difficult people. This includes risk factors/red flags, de-escalation tips, physical warning signs of violent behavior, and scenarios. You’ll leave with strategies to make you a more confident and assertive communicator, especially when dealing with difficult people!

Learning objectives:

• Recognize physical warning signs of escalating behavior

• Listen actively

• Remember to show empathy

• Use positive body language

• Exercise situational awareness
   

Location:

This course will be held in-person at the Madison Municipal Building (MMB), room 215. (215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd)
When adding to your calendar, please be sure to note the location in your event. Please also plan ahead to arrive on time or early for minimal course disruption.

During Conflict Management, participants will have an opportunity to increase their self-awareness regarding their common styles to approaching and navigating conflict. Additionally, attendees will be encouraged to recognize different behaviors that they may engage in that lead to inadvertently increasing tension during a conflict. Finally, they will also be offered strategies and tools to defuse and resolve conflict in ways that honor their values, boundaries, and those of the other person involved. In spite of our focus being on the professional and collegial setting during the training, all of these skills are transferable to other contexts.

Learning Objectives:

• Increasing self awareness about one's personal style of managing conflict

• Recognizing how different behaviors may increase tension
• Exploring tools and strategies to successfully navigate conflict

Note:

Because this course is interactive, we request that you join from a computer or smart device. This course incorporates break-out sessions and we encourage your full participation in the virtual space.

The City of Madison is on a mission to provide the highest quality service for the common good of our residents and visitors. Staff achieve our mission through the continuous improvement of the ways we do our work. Join us to learn from the 2021 Supervisor Development Program participants as they present their Continuous Improvement Lightning Talks describing ways they improved their work through their capstone. This opportunity is offered in two parts and will feature a different set of presentations each day. Presentations will also be recorded and made available on the Lightning Talks Channel.
 

The 2021 Supervisor Development Program will present 5 minute Lightning Talks on their Continuous Improvement Capstones across two days.

Dates and Presenters:

Disclaimer:

This event is being recorded. It is a public record subject to disclosure. 
By continuing to be in the meeting, you are consenting to being recorded and consenting to this record being released to public record requestors who may see you, your home and your family members in the recording. You have the option to turn off your camera and participate with audio only.

Course Resources

Check out previous Lightning Talks

You may have grown comfortable with Zoom for meetings and trainings…maybe so comfortable that you don’t realize that the status quo may be unintentionally excluding participants. Did you know that there are strategies and tips that you can use that can make your trainings and meetings more inclusive and effective for people with disabilities? This session will broaden your perspective and you will leave with actionable tips to use in future trainings and meetings.

Learning Objectives:

• Increase your understanding of disability-related barriers in virtual meetings
• Obtain practical skills to remove access barriers
• Be a better disability ally at work

Course Handouts:

• Course Agenda
• Slide Deck
• Slide Deck - Text

Build awareness on how bias, both explicit and implicit, can impact hiring decisions. Learn how to create an interview process by incorporating job-related behavioral questions with measurable benchmarks to effectively address bias in the interview process and for more objective candidate evaluations.

This course is mandatory for all supervisors and recommended for all interview panelists.
 

Course Resources:

• Position Description Example:  Payroll Clerk
• Handout: Interview Tips
• Handout:  Types of Bias
• Handout: Job Interview Bias Exercise
• Handout: Traditional to Behavioral Interview Questions Exercise
• Handout: Red Flag Process for Hiring Managers

Are you living a rich and joyful life despite the ups and downs which are often beyond your control? Being mentally well is not just luck, it takes practice to develop the skills to build resiliency and become emotionally intelligent. This work is done from the inside out and empowers you to be your best despite what external circumstances you face.

This 4-session course dives deep into the many components that contribute to our well-being: Self-Awareness, Stress Management, Human Connection & Conflict Management, Positive Psychology & Wellness. We’ll work together on skill building and encourage each other through group discussions. Please join us and make a plan to be well!

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will get a better understanding of resiliency, emotional intelligence, and happiness

• Participants will bring awareness to their level of resiliency and emotional intelligence, identifying areas of improvement.

• Participants will make a plan for how to improve their wellness, resiliency, and happiness.

Note: 

Because this course is interactive, we recommend joining from a computer or smart device. Phone-only participation is not recommended.

Encendiendo el Crecimiento es una sesión completamente en Español enfocada en explorar áreas como el duelo, la ventana de tolerancia y estrategias para facilitar el balance y la salud mental. Acompáñanos en esta sesión interactiva donde descubriremos componentes de salud mental y practicaremos estrategias para ayudar con la regulación emocional y el balance. Partirás de este entramiento con técnicas prácticas y conocimiento para desarrollar tu bienestar en casa y tu espacio de trabajo.
 

