Why Professional Development?
There are a great many positions in the parishes that rely heavily on volunteers and part-timers to assist in religious education, faith formation, parish operations, communications, technology and administrative jobs. Some volunteers and part-timers may have very little, if any, formal training or experience in the roles and responsibilities that they have been asked to handle. In addition, the dynamics of contemporary living require that everyone continues to improve and update their personal and professional skills in order to stay abreast of technology and the rapidly changing church and business environment. As a result, the Professional Development Program was created to provide a resource for personal and professional skills enhancement and development.
Overview and Professional Development Topics
The Professional Development Program has a comprehensive library of training programs organized into three broad areas: Communication… Management & Leadership… and… Personal Growth. Other topics are under development.
- Communication Skills—how to communicate more effectively, both spoken and written word
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- Basic Communication Skills
- Effective Listening Skills
- Essentials of Effective Presentations
- Writing Skills in the Workplace
- Management & Leadership Skills—how to manage & lead people more effectively
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- Servant Leadership—The Jesus Way of Leading
- Team Building & Team Work
- Leadership & Management 101
- Human Relations Skills
- Fundamentals of Effective Motivation
- Generational Management
- Personal Growth Skills—how to become more effective personally in the office and at home
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- Achieving Life Balance
- Coping with Change
- Creative Problem Solving Techniques
- Dealing with Adversity
- Memory Improvement
- Planning and Managing Effective Meetings
- Personal & Spiritual Growth in Mid-Life & Beyond (3 part series)
- Stress Management
- The Power of Positive
- The Ten Habits of Highly Productive People
- Time Management
- Understanding Emotional Intelligence
Study Alternatives – there are two ways to use the material. First, contact Bill Clarke at the Office of Evangelization & Discipleship to arrange a personal, in-house presentation on any of the desired topics. This approach works well for larger staff or parish meetings. Second, each of the above topics are available online for individual or group study.
Format – when accessing the material online, the content of each topic can be viewed in video and voice-over PowerPoint format.
Language – at this time, all presentations are in English, with the exception of Servant Leadership that is available in Spanish. It is possible to arrange for presentations of other topics in Spanish or other languages with the use of an interpreter.
