Collaborative Leadership for Faculty & Staff

While much of the Wurtele Center for Collaborative Leadership’s programming is geared toward students, we nevertheless strive to live into our mission to equip all members of the Smith community with the creativity, courage and collaborative capacity to lead positive change. We believe strongly that in order to build these skills in our students, we need to engage as learners ourselves as we seek to model collaborative leadership. We also hope to serve as a resource to faculty and staff members who are interested in exploring new ways of building collaborative leadership skills in their students. Below are some ways our center engages with faculty and staff.

The Art of Leading Teams Lunch Series

Join the Wurtele Center for Collaborative Leadership for this facilitated monthly series of conversations about what it means to work collaboratively in a team at Smith College. Open to all faculty and staff, regardless of title or position. Most sessions are held in-person with a virtual attendance option; lunch is provided for in-person attendees who RSVP.

Sign up for emails related to the Art of Leading Teams.

Semester Schedules

September

How Can I Learn From People with Jobs Unlike Mine?

Tuesday, September 22 from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
McCartney Hall Workshop Room (lunch available at noon)

People often imagine their work is specific and specialized, but you might be surprised how much you can learn from someone whose domain is different from yours. Faculty and staff are invited to this session, where we’ll practice a structured approach called “Troika Consulting” to share an issue and get feedback from others. Please come ready for lunch and active engagement! Co-facilitated by Kristin Hughes, Director of Athletics and Recreation.

October

How Can We Understand the Systems We Function Within?

Tuesday, October 27 from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
McCartney Hall Workshop Room (lunch available at noon)

An institution of higher education is made of systems that can be difficult to recognize. We often think of the system as something separate from ourselves rather than see our role, or feel overwhelmed at the idea of trying to create change. This session will share frameworks to better see systems and imagine ways we might impact them. Co-facilitated by Leslie King, Professor of Sociology. 

December

How Can We Embrace Constraints to Enhance Creativity and Collaboration?

Tuesday, December 1 from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
McCartney Hall Workshop Room (lunch available at noon)

Balancing our everyday tasks with taking time to tackle complex challenges or explore new possibilities is a common tension in professional life. This session will explore how constraints and guardrails can inspire unexpected solutions, and share some strategies for working creatively and collaboratively within the limits of time, resources, and control. Co-facilitated by Katey Tobin, Director of Operations and Special Projects. 

January

How Can Our Team/Department Improve Our Communication?

Tuesday, January 12 from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Virtual Meeting

The success of any department or team depends on clear and regular communication, both in person and via the many asynchronous tools we use. Join this session to explore what gets in the way of good communication, do a quick communications audit for your team or department, and discuss some tips for improving your communication in meetings and online.

February

What Makes for a Well-Functioning Team?

Tuesday, February 16 from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
McCartney Hall Workshop Room (lunch available at noon)

It can be easy to identify dysfunctional dynamics in teams and departments, but the approaches that make a team work well together are sometimes less visible. Share examples of what helps your team or department function well, and learn collaborative leadership strategies that can help set the conditions for healthy team functioning. Co-facilitated by René Heavlow, Director of the Conway Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center.

March

How Can I Get Better at Giving and Receiving Difficult Feedback?

Tuesday, March 23 from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
McCartney Hall Workshop Room (lunch available at noon)

It’s safe to say that nobody enjoys difficult feedback, whether we’re giving or receiving it. Reflect with colleagues on your own relationship with feedback and the culture of feedback on your team. Learn some strategies for being clear and direct when delivering difficult feedback, and managing your emotions while receiving it. Co-facilitated by Fraser Stables, Associate Dean of Integrative Learning and Professor of Art.

April

Should We Try to Resolve Conflict, Learn to Live with it, or Both?

Tuesday, April 13 from 12:15 to 1:45 p.m.
McCartney Hall Workshop Room (lunch available at noon)

Conflict is hard, but it’s also an inevitable part of group life. At this session, we’ll discuss the differences between productive and unproductive conflict and explore how “unhealthy peace” can be equally damaging. Also learn and practice some strategies for both resolving conflict and learning to harness it for good. Co-facilitated by AJ Johnson, Career Specialist for Equity Partnerships and Programming at the Lazarus Center.

“Thank you all so much for facilitating this amazing series! I often was on the fence about joining because I was ‘so busy with everything else,’ but every session I was able to join gave me new tools and connections across campus, and I left so glad I carved out this time for professional and personal development.”
Art of Leading Teams Participant

Student Pedagogical Partners

The Wurtele Center designs and facilitates a series of workshops for students participating in the Sherrerd Center for Teaching and Learning’s Student Pedagogical Partner program. The workshops provide students with a space in which to reflect as a cohort on their experience as a pedagogical partner, explore what leadership looks like in this specific context, and act as peer mentors to one another.

Common Topics

  • Tools and Strategies for Instructional Design
  • Offering and Receiving Constructive Feedback
  • Navigating Power Dynamics Within Your Partnership
  • Translating Skills from Partnership Work to Other Contexts
“Thank you so much for your support and guidance during this past semester with the Pedagogical Partnership. Our monthly sessions were such a joy to attend, and I always felt inspired talking to you and the group. The time was perfectly divided between reflecting, writing, sharing, and discussing. Additionally, all of the tools you used in the meetings (as simple as the great icebreakers) were very engaging and useful.”
Student Pedagogical Partner

Ways to Partner with the Wurtele Center

Curricular Partnerships & Support

The Wurtele Center is available for consultation, collaboration, and support for any faculty members whose courses (or other modes of students engagement) are actively team- or group-oriented, and who are interested in exploring how they might work more intentionally with students to develop their collaborative skills in order to lead projects and initiatives forward. Our curricular engagement with faculty has ranged from individual consultation and curricular co-design to guest teaching arrangements to resource sharing.

For more information, please contact the Wurtele Center Assistant Director, Megan Lyster, and/or check out the Resources page of our website.

Co-curricular Partnerships & Staff Support

The Wurtele Center also collaborates widely with a range of campus partners to support the collaborative leadership development of students and staff through co-curricular or work experiences. This includes:

  • Ongoing training and development partnerships with student leaders in Residential Life, House Leadership and Student Affairs
  • Support of student club and organization leaders
  • Collaboration with other centers on campus to develop programs, talks and workshops
  • Assistance with meeting design, retreat design and facilitation of team engagement for other units on campus

If you are interested in collaborating with the Wurtele Center in these or other ways, please reach out! 

For more information, please reach out to Annie DelBusto Cohen or check out the Resources page.