Personal Skills
Personal development skills are qualities and abilities that help you grow both personally and professionally. In other words, they are skills that help you nurture your personal development. Understanding and improving these skills can help you maximize your potential. This process is also known as self-development or personal growth.
Indeed Editorial Team. “9 Ways To Improve Your Personal Development Skills” Indeed, September 21, 2021, https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/improve-your-personal-development-skills.
Learning How to Learn: Powerful Mental Tools to Help You Master Tough Subjects
Platform: Coursera
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: Approximately 9 hours
Location
When clicking on Enroll at the bottom of the pop-up, click Full Course, No Certificate to access the free version.
This course gives you easy access to the invaluable learning techniques used by experts in art, music, literature, math, science, sports, and many other disciplines. We’ll learn about how the brain uses two very different learning modes and how it encapsulates (“chunks”) information. We’ll also cover illusions of learning, memory techniques, dealing with procrastination, and best practices shown by research to be most effective in helping you master tough subjects.
Platform: Coursera
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: Approximately 9 hours
Location
When clicking on Enroll at the bottom of the pop-up, click Full Course, No Certificate to access the free version.
This course gives you easy access to the invaluable learning techniques used by experts in art, music, literature, math, science, sports, and many other disciplines. We’ll learn about how the brain uses two very different learning modes and how it encapsulates (“chunks”) information. We’ll also cover illusions of learning, memory techniques, dealing with procrastination, and best practices shown by research to be most effective in helping you master tough subjects.
Why Generalists Succeed and How to Learn Like One
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 18 minutes
Location
Generalists—jacks of all trades—get a bad rap. However, they possess a unique intersection of skills that can create new playing fields without competition from established masters. Being a generalist can also help you create innovative solutions and see problems from a clearer perspective. In this course, adapted from the podcast How to Be Awesome at Your Job, host Pete Mockaitis interviews bestselling author David Epstein on why and how generalists tend to achieve more. David explains how focusing on short-term improvement can actually undermine long-term development. He introduces an alternative approach, focused on interleaving varied concepts. He also provides pro tips for breaking through your learning plateaus and developing your ability to make broader connections.
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 18 minutes
Location
Generalists—jacks of all trades—get a bad rap. However, they possess a unique intersection of skills that can create new playing fields without competition from established masters. Being a generalist can also help you create innovative solutions and see problems from a clearer perspective. In this course, adapted from the podcast How to Be Awesome at Your Job, host Pete Mockaitis interviews bestselling author David Epstein on why and how generalists tend to achieve more. David explains how focusing on short-term improvement can actually undermine long-term development. He introduces an alternative approach, focused on interleaving varied concepts. He also provides pro tips for breaking through your learning plateaus and developing your ability to make broader connections.
Asserting Yourself, an Empowered Choice
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: All
Time: 30 minutes
Location
Have you ever had trouble saying no, disagreeing with colleagues, or delivering tough feedback? Being assertive is an important skill to master, especially for anyone who works in or aspires to a leadership role. Learn how to speak up and make your voice heard. This course is designed to empower people who struggle to assert themselves professionally or personally. Career expert Emilie Aries provides coaching on aspects such as assertive communication, body language, and tone. She also explains why it’s sometimes difficult to be assertive and provides tactics for overcoming your fears—and getting what you want out of work and life.
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: All
Time: 30 minutes
Location
Have you ever had trouble saying no, disagreeing with colleagues, or delivering tough feedback? Being assertive is an important skill to master, especially for anyone who works in or aspires to a leadership role. Learn how to speak up and make your voice heard. This course is designed to empower people who struggle to assert themselves professionally or personally. Career expert Emilie Aries provides coaching on aspects such as assertive communication, body language, and tone. She also explains why it’s sometimes difficult to be assertive and provides tactics for overcoming your fears—and getting what you want out of work and life.
Influencing People
Platform: Coursera
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: Approximately 14 hours
Location
When clicking on Enroll at the bottom of the pop-up, click Full Course, No Certificate to access the free version.