Sparking Growth is a training, completely in Spanish, focused on exploring topics like grief, the window of tolerance, and strategies to foster balance and mental health. Join us for this interactive session where we will explore components of mental health and will practice skills to assist with emotional regulation and balance. Leave the space with practical tools and knowledge to foster your wellbeing at home and workplace.

How can you be inclusive and respectful with people of all genders? With verbal and written examples, you will leave this training with specific strategies in using language that shows your coworkers and community members of all genders that you value them.
 

This course is part of the series of offerings related to the implementation of APM 2-52 as we work towards realizing our vision of being an inclusive organization.
 

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe how gender neutral and transgender inclusive language differ

2. Name at least 2 strategies for creating gender inclusion with language other than using they pronouns

3. Explain the importance of using correct name and pronouns

4. Demonstrate how to introduce a coworker’s pronouns

5. Identify two ways to correct a pronoun or name mistake

Resources:

• Gender-Inclusive Language Style Guide
• Resource Guide for Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Non-Binary Employees

“Feedback is the breakfast of champions” according to management expert Ken Blanchard. For leaders at all levels, it is how we learn and grow through our experiences. For managers, it’s a critical skill for improving team performance. Feedback also helps us maintain healthy boundaries and work environments. Yet it is one of the hardest “gifts” to give and receive.
This two-part series can help you move from fear to finesse.

• Part 1, Foundational Feedback will focus on the value of a positive feedback mindset, avoiding common pitfalls, and strategies to give effective feedback.
• Part 2, Intermediate Feedback will focus on ways to give feedback up, down, and sideways. We’ll also explore practices to receive feedback with gratitude and composure. Here's the link to register for part 2. 

You should complete the two courses in order, but you don’t need to sign up for both parts at once.

Learning Objectives:

Part 1:

• Understand a positive feedback mindset
• Avoid the three most common pitfalls that create defensiveness and resistance
• Learn to give effective feedback

Course Materials

Course Handout: Feedback Foundations

“Feedback is the breakfast of champions” according to management expert Ken Blanchard. For leaders at all levels, it is how we learn and grow through our experiences. For managers, it’s a critical skill for improving team performance. Feedback also helps us maintain healthy boundaries and work environments. Yet it is one of the hardest “gifts” to give and receive.
This two-part series can help you move from fear to finesse.

• Part 1, Foundational Feedback will focus on the value of a positive feedback mindset, avoiding common pitfalls, and strategies to give effective feedback. Here's the link to register for part 1. 
• Part 2, Intermediate Feedback will focus on ways to give feedback up, down, and sideways. We’ll also explore practices to receive feedback with gratitude and composure.

You should complete the two courses in order, but you don’t need to sign up for both parts at once. 

Learning Objectives:

Part 2:

• Understand how assertive communication strengthens feedback
• Learn to give feedback up, down and sideways
• Explore practices to receive feedback with gratitude and composure

Course Materials

Course Handout: Feedback Intermediate

Handling Confidential Information is an essential training for any City employee that works with verbal or written forms of confidential information. Patty Lauten, from the City Attorney's Office, and Tory Larson, from Human Resources, will define what confidential information is, discuss the legalities of confidentiality, explain the right to privacy, and outline confidentiality best practices.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain an understanding of what is considered confidential
• Improve understanding of the legal obligations related to confidentiality
• Increase awareness of confidentiality best practices

Swamped with way too many meetings? We know that poorly organized and run meetings lead to frustration and disengagement. In this webinar, you’ll learn practical tools to plan and run effective and inclusive meetings so that you can lead people towards clear and actionable outcomes with greater confidence.

This course is part of our Management Skills Webinars series.

Feeling safe is vital in creating spaces where people can engage as their best selves. On a neurological level, it is impossible to be present if we feel unsafe. This is true no matter the type or severity of harm faced. Unaddressed or recurring safety gaps erode organizational trust, limit productivity, stifle people's voices, and ultimately cause us to check out.

But when we do feel safe? The results are profound. People who feel safe build stronger relationships, are more engaged, make creative decisions, and experience a deeper sense of belonging.

Creating safe environments doesn't happen by chance. It requires intentional organizational efforts and investing in our people's voices to drive inclusive change.

Applying the Feel Safe framework to their culture, participants work through a process that empowers them to reimagine a people-centered workplace. Participants will diagnose safety gaps before distinguishing individual and organizational paths that foster feelings of safety.
 

Prior to the Course:

• You are encouraged – but not required – to complete this survey.

The survey will help customize content for the three upcoming virtual workshops brought to you by Create Safe on behalf of the City of Madison. During the workshops, the Create Safe team will never share data collected from an individual response, but overall trends will be discussed. Create Safe will only share the overall trends with the City, and will clean and make anonymous all provided information when weighing the total feedback.

