Training, education and ongoing professional development is very important to your ongoing success at MSU. This category highlights professional development news, views and opportunities.
MSU is committed to staff and faculty success, which includes helping employees and their families care for their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. We are excited to share that Calm Health, a mindfulness app designed to support mental and physical health, is now available at no cost to MSU employees and their dependents aged thirteen and older who are enrolled in an MSU health plan. Calm Health is designed to help you stress less, sleep better, and live more mindfully.
What Does Calm Health Offer?
Calm Health includes self-guided programs developed by psychologists to address specific mental health symptoms like anxiety and depression, physical health conditions like diabetes and cancer, and life stages like parenting, retirement, and menopause. Based on your goals and brief in-app screenings, you will receive personalized recommendations to support your health journey. Resources include:
Sleep support to help you unwind 
Guided meditations
Breathing exercises
Calming music and soundscapes
Mindfulness videos
Daily self-guided activities 
Evidence-based clinical programs 
How Can You Access Calm Health? 
No credit card, payment information, or subscription needed! Calm Health is free to all MSU employees, and their dependents (age 13 +) enrolled in an MSU health plan. Start your Calm Health journey through any of these options:
Download the Calm Health App: Search the Calm Health app from the App Store and Google Play and use the access code: “BCBSMI” during the registration process. This code is not case sensitive.
Through Your Blue Cross Member Account: Login to your Blue Cross member account and click on Find Care. Scroll down to Find Behavioral Health Support and click on the Find Help button. Click on the Live and Work Well link. Scroll down to The Calm Health app and click on the Learn about Calm Health link.
Building healthy daily habits that support your mental and physical wellbeing doesn’t have to be time consuming or costly, and Calm Health is the perfect first step. Explore Calm Health for yourself, choose tools that fit your lifestyle, and feel more mindful and balanced every day!
For many, the start of a new year brings a desire to set new goals – both professionally and personally. As you reflect on the past year, try to pinpoint areas you’d like to work on. Check out What’s Your Plan: Six Steps to Align Your Goals with What’s Important to You if you don’t know where to start. You’ll learn how creating a personal strategic plan can provide a “vision and structure for your professional life and an anchor for you to connect with during periods of change.”
Review the common work-related goals below to see if any resonate with you, and use the articles and learning opportunities provided by HR’s Organization and Professional Development (OPD) department to help you reach them.
Improve time management, organization, and/or productivity:
As you think about what you want to work on in the coming year and beyond, consider tying them to your Performance Excellence goals (for support staff). For more information about how to set yourself up for success as you identify goals, check out this When SMART Meets HARD: Setting Goals that Matter article.
Ready or not, December is almost here! When you think about the remainder of the year, how do you feel? If thoughts of work deadlines, family get-togethers, or planning for the holidays and new year ahead have you feeling overwhelmed or anxious, you’re not alone. Thankfully, there are practices and resources we can utilize to help us center ourselves and approach this time of year with a healthier mindset. 
When you notice yourself worrying about what might happen, stop and ask yourself, “What can I do about it now?” One way to visualize this is the Sphere of Influence. 
Within the Sphere, there are three areas: 
No Control: If there is absolutely nothing you can do to change or influence a situation, you can only assess whether you can learn from it, then let it go and refocus on something else. This would apply to things like the weather, supply chain issues this season, or flight cancellations. To reduce feelings of worry and improve your well-being, spend minimal time and energy regarding any matters that fall within this area of the sphere. 
Possible Influence but No Control: If there is a step you can take that may influence an outcome, person, or situation, determine what action you can take to maximize that influence, follow through, and then let it go. Resist the temptation to convince yourself that worrying about it means it is within your control. 
Control: If the issue you are wrestling with is completely within your control, then you have control over your decisions, attitude, and behavior. What action can you take that you’ve been putting off? What self-care practice can you initiate to support your well-being? When you practice shifting your focus and attention to what is within your control rather than allowing what is out of your control to consume your time and thoughts, feelings of helplessness and overwhelm decrease significantly. 
Make Yourself a Priority 
When asked why we don’t make our well-being a higher priority, the most common answer is: not enough time. Although we can’t add more hours to the day (No Control area of the Sphere of Influence), we can take actionable steps to better manage our time and carve out space to improve our overall wellness (Control area of the sphere). 
