Workshop series on leadership open to faculty and staff with supervisory roles

The Office of the Provost and the Office of Human Resources will co-sponsor four one-hour Zoom workshops on management and leadership topics that are open to all faculty, as well as to staff with supervisory responsibilities.  

Provost Fellow for Faculty Frits Pil is spearheading these workshops, which will be taught by faculty from the Organizations and Entrepreneurship area at the Katz Graduate School of Business.

Those interested can participate in any, or all, of the workshops, but registration is required. Register through the Faculty and Staff Development Program. Specific login information will be sent to registrants via email two days before each session. Questions can be directed to faculty@pitt.edu. The workshops are from noon to 1 p.m. on consecutive Fridays, starting May 29.

May 29: Holding Difficult Conversations, with Debbie Good, clinical assistant professor of Business Administration

Difficult conversations are an organizational fact of life. Many individuals seek to avoid these conversations, but they can be conducted in a three-step process so that trust is built between parties who thrive following the conversations. This workshop is conducted using group-based exercises with difficult scenarios we have all experienced.

June 5: Managers and the Paradox of Individual Privacy, with Ray Jones, clinical professor of Business Administration

Individual beliefs about privacy present an interesting challenge for managers in modern organizations. In this workshop, a short review of privacy in information systems and a discussion of privacy scenarios will demonstrate how individuals tend to have a complex set of views on specific privacy matters across different areas of life (social media, finances, health, online tracking). 

June 12: Divergent Thinking, with Nisha Nair, clinical assistant professor of Business Administration

This workshop will focus on the topic of creativity. Using an exercise-based format, participants will be introduced to some ways to drive divergent thinking.

June 19: Managing in Uncertainty, with Paul Klein, clinical associate professor of Business Administration

In the opening chapter of M. Scott Peck’s very famous book “The Road Less Traveled,” he offers this: “Life is difficult. This is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult.” In this final workshop of the series, we will consider how we might better live and manage in a world in which uncertainty is a given. Both professionally and personally, it means finding a balance between optimism and realism, and understanding that uncertainty is a fundamental part of decision making. And although we might not become its master, we might minimize the prospect of becoming its servant.