Washington University in St. Louis
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MGT662: Valuing Differences

Advanced Technical Leadership Certificate
Course summary:

Today, the organizations with the most significant competitive advantage are those that create an inclusive environment that makes the most of their people’s diverse experiences, ideas, and talents. 

Course experience:

Valuing differences gives people practical skills and tools for exploring others’ unique perspectives, understanding and leveraging people’s inherent differences, challenging devaluing behavior, and creating an environment in which people’s differences are respected and utilized. 

Who should take this course?
Technical professionals wishing to earn Washington University's Advanced Technical Leadership Certificate. This course is designed to teach participants ways to increase their effectiveness with teams, in meetings and in individual discussion with peers, managers, vendors and customers.
 

Course outline:

  • Introduction: Learners complete a Styles, Abilities, and Motivations (SAMs) profile as prework. They review the SAM concept and complete an activity that illustrates how people have diverse styles and that there is value in the unique approaches and perspectives people bring to their jobs.
  • Exploring Differences: Learners, working in teams, use their own SAM profile to explore the value and challenges that varying styles, abilities, and motivations bring to the workplace. Recognizing that others’ SAM profile may be hard to uncover, learners identify opportunities to explore differences in the workplace.
  • Nurturing Differences: Learners watch video segments that illustrate the negative impact of failing to cultivate differences. They learn how the Key Principles can help nurture differences. Learners’ skill at using the Key Principles to nurture differences is tested in a quiz-show style game that asks them to answer “what would you say” follow-up questions.
  • Leveraging Differences: Learners, working in teams, create several ideas for making the most of people’s various SAMs in response to a fictional valuing diversity initiative. Members of each group divide the team roles among themselves based on their own SAMs. Learners identify opportunities to leverage the SAMs of teammates and partners in the workplace.
  • A Plan for Valuing Differences: Learners identify specific things they will stop, start, and continue doing to value differences in the workplace.

Learning outcomes:

  • Contribute their unique styles, abilities, and motivations to ensure the success of their work group and organization
  • Encourage others to contribute their unique styles, abilities, and motivations
  • Work more collaboratively and productively with people who have a variety of styles, abilities, and motivations
  • Leverage the talents of their coworkers to achieve better results
  • Contribute to a climate in which people's differences are respected and utilized
Type:
Virtual Classroom
 
Instructor:
Gretchen Pettet
 
Day & Time:
Thursday | December 5th
4 to 8 p.m.
 
Enrollment Deadline:
Nov 28th
 
Location:
Zoom
 
Course Fee(s):
$595
 
CEUs:
0.4
 
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Enrollment Deadline is Nov 28th, 2024 at 5 PM CST. Beyond this date, please call 314-935-4444 to register.

CANCELLATION POLICY
A full refund will be given when a registrant cancels more than five (5) business days prior to the start of the class. Cancellations received within 5 business days of the start of the class and no-shows will be billed in full. Another person may be substituted at any time at no additional charge.
 
A request to transfer a class to a future date can only occur if the request is more than 5 business days prior to the start of class.  Otherwise, the request will be considered a cancellation and the policy will apply.
Type:
Virtual Classroom
 
Instructor:
Gretchen Pettet
 
Day & Time:
Monday June 23th, 2025
3:00 to 7:00PM
 
Enrollment Deadline:
June 16th, 2025
 
Location:
Zoom
 
Course Fee(s):
$595
 
CEUs:
0.4
 
add2cart
 

Enrollment Deadline is June 16th, 2025 at 5 PM CST. Beyond this date, please call 314-935-4444 to register.

CANCELLATION POLICY
A full refund will be given when a registrant cancels more than five (5) business days prior to the start of the class. Cancellations received within 5 business days of the start of the class and no-shows will be billed in full. Another person may be substituted at any time at no additional charge.
 
A request to transfer a class to a future date can only occur if the request is more than 5 business days prior to the start of class.  Otherwise, the request will be considered a cancellation and the policy will apply.

Accrediting Associations:

Applies toward the following certificates:

advanced technical leadership certificate
Conflict Management Badge
Have questions?
Contact us if you would like to speak with a program director or visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
"As always, great educational value. Ladan and Mary are friendly, knowledgeable and make the class fun." MGT662: Valuing Differences