Here are a few ideas to help you focus your energy on areas you can control when it comes to your well-being this time of year. 
Schedule Downtime: Block downtime off on your Outlook calendar like you would for a meeting or other work engagement. 
Set Positive Boundaries: Check out the following articles as a starting point: 
Be Selective: Most of us have an extraordinary number of demands placed on us, and this time of year often brings even more. Before you commit to anything additional, give yourself a little time to consider: Do I really need to do this right now? 
Get Back to the Basics: Consider your current relationship with sleep, physical activity, and eating. What are one or two simple steps you could take to improve your physical health? Even something as small as not having your cell phone next to your bed at night or scheduling short blocks of time on your calendar to stretch at your desk can have a tremendous impact. Ensuring your basic physical needs are met helps ensure a solid foundation for all aspects of your well-being. 
Utilize Your Resources 
One major goal within MSU’s strategic plan is to support the “career development and well-being of staff and faculty at MSU, focusing on creating a best-in-class workplace culture and welcoming environment in which excellence and opportunity thrive.” From one-on-one counseling to self-paced learning opportunities, many resources are available to you as an MSU employee to improve your well-being and take care of yourself this year and beyond. Recommendations to get you started are listed below, along with contact information for specialists at MSU who can provide extra support. 
University Health and Wellbeing: Supports our university community with health and well-being equitably woven throughout all aspects of Spartan life. They offer a variety of resources for employees, including:
Employee Assistance Program (EAP): MSU employees or retirees and their benefits-eligible dependents have access to the EAP, which provides confidential counseling at no cost. To best fit your schedule, EAP offers both virtual and in-person appointments. 
Spartan Resilience Educational Webinars: These webinars transform counseling-based skill-building into accessible media formats. These offerings integrate resilience education into the everyday living, learning, and working spaces of the Spartan community.
Move More @ Work: An ongoing campaign facilitated by University Health and Wellbeing’s Health Promotion and Engagement office. Browse offerings, learn more about on-campus opportunities, and get moving more at work! 
Worklife Wellbeing: Check out the Worklife Wellbeing seminar options to see what you might want to learn more about.
Mindful State: An emerging university-wide, collaborative initiative to help Spartans learn the benefits of mindfulness and access resources to develop or strengthen their mindfulness practices.
elevateU Online Learning Platform: Free, self-paced resources including short videos, online courses, and books around a wide variety of topics. Highlighted topics include: 
HR’s Organization and Professional Development (OPD) Courses: Instructor-led courses offered by the friendly and knowledgeable OPD team. Course dates and times are updated throughout the year, so be sure to check back soon for updated course dates/times! Highlighted courses include (new dates/times coming soon):
This article was written in partnership with the Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact.Â
We celebrated International Pronouns Day this month! Using the correct pronouns respects each other’s identity and fosters inclusivity. Pronouns are used every day to communicate with one another in and out of the workplace, and often they are assigned based on preconceived perceptions. By educating about personal pronouns, we promote understanding and celebrate everyone’s intersecting identities.Â
What is International Pronouns Day?
International Pronouns Day seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace. This day raises the MSU community’s awareness to be gender inclusive and reminds us of the basic human dignity of appreciating and celebrating everyone’s multiple identities. As we explore the significance of this day, learn about how MSU is implementing changes to promote inclusivity to create a beneficial environment for all.
How can I contribute to a gender-inclusive environment?
Be mindful of all sex, social gender, or gender identities and avoid perpetuating gender stereotypes. Â
Voluntarily share your pronouns when introducing yourself to people or during meetings. Â
Practice using a person’s pronouns when speaking or writing about them.Â
You can include pronouns in your email signature or other digital communications. Â
Check out the A Guide to Names and Pronouns course for MSU employees to learn more about practicing gender inclusivity with students and staff at MSU. Â Â Â
The MSU Gender and Sexuality Campus Center (GSCC) is here to provide you with answers to any questions you may have and with resources you may need! The center provides educational programs and resources to make MSU a more inclusive space for students, staff, and faculty. Learn more about the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center’s educational resources. Â
What action is the university taking to advance gender inclusion?