This course will improve your ability to influence people in situations where you cannot use formal authority. You will learn about effective ways to build, develop, and sustain a power base in your organization. You will also learn influence tactics that enable you to be more persuasive and influential in working with your superiors, peers, and even subordinates. In addition, you will learn how to build and maintain high-quality relationships to further maximize your informal power and ability to influence others. Importantly, you will distinguish between influence and manipulation and learn how to protect yourself from the unwanted influence of others. The influence strategies you learn in this course will make you a more confident and influential leader, presenter, and decision-maker. You will more effective in pitching business ideas to your superiors, influencing customers, and building coalitions across stakeholders. This course will not only give you strategic guidance on how to develop and maintain your network for influence and power, but we will also equip you with specific tactics and strategies that are proven to work for gaining power and influencing people.
Platform: Coursera
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: Approximately 14 hours
Location
When clicking on Enroll at the bottom of the pop-up, click Full Course, No Certificate to access the free version.
This course will improve your ability to influence people in situations where you cannot use formal authority. You will learn about effective ways to build, develop, and sustain a power base in your organization. You will also learn influence tactics that enable you to be more persuasive and influential in working with your superiors, peers, and even subordinates. In addition, you will learn how to build and maintain high-quality relationships to further maximize your informal power and ability to influence others. Importantly, you will distinguish between influence and manipulation and learn how to protect yourself from the unwanted influence of others. The influence strategies you learn in this course will make you a more confident and influential leader, presenter, and decision-maker. You will more effective in pitching business ideas to your superiors, influencing customers, and building coalitions across stakeholders. This course will not only give you strategic guidance on how to develop and maintain your network for influence and power, but we will also equip you with specific tactics and strategies that are proven to work for gaining power and influencing people.
Managing Stress for Positive Change
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Time: 57 minutes
Location
In the workplace, stress is often viewed in purely negative terms. It's seen as a response that should simply be minimized or pushed aside; however, it's possible to use stress to fuel positive change. In this course, join instructor Heidi Hanna, PhD 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. She covers how individuals can use stress for good by assessing and adjusting it, as well as what you-as a manager-can do to create an environment and communication style that helps connect employees to the bigger picture.
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Time: 57 minutes
Location
In the workplace, stress is often viewed in purely negative terms. It's seen as a response that should simply be minimized or pushed aside; however, it's possible to use stress to fuel positive change. In this course, join instructor Heidi Hanna, PhD 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. She covers how individuals can use stress for good by assessing and adjusting it, as well as what you-as a manager-can do to create an environment and communication style that helps connect employees to the bigger picture.
Mistakes You Should Avoid at Work
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 21 minutes
Location
Whether you're starting a new job, joining a new team, or working towards a promotion, there are key mistakes that can prevent you from moving forward in your career. Julie Nisbet outlines 21 of the top workplace mistakes—and simple ways to avoid these blunders. Learn how to present yourself in a professional manner, ask better questions, use technology wisely, and advance your career. Each tip helps you recognize and avoid these toxic and self-destructive behaviors and start putting proactive and positive habits into place. By the end of the course, you'll have the skills and resources you need to get out of your own way and become the in-demand professional that employers want working on their teams.
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 21 minutes
Location
Whether you're starting a new job, joining a new team, or working towards a promotion, there are key mistakes that can prevent you from moving forward in your career. Julie Nisbet outlines 21 of the top workplace mistakes—and simple ways to avoid these blunders. Learn how to present yourself in a professional manner, ask better questions, use technology wisely, and advance your career. Each tip helps you recognize and avoid these toxic and self-destructive behaviors and start putting proactive and positive habits into place. By the end of the course, you'll have the skills and resources you need to get out of your own way and become the in-demand professional that employers want working on their teams.
