Toolkits contain a variety of videos, articles and courses to help you become more familiar with specific topics.
Stan State is committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace. In this toolkit, you will find resources to increase your understanding of diversity and inclusion, including creating inclusivity, recognizing biases, and learning cultural competence.
Online Courses
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Learning Bundle
Courses and CSU webcasts focus on promoting equity and diversity in the workplace, challenging our unconscious biases, and appreciating cultural differences.
Confronting Bias: Thriving Across Our Differences
Find greater meaning, well-being, and productivity by learning how to interact with others across differences. Continue your Thrive journey and discover how to create inclusive environments where everyone can thrive.
Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging for All
This transformative learning path reviews current thinking and best practices on essential topics such as bias, cultural competence, communication, allyship, and accountability.
Learn to become aware of your biases and become an inclusive leader. Develop inclusive organizations. Create opportunities to manage compassionately.
Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging for Leaders and Managers
In this learning path, leaders can learn how to recognize the business need for DIBs, create a truly inclusive workplace, communicate honestly and effectively, recognize their own biases, and accept the differences of others.
Webcasts
Overcoming & Understanding Implicit Bias in Higher Education & the Workplace
This CSU's Got Talent session will explore intergroup biases' social, cultural, and psychological origins and the most problematic effects such biases can have in higher education and the workplace.
We dread moments in ordinary days: moments of difficulty, confrontation and unwelcome change. We still must acknowledge when our colleagues or family are behaving badly or when we have let others down and work toward change. And we continue to be presented with the opportunity that has always been available to humanity throughout time: the chance to become our better selves.
Videos
Check Our Bias to Wreck Our Bias
Signs of implicit bias lurk within our inboxes, social networks and the patterns of our daily lives. Looking at our own data can help us change our ways.
Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Racism
What is implicit bias? NYT/POV's Saleem Reshamwala unscrews the lid on the unfair effects of our subconscious.
Systemic racism affects every area of life in the US. From incarceration rates to predatory loans and trying to solve these problems requires changes in major parts of our system. Here's a closer look at what systemic racism is and how we can solve it.
Articles
What Should Inclusion Really Look Like In The Workplace?
Inclusion is the only scalable way to build diversity within an organization. Without thoughtful and deliberate discussion and action to cultivate an inclusive environment, all the energy and resources spent on recruiting a diverse workforce are for naught.
How to Begin Talking About Race in the Workplace
“To eradicate systemic racism, it is important for managers to empower employees and provide them with resources for having productive conversations about race,” writes Wharton management professor Stephanie Creary in this opinion piece. Here, she offers her framework for middle managers in corporate environments who want to initiate conversations about race in the workplace.
How to Be an Inclusive Leader Through a Crisis
Leaders are under extraordinary pressure right now. They are expected to make decisions quickly with incomplete and rapidly evolving information. And unfortunately, being in crisis mode can cause even the most intentional and well-meaning leaders to fall into patterns of bias and exclusion.
Get Involved
The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media to eliminate homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Implicit Association Test
Harvard Implicit Association Test
Select an Implicit Association Test (IAT) from a list of possible topics. You can report your attitudes or beliefs about these topics and provide some information about yourself. The IAT can be more valuable if you also describe your own self-understanding of the attitude or stereotype that the IAT measures.
Every message you send reflects your professionalism and credibility. In this toolkit, you will learn how to effectively communicate your message with maximum impact to your intended audience. Learn the tools to help you construct well-written, grammatically correct, and effective email communications.
Stan State Writing Style Guide
Use these resources to find specific rules and word choices as it pertains to Stan State and writing for higher ed. These rules follow and supersede the standard AP style.
Articles
Grammar goofs, punctuation problems, and spelling slip-ups undercut professionalism and credibility. Don’t leave correct grammar to chance. Attend Great Grammar in Seven Steps to learn rules and strategies for clear, correct on-the-job writing.
