Learning and development opportunities

NAEPSDP to hold annual conference in December

The National Association of Extension Programs and Staff Development Professionals (NAEPSDP) will hold their annual conference at Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas on Dec. 4-7, 2017.

Consider joining NAEPSDP where “The professional development of members influences the professional development of all Extension Personnel.”

Several ANR employees are members of NAEPSDP. NAEPSDP was formed to bring the national community of program and staff development professionals together. This community includes individuals with a range of responsibilities in support of extension educators and the overall mission of Cooperative Extension.

NAEPSDP members include middle managers, evaluation specialists, program and staff development specialists, instructional designers, human resource specialists, information technologists, and accountability specialists/programmers. Sixty-eight percent of members have statewide responsibilities. The remainder work at the following levels: 24 percent regional, 5 percent national and 3 percent county. The NAEPSDP mission includes:

• Improving communication & collaboration
• Sharing resources
• Enhancing multi-state efforts
• Sponsoring and promote educational training programs and activities that advance program and staff development practices, and
• Advancing the professional status of program and staff development extension professionals by encouraging continuous improvement.

Use your subscription to Corporate Executive Board Learning & Development

As a UC ANR employee you have automatic membership to a top-notch professional development resource. Interested in cultivating your career to the next level of performance? If yes, check out CEB Learning & Development. It takes seconds to register or reset a password and participate in webinars, download job aids, and participate in discussion forums.

Here is a quick list of a few CEB resources:

Resources for All Employees ­­ – Develop yourself as a high-performing employee, not only effective at your tasks, but also as someone who contributes to others' performance and uses others' contributions to improve your own performance.

On-the-Job Activity Builder – Use this interactive tool to build employee development plans with recommended on-the-job learning activities, based on the competencies you select.

Manager Guide: Holding Effective Career Discussions – Guide your direct reports through identifying and progressing toward their career aspirations.

Manager Excellence Resource Center  – an online portal (separate from the L&D member website) to find manager development and employee development resources.

Get the most out of your CEB Learning & Development membership—check it out today!

Performance Appraisals: Empower yourself with career planning tools

Performance appraisal can be stressful for many of us, and receiving performance feedback can trigger negative feelings. Understanding that these feelings are normal, and preparing yourself in advance, whether you're a supervisor or an individual contributor, can help reduce the stress and make it a positive experience.

You have many tools available to guide you through the appraisal process, starting with the ANR Learning & Development Career Planning Tools page.

Use the Self-assessment Worksheet to help you identify your strengths, skill gap areas, career goals, interests, and values.  You can share it with your supervisor or use your responses to help draft your individual development plan (IDP). You can also find help from UC Davis with writing your Summary of Accomplishments.

If you struggle with feedback, here are some additional resources to empower you:

• UC Learning Center (UC Davis): Receiving Feedback and Criticism; for People Managers UC Performance Management: Giving and Receiving Feedback
• Corporate Executive Board Learning & Development Leadership Council (CEB register or reset a password): 3 Tricks Your Brain Plays When Receiving Feedback and Manager Guide: Improve Employee Performance through Informal Feedback
• TED Talk: How to use others' feedback to learn and grow with Sheila Heen, Professor Harvard University (19:28 minutes)

For more information about professional development opportunities, visit the ANR Learning & Development website at http://ucanr.edu/sites/Professional_Development or contact Jodi Azulai, Learning and Development coordinator, at (530) 750-1239 or jlazulai@ucanr.edu.

 

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