Additional City of Madison offerings by Tim Mousseau:

• People-Centered: Because We Matter: Advocating for Each Other to Build Healthy & High-Performing Teams
• Manager-Centered: Alone In A Crowded Office: How Leaders Can Overcome Harmful Behaviors That Foster Isolation

The Inclusive Leadership Conference invites attendees to learn how we can think about leadership in new and different ways. Our speakers will teach you tools to use in the workplace to be a more inclusive leader, especially for trans and queer people, Black, Indigenous, people of color, women and people with disabilities.

Who Should Attend

The Conference is open to all who want to grow as more inclusive leaders. A leader is someone who positively influences a group toward an inspiring vision or goal: no title, or position is necessary to make a difference. Collectively, we need to expand our idea of who and what a leader is and should be.

What You’ll Learn

• Leadership development – Participate in interactive workshops to challenge your assumptions about leadership

• Valuable insights – Learn from experts with life experience on how to face our own biases, address inequalities, and re-imagine inclusive workplaces

• Tips and Proven Strategies –Strategies to practice and add to your toolkit

• Connection – Engage with a diverse community and learn from shared personal and professional experiences

How We Designed the Conference

We involved those who are most impacted by exclusionary practices in the decision making for this conference. We did so by including employees who feel an affinity with the topic to choose the speakers for each day. We want to gather attendees to explore their own unique leadership and hold space for supporters/allies to learn in solidarity.

Sessions

If you are in need of accommodations or have any additional questions including technical support to participate in the conference, please indicate your needs during registration or contact Organizational Development a week before the conference.

Live closed captioning will be available throughout the conference for all attendees.

Cost

• City & PHMDC Employees: Free
• Non-City Employees: $50 per day or $150 for the four-day conference series

Meet Our Conference Presenters

• 

  Cole Sorensen (he/him) is a mostly-nonspeaking trans autistic person, a public speaker, writer, and consultant. He holds a bachelor’s degree in special education from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He has worked extensively with both disabled young people and the professionals who support them as a consultant, PCA, and lecturer. His work focuses on promoting autonomy, self-determination, communication access, and dignity of risk for young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has interned with the Autism Society of Minnesota, where he worked on making their programming more accessible to AAC users.
  
   

• 

  Emily Blum (she/her) is Executive Director of ADA25 Advancing Leadership and has a passion for helping people and organizations use their voice to create a better, more inclusive Chicago region. Prior to joining ADA 25 Advancing Leadership, Emily held senior positions at some of Chicago’s leading nonprofits, including Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), Chicago Humanities Festival (CHF) and Heartland Alliance. At all three organizations, she drove branding and strategic messaging campaigns that created new kinds of conversations with a wide variety of audiences. As a woman who experiences a disability, leading ADA 25 Advancing Leadership is both personal and professional. Emily is an ADA 25 Advancing Leadership Member (class of 2018), and that experience gave her additional tools to use her voice on behalf of those who experience disabilities.
   

• 

  Nakia J. Green (she/her) is the founder of Culture Solutions and Culture Solutions In Action, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations designed to decrease unemployment and underemployment amongst minority and disabled college graduates. She also founded Nakia J Consulting, a consulting firm with specialized capabilities in Leadership Development, Organizational Development, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Nakia hopes to further the conversation on invisible disabilities in the workplace and its impact on minorities.
  
  
  
  
   

• Maddison E Wagner (she/her) is a Transgender woman and a Certified Peer Support Specialist. Peer support is grounded in lived experience. I use my personal experience with trauma, marginalization, living with mental illness and recovery to help others to deal with different challenges one may be facing and help guide them to a place where they can be their brightest most authentic self and find happiness however that may look for them

• 

  Sergio Dominguez (they/them) is a doctoral student in counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their research broadly examines trans wellbeing, ethical and legal professional issues in psychology, and relationship-centered research and clinical approaches. They provide instruction for mental health practitioners related to treatment with LGBTQ+ clients holding multiple minority identities, focusing especially on bolstering resilience and resistance in trans youth and adults. Sergio’s advocacy includes consulting with elected officials on legislation, advocating for minoritized students in psychology, and engaging in local and national activist-led efforts. In their free time, Sergio enjoys outdoor activities (e.g., hiking, canoeing), cooking, and shopping.
  
   

• 

  Stephanie Budge (she/her/hers) is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the director of the Advancing Health Equity and Diversity (AHEAD) program in the School of Medicine and Public Health at UW-Madison. Her research focuses on emotional and coping processes for transgender youth and adults, as well as the effectiveness of medical and psychotherapeutic treatments for transgender clients. She provides clinical trainings nationally and internationally related to LGBTQ issues, focusing on practitioners’ self-efficacy, knowledge, awareness, and skills. At the University of Wisconsin, she promotes transgender advocacy on campus by providing workshops to students, faculty, and staff related to navigating gender identity within a university environment. As a licensed psychologist, she also provides clinical services to transgender youth and adults.