17 Writing Mistakes That Make Smart People Look Dumb
Writing is a part of just about any job, especially if you’re a manager. You have to write emails, memos, reports, reviews, etc. Read this article to learn about 17 common writing mistakes and how to correct them.
This article can help you determine whether email is the best mode of communication in a particular situation and write messages that successfully convey your meaning to your intended audience.
25 Tips for Perfecting Your E-mail Etiquette
Do you have bad netiquette? In other words, are you appalling colleagues with your awful e-mail manners? Clean up your act with these etiquette tips from the experts.
CSU's Got Talent Webcasts
Don’t let grammar goofs and mechanical missteps undercut your professionalism. In this program, Nancy Flynn will review “grown-up” grammar rules for CSU professionals. We’ll cover punctuation, capitalization, and evolving grammar guidelines, including genderneutral and preferred pronouns. You’ll learn to write correctly —and more quickly.
Can You Hear Me? How to Connect with People in a Virtual World
Dr. Nick Morgan's research reveals five major problems with the virtual world and the way we communicate in it - and dozens of common-sense ways to make that communication better. We must learn to live smarter and communicate differently to survive in this brave new digital world.
Communicating Your Message for Maximum Impact
Commanding attention, expressing ideas and projecting greater presence when you speak will help you influence outcomes and drive results. Combined with interactive exercises, examples and feedback, this lively program will help you engage listeners and develop techniques to think on your feet so you can participate in important conversations.
In this session, Nancy Flynn will provide expertise on the important aspects of different communication channels, deciding which format to use, grammar rules for business writers, social media writing, and keys to writing effective email.
Online Courses
Tips for Writing Business Emails
Studies have shown that the average businessperson spends over a dozen hours writing emails weekly. Every detail, from grammar to tone to timing, impacts your reputation and personal brand. Join Dr. Daisy Lovelace as she shares tips to strengthen your email skills and shape a positive online reputation.
Business Etiquette: Phone, Email, and Text
Suzanna Kaye starts with an email, explaining everything from setting up signatures to striking the right tone. She also explains how to use autoresponders best, acknowledge receipt of an email, and follow up on unanswered emails.
Writing Emails People Want to Read
In this course, instructor Sam Bennett shows you how to write great emails that'll leave a positive impression. First, Sam explains that being personal and direct contributes to a high ROI, regardless of your recipient. She goes over how to utilize the basic types of emails: inquiry, transactional or informational, and marketing or sales.
Emotional and physical wellness are vital parts of your life that impact your thoughts, feelings, and health. Below are recommended trainings that may help increase your overall happiness and health.
Mindfulness
An Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation
In this CSU’s Got Talent Webcast, Dr. Hwang will share what mindfulness is and how we can use it in our everyday lives, with our families, and at work. Learn practices you can use every day to reduce stress, enhance awareness, focus and ultimately, create more happiness in your life.
Dr. Crystal Miller presents Mindful Meeting Exercises, designed to provide a deeper sense of well-being and connection. These exercises are 5-10 minutes long and can be done individually throughout your workday or in a meeting with your team or group.
Emotional Health
Why We All Need to Practice Emotional First Aid
Too many of us deal with common psychological-health issues on our own, says Guy Winch. But we don't have to. He makes a compelling case to practice emotional hygiene — taking care of our emotions and our minds with the same diligence we take care of our bodies.
7 Ways to Practice Emotional First Aid
Psychologist Guy Winch lays out seven useful ways to reboot your emotional health
The Gift and Power of Emotional Courage
Psychologist Susan David shares how the way we deal with our emotions shapes everything that matters: our actions, careers, relationships, health and happiness.
Managing Stress for a Positive Change
In this course, join instructor Heidi Hanna, Ph.D., as she discusses what stress is, exactly how you can train yourself to use stress in more effective ways, and what managers can do to reduce employee stress when an organization experiences difficult times.
