New Leadership Program Announced

After an almost three-year hiatus, the Professional Development Center will launch a redesigned and refreshed suite of Leadership programming in Fall 2022. The new program is designed with options for those who want a full certificate and those who want to take a more ad hoc approach. New supervisors or aspiring leaders may choose to develop their Personal Leadership and a few core skills, while more experienced leaders focus on organizational alignment. 

Certificate in Leadership Essentials 

The centerpiece of the new program is the Certificate in Leadership Essentials.  

Unlike many leadership programs in the South Sound, the Certificate in Leadership Essentials has no application, requires no recommendations or nominations, and does not need to be taken in a specific order*. However, there is a recommended pathway through the program that takes a similar approach as the Washington Certified Public Manager® program: 

Personal Leadership – As in the Washington Certified Public Manager® program, we recommend starting any leadership journey with a look at your own preferences and temperament, identity, emotional intelligence, and goals. Participants in this course experience multiple assessments to build their self-awareness and create a Strategic Leadership Development Plan for use in the rest of the certificate program and beyond. 

Team Leadership – Great leaders know how to transform a group of individuals into a cohesive, high-performing team focused on accomplishing a shared mission. Participants in this course will learn how to build highly effective teams by examining, analyzing, and applying a variety of interrelated topics to maximize positive group dynamics and team performance. 

Organizational Leadership – Becoming an ethical and effective leader at the organizational level requires more than charisma or business savvy. Participants in this course will examine how organizational culture impacts both organizational and individual success, how to handle internal and external crises, what role succession planning should play in an organization, and what their own leadership legacy will be. 

Capstone – Participants will finish the certificate with a capstone leadership project and presentation, completed independently with guidance from a PDC instructor. 

*The capstone is the culminating project in the Certificate, so participants must successfully pass Personal Leadership, Team Leadership, and Organizational Leadership before enrolling in the Capstone. 

Participants round out the certificate with another 21 hours of electives from the Leadership Workshops & Webinars to drill deeper into specific skills. This allows them to gain a strong foundation in a core set of skills, while still tailoring the experience to best fit their needs. These electives can be taken at any point during the Certificate – before or after the Capstone. 

Build Your Own Path 

With the exception of the Capstone, participants may enroll in any course, workshop, or webinar on its own. This allows you to address a single pressing need in your work or build a smaller set of courses that is more specific to your situation. They are also a great way to grow skills built in other PDC programs, such as Project Management and Lean Six Sigma. 

We’ll be adding to the available offerings over the next two years, but will launch in Fall 2022 with the following: 

• Resolving Workplace Conflict (7-hour workshop) 
• Designing and Leading Change (7-hour workshop) 
• Aligning Goals for Success (3.5-hour workshop) 
• The Trust Advantage (3.5-hour workshop) 
• From Peer to Supervisor (3.5-hour workshop) 
• Effective Meeting Management (3.5-hour workshop) 
• Unpacking Failed DEI Efforts (1.5-hour webinar, online only) 
• Thinking Strategically About Your Career (2-hour webinar, online only) 
• Personal Leadership (18-hour course) 
• Team Leadership (18-hour course) 
• Organizational Leadership (18-hour course) 

Featured Instructors 

Our Leadership instructors are drawn from experienced practitioners across the Washington State. They run their own private consulting firms, are employed in schools and tribal governments, and have worked with small teams in public agencies to the executive teams of massive corporations. Each one shares the PDC’s belief that it is an honor to help people and organizations grow their capacity. 

Chris Crosby (M.A.) is an international consultant who helps organizations succeed by aligning people to measurable goals. Chris previously worked with Alcoa CSI on numerous successful projects and has extensive internal experience. In addition to his consulting work and teaching with the PDC, Chris also serves as the President of the Board of the Pacific Northwest Organization Development Network and has held adjunct teaching positions. 

Tina Hagedorn (M.B.A.) is the founder and executive consultant for Hagedorn and Associates. She has over 20 years of demonstrated commitment to ethical leadership development and a reputation for versatility working with diverse constituents in demanding environments. Tina’s areas of expertise include financial and economic analysis, facilitation of executive strategic planning and leadership development workshops/retreats, tribal enterprise projects, conflict resolution, and contract negotiation. 

Denise Matayoshi Miño (CPM, Certified Tribal HR Professional, Certified Coaching Professional) is a transformational coach, trainer, and human resources professional with a focus on DEI, trauma-informed workplaces, and employee resilience. In addition to her past work in state government and her current position as a Learning and Development Coordinator for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, Denise is an Organizational Development Specialist for A Human Workplace and co-created/co-facilitates “Conversations on Race” in Tenino, WA. 

Ava McGee has over 20 years of work experience in human resources with the State of Washington, Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB), Cubic Global Defense (private industry), The Athena Group, and her current endeavor, Ava Mcgee, InnerWork Consulting and Coaching LLC. Ava works to foster a mindset of collaboration between managers and employees by building rapport and working collaboratively towards the organization’s mission, vision, and values, and has established herself as a community leader/advocate in dismantling racism and the behaviors that seep into various systematic environments.  

Joey Pauley (M.A.) is the Founder and Lead Facilitator at Applied Leadership Teams, LLC, an experience-based training and leadership development company. In addition to facilitating a variety of courses for the PDC and University of Washington Professional and Organizational Development, Joey is the Project Week Director at The Overlake School and the President of the Pacific Northwest Organizational Development Network. 

Richard Wilkinson recently retired from the University of Washington Tacoma, where he served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Organizational Effectiveness and Development. He continues to teach for the Milgard School of Business as well as the PDC, along with conducting workshops on management practice and facilitating group planning retreats for private clients. Richard has served in HR and organization development leadership roles in three industries-municipal government, global health, and higher education-and led workshops and retreats on four continents.