Powerful Prioritization with the 80/20 Rule
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 28 minutes
Location
In this audio-only course adapted from the How to Be Awesome at Your Job podcast, Pete Mockaitis talks with business consultant Perry Marshall about the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto principle, and how you can use it to achieve massive results in your work and life. As Perry explains, while most people know the basics of the 80/20 rule—that 80% of an outcome comes from 20% of causes—few know that within that initial 20% lies another 80/20 breakdown, and another within that, and on and on. By applying the 80/20 rule exponentially, you can, according to Perry, prioritize your time more effectively by identifying the most impactful tasks. Perry also details how you can even use your procrastination tendencies to find your priorities and achieve more significant results in the long run.
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 28 minutes
Location
In this audio-only course adapted from the How to Be Awesome at Your Job podcast, Pete Mockaitis talks with business consultant Perry Marshall about the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto principle, and how you can use it to achieve massive results in your work and life. As Perry explains, while most people know the basics of the 80/20 rule—that 80% of an outcome comes from 20% of causes—few know that within that initial 20% lies another 80/20 breakdown, and another within that, and on and on. By applying the 80/20 rule exponentially, you can, according to Perry, prioritize your time more effectively by identifying the most impactful tasks. Perry also details how you can even use your procrastination tendencies to find your priorities and achieve more significant results in the long run.
Building Relationships While Working from Home
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: General
Time: 22 minutes
Location
Working from home removes distractions, but also eliminates important face-to-face interactions. Home-based workers often report feeling disconnected, isolated, and alone. This course teaches us how to create professional yet personal connections with remote team members and how to satisfy that missing element of closeness that people get when they are together at work. Productivity expert Dave Crenshaw explains how to reach out to others, be authentic online, build a great reputation, and make meaningful connections with your peers. These tips are invaluable for anyone working from home—and particularly relevant for those working under the challenging conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Take the time to watch this course and invest the time and skills it takes to rekindle your most valuable relationships at work.
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: General
Time: 22 minutes
Location
Working from home removes distractions, but also eliminates important face-to-face interactions. Home-based workers often report feeling disconnected, isolated, and alone. This course teaches us how to create professional yet personal connections with remote team members and how to satisfy that missing element of closeness that people get when they are together at work. Productivity expert Dave Crenshaw explains how to reach out to others, be authentic online, build a great reputation, and make meaningful connections with your peers. These tips are invaluable for anyone working from home—and particularly relevant for those working under the challenging conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Take the time to watch this course and invest the time and skills it takes to rekindle your most valuable relationships at work.
Build Your Attention-to-Detail Skills
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Learning Path
Time: 6 hours 33 minutes
Location
Learn how to focus on the task at hand, recognizing triggers that threaten to distract you. Improve your focus by developing better focus habits. Plus, learn how to edit writing effectively—both for yourself and others. Training Objectives: Identify how to focus and create new focus habits; Recognize triggers that distract you; Learn how to edit more effectively.
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Learning Path
Time: 6 hours 33 minutes
Location
Learn how to focus on the task at hand, recognizing triggers that threaten to distract you. Improve your focus by developing better focus habits. Plus, learn how to edit writing effectively—both for yourself and others. Training Objectives: Identify how to focus and create new focus habits; Recognize triggers that distract you; Learn how to edit more effectively.
Leading and Motivating People with Different Personalities
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Intermediate
Time: 39 minutes
Location
A person's thoughts, feelings, and actions, taken together, form a pattern psychologists call "personality." As a leader, you deal with so many personalities daily. To be an effective leader, you need to know how to motivate, lead, and persuade these diverse personalities. In this course, instructor Kwame Christian—business lawyer, Director of the American Negotiation Institute, and host of the Negotiate Anything podcast—steps through how to gain the skills you need to lead and motivate anyone on your team. Kwame explains how understanding personality and motivation can help you lead and manage. He goes over ways you can successfully influence and lead individuals with recognized personality traits. Kwame goes in-depth on how you can motivate people with different personal motivations. He concludes with a discussion on how combining personality and motivation gives you the leverage to create new and better results with your team.