Supporting Your Mental Heath While Working From Home
In this course, neuroscience expert and author Amy Brann helps you adjust to this new normal by training your brain to overcome disruptions and distractions, accept and get real about your emotions, reframe your expectations, and preserve your relationships
Physical Health
The Brain-Changing Benefits of Exercise
What's the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today? Exercise! says neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki. Get inspired to go to the gym as Suzuki discusses the science of how working out boosts your mood and memory -- and protects your brain against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
The 10 Best Exercises To Do At Your Desk
Forbes article on ten (10) ways to fit in exercise at your desk.
In this toolkit you will find resources to help you transition and thrive in a hybrid work schedule. Below are online courses, articles, and podcasts that provide training on how to stay productive while working on campus and at home.
Online Courses
Enhance Productivity in a Hybrid Work Environment
In this course, productivity author and Emmy-winning producer Paula Rizzo shows you how to revamp your productivity style to help you stay on task when switching between locations.
Leveraging Virtual and Hybrid Teams for Improved Effectiveness
In this course, Keith Ferrazzi shares his hard-won knowledge with you, spelling out how to develop agile and resilient virtual and hybrid teams that genuinely care about each other's success.
In this short video, learn best practices to participate in and run a hybrid meeting.
Can You Hear Me? How to Connect with People in a Virtual World
In this CSU's Got Talent webcast, Dr. Nick Morgan reveals five major problems with the virtual world and the way we communicate in it and dozens of common-sense ways to make that communication better.
Learning Bundles
Learn and review tools to lead a hybrid team, contribute as a hybrid team member, have a meeting that works for everyone and stay visible while some are on campus and some are working from home.
Articles
11 Ways To Create Community In A Hybrid Work Environment
As with any distributed workforce, the tricky part is helping remote team members feel a sense of community. If their in-office colleagues are interacting face-to-face on a daily basis, what steps can leaders take to ensure that remote team members feel that same sense of camaraderie and belonging?
In this article, learn how to create practices that ensure employees in the office are in sync with those working from home, talk with your team about how you can best work together in this new environment, and discuss when and how you’ll communicate with your team.
6 Productivity Tips for Your New Hybrid Work Life
Read this New York Times article to learn 6 productivity tips for managing a hybrid work schedule.
Tips to Be an Active Hybrid Team Member
The new hybrid work environment will feel different. Use the following suggestions from Colorado State University to assist you with exploring new ways to interact with members of your team and other colleagues.
Podcasts
How to Have a Hybrid Meeting That Works for Everyone
As workplaces take tentative steps towards a new normal, social psychologist Heidi Grant shares best practices for interacting when some are in the office and some are remote.
Professional growth is important at all stages of your career, whether you are a new or longtime manager. These recommended trainings below are tools that may help you with career growth.
Knowledge Development
Learn how to avoid new manager mistakes in this course adapted from the podcast.
This toolkit provides tools and resources to help you improve the performance and commitment of your staff and yourself.
Onboarding new employees as a Manager
Instructor Todd Dewett shares insights about onboarding that can help you make your new hires feel welcome, informed, and ready to contribute.
In this series, Todd Dewett, Ph.D., shares the tips respected and motivated managers use to improve rapport, navigate tricky situations, build better relationships, and drive the business forward.
Performance Management
Learn best practices and tips for successful performance evaluations, including why they are important, what to include and how to make them a success.
Improving Employee Performance
In this course, join HR expert Don Phin as he shares strategies for creating a culture that encourages high performance as well as best practices for improving employee performance in the modern workplace.
How to Manage a Stubborn, Defensive, or Defiant Employee
Managing a defiant employee isn’t easy. To get the best from them, try three tactics. You might be able to adjust their job responsibilities to leverage their strengths.
Skills Development
Developing Adaptability as a Manager
In this course, you'll learn how to monitor for change in order to better prepare for it, hone your skills, and create a more adaptable team that is innovative and responsive to change.
In this course, best-selling author Dave Crenshaw offers managers at all levels practical strategies for efficient time management.
This course provides a playbook and a step-by-step approach to managing change by drawing from and building on key elements of change management models in practice today.