At MSU, we are committed to ensuring your identity is accurately represented and respected throughout our campus community, while maintaining privacy. Additionally, the Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact, along with the Office of the Executive Vice President for Administration, has launched the self-service MySpartanIdentity Portal, allowing MSU community members to voluntarily manage their chosen identity information in compliance with university policies.
Are there resources to explore this further?
Learn more about pronouns, FAQs, and additional resources Â
Glossary of definitions for gender and sexuality terms
We look forward to continuing our work – together – to foster a culture that C.A.R.E.S (communication, appreciation, respect, empathy, and sensitivity).
In honor of Online Learning Day on September 15, we’d like to share the tools and resources available to support the career development and wellbeing of staff and faculty at MSU. The following resources and departments offer virtual learning opportunities, allowing you to learn new skills at a time, place, or pace convenient to you. Your continued dedication to lifelong learning will help MSU achieve its strategic priorities and create “a best-in-class workplace culture and a welcoming environment in which excellence and opportunity thrive.”
Online Learning Opportunities
HR’s Organization and Professional Development (OPD): Find a variety of instructor-led classes on communication, customer service, leadership, personal development, and much more! Many OPD courses are offered in a virtual format and led by our friendly and knowledgeable OPD instructors.
elevateU Online Training Platform: Are you curious about artificial intelligence? Would you like to improve your project management skills or become a more effective communicator? Whether you learn best by reading books, watching videos, engaging with interactive exercises, or participating in a live virtual learning environment, the topics available are extensive. Even if you only have a few minutes to spare, we can’t recommend this free resource highly enough as a convenient way to support your growth and development.
SpartansLearn: The MSU community’s go-to resource for technology training! Want to learn how to remove duplicates in Excel, coordinate a meeting time in Outlook for multiple participants, or make your PowerPoint presentations stand out? MSU IT offers microlearning videos, recorded courses, and more to help you learn at your own pace, along with instructor-led virtual classes.
MSU University Health and Wellbeing: Find services, programs, and initiatives designed to support your professional success, health, and wellbeing. Be sure to check out their virtual events and webinars, such as Desk Decompress, Mindfulness and Meditation, and Spartan Resilience programs.
Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development (OFASD): OFASD works with all faculty, academic staff, and academic administrators as they join the university, establish professional trajectories, and grow in their careers at MSU. Find information and resources for orientations, leadership development, teaching and learning events, and more.
While many of the above resources are free for the Spartan community, as a reminder, educational assistance funds are available to help cover any course fees. Did we miss any resources? Let us know in the comments below, and Happy Online Learning Day!
Fall is almost here, and HR’s Organization and Professional Development (OPD) team has spots open in the following courses to support your learning and development. Class enrollment is completed within the EBS Portal, and employees may use available educational assistance funds towards course fees (if any).
Personal Development
Bystander Intervention Training | August 28 | In-Person Learn strategies to prevent and interrupt problematic behavior associated with workplace harassment or discrimination.
Getting Things Done | September 9, 10, and 11 | Virtual By learning how to capture, clarify, and organize incoming requests, participants are more likely to make strategic decisions about where to invest their time and energy in ways that improve results and decrease missed deadlines, mistakes, and stress.
The Power of Habit | September 18 | Virtual Discover how habits are created and how to replace undesirable habits with productive ones.
Breaking Free from Stress | October 1, 8, 15, and 22 | In-Person Learn how to be less reactive to people and events in your life and form a deeper perspective of common sense and wisdom.
Roadmap To Retirement| October 9 | In-Person If you are an MSU faculty or staff member and you have decided to retire within a year or two, this half-day workshop covers a range of topics critical to your successful retirement.
Everything DiSC: Productive Conflict | December 18 | In-Person Learn techniques to improve self-awareness and handle conflict. You will take an assessment to better understand your personal responses to conflict. Pre-work must be completed before taking this course.
Leadership
Crucial Influence | October 7, 8, and 9 | Virtual Targeting mid to high-level leaders responsible for leading change and improving efforts in the workplace, learn about the Crucial Influence Model, which explains why people do what they do and how you can influence results.
