Self-Guided Learning : Workplace Learning & Development : UMass Amherst

Expand your learning at your own pace with WLD's Self-Guided Learning (SGL). Access different ways to enhance your knowledge and skills - articles, videos, podcasts, worksheets, courses, and UMass resources.

Use this Notetaking Sheet to guide your learning in each SGL unit. Apply the strategies and tips you learn and think about how to share helpful information with your co-workers. In each unit, you can expect to:

Gain a better understanding of your current knowledge, strengths, and skills of the topic.
Become familiar with concepts, application to work, and how to use skills.
Learn exercises and strategies to apply right away to your job.

SELF

These SGLs focus on the SELF Area of Impact to explore owning your performance, growth, and well-being by proactively managing your tasks, interactions, and professional development.

Dealing with Change

Emotional Intelligence

Healthy at Work

Microaggressions

Mindset Mastery

Personality Styles & Type

Positivity at Work

Resiliency

Stress Management

Unconscious Bias

RELATIONSHIPS

The following SGLs focus on the RELATIONSHIPS Area of Impact that explores workplace interactions involving how employees communicate, collaborate, and connect both formally and informally.

Conflict Resolution

Effective Listening

Self-Guided Learning Topic: Effective Listening

1. What it is

Effective listening is much more than just hearing words. It involves understanding the full meaning of what is being said and communicating that understanding to the other person. Whether someone is asking you questions, sharing information, expressing their needs or concerns, using effective listening skills can make a significant difference in your interactions and work at UMass.

What you will learn from this module:

Understanding of your strengths and areas to improve
Essential techniques to enhance your listening
Exercises to sharpen your listening skills

2. What I know

Think of three people with whom you work. How would each of them describe how you listen?

3. How I can improve

Effective listening involves both Active Listening skills and Cross-Cultural Communication skills.

Practice Active Listening

Review the <Learning Aid for Active Listening> to understand key elements of this skill and to learn helpful questions to use for different types of conversations.

Improve your cross-cultural active listening

View Printable Guide on <Active Listening across Cultures>

Exercise Your Listening

Learn some daily exercises that might improve your listening skills through this video. https://youtu.be/cSohjlYQI2A

Ask for Feedback

Once you have started putting your new listening strategies into practice, seek feedback on how you have improved. This will give insight into what you are doing well, what you need to do differently, and what else you may need to improve.

Think of 2-3 people whom you trust and ask them questions, such as:

What do I say and do that make you feel I am paying attention to what you are saying?
Do I interrupt when you speak?
Do you feel heard when I’m listening to you? What do I say and do that makes you feel heard?

If there is still room for improvement, you can:

Review the strategies in this module.
Ask for specific examples of what you are not doing well and see if there are patterns (such as, you tend to interrupt as soon as an idea pops into your head). Having more awareness of your tendencies will help you focus on exactly what you need to improve.
Continue practicing, asking for feedback, and paying attention to how you are listening and how others respond to your listening.

Fostering Inclusion & Respect

Managing Up

Motivating Others

Receiving Feedback

Self-Guided Learning Topic: Receiving Feedback

1. What it is

Negative feedback. Constructive criticism. Critical feedback. Constructive Feedback. Whatever you call it, for many of us receiving feedback about what we need to improve, change, or stop makes us squirm in our seats. It may feel like we’re being criticized for the way we are thinking or doing something. It might even feel like we’re being personally attacked.

Even though feedback is meant to be helpful, our heart still races, our face gets flushed, and our mind still quickly searches for the words to defend ourselves.

What you will learn from this module:

Understand why receiving feedback can be difficult
Learn why a growth mindset is a key strategy to minimize one’s fear of feedback
Approaches to help in receiving feedback well

2. What I know

Think about a recent moment when someone gave you constructive (negative) feedback about something you did. What feelings came up for you? How did you respond in that moment?
Now think about a recent moment where you gave someone else constructive feedback about something they did. How did the other person react?

3. How I can improve

There are approaches and techniques to help you think about, and respond to, feedback differently so you can be better at receiving it.

Why Receiving Feedback is Difficult?

First, let’s delve into why receiving feedback can be so difficult (it’s not just you, but almost everybody!).

Listen to this podcast to learn the basics of why receiving feedback is difficult as well as strategies to be better at receiving feedback.

How to Get Way Better at Accepting Feedback, with Sheila Heen

How to Overcome Your Fear of Feedback

A growth mindset is essential to shift your feelings about constructive feedback. The article below will further explain how a growth mindset versus a fixed-mindset can reduce your anxiety or fear of receiving constructive feedback.

How to Overcome Your Fear of Feedback

Six Step Process for Receiving Feedback

Again, even though feedback is meant to be helpful, when we begin to hear it we still have an emotional and physical reaction to it. Read this article to adopt a six step process to handle constructive feedback with more emotional constraint, calm, and tact.

Taking Constructive Criticism Like a Champ

4. What I have learned

How can you begin to use the concepts and strategies you learned in this module?

Ask Yourself:

For example, in the article you read about ‘overcoming your fear of feedback’, the author suggests creating feedback habits that will result in consistent, helpful feedback behaviors for you and your co-workers. Ask yourself, "What feedback habits can I start today?"

Ask Others:

Another example is taking Sheila Heen’s suggestion in her podcast: ask for feedback so you can practice receiving it well. Ask a trusted friend or colleague, "What’s one thing you see me doing (or failing to do) that holds me back?"

Focus on certain strategies in the module and start implementing them; experience and practice will improve how you receive feedback.

Talking About Race at Work

1. What it is

There is no one way to hold a conversation about race in the workplace. There are, however, good practices and guidelines to follow and adapt.

Opportunities for these types of conversations might take place in/formally or un/planned in your staff or faculty meetings, classes, 1:1 supervision meetings, or other ways.

