Career Enhancement and Electives

This class provides a look at a different measure of leadership, development, performance, and career advancement. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of emotional intelligence that can serve as a catalyst for individual development.
Objectives:
•    Identify criteria and traits that determine excellence in leadership and performance
•    Discuss how emotional intelligence relates to effectiveness in the workplace and why it is crucial to career development
•    Identify leadership and management competencies with regard to emotional intelligence
•    Discuss how MBTI relates to emotional intelligence
•    Participate in group projects focused on developing techniques for improving emotional intelligence
TARGET AUDIENCE: Individuals who interact with the public,
Those who are on a management track,
Those who deliver critical services, or
Those who manage people, projects, or programs
3 Hours CPM Elective Credit

This course is designed to show you the way to get the best out of a confident, motivated employee and to show them how to motivate that group.

Objectives:

• Define Motivation
• Methods of Motivation
• Identifying personality types
• Using personality types for motivation

TARGET AUDIENCE: Individuals who interact with the public,
Those who are on a management track, or
Those who manage people, projects or programs
6 Hours CPM Elective Credit

Most supervisors are unsure of the most effective ways to discuss performance issues and conduct performance reviews. This class discusses the most challenging aspects surrounding performance evaluations and provides resources for participants to use in performance conversations.
Objectives:
•    Learn the elements of the Performance Review System (PRS)
•    Discuss challenges to the PRS process and how best to defend decisions with the Employee Appeals Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in accordance with MSPB policies
•    Learn the difference in disciplinary issues vs. performance issues
•    Explain the elements of due process 
•    Learn the role of the Human Resources office in the PRS process
TARGET AUDIENCE: Individuals who supervise people
6 Hours CPM Elective Credit

Employers have obligations under certain federal laws to provide employees and applicants an accommodation, unless the proposed accommodation would cause undue hardship for the employer. It is essential that managers and HR administrators are aware of their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act, and Title 7’s religious accommodation requirements. This class will review issues in determining an employee or applicant’s eligibility for accommodation and the required documented interactive process between the parties.     

TARGET AUDIENCE: Individuals who interact with the public,
Those who are on a management track,
Those who deliver critical services, 
Those who manage people, projects, or programs, or
Human Resources professionals
6 Hours CPM Elective Credit

This session will review:

• The latest guidance and enforcement regulations from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Social media and the workplace regulations
• Telework policies
• Medical marijuana and the workplace
• Recent employment litigation, legislation, and judicial decisions
• Trends in federal and state employment claims

Everything DiSC Workplace® is the online DiSC assessment that aids in building more productive and effective relationships at work. Combining the classroom session with online pre-work and follow-up tools creates a personalized learning experience to help participants understand and appreciate the different priorities, preferences, and values each individual brings to the workplace and how they can learn to adapt to the style of others.
Objectives:
•    Discover participant’s own DiSC style: recognize the priorities, motivators, and stress triggers that shape his or her workplace experience
•    Explore other DiSC styles and understand the differences and similarities among them
•    Identify strategies to make more meaningful connections with colleagues of various styles and work more effectively to reduce tension, solve problems, and contribute positively to their organizations
TARGET AUDIENCE: Individuals who interact with the public,
Those who are on a management track,