• ​​​​​​

  Mark Hargrove (he/him, they/them), Jill Nagler (They/Them), and Ginger Baier (She/Her) are all associated with OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center. Mark is an openly Queer/Non-Binary, gay, and Black person that lives outside of Madison. He is the Program Director and is working on his Doctor of Social Work Degree. Jillip Nagler is the President of the Board of OutReach. Jill is non-binary. Ginger has been affiliated with OutReach for over 20 years. Having served on the Board, Ginger is now the Transgender Advocate.
   

• 

  ​​​​​​Sharon Brokenbough (she/her) is an ICF credentialed Coach, Author, Speaker, Professor, Wife, Mother, and Founder & Managing Principal of ROS Professional Partners LLC based in the Greater Philadelphia area. ROS focus is to provide support for existing and emerging leaders to increase their overall positive contribution to their organization through Executive Leadership and Career Coaching. ROS also facilitates, educates, and analyzes organizations in the field of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Through this work ROS works with organizations to achieve their DE&I goals through evidence-based research, focus groups, training, coaching and consulting
   

  

  Brandie de la Rosa (she/her) is the founder & CEO of E3inspire. She has a degree in Computer Science with a 20-year career in IT. Combined with her education in Psychology, specifically neuroscience, she decided to launch her own company helping businesses by building cultures that care. She is changing the game in the workplace by transforming the pain of trauma into production via Emotional Intelligence.
  
  
  
   

• 

  ​​​​​Samantha Baruah (she/her) has spent the past 12 years working with teachers, administrators, and policymakers promoting accessible and equitable public education at local, state, and national levels. Born in Vietnam, she immigrated to the United States as a political refugee and is proud to have become a naturalized citizen of the United States. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and her MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. She is a two-time publicly elected school board member serving from 2008 – 2015. Baruah has also served on the United Way Community Impact Council, 2 PMI chapter boards, Foundation for Madison's Public Schools Board, municipal boards, and is an active volunteer of several nonprofits.
   

• 

  Tony DelaRosa (he/they/siya) is an aspiring Anti-bias & Anti-racist educator, DEIB Strategist, Spoken Word Poet, and Cross-Coalition Builder. By day he is a Teacher Leadership Coach at Teach for America Miami-Dade, and by night he is a Co-founder of NYC Men Teach's Asian American, Teacher Empowerment, Networking, and Development Initiative. Ask him about critical race / ethnic theory as it pertains to Asian Americans, Brown Asian Americans, and F/Pilipino/a/x Americans!
   

• 

  Dr. Aaliyah Baker (she/her) began her career in education as a classroom teacher with the Milwaukee Public School system. She earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Multicultural Education from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Aaliyah Baker connects critical theory to research and practice in multiple local, state, national, and international settings. Aaliyah Baker addresses issues of social justice on micro and macro levels. She works to advance the constructive dialogue around race, racism, and culture to advance responsive practices.
  
  
  
  
   

• 

Morgan L Phelps (she/her) is the Founder and CEO of Colorful Connections, a social enterprise that transforms organizations into better versions of themselves by helping employers build, retain and grow inclusive teams that represent the communities they serve. Morgan also teaches Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity in Organizations at Marquette University. Colorful Connections provides long-lasting solutions for employers who are invested in creating diverse and inclusive teams (such as talent placement services and cultural competency workshops). Colorful Connections also helps underestimated professionals secure promising careers, doing what they love with organizations committed to diversity and inclusion. Beyond serving as a change agent for diversity and inclusion, Morgan has more than 15 years of experience working as a PR and Communications Specialist, and she is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc and TEMPO Milwaukee.

•  Jason Glozier (he/him), disability rights and service coordinator for the Madison, Wis., Department of Civil Rights. Glozier's background includes nearly two decades of working in disability rights with organizations such as Adapt, Not Dead Yet, and the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Kelly Jackson is an international award winning Native American artist. Her edgy and soulful pieces have decorated stages across the United States, Europe and Canada. Her music has gained admiration for its unique flare, soulful vocals and remarkable ability to inspire and empower her listeners. Her debut album, Spirit of a Woman earned a NAMA for best Americana Album of the Year, her second, Renditions of the Soul, also received international recognition. Her single, After All This Time, earned a #1 spot on XM World and Indigenous Music Countdowns. She has been inspired and influenced by some of the most powerful women in music; Pure Fe, Buffy St. Marie, Etta James, Josh Stone, Amy Winehouse and Susan Tedeschi to name a few. Most recently, Kelly has collaborated with other inspirational artists, touching on a more alternative style pulling from spoken word, rap, and reggae with her recently nominated hit single, Wake Up. Ms. Jackson’s genre is Native Americana, having roots in folk, jazz, blues, country, hip/hop and rock all infused with native influences. She has shared a stage with some of the greatest, Indigo Girls, Wade Fernandez and Bill Miller.

Resources

Previous conference materials 

An Individual Development Plan (IDP) helps you

• Assess your skills, interests, and values,
• Make a plan for achieving your personal and professional goals,
• Communicate with your supervisors/mentors about your evolving plan and needs.

