“We have to continue to keep ourselves on point and sharp,” said Michael King, human resource specialist and Focus Week program manager. “Airmen and civilian employees are highly interested in honing their skills at this time, and Focus Week is a great, no-cost way to do that.”
Training Delivery Section personnel have been concentrating on developing and rewriting courses especially relevant and needed during the pandemic, he said.
“Many students are discovering that Focus Week is a creative way to train and maximize their time, and if they are working remotely, it’s a great way to connect with other students as they learn,” King said.
He pointed out that Education and Training upped its course offerings from 10 in July to 14 in October in response to demand.
“We are seizing the opportunity to adjust and innovate to keep up with the times,” King said. “If you’re not relevant, you’re irrelevant.”
Online attendance is open only for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base military members and Department of Defense civilian employees. To register go to https://myetms.wpafb.af.mil. Registration is open and continues until three business days prior to each course.
The courses are:
- Building a Culture of Trust – Fosters the free exchange of ideas in an atmosphere of open exchange; actively attempts to understand others' points of view and clarifies information as needed; solicits feedback to ensure others understand messages as they were intended.
- Business Etiquette – Everyone has found themselves in a business situation in which they were not quite sure what to do. Whom do I introduce first – is it “ladies first” or “rank first?” What does “business casual” dress mean? And at that honorary dinner, you didn’t quite know what to do with all four of the forks in front of you. Knowledge of business etiquette can help create a positive impression in social and business interactions. This knowledge will promote effective communication, develop stronger networking capabilities and provide respectful interactions with others of various backgrounds and positions.
- Daily Stress Balance and Work-Life Survival Guide – This class discusses different types of stress, and short- and long-term effects stress has on our bodies. We will review three-stress management techniques – focusing, calming, balanced living practices – so you leave class feeling more empowered to manage stress.
- Dynamic Team Building – Discover how to build a team from the ground up. This instructor-led course provides the guidelines for developing team mission statements, discusses Tuckman’s theory of team building and defines individual roles within a team and how to deal with team conflict.
- Managing Learning Styles – This class defines personal learning styles and provides suggestions for leaders who want to build a strong, dynamic team based on learning modalities as defined by Neil D. Fleming of Christchurch, New Zealand, and referenced in AFMAN36-2234 and AFMAN36-2236. This fun and interactive course will demonstrate the importance of knowing the learning style of yourself and the people who are on your team.
- Delivering Effective Feedback – Feedback is about performance improvement and is an active process between two people. During this two-hour course you will learn the importance for giving prompt feedback, be able to identify the four key principles of giving effective feedback and state the five stages of feedback. Participants will participate in role-playing exercises to ensure learning objectives are understood and can be applied.
- Conducting Effective Meetings – This two-hour course will discuss how to conduct the perfect meeting using the four “musts”: 1. Set a hard objective; 2. Provide an agenda; 3. Assign action items; and 4. Keep strict time limits. Topics covered: whom to invite (and not invite), several systems that would help (SharePoint and DCO) and creating a meeting template.
- Active Listening – You will recognize listening and the importance of giving full attention to the speaker, describing the speaker’s message and point of view, seeking clarification so you are able to repeat the message to the sender, and interpreting and synthesizing the message from others and responding appropriately.
- Understanding Your Individual Development Plan – What is in your IDP? Do you know what your developmental goals are? Do you know what your functional goals are? This course will help you take control of your developmental success by providing tips and recommendations for you to effectively work with your supervisor/employee to develop an IDP. The course will review and discuss the importance of short- and long-term goals, developmental goals and institutional and functional goals, using simple tools. Developing these goals will help you grow not only in your current position but also to be more viable in the future, as your responsibilities grow.
- Time Management: Concepts and Application – Time management is a misleading term. Time cannot be slowed down or sped up; however, what you can manage is how you use your time. This class covers concepts and application of personal mission statements, long- and short-term planning, and daily decision making using the Eisenhower Matrix. Application of efficiently managing and processing information and tasks will be taught using the tools available in Microsoft Outlook.
- Civilian Force Development Opportunities – This course will offer 88th Force Support Squadron/FSDE Workforce Development section briefs on the various aspects and options of workforce development from the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) level down to the Wright-Patt level.
- ETMS Familiarization and SF182 Updates for TFPs – The Education and Training Management System (ETMS) SF182 module has undergone significant updates that will benefit ETMS users greatly. This two-hour event will provide a familiarization of ETMS capabilities as well as an overview of new features and enhancements such as Group SF182, Full Editing, SF182 Routing, and Priority Date. The ETMS Familiarization and SF182 Rewrite Updates training for Training Focal Points will increase the knowledge and efficiency of those key users to ensure understanding and awareness.
- Coaching and Mentoring – This two-hour, instructor-led course defines and explores the differences between coaching and mentoring and explains the steps necessary to achieve established goals within both. Attendees will learn what motivates others to improve their skills and enhance their performance through feedback, coaching, mentoring and delegating. This course also demonstrates facilitating others in establishing long-term career goals based upon personal aspirations and Air Force needs.
- Delegating Successfully – According to a recent national poll of managers and leaders, one of their most difficult tasks is delegation. Fully half admit to almost never delegating, and many of the others stated they just did not know how to delegate effectively. The best practices for delegation will be presented in this two-hour module: what to delegate, to whom to delegate, how to effectively explain what you need, and overseeing successful completion of delegated tasks. You can do all these things with a “win-win agreement”, which will be demonstrated and provided in class.
Organizations are using Teams and CVR Teams to conduct business. In order to connect with these opportunities, setting up an account is important.
For more info, contact 88FSS.FSDED.Hrworkflow@us.af.mil or your unit training focal point and training manager. For CVR issues, contact your unit IT specialist.
AFLCMC Focus Week set for Oct. 26-30
Registration is now open for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Focus Week, Oct. 26-30. All courses will have a distance-learning option and should be open to the workforce regardless of their duty location. As individuals register, it is asked that attention be given to course requirements, as some of the courses are new to the virtual-learning environment and may be offered in a variety of platforms (teleconference, Defense Collaboration Services, CVR Teams, etc.).
Registration for all AFLCMC courses is available on the Acquisition Now Continuous Learning website: https://acqnow.atrrs.army.mil.
AFLCMC personnel are encouraged to keep their skills up-to-date and earn continuous learning points.
For questions or concerns, contact Jason Sibrel, AFLCMC/DPD, at Jason.Sibrel@us.af.mil.
About the Author