Strengths Based Leadership | October 16 | In-Person Understand manager-specific strengths using the newly released CliftonStrengths for Managers Report. Your top strengths — the things you naturally do best — can help you manage more effectively, meet your goals, and improve your team’s success.
Resilient Leadership Series | November 3 and 4 | In-person Explore with other campus leaders some essential resilience skills required for effective leadership for the common good, including: emotional intelligence, emotional resilience, psychological flexibility, mindfulness, effective stress mitigation practices, and practices of compassionate accountability for self and others.
Operational
Introduction to Process Mapping | Various Dates | In-Person Learn how to define key processes improvement terminology, reduce barriers to success, and create a process map.
Promapp Interactive Process Creation | Various Dates | In-Person Learners will continue their process improvement journey and build upon the knowledge and skills learned in Introduction to Process Mapping.
 The Educational Assistance, or “Ed Assist,” support staff benefit resets with the start of the fall semester. Now is the perfect time to refresh your Ed Assist knowledge and take advantage of this opportunity for your learning and development. Here are a few important reminders regarding this benefit.Â
Credit and Non-Credit Options
You may receive financial assistance for credit and non-credit courses, including training, seminars, workshops, conferences, or other educational opportunities. Use this benefit to enhance your professional skill set or help you reach Performance Excellence goals.
You may receive up to 14 credits per academic year for credit courses. Your level of financial assistance is determined by your union group, whether you’re taking a graduate or undergraduate course, and where you’re taking the course (MSU or another university). The course must be considered job-related, degree-related, or career/professional development-related.
Taxation Information for Graduate-Level, Degree-Related Coursework
When using Educational Assistance funds toward graduate-level, degree-related classes for credit, it’s important to remember and plan for IRS tax exemption rules. The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) provides up to $5,250 in exemption per tax (calendar) year for graduate-level, degree-related courses reimbursed/waived through employer educational assistance programs, like the one at MSU. Any amount of the benefit over $5,250 for degree-related, graduate-level courses is considered taxable income by the IRS.
If you use Ed Assist benefits for graduate-level, degree-related courses for credit over the $5,250 exemption amount, appropriate tax withholding will be made, and the amount will be added to your gross wages. If there is a tax liability, the deductions must be completed within the same calendar year. If this tax situation applies to your Ed Assist usage, you will receive a notification via email in the fall, typically around September. This notification will indicate the amount of Educational Assistance received in the calendar year, the taxable amount, and which paycheck withdrawals will occur to cover the outstanding tax liability.
Note: This tax liability, dictated by the IRS, applies ONLY to any Ed Assist benefit usage over the $5,250 limit when applied to graduate-level, degree-related courses for credit. For example, if you received $6,250 in eligible Ed Assist benefits in a year, you would only be taxed on the $1,000 over the exemption limit and owe a percentage of that $1,000 as your tax liability.
Find detailed information about Educational Assistance – including how to apply – on the HR website. Contact Organization and Professional Development at avphr.hrdmail@msu.edu with questions.
With everything you juggle as a supervisor, it’s easy to fall into a rut of viewing the performance management of your team as completing an annual review form and a once-yearly review of upcoming goals. However, taking the time to examine the potential opportunities within the Performance Excellence process can lead to significantly higher yields, both in the short and long term — for you, your team, and the university.
A primary goal of Performance Excellence should be to connect individuals to the organization’s greater purpose and help develop employees to better achieve the university’s goals. Although perhaps requiring a more significant investment of time upfront, creating a unifying vision for your team and establishing regular, ongoing check-in sessions to align goals will then serve as a touchstone for all performance evaluation and planning sessions.
Here are some tips and best practices to better align the goals and priorities of your team with the strategic objectives of your unit and MSU’s strategic plan.
1. Create a unit vision statement.
If your unit doesn’t already have a shared vision, now is a great time to formalize this and bring your team on board. Consider creating a one-page plan to outline your unit’s initiatives and the alignment of resources (i.e., time, people, funding) to achieve results and align with this vision.
Ask yourself:
Why does our unit exist?
What do we do that helps the university achieve the overarching strategic priorities?
How do we know we are successful?
2. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
As a supervisor, you should regularly communicate your unit’s vision to your team, both one-on-one and as a whole team. Ensure that everyone is fully aware of the vision, its meaning, and why it matters to them.