Competency Development
Builds Relationships: Builds trusting, caring relationships both inside and outside the organization; demonstrates respect for others and skillfully manages conflict; remains open-minded and leverages diversity.
Builds Teams: Hires effective team members based on the job requirements and fit with the culture; creates a work environment where people feel cared for and valued; fosters collaboration and team effectiveness.
Coaches and Develops: Provides timely and constructive feedback; gets to know each individual and their development goals; looks for opportunities to leverage strengths and provide growth opportunities.
Plans work to meet deadlines and outcomes; prioritizes, provides clear direction and delegates appropriately; clearly communicates roles, expectations, and timelines; monitors work to ensure self and team consistently meet goals and deadlines, executes work plans to quality standards; remains flexible and adjusts work plans as necessary.
Builds Teams: Hires effective team members based on the job requirements and fit with the culture; creates a work environment where people feel cared for and valued; fosters collaboration and team effectiveness.
Communicates a compelling organizational vision and how it impacts their direct reports; demonstrates energy and enthusiasm for the organization and builds commitment for ideas; understands what motivates each direct report and uses this knowledge to drive performance; rewards and recognizes success in meaningful ways.
Problem Solving and Decision Making
Considers all relevant information and uses sound judgment to make decisions and solve problems in a timely manner; pinpoints the root cause of an issue and identifies creative solutions; balances both the short-and long-term impact of decisions.
Leads Change: Fosters innovation by leveraging the ideas and talents of others to identify new ideas; creates an environment that encourages risk-taking; effectively implements change while considering its impact on all stakeholders.
Strategic Thinking: Understands market, industry and environmental trends; addresses issues to create or sustain competitive advantage; uncovers new opportunities to create value and leverage the organization’s strengths; anticipates change and develops long-range plans
Customer Focus: Creates a culture that is focused on the customer; regularly reviews customer feedback and looks for ways to improve their experience and build loyalty; ensures his or her team has the skills and expertise to meet customer expectations.
Working Virtually (Team Managers)
Manage communications, face challenges and establish effective virtual teams.
Technical & Business Acumen: Understands and operates effectively within the functional areas of the organization; demonstrates proper technical knowledge and skills to manage effectively; understands company data, communications and financial metrics and uses them to make sound decisions; sees the big picture.
Being able to navigate Microsoft Office is an essential skill needed for employees to be able to perform the functions of their jobs effectively. This toolkit explores the three main Microsoft Office applications - Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Below you will find courses customized toward beginning, intermediate, and master-level skill in Microsoft Office applications.
Overview
The Microsoft Office suite boasts a fleet of industry-leading software programs, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. In this short course, get a general introduction to what Office has to offer.
Get a tour of Office 365, Microsoft's cloud-based productivity suite. David Rivers shows how to access your Office account and get up to speed with the Office 365 core apps, including subscription versions of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, along with Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint.
In this regularly updated course, instructor David Rivers covers the latest features added to Microsoft Office 365, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint, and new apps added to the Office suite.
Word
Learning Word Desktop (Office 365/Microsoft 365)
(Beginning) Get started with Microsoft Word for Office 365. In this course, staff instructor Nick Brazzi explains the basics of Word, concentrating on the techniques beginning users need to know to create, format, and save new documents.
Word Essential Training (Office 365/Microsoft 365)
(Intermediate) Learn how to easily create, edit, format, and share documents using the Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) version of Word. Follow along with David Rivers as he shows this powerful tool's essential features.
(Master) Proficiency in Microsoft Word is one of the most in-demand software skills today. This learning path helps you become a power user in Word. Discover how to format documents, use built-in templates, create forms, and more.
Excel
Learning Excel Desktop (Office 365/Microsoft 365)
(Beginning) Looking to get started with Microsoft Excel? Join instructor David Rivers as he introduces new users to the fundamentals of Excel. Learn how to create new workbooks, add and format numbers and text, work with basic formulas and functions, and leverage key features such as AutoFill, which allows you to quickly fill new cells.