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Intermediate
Time: 39 minutes
Location
A person's thoughts, feelings, and actions, taken together, form a pattern psychologists call "personality." As a leader, you deal with so many personalities daily. To be an effective leader, you need to know how to motivate, lead, and persuade these diverse personalities. In this course, instructor Kwame Christian—business lawyer, Director of the American Negotiation Institute, and host of the Negotiate Anything podcast—steps through how to gain the skills you need to lead and motivate anyone on your team. Kwame explains how understanding personality and motivation can help you lead and manage. He goes over ways you can successfully influence and lead individuals with recognized personality traits. Kwame goes in-depth on how you can motivate people with different personal motivations. He concludes with a discussion on how combining personality and motivation gives you the leverage to create new and better results with your team.
How to Organize Your Time and Your Life
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 24 minutes
Location
Looking for an organizational system that fits your specific needs? Don’t just follow the trendiest new productivity hacks. In this course, adapted from the podcast How to Be Awesome at Your Job, join organization guru Julie Morgenstern as she discusses how to manage your time for greater productivity and build a system tailored to your needs. Julie goes over the importance of considering your goals and personality when designing your system. Figuring out what works best for you will ensure your system feels natural and functions optimally. Julie also covers how to troubleshoot your organizational systems in order to narrow down what’s working and what’s not, reclaim your creative time, keep your inbox from taking over your day, and more.
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 24 minutes
Location
Looking for an organizational system that fits your specific needs? Don’t just follow the trendiest new productivity hacks. In this course, adapted from the podcast How to Be Awesome at Your Job, join organization guru Julie Morgenstern as she discusses how to manage your time for greater productivity and build a system tailored to your needs. Julie goes over the importance of considering your goals and personality when designing your system. Figuring out what works best for you will ensure your system feels natural and functions optimally. Julie also covers how to troubleshoot your organizational systems in order to narrow down what’s working and what’s not, reclaim your creative time, keep your inbox from taking over your day, and more.
Develop Conflict Management and Resolution Skills
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Learning Path
Time: 8 hours 24 minutes
Location
Learn how to deal effectively with others in antagonistic situations. Discover how to reduce tension or conflict. Review how to effectively settle disputes by focusing on solving the problems at hand—without offending egos. Evaluate the feasibility of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Training Objectives: Learn the essentials of effective conflict resolution; Practice communication techniques to improve relationships; Discover how to communicate clearly and compassionately.
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Skill Level: Learning Path
Time: 8 hours 24 minutes
Location
Learn how to deal effectively with others in antagonistic situations. Discover how to reduce tension or conflict. Review how to effectively settle disputes by focusing on solving the problems at hand—without offending egos. Evaluate the feasibility of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Training Objectives: Learn the essentials of effective conflict resolution; Practice communication techniques to improve relationships; Discover how to communicate clearly and compassionately.
Professional Development: Improve Yourself, Always
Platform: Coursera
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: Approximately 18 hours
Location
When clicking on Enroll at the bottom of the pop-up, click Full Course, No Certificate to access the free version.
The world of work is characterized by rapid ongoing change. In this dynamic environment, one of the most critical skills for leaders is their capacity to learn and to adapt; to engage in the continuous development of their skills in managing and leading others. This course will assist you in the ongoing development of your skills and abilities by focusing on the nature of the self-development process. You will reflect on and develop self-awareness of your current leadership style to understand the strengths you need to develop and which challenges you will face as a leader. The course also examines the change process, and explores the processes of self-regulation that underpin personal skill development.
Platform: Coursera
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: Approximately 18 hours
Location
When clicking on Enroll at the bottom of the pop-up, click Full Course, No Certificate to access the free version.
The world of work is characterized by rapid ongoing change. In this dynamic environment, one of the most critical skills for leaders is their capacity to learn and to adapt; to engage in the continuous development of their skills in managing and leading others. This course will assist you in the ongoing development of your skills and abilities by focusing on the nature of the self-development process. You will reflect on and develop self-awareness of your current leadership style to understand the strengths you need to develop and which challenges you will face as a leader. The course also examines the change process, and explores the processes of self-regulation that underpin personal skill development.