What you will learn from this module:

ways to prepare your mindset
strategies and approaches
hopefully, new approaches to ease discomfort so you can provide supportive spaces for you and others to explore, engage, and learn together.

For the purpose of this module, having such conversations is:

Not about teaching or running a workshop
Not about you having the "right" answers
Helping others share and learn from one another
Ensuring that opportunities are present for everyone to engage and participate
Withholding from acting on your own assumptions, biases and judgments
Using questions and active listening to move the conversation forward

2. What I know

A. First, ask yourself: What is the goal of the conversation? What is my motivation?

To help others process this moment
To listen
To facilitate peer learning (about different experiences, perspectives, questions)
To build understanding and empathy
To reduce anxiety
other?

Reconsider engaging in a conversation if you are motivated:

To feel less guilty
To say you did something, and then move on to real work

B. Assess your comfort level
Talking about race and racism requires being comfortable with the uncomfortable. You, and others, may have fears:

that such conversations might lead to conflict
that others may not be able to understand or relate
that they don’t have the needed skills
of misspeaking, sounding racist, unintentionally doing harm, or invalidating people’s lived experiences.

Avoiding conversations about race and racism can arise from our own fears of being vulnerable. Consider this question: What will a discussion about race and racism potentially expose about me? List three vulnerabilities that you worry could limit your effectiveness and three strengths you believe will help you to lead open and honest dialogues. Then, list specific needs that, if met, would improve your ability to have these types of conversations.

Dealing with discomfort is an opportunity for learning and self-growth.

Before initiating a conversation or discussion, do a simple self-assessment to explore your fears and concerns.
Consider the following statements and select the one that best describes how you feel:

I would rather not talk about race/racism.
I am very uncomfortable talking about race/racism.
I am usually uncomfortable talking about race/racism.
I am sometimes uncomfortable talking about race/racism.
I am usually comfortable talking about race/racism.
I am very comfortable talking about race/racism.

Then self-reflect by completing these two thoughts:

The hard part of talking about race/racism is …
The beneficial part of talking about race/racism is …

After reflecting on your own comfort level, think about how you will stay engaged in the conversation on race.

Do you feel ill-prepared to talk about race and racism? If so, commit to learning more about the issues by following current events and brushing up on anti-racism work.
Do you reroute discussions when you sense discomfort in the room? If so, commit to riding out the discussion next time.
Do you worry about your ability to answer questions about race and racism? If so, commit to accepting that you don’t have all the answers and embracing the opportunity to learn with your students/ colleagues.

Adapted from Teaching Tolerance, Guide: Let’s Talk! Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Student

3. How I can improve

The LARA/A Method is a framework to help build respectful conversations across differences.

Listen, Affirm, Reflect, Add/Ask

This method has been taught in many forums across UMass Amherst, i.e., DARIA Conversations (Dignity and Respect In Action), faculty development programs, and classes.

Listen (actively).

Listen to understand.
Refrain from judging and stay curious.
Let the speaker know you're listening. Use non-verbal cues (eye contact, nodding); paraphrase back.

Affirm or acknowledge something the speaker has said.

Be genuine in your affirmation.
Agree it is an important topic to discuss and/or express appreciation for ideas.
Use phrases such as:
-- What I hear you saying is…
-- I sense that you feel…
-- I can tell how important this is to you.
-- I agree with what you said about…

Reflect on your reaction to the speaker's words.

Listen to understand.
Refrain from judging and stay curious.
Let the speaker know you're listening. Use non-verbal cues (eye contact, nodding); paraphrase back.

Add your own perspective.

Use 'and' not 'but'. 'But' negates everything that came before.
Remain honest and curious. Disagreements can still be passionate.
Example: When you said that people with disabilities are inferior, I feel angry vs. You are oppressive.

Ask a genuine question. What else do you want to know?

Demonstrate your desire to learn about the other's perspective. Ask about an idea for resolution, such as:
-- How did that make you feel?
-- Why do you think you reacted that way?
-- How did you reach that conclusion?

Take Care of Yourself

Sometimes engaging in these types of conversations can be emotionally draining or even painful. Make time to process, reflect and recharge in positive ways. Find colleagues or friends who can listen while you debrief conversations about race and racism.

LinkedIn Learning Course

"Difficult Conversations: Talking About Race at Work"

Virtual Classroom Conversations

Consider using these strategies for holding conversations virtually:

Establish participation norms, e.g., be intentional with giving pauses after someone speaks to avoid interrupting.
Utilize different participation formats for students who may not feel comfortable sharing virtually or in a large group, e.g., ask students to write down their thoughts to a question vs. speaking, use breakout rooms for smaller group discussions, prior to class send out a few of the discussion prompts so students can prepare their thoughts.
Ask for feedback after class/via email for thoughts on what students think helps or hinders their engagement in these types of conversations.
Role model verbal and non-verbal communication that is expected.

Adapted from Reema Amin, Caroline Bauman, and Stephanie Wang; “‘Moments like now are why we teach’: Educators tackle tough conversations about race and violence — this time virtually,” Chalkbeat, May 31, 2020

Articles

- Making Sense of the Senseless
- How to Talk About George Floyd and Racism with Your Team
- How to have productive conversations about race at work
- Yes, You Must Talk About Race At Work: 3 Ways To Get Started
- One Black employee’s answer to “How can I help?”

Teamwork

RESULTS

The following SGLs focus on the RESULTS Area of Impact that relate to outcomes or impact from various activities, efforts, and behaviors that are crucial for assessing performance, measuring success, and guiding decisions.

Effective Digital Communication

Facilitation

Meeting Management

Recruiting at UMass: Bias-Free Practices

Time Management

Writing Effective Position Descriptions