How do I use it?

• The IDP is a workbook-style packet will help you move broad ideas to concrete, actionable steps.
• Download a copy and follow the 5 Steps.
• Share with your supervisor and/or mentor the parts of the IDP you’d like to discuss.
• In an upcoming one-on-one with that supervisor and/or mentor, follow the discussion guidelines

Individual Development Plan Getting Started Guide

Making decisions can be one of the most difficult and stressful things leaders do. Involving others can relieve some of that stress as you gain new perspectives. Inclusive leaders make decisions with, not for, those who are impacted. This improves the quality of our work and relationships with each other. This session will cover basics of stakeholder mapping and group decision-making. 

Course Materials

• Course Handout
• Fillable Empathy Map
• Course Slides

In-Person Sessions

The following training dates are being offered in-person to City Employees only. These sessions may be switched to virtual - if this happens, participants will be notified and sent a Zoom link to join.

• April 27, 2023 - Madison Municipal Building, Room 204 (215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd)
• July 12, 2023 - Madison Water Utility's Heim Building Conference Room (119 E Olin Ave)

You will notice there are separate registration buttons on this course page for these sessions - be sure to select the session you want and to note the location when adding to your calendar. This will help you plan for travel day-of and to ensure you arrive at the correct training since locations vary for each in-person session. 

In order to build and sustain inclusive and multilingual spaces in our organizations, everyone’s voice and lived experiences needs to be valued and recognized. It is critical that all City staff have the necessary tools and information to communicate with those whose primary language is not English. Do you know how to support individuals who drop by or call your office in a language other than English?

Attendees will learn how to connect with an On-Demand interpreter, inclusive practices in working with interpreters, and participate in scenarios to practice learned skills, including communicating with people who use sign languages. You will also learn about the City of Madison’s Language Access Program, services, and compliance requirements.

Learning Objectives:

1. Connect with an On-Demand interpreter
2. Use inclusive practices when working with interpreters
3. Communicate with people who use sign languages
4. Explain the City of Madison’s Language Access Program, services, and compliance requirements

The Zoom language interpretation feature is complex and requires a lot of steps before and during a meeting to operate successfully. During this training, we’ll go over how to:

• Add simultaneous and sign language interpretation to specific meetings
• Assign interpreters
• Start language interpretation and manage it for the duration of a meeting

This training is required for staff before permitting their use of Zoom’s interpretation feature. 

Learning Objectives

1. The difference between simultaneous and consecutive language interpretation
2. Understand the Zoom interpretation feature and its limitations
3. Know the setup and steps to successfully facilitate simultaneous interpretation for meetings and webinars in Zoom

Course Materials

• Language Interpretation in Zoom Slide Deck
• Public Meeting Interpretation Instruction Video

This session explores best practices for interdepartmental equity workgroups, assesses your organization's readiness to move toward anti-racism, and gives you the tools and courage to get started. Individuals with limited to intermediate experience implementing racial equity strategies and ready to impact their organization's programs, practices, policies, and decisions are encouraged to attend.
 

This course is part of the new Management Skills Webinar series.
 

Leading with Equity Toolkit

• Parks Racial Equity Guiding Statement
• RESJI Action Plan Overview
• Parks Equity Change Team Poster
• Parks Racial Equity Team Timeline
• Email Invitation Example- Parks Racial Equity Team
• Sample Parks Equity Team Agenda- March 2018
• Sample Parks Equity Team Agenda- September 2021

Do you want to learn how you can create a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ colleagues, friends, city residents, and visitors? You’ll get an overview of LGBTQ issues with a focus on issues that affect transgender people. With this foundation, you’ll be ready to discuss LGBTQ+ inclusion and how to create a welcoming environment in your workplace and in other spaces you participate in. You are also encouraged to register for LGBTQ+ Part 2: Contributing to Systemic Change

Learning Objectives:

• Define basic LGBTQ+ terms and differentiate the concepts of gender and expression, sex assigned at birth, and sexual orientation.
• Understand and apply key LGBTQ+ concepts to yourself and others
• Name two disparities experienced by LGBTQ+ communities

A follow-up to the foundational welcoming skills discussed in LGBTQ+ Inclusion Part 1, this course dives deeper into institutional inequity for LGBTQ+ people and discusses how to create systemic change. You will engage in reflection and discussion of how to involve the voices of transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people in decision-making in City operations. Prerequisite: LGBTQ+ Part 1: Creating Inclusive Spaces

Learning Objectives:

• Name two examples of institutional biases experienced by transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people
• Identify ways to involve the voices of transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people indecision-making
• Name ways the City upholds institutional biases, and how City employees can work to deconstruct these systems

In this half-day workshop, you’ll learn how to maximize your productivity through your Individual Work Plan. The result: increased productivity and efficiency in your week without needing to do more, plus increased engagement for the work you do. In the second half, you’ll learn how different behaviors and mindset shifts can help you in positive ways towards productivity, and ensure that work planning can be executed both effectively and efficiently.

