Leadership development opportunities you don't have to leave campus for

Nearly three years after it launched, 68 employees have completed Iowa State's Leadership Skills certificate program in Workday. With about 15 total hours of content, the series explores important topics for new leaders -- for example, communicating well in challenging situations, building a team, coaching employees, or delegating tasks.

The professional development opportunity offers employees a no-cost way to build their skills, both practical skills for everyday use and leadership behaviors for challenging issues. The 14 courses don't have to be completed in a specific order or within a timeframe to receive the certificate, so employees fit them in as they're able. Course progress is updated automatically, and when employees have completed all courses, they receive a printed certificate and an electronic badge of completion for use in their email signatures.

Lynn Bagley works as the research administrator and business manager at the Virtual Reality Applications Center, and completed the series last year. She said she's grateful Iowa State offers leadership training.

"This program is not meant specifically for supervisors or managers, as leadership skills are important in administrative roles like mine. One can be a 'leader' without being a supervisor or manager," she said. "No matter where you might be in your path as a leader, completing leadership training such as this program will set you up for success."

"I think this series is a great option for new leaders or those who aspire to grow their leadership skills," said another certificate holder Jennifer Schroeder, who supervises the Birch finance delivery team and serves this year as president of the Professional and Scientific Council. "It's a wonderful gateway to continuing education around vital leadership topics and skills."

As employees and supervisors prepare for performance evaluations this fall, benefits director Ed Holland encourages them to consider this certificate program -- and other free, easily-accessed options in LinkedIn Learning -- in their conversations about professional development for the year ahead.

14 courses, various formats

As the series is structured, six of the courses are led by professional staff from Employee Family Resources, Des Moines, Iowa State's Employee Assistance Program provider. Three of the six will be offered live in Microsoft Teams yet this fall:

• Communicating in Challenging Situations, Oct. 30 (10-11 a.m.)
• Knowing How to Use Employee Assistance Program as a Manager, Nov. 5 (2-3 p.m.)
• Leading with Your Best Self, Dec. 9 (9-10 a.m.)

These courses, and the three others (Building an Effective Team, Managing Conflict and Effective Leadership and Communication) will be offered multiple times in 2026; dates and times will be shared in January.

The series rounds out with eight LinkedIn Learning courses, available 24/7 to ISU employees under "Learning" in Workday:

• Body Language for Leaders and Managers
• Boosting Your Team's Productivity
• Coaching and Developing Employees
• Collaborative Leadership
• Delegating Tasks
• Developing Credibility as a Leader
• Managing Employee Performance Problems
• Managing Teams

Navigating LinkedIn Learning in Workday

Register for courses via the Learning menu in Workday. Select "Discover" and "Browse topics." Find the "UHR Leadership Skills Certificate" series in the "Managers at ISU" tile. The tile contains other learning paths, for example, an eight-course series on various aspects of building and managing teams.

Of course, not all training has to be part of a series. The LinkedIn Learning catalog currently includes about 1,700 courses related to leadership, some as short as 10 or 15 minutes. LinkedIn updates the site weekly, said Steve Couchman, learning and development specialist in university human resources.

Professional certificates on the dashboard

Couchman also encouraged employees to investigate the professional certificate options found in the LinkedIn Learning tile on the ISU My apps dashboard. More than 100 professional certificate options -- on many topics, including leadership -- are available at no cost to employees, some from professional associations. The chief difference with this set of certificate options is that they require an exam, also free to employees, at the completion of the coursework.

"These are professional certificates you could add to your resume," he said. "Some of them would have a considerable price on the open market."

Professional certificate options related to leadership include:

• AI for Organizational Leaders, 5 hours (courses 36-77 minutes each)
• Human Skills for Managers, 6 hours (courses 24-63 minutes each)
• Negotiation, 7 hours (courses 16 minutes to 3.5 hours each)
• Succeeding as a New Manager, 11 hours (courses 26 to 85 minutes each)

Planning ahead required

Besides UHR-hosted training, the university also offers several in-person leadership training opportunities. The options listed here require some advance planning:

• The Emerging Leaders Academy is an academic-year, cohort-based program for new faculty and P&S leaders or those aspiring to leadership positions. It's hosted by the provost's office. Applications are due March 1, the cohort is announced by mid-April and monthly meetings and activities begin in August. In teams, class members also complete a campus impact project.
• With strategic plan funding, a 2025-26 pilot of Professional Excellence is being offered at no cost to faculty, staff and post docs at all career stages who want to build their professional and leadership skills. Faculty facilitators from the Carrie Chapman Catt Center are leading five 90-minute sessions from October to March. In the spring, watch for an update on the program's continuation.
• Ombuds Laura Smythe leads leadership trainings for groups and also offers coaching for leaders navigating challenges. Training offerings are listed on the ombuds website and must be scheduled in advance.