‘Unity’ is theme of 88 ABW Virtual Focus Week

Ten no-cost courses will be held virtually July 20-24 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, thanks to the first-ever 88th Air Base Wing Virtual Focus Week. The free professional development opportunities will be hosted online by Education and Training via the Commercial Virtual Remote environment.

The theme for July is “Unity.” The theme speaks to today’s training needs, said Michael King, human resource specialist and Focus Week program manager.

“We’re gaining knowledge and understanding as one team. We are all one, we work together as one, and we’re trying to gain understanding and knowledge to be a better ‘one’,” he said.

“We have been hosting traditional, in-person and some virtual Focus Weeks on a quarterly basis,” King said. “Because of COVID-19, we have been looking for ways to offer classes to the base community. We decided to host a trial Virtual Focus Week. If it works out well, we’ll utilize it on a more consistent basis.”

The Commercial Virtual Remote environment is a safe one, also, as it is sponsored by the Department of Defense. The base’s training delivery team reviewed multiple systems and found CVR to be the most reasonable platform, he said.

Attendance is open only for military members and Department of Defense civilian employees for registration. For a list of courses and registration go to https://myetms.wpafb.af.mil. Organizations are using Teams and CVR Teams to conduct business. In order to connect with these opportunities, getting an account set up is important.

Courses will be held two per day from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m., with the exception of Conflict Management, a three-hour course. Classes are limited to 25 people per course, with a five-person waiting list.

Such participating would set a new Focus Week attendance record for Education and Training, King said.

The courses will include:

  • AFMC Connect Essentials – AFMC Connect is a focused effort to build relationships within organizations by delivering deliberate and meaningful discussions to promote an increase in unit cohesion and connectedness. This is a holistic approach to strengthen individual resilience, reinforce protective factors and reduce unwanted behaviors.
  • Conflict Management – Creative competition drives innovation; harmful conflict is the root cause of a toxic work environment. The class explores the differences between the two along with types of conflict, levels, sources, interpersonal tools to consider, approaches and a four-step model that guides re-establishing trust between parties. The class concludes with a group practical exercise.
  • Daily Stress Balance and Work-Life Survival Guide – This class discusses different types of stress and the short- and long-term effects that stress has on bodies. It will review three-stress management techniques (focusing, calming, balanced living practices) so you leave class feeling more empowered to manage your stress.
  • Dynamic Team Building – Discover how to build a team from the ground up. This instructor-led course provides 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.
  • Emotional Intelligence: A Different Way of Being Smart – Have you ever wondered why some people of high IQ flounder and those of modest IQ do surprisingly well? There is a reason for this – emotional intelligence. This class explores a different way of thinking about intelligence and how it can strengthen personal and professional lives. Emotional intelligence consists of self-awareness, impulse control, persistence, self-motivation, empathy and social dexterity. This instructor-led class explains the history and the science behind how we think. It also provides suggestions for improving emotional intelligence.
  • Fostering Collaboration – To be successful, teams must adopt a "we will win" mindset. Fostering collaboration addresses how to build a climate of trust to facilitate work relationships. This instructor led course was derived from "Leadership Challenge." The course provides practical application practices that can be adopted immediately to strengthen any team for success and growth.
  • Fundamentals of Team Building – This class will provide the definition of a team, the mission of a team and explain the guidelines of building effective teams. This class will also identify major parts of teams, list the roles of each participant, expected behaviors in a team dynamic, and state key components of building effective teams. An activity could be conducted to broaden the participants understanding of team building.
  • Generations in the Workplace – There are four fully represented generations in the workplace now. Never before has this happened in the country. Some do not see age as a great difference, but indeed, the mindsets of these generations are radically different.
  • 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? If this is like a foreign language to you and you want to take control of your developmental success this is the course for you. This course will provide tips and recommendations for you to effectively work with your supervisor/employee to develop an Individual Development Plan (IDP).
  • Writing for Professional Growth (AcqDemo and DPMAP) – Writing for Professional Growth provides assistance to employees under the AcqDemo and DPMAP pay plans to write better self-assessment performance statements. This instructor-led course attempts to dispel the confusion regarding the writing models used to address performance accountability. The course covers the SMART model (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely), STAR Statements (Situation, Task, Action, Result) and CRI Statements (Contribution, Result, Impact) used in performance writing.

Reasons to participate in Focus Week

It’s important to continue to develop professionally, King pointed out.

“People are hungry for information and training opportunities,” he said. “I’m hearing that this is something people want to do right now. This is a perfect way for us to be together and be unified.”

King used the Conflict Management course as an example of something that can help people teleworking.

“People are dealing with conflict, both at home and in their professional life,” he said. “We have heard what potential students want and we are answering the call. We are responding.”

For more information, 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 July 27-31

Registration is now open for the AFLCMC Focus Week, July 27-31. 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. The course catalog contains step-by-step instructions to assist with registration.

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.

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