3. Help employees understand how their work impacts the vision.
When we can clearly connect our daily work with a larger picture of the unit’s and the university’s goals and objectives, job satisfaction and productivity almost always improve. Employees should be able to see how their individual contributions are critical to the university’s continued growth and success.
4. Have your employees consider goals and priorities for themselves that align with the unit’s vision.
Allow your team to take ownership of their goals, prioritizing what’s important to them about their work, while understanding that some employees may require more guidance and support with this process than others. Goals should be clear and measurable — think SMART and HARD goals — with a clear connection to your unit’s vision statement.
5. Ensure an ongoing feedback loop is maintained.
Aligning the goals and efforts of an individual with the larger team and organization cannot be a “one and done” activity. Regular, ongoing communication via one-on-one check-ins provides brief but powerful opportunities to touch base on objectives, realign priorities, and clarify expectations. Strive to provide prompt, actionable feedback to your team, tying everything back to your unit’s vision and ensuring each person understands how their work contributes to the bigger picture.
When you think of upskilling — learning new skills — at work, what comes to mind? Perhaps learning new software or working toward a certification or degree. There’s no question that many in-demand skills are technical in nature, but there’s also a critical need for what are sometimes described as “soft” skills, particularly strong emotional intelligence (EI).
EI allows us to build and maintain relationships and influence others — important skills no matter your position and area of work — and research has found people with greater EI tend to be more innovative and have higher job satisfaction than those with lower EI. Utilizing emotional intelligence in the workplace can enhance decision-making and social interactions, and improve your ability to cope with change and stress.
The good news is that, like technical skills, soft skills such as EI can also be learned and improved.
Emotional Intelligence: What It Is
To strengthen your emotional intelligence, it’s important to know what it entails. Most definitions of EI include the following components:
Perception and expression of emotion — Noticing your own emotions and picking up on the emotions of others, as well as the ability to distinguish between discrete emotions.
Using emotion to facilitate thought — How you incorporate emotions into your thinking processes and understand when and how emotions can be helpful for reasoning processes.
Understanding and analyzing emotions —The capacity to decode emotions, make sense of their meaning, and understand how they relate to each other and change over time.
Reflective regulation of emotion —An openness to all emotions and the ability to regulate your own emotions and the emotions of others to facilitate growth and insight.
Measuring Your Emotional Intelligence Skills
Do you find you relate to either of these statements?
“I want to improve my EI skills, but don’t know where to start.”
“I already have strong emotional intelligence skills. This isn’t an area I need to work on.”
As with any skill, we all have varying levels of aptitude for EI and may feel overwhelmed about where to begin.
One interesting study found that 95% of participants gave themselves high marks in self-awareness. However, using more empirical measures of self-awareness, the study found that only 10-15% of the cohort demonstrated true self-awareness. Consider the following characteristics typical of people with higher and lower EI skillsets as one way to better gauge your skillset:
Potential indicators of higher EI:
Understanding the links between your emotions and how you behave
Remaining calm and composed during stressful situations
Ability to influence others toward a common goal
Handling difficult people with tact and diplomacy
Potential indicators of lower EI:
Often feeling misunderstood
Getting upset easily
Becoming overwhelmed by emotions
Having problems being assertive
It’s important to note that these potential indicators can also stem from other causes and vary significantly depending on the day and situation.
Learning and Developing Emotional Intelligence
Research indicates that as little as ten hours of EI training (i.e., lectures, role-playing, group discussions, and readings) can significantly improve people’s ability to identify and manage their emotions, and these benefits are sustained six months later.
No matter your current EI skillset, it may be helpful to try the following exercises:
Notice how you respond to people — Are you judgmental or biased in your assessments of others?
Practice humility — Being humble about your achievements means you can acknowledge your successes without needing to shout about them.
Be honest with yourself about your strengths and vulnerabilities, and consider opportunities for development. Even though it might make you cringe, it’s helpful to get others’ viewpoints on your emotional intelligence. Ask people how they think you handle tricky situations and respond to the emotions of others.
Think about how you deal with stressful events — Do you seek to blame others? Can you keep your emotions in check?
Take responsibility for your actions and apologize when necessary.
Consider how your choices can affect others — Try to imagine how they might feel before you do something that could affect them.
Interested in further increasing your EI skills? Check out the resources below to get you started.
There is often no “right” decision in both work and life. We’re frequently faced with an abundance of options, which doesn’t make the act of decision-making any easier. Whether you’re someone who experiences decision paralysis, makes rash decisions you regret, or falls anywhere in between, you will likely benefit from simplifying decision-making with a balanced combination of intuition and critical thinking.
Types of Decision Making
Decisions should, ideally, come from a clear understanding of your needs, values, and goals. When you’re in a familiar situation, do you find your decisions are fast and automatic? This is likely based on your established experience with what works and what doesn’t. However, when encountering a new situation, you may need more time to weigh potential benefits and risks. Knowing various decision-making approaches can help you determine what’s best for your unique circumstances.
Informed Decision Making
The ability to think critically is key to making good decisions free from common errors or bias. Informed decision making means not just listening to your intuition or “going with your gut,” but instead figuring out what knowledge you lack and obtaining it. When you look at all possible sources of information with an open mind, you can make an informed decision based on facts and intuition.
Satisficing vs. Maximizing Decision Making
A satisficing approach to making decisions involves settling for a “good enough” outcome, even if flawed. Alternatively, a maximizing approach waits for conditions to be as perfect as possible to minimize potential risks. People who make good decisions know when it’s essential to act immediately, and when there’s time to wait and gather more facts before making a choice.
Decision-Making Styles
If you feel stuck when making a decision, consider the decision-making styles below. Examine these factors and consider how they relate to your potential decision.
Style
Behavior
When to use
Do not use when
Authoritative
Time is short.
As a decision maker, you have all the knowledge needed.
As a decision maker, you do not have all the knowledge or insight needed.
The issue is important to a group/team.
You need buy-in from others.
Consultative (group or individual)
You gather input from individuals or a group, and then decide.
You decide along with a group; everyone understands the decision, and the majority of people are willing to implement.
Others don’t have a say in the decision (as a decision maker, you may have privileged information).
Majority
It is a relatively trivial matter or a low-stakes decision.
You reach a decision with a group; everyone understands the decision and is willing to implement it.
The decision affects everyone in a meaningful way.
Consensus
You delegate the decision to an individual or a team, with your set constraints.
The decision will impact everyone, and everyone needs to buy in fully.
There is potential value in the team discussing or working together on the decision.
Time is short.
Delegate
The delegate has all the necessary skills, or a coach or mentor can assist.
You decide with a group; everyone understands the decision and is willing to implement it.
It is a high-risk or high-profile decision.
Decision-Making Myths
Making decisions can be stressful, and it’s easy to fall into falsehoods about decision making to avoid putting in the sometimes difficult effort to make the best choice. Consider some common myths related to decision making and think of ways to avoid these traps.
Myth #1: I just need to solve this problem now; I don’t have time to make this decision.
Putting off a decision is a decision in and of itself. However, intentionally slowing down to clarify your problem will speed up your efficacy. Put in the quality time now to avoid revisiting a decision you may regret later. Our issues sit in a context. If your focus is too narrow or your process is too rushed, you may solve the wrong problem or only partially solve the problem.
Myth #2: This is my decision alone; I don’t need to involve others.
Most important decisions involve other stakeholders. Avoiding the bigger picture of who else is affected by a decision can, at best, only partially solve the problem and may unintentionally exacerbate it. Be mindful that when many people are involved in making a decision, the process can become stalled by groupthink, when well-intentioned individuals make poor or irrational choices out of a desire to conform or avoid dissent. Ensure any involved individuals feel safe and confident expressing doubts and concerns.
Myth #3: Decision making is a linear process.
Good decision-making is circular, requiring a feedback loop as information is gathered and analyzed over time. Don’t be surprised if you need to return to find additional information or adjust your decisions.
When faced with difficult decisions, take the time to ensure your choices are based on what’s happening and not simply reflect learned behavior patterns that may no longer be useful. Carefully weigh any potential issues, commit to a decision, and then follow through. Interested in further advancing your decision-making skills and knowledge? Check out the elevateU resources below to get started.