(Master) Employers around the world cite Microsoft Excel as one of the most sought-after skills for any new hire. This learning path helps you become an Excel power user—covering everything from functions and formatting to PivotTables and dashboards.
Powerpoint
Learning PowerPoint Desktop (Office 365/Microsoft 365)
(Beginning) Get started with PowerPoint for Office 365. This course is for anyone who's new to PowerPoint and would like to create and present slideshows and presentations.
PowerPoint: Designing Better Slides
(Intermediate) Designed for non-designers, this course introduces average business professionals to key design components and requirements for purposeful PowerPoint slide design. PowerPoint MVP Heather Ackmann's approach supports the three basic pillars for effective PowerPoint slides: audience, environment, and message.
(Master) Proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint is an essential skill for many careers. Discover how to create more polished and professional presentations by mastering PowerPoint.
Pofessional growth is an important way to grow and continuously develop your skills. Below are resources to assist you with your career development.
Skills
A selection of courses about effectively communicating with customers, improving conversations, service excellence and addressing the needs of customers in an effective manner to succeed.
A selection of courses, articles and a webcast for personal development. Learn more in the areas of interpersonal communication, developing a growth and adaptive mind-set, self-discovery and time management.
A selection of courses to improve technical skills including a webcast on Business Writing, Taking Effective and Professional Notes, Gmail for Web Using the Calendar Tools, and courses in Excel and Word.
In this course, Chris Croft shares methods for recognizing the characteristics of some of the most common types of difficult people, and gives you strategies for dealing with these individuals more effectively.
Knowledge
Dr. Chaz Austin shares 14 practical tips for creating a solid foundation and thriving when taking on a new role and joining a new company.
How to Get the Most From Your Temporary Work Placement
Learn how to use your work placement as the launching pad for the next stage of your career.
Building Professional Relationships
This course provides on how to build and maintain professional relationships.
If you could ask a bestselling business author a question, what would it be? In this course, you’ll find answering spanning the spectrum from personal effectiveness to career management.
CSU Learn Resources
Working Virtually: Meeting Organizers
Ways to Lead a Productive and Inclusive Zoom Meeting and Facilitating VWays to Lead a Productive and Inclusive Zoom Meeting and Facilitating Virtual Collaborationirtual Collaboration.
Ways to Lead a Productive and Inclusive Zoom Meeting
This quick video has 5 tips to help you lead an effective Zoom meeting.
Facilitating Virtual Collaboration
In this webcast, learn how to facilitate gracefully, effectively, and in a way that brings out the best in people even if they are not face to face.
Working Virtually: Team Managers
This learning bundle focuses on managing communications, facing challenges and establishing effective virtual teams.
Working Virtually: Team Member
This learning bundle has resources on how to contribute as a virtual team member, managing stress, ergonomics tips for remote working, telecommuting expectations and best practices for CSU employees.
This learning bundle focuses on maintaining a healthy work/life balance. Topics include ways to improve work/life balance, managing stress, and habits of highly fulfilled people.
LinkedIn Learning Resources
Microsoft Teams Essential Training
Discover the core features of Microsoft Teams and see how you can bring together colleagues, create conversations and content, and collaborate more effectively.
In this course, instructor Kevin Eikenberry lays out how to lead effectively from a distance. He dives into the basics of remote leadership, such as how working remotely changes interpersonal dynamics.
Zoom Resources
Stay Connected with Zoom Meetings
Collaborate more seamlessly using Zoom, the popular video conferencing tool. Learn how to schedule, moderate, and participate in Zoom meetings
An overview on how to download and utalize Zoom at Stanislaus State! Here you will find FAQs, Zoom features, webcam etiquette tips, support and training.
Articles
15 Questions About Remote Work, Answered
Tsedal Neeley, a professor at Harvard Business School, offers guidance on how to work productively at home, manage virtual meetings, and lead teams through this COVID-19 situation.
Updated: April 02, 2024