Achieving Personal and Professional Success Specialization
Platform: Coursera
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: Approximately 4 months (3 hours/week)
Location
When clicking on Enroll at the bottom of the pop-up, click Full Course, No Certificate to access the free version.
Based on four of the most popular courses taught at the Wharton School, Achieving Personal and Professional Success is designed to introduce the tools and techniques for defining and achieving success at home and at work. You'll learn how to find your passion and core values, how to apply these values to your own life, how to work well with others, how to communicate effectively, how to set goals, how to use influence to achieve these goals, and even how to say you are sorry. Through exercises, self-diagnostic surveys, quizzes, and many case studies, you'll discover how to define not only what you want, but also the best way to get it. While many business courses cover topics related to successful organizational practices, these courses provide key insights into successful personal practices, whether you are in the office or in your home. We all bring ourselves to work every day, and these courses will help you be your best self wherever you are.
Platform: Coursera
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: Approximately 4 months (3 hours/week)
Location
When clicking on Enroll at the bottom of the pop-up, click Full Course, No Certificate to access the free version.
Based on four of the most popular courses taught at the Wharton School, Achieving Personal and Professional Success is designed to introduce the tools and techniques for defining and achieving success at home and at work. You'll learn how to find your passion and core values, how to apply these values to your own life, how to work well with others, how to communicate effectively, how to set goals, how to use influence to achieve these goals, and even how to say you are sorry. Through exercises, self-diagnostic surveys, quizzes, and many case studies, you'll discover how to define not only what you want, but also the best way to get it. While many business courses cover topics related to successful organizational practices, these courses provide key insights into successful personal practices, whether you are in the office or in your home. We all bring ourselves to work every day, and these courses will help you be your best self wherever you are.
Improving Communication Skills
Platform: Coursera
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: Approximately 10 hours
Location
When clicking on Enroll at the bottom of the pop-up, click Full Course, No Certificate to access the free version.
Learn how to communicate more effectively at work and achieve your goals. Taught by award-winning Wharton professor and best-selling author Maurice Schweitzer, Improving Communications Skills is an essential course designed to give you both the tools you need to improve your communication skills, and the most successful strategies for using them to your advantage. You'll learn how to discover if someone is lying (and how to react if they are), how to develop trust, the best method of communication for negotiation, and how to apologize. You'll also learn when to cooperate and when to compete, how to create persuasive messages, ask thoughtful questions, engage in active listening, and choose the right medium (face-to-face conversation, video conference, phone call, or email) for your messages. By the end of the course, you'll be able to understand what others want, respond strategically to their wants and needs, craft convincing and clear messages, and develop the critical communication skills you need to get ahead in business and in life.
Platform: Coursera
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: Approximately 10 hours
Location
When clicking on Enroll at the bottom of the pop-up, click Full Course, No Certificate to access the free version.
Learn how to communicate more effectively at work and achieve your goals. Taught by award-winning Wharton professor and best-selling author Maurice Schweitzer, Improving Communications Skills is an essential course designed to give you both the tools you need to improve your communication skills, and the most successful strategies for using them to your advantage. You'll learn how to discover if someone is lying (and how to react if they are), how to develop trust, the best method of communication for negotiation, and how to apologize. You'll also learn when to cooperate and when to compete, how to create persuasive messages, ask thoughtful questions, engage in active listening, and choose the right medium (face-to-face conversation, video conference, phone call, or email) for your messages. By the end of the course, you'll be able to understand what others want, respond strategically to their wants and needs, craft convincing and clear messages, and develop the critical communication skills you need to get ahead in business and in life.
Contact Us
The SUNY CPD is a collaborative central resource for the SUNY community providing access to high quality professional development opportunities focused on the latest trends and established best practices in higher education to enhance the capability of SUNY faculty and staff and increase SUNY's competitive advantage.
SUNY Center for Professional Development
6333 State Route 298
East Syracuse, 13057
P: (315) 214 2440
https://cpd.suny.edu/