2018 Statewide Learning and Development Solutions
In This Issue:
  1. New Senior Leader Certificate
  2. Featured Courses in October
  3. New guidance on refunds for cancelled classes
  4. Personality and Self-Awareness Assessments available through COE
  5. Learning Lessons: Giving Feedback
New Senior Leader Certificate Program
"Those people who develop the ability to continuously acquire new and better forms of knowledge that they can apply to their work and to their lives will be the movers and shakers in our society for the indefinite future."  Brian Tracy (author & speaker)

COE is committed to the idea that successful leaders never stop learning. To assist leaders in continuous learning, COE has created the Senior Leader Certificate. This program is open to all who lead organizations and are looking to increase their skills and abilities. Employees who want to move into senior leader positions will benefit by learning the competencies needed to be successful in these positions. This certificate includes the Birkman Assessment, six classes and a capstone experience that will provide participants with a set of skills that can be applied in any senior leadership role.

The Senior Leader Certificate is designed to give organizational and functional leaders the tools to lead groups to drive agency and statewide initiatives, and better serve the citizens of Colorado. This certificate is designed to allow senior leaders to define some of their own learning needs, and provides options to pick from two or three courses in each of the competencies that are represented in this certificate, including some online options that may save you time and money. The courses in this program provide education and experience in the areas of Change Management, Influence, Problem Solving and Decision Making, Diversity, Managing within Government and Strategy and Visioning.
 
The courses in this program provide skills that lead to:
  • Better decision-making
  • Skills for effective collaboration
  • Improved communications
  • Enhanced relationship building
  • Effective change management skills
  • More effective team management behaviors
  • Honing skills for your present position
  • Developing skills for future positions
If you are interested in continuous learning, check out the Senior Leader Certificate.
Featured Courses


This month, COE is offering 21 courses to encourage your continued learning and development. You can learn more about these courses and everything else from COE on our website. 
 
Click on each class name below to see more information about the course and available dates to register:
New Guidance on Refunds for Cancelled Classes
When classes are cancelled by COE, refunds may be in order for agencies. Refunding money to agencies is made harder when COE does not receive required information. To make refunds easier, COE is implementing a new process for how refunds will be managed.
 
The process for refunding class payments varies according to the payment method.
  • CORE Payments: If you cancel a class by the required deadline, or if the COE cancels a class and payment was to be charged through CORE, no refund is needed. The CORE payment does not go through until after completion of the class by the student. 
  • Payments by Check: If the check was mailed to the COE, we will contact our accounting unit and have it returned to the department's accounting unit. If the check was already deposited into the bank, a refund check will be issued and mailed to the department's accounting unit. 
  • Payments by Purchase Card: If payment was made by credit card or PCard, COE has to contact the person who registered for training to identify the department's accounting representative and collect the CORE codes to issue the refund. Please note that in all cases, credit card processing fees are non-refundable.
In order to facilitate timely processing of refunds, the following process will be effective immediately.

When refunds must be issued, based on a credit card payment, COE will make a maximum of three attempts to contact the Department's Accounting Representative and collect the CORE codes to issue the refund.

If no response has been received after three attempts the refund will be sent to the Department's Billing Clearing Account in CORE to clear the refund amount from COE accounts. This will require the department accounting representative to make an adjusting entry in CORE to receive the funds from the Billing Clearing Account.

In order to avoid the extra work of collecting refunds from the Billing Clearing Account, ensure that you respond to COE when a class has been cancelled to ensure that the refund is completed through normal channels.

COE will issue credits approximately monthly. If a class that you registered for was cancelled, and you need the refund in less than thirty days, be sure to contact COE to request expedited processing of your refund.

For future reference, this information is posted on the COE website.

For more information about processing refunds please contact COE at  [email protected]  or 303-866-2439.

Personality and Self-Awareness Assessments Available Through COE
Personality and Self-Awareness Assessments provide insight into effective interactions with others by providing understanding of self-perception and the perceptions of others. This data can be used to measure change or improvement in relational skills that are otherwise difficult to measure.

COE offers a variety of assessments that can be used to identify specific behaviors and gain insight into areas for personal development and which training and development classes may be more valuable, interesting, and effective.

These assessments can be purchased for individuals or groups and are sometimes paired with classes or certificate programs. All of these assessments include a meeting with a certified facilitator to describe the meaning of the assessment and to encourage the development of plans to take action on the assessment results.

The following assessments are available:
  • Birkman Method Assessment
  • Birkman 360 Assessment
  • The DISC Assessment
  • Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
  • 360 Assessments from FranklinCovey
To see the personality and self-awareness assessments offered by COE go to the  Personality and Self-Awareness Assessments  page.
Learning Lessons
Giving feedback can be difficult. However, when done well, it can be one of the most effective ways to cultivate relationships, build teams, and make progress toward organizational objectives. If you catch yourself avoiding feedback for any reason (not sure what to say, relationship tension, the individual is unwilling to accept it) you can reduce your risk by delivering your feedback in three phases.
  1. Positive frame: Begin the conversation with a positive frame letting employees know what they are doing well, where they are being effective, and which talents you appreciate. 
  2. Delivery of feedback: Deliver your message with respect. Be specific and objective about the types of behaviors that are problematic and avoid making it personal. 
  3. Normalization: Make things normal again by re-establishing the relationship. Help the employee feel he or she can share with you in a non-evaluative environment. Give the employee the opportunity to respond and tell their side of things.
Use the three phase model to outline your thoughts before you initiate the conversation. This allows you to prepare and think through possible points of conflict to keep the conversation focused on expected outcomes and avoid the perception of a personality conflict.

The goal is not for you to dictate new expectations, but instead to create dialogue that is open and free flowing. You can do this by asking open ended questions that promote thinking. During the conversation be sure to slow down and take pauses, giving the other individual space to think and respond.

By the end of the conversation you will have given the necessary feedback, kept the relationships intact, and reached agreements around expectations for moving forward.
For more on this topic, watch  How to Give Effective Feedback.
Center for Organizational Effectiveness
Department of Personnel & Administration
Division of Human Resources
303-866-2439