This course is presented by Organizational Development as part of the Management Skills Webinar series.

Course Resources

• Template: Individual Work Plan
• Template: Agency Work Plan (for Supervisors)

• Handout: Weekly Brain Dump

This is a two-part training for City of Madison committee staff, provided by Information Technology. If you have already attended one of these trainings, or if you do not host Type 2 virtual meetings, you may choose to register for only one of the sessions. 

Please note that all staff must be trained on the legislative process before attending either of these trainings. If you need legislative training, please contact the Clerk's Office.

For complete information on Committee Meetings and resources, visit Virtual Committee Meetings. 

Meeting Schedule

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

During this training, we will discuss the City of Madison Meeting Schedule application. We'll go over how to:

• Schedule and manage meetings
• Add agendas, minutes, Zoom information, and other meeting details
• Manage online registration for public comments
• Manage information about your committees

This training is required for all committee staff.

Type 2 Virtual Meeting Hosts

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Type 2 virtual meetings are facilitated by City committee staff. During this training, we'll go over how to:

• Reserve Zoom licenses and schedule meetings in Zoom
• Use host and co-host controls in Zoom
• Manage committee members and public registrants during a virtual meeting

This training is required for all Type 2 committee staff. All staff must receive Virtual Meeting Host Training before facilitating a meeting. Two staff members must be trained for each committee that will be meeting virtually, including subcommittees and workgroups.

If you have any questions, please reach out to meetingsupport@cityofmadison.com. 

This course has been canceled until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience. 
We go through many changes through our personal and professional lives. This course aims to give you insight into how change happens and how you can gain confidence in the midst of it all. You’ll learn about the individual’s role in change, the ADKAR framework, and the three ingredients in a successful change. 
Note: This course is a prerequisite for “Moving Teams Through Change”. 

Learning Objectives:

• Acknowledge that successful organizational change occurs when a mass of individuals decide to change.
• Describe the five elements of change in the ADKAR framework.
• Complete an individual ADKAR assessment, including identification of the barrier point. 

Note: Because this course is interactive, we recommend joining from a computer or smart device. Phone-only participation is not recommended.

Course Handouts:

• ADKAR Change Model
• Change Evaluation Worksheet

Do you work full time (at least 30 hours per week) for the City of Madison and have outstanding student loan debt? The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), established in 2007 by the Federal Government, provides a pathway to debt forgiveness. Join this session to learn about PSLF, the time limited changes that exist to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would not otherwise qualify, and basics on navigating the process.

At this session you will:

• Build awareness about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
• Build awareness of the temporary changes made in October, 2021, to improve access to the program
• Develop an understanding of the basic process steps and forms needed to complete the process

The City of Madison provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities or long-term medical conditions when the accommodations are directly related to performing the essential functions of a job, competing for a job, or for enjoyment of equal opportunities. These accommodations help our employees, our agencies, and our organization to be more inclusive, innovative, and thriving. Supervisors have a critical role in the accommodations process. This course will provide the fundamentals of accommodations, explore the role of the Supervisor in this process, and inspire us to creatively look at our positions and job functions in a way that supports employees toward individual and organization excellence.

This course is mandatory for all supervisors.

If you have deferred compensation through Lincoln Financial, please attend one of these informational sessions to provide you with more on the transition to Fidelity Investments.

Working with our plan consultants, The Capital Group at Lincoln Financial Advisors, the City recently completed a review of retirement plan providers and is excited to share that we have selected Fidelity Investments® as our new provider of recordkeeping and trustee services. The City of Madison Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Plan”) currently serviced by EPIC Retirement will move to Fidelity effective December 1, 2022. This move does not affect accounts at Mission Square/ICMA.

The Plan at Fidelity will offer:

• Lower administration fees*.
• The NetBenefits® website and mobile app to easily access and manage your account.
• The latest technology to help protect your personal information and financial transactions.
• A revised lineup of investment options.
• Online planning tools, videos, and workshops to help you make decisions for your future.

You’ll also continue to have the same great local service you expect from The Capital Group to help you plan for your financial goals.

There is no action required from you for your account to move to Fidelity. Your contributions – or distributions if you are retired – will continue through the transition. The Plan’s provisions will not be changing as part of this transition although some new services will be added. Please attend these important sessions to learn more about the transition!

Known as APM 3-5, the City's Prohibited Harassment & Discrimination Policy covers expectations for creating a discrimination-free workplace.

Harassment in the workplace can be a form of illegal employment discrimination. This workshop is designed to provide employees with a greater understanding of the City's APM 3-5 and the legal and social implications of discrimination in the form of sexual, gender, racial or disability-based harassment in the workplace. Emphasis will be placed on increasing sensitivity to what constitutes a problem and why an immediate, constructive response is important. The discussion will also focus on exploring good management practices and policies requiring the maintenance of an environment that is free of discriminatory harassment. 
 

Permanent City employees are required to take this training within 45 days of hire and every three years following.
If you are a Mandatory Reporter (Lead Worker, Supervisor, Manager, Department/Division Heads) or are an employee in the Mayor's Office, Department of Civil Rights, or Human Resources, please register for the Mandatory Reporter Training course instead. 
 

Presented by: Department of Civil Rights (DCR)

Contact Kym Woodly at KWoodly@cityofmadison.com with questions or concerns.

 

Are you involved in projects at the City of Madison but don't officially carry the job title of Project Manager? Join us for this introductory Project Management session. Here you'll learn about the necessary components to assess and begin a project.

We recommend that you come to the course with a project in mind. It can be a project you're already working on or something you have coming up. If you bring your project idea(s), you’ll be able to apply and practice what you learn right away.

Course Materials:

Project Management Fundamentals Slides
Project Management Roles and Responsibilities
Assessing a Project Idea
Process Groups-Knowledge Areas

Congrats! Your team did a thing! A very cool thing! A new policy, a massive project, a successful program, a game-changing new procedure. How do you share your success so the City can learn from and collaborate with you? And perhaps more importantly, how do we share our progress and setbacks with those impacted by our work?

With these resources, you’ll learn how to tell your success story and deliver a powerful report-out to internal and public stakeholders.

Course Resources

Report Out Techniques Flipbook
Reimagining Report-Outs Slides
 

Do you supervise a team where your staff is in a different physical location, either teleworking or at a jobsite? This session is for you! We’ll explore the impacts of working remotely, and how to effectively manage a team in the absence of traditional in-person communications and synchronized team work.

Through an interactive dialogue, we’ll learn practical, tactical, and immediately applicable techniques to improve synchronous and asynchronous collaboration as well as our ability to provide impactful feedback. We’ll also learn and practice how to coach, mentor, and acknowledge our employees while prioritizing and structuring our work to meet competing demands. You’ll leave this session with concepts around trust, setting standards and expectations, and building flexibility while maintaining focus.

This course is presented by Organizational Development as part of our Management Skills Webinars series.

Course Materials

Course Handout: Key concepts and suggested learning resources

This course is a 3 part series that covers all of the major benefits, issues and concerns City employees have about retirement. The first session highlights City processes and benefits, and applying for your annuity through Employee Trust Funds. The second session goes through financial planning for retirement, deferred compensation, and health reimbursement accounts. The final session is about the psychological process of retirement, and provides recommendations that will help employees transition into retirement in a smooth way.

This course is a 3-part series. By registering for this series, you are committing to all dates below:

Wednesday Mornings
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Jun 7
Jun 14
Jun 21 

Required Prework  

Prior to the session, please take at least 30 min. to explore the Retirement Resources webpage. 

Retirement Handout: 

Planning for Retirement Handout

Employee Assistance Program Materials:

Embracing Life's Changes Slides
Celebrate What's Right in the World Video
 

Presented by: Human Resources and Employee Assistance Program (EAP), with presentations by Employee Trust Fund (ETF) and Deferred Compensation.

People with disabilities use service and support animals to meet their access needs and maintain safety and independence. If a person with an animal comes to your building or meeting, do you know how to avoid discrimination and when to grant access? This interactive training will help agencies better understand relevant laws and city ordinances, know how to identify service animals and emotional support animals and how to provide excellent customer service to people who use service and support animals in public places.

Learning Objectives

1. Increase understanding of relevant laws and city ordinances
2. Identify service animals and emotional support animals and avoid discrimination
3. Provide excellent customer service to people with disabilities who have animal assistance

Sparking Growth is a training focused on exploring topics like grief, the window of tolerance, and strategies to foster balance and mental health. Join us for this interactive session where we will explore components of mental health and will practice skills to assist with emotional regulation and balance. Leave the space with practical tools and knowledge to foster your wellbeing at home and workplace.

Learning Objectives:

• Gather understanding about topics like grief, stress curve, and window of tolerance.

• Practice emotional regulation and grounding skills.

• Build community by connecting with other colleagues at the City of Madison who are practicing similar skills.

Because this course is interactive, we request that you join from a computer or smart device. This course incorporates break-out sessions and we encourage your full participation in the virtual space.

This training is intended for folks who would like to learn ways of supporting individuals struggling with thoughts of ending their life. We hope to offer foundational information on suicide risk identification and effective ways of offering support while working toward safety. In this training you will learn about suicide warning signs, protective and risk factors, how to have a conversation about this topic in ways that minimize potential for harm, and how to apply the learning within a workplace setting. This training may cause unintended reactions in participants due to the sensitivity of the content. Please take care of yourself as you navigate this topic. 

Learning Objectives:

• Increasing awareness about suicide risk signs and factors impacting it

• Establishing language and ways of communicating with a person experiencing risk that would lead to safety and support

• Learning approaches to safely supporting individuals experiencing risk in the workplace

Because this course is interactive, we request that you join from a computer or smart device. This course incorporates break-out sessions and we encourage your full participation in the virtual space.

“We must transform ourselves to transform the world.” -Grace Lee Boggs

As managers and leaders who recognize there are systems of oppression in the workplace that we must reckon with and dismantle, we must also tend to the internal work within ourselves to build equity, inclusion, and belonging. We cannot wait for the “system to transform” – we also have to “transform ourselves.”
This session is for managers, or anyone who leads teams, to explore how their own identities shape their worldview and thus their management style and approach. Participants will explore concepts such as intersectionality, positionality, identity salience, reflective practice, and deep listening. Through individual and group activities and a case study, participants will use their own self-awareness, behaviors, and interactions as sites of learning.

Learning Objectives:

1. Exposure to the concepts of intersectionality, positionality, identity salience, and reflective practice
2. Practice reflecting on one’s own identities
3. Practice deep listening skills with colleagues
4. Practice a liberating structure model for solution building

Does it feel like everyone is on edge lately? Where people are angry or lashing out? Do you need additional skills to better handle this? Then join us in learning about Trauma-Informed Customer Service, which is all about how we can provide customer service to people who have had bad things happen in their lives.

As humans, we tend to internalize our negative experiences and the stress that comes with those. An example is the communal trauma that we all have been experiencing with the pandemic. The stress can accumulate and make us feel anxious or angry, and make it easy to lash out at others. Come learn about how to reframe these situations and acquire some techniques to better handle challenging customers.

On Demand Option:

Now available as a 45 minute recorded video presentation so you can watch at your convenience or use as a refresher if you attended the live version. We encourage viewers to use the Questions handout to process the concepts presented, whether you watch on your own or with your work group. If you prefer a more interactive experience, please register for one of the upcoming sessions by clicking the button on the right.

Course Resources

Please read through the following materials before viewing the recording:
Handout: Trauma-Informed Customer Service Training
Handout: Trauma-Informed Customer Service Training Questions

Join us for a deep dive into what it means to live trauma-informed. We will explore the impact of trauma on a personal level and how it shows up in the workplace. We will provide you with skills to navigate this in the workplace by learning more about how to have difficult conversations, how to regulate, and how to set appropriate boundaries.

Learning Objectives:

• Discussion about types of trauma and how it shows up for different individuals
• What trauma looks like in the workplace
• Learn skills to help have difficult conversations, regulate, and set appropriate boundaries

Because this course is interactive, we request that you join from a computer or smart device. This course incorporates break-out sessions and we encourage your full participation in the virtual space.

As a result of employee survey responses, the City began a new employee/supervisor check-in process in 2021. The goals of these discussions are to provide more support to employees, further our growth, and help us align individual performance with our organizational vision, mission, and values. This session provides an overview of the City process and highlights new tools developed to make these discussions richer and more productive. 

Course Resources

Prior to the session, please check out our resources and come to the training session prepared with any pressing questions you might have about the Employee Check-in Process.

1. Preview the Resources on the Employee Check-in Process and Resources page
2. Identify 1-2 of your most pressing concerns about the Employee Check-in Process and bring those with you to the session. 

Before we lead others, we need to know how to lead ourselves. For most of us, our personal values guide how we feel and act day-to-day. The four principles of Values-Based Leadership help us lean into our values while remaining curious and open to the values and experiences of others.

Through self-reflection, humility and empathy, a balanced perspective, and lifelong learning, we can grow our leadership from any position.

This is an excellent course for people at all levels in their leadership journey.
 

NOTE: A significant part of this course is spent in self-guided, small group discussion in a Zoom breakout room. You will also need access to the group activity handout during the course. Using a computer, tablet, or at minimum a smartphone is recommended. Phone-only participation is discouraged because it will be difficult to access course materials and interact with others in your small group.

If you are planning to broadcast the course in a conference room for a group, contact the instructor ahead of time for special instructions and activity modifications.

Course Resources

• Values-Based Leadership Group Activity
• Values-Based Leadership Summary Handout
• Values List (from Brené Brown's Dare to Lead)

In-Person Sessions

The following training dates are being offered in-person to City Employees only. These sessions may be switched to virtual - if this happens, participants will be notified and sent a Zoom link to join.

• May 3, 2023 - Fleet Services Training Room (4151 Nakoosa Trail)
• August 17, 2023 - Madison Water Utility's Heim Building Conference Room (119 E Olin Ave)

You will notice there are separate registration buttons on this course page for these sessions - be sure to select the session you want and to note the location when adding to your calendar. This will help you plan for travel day-of and to ensure you arrive at the correct training since locations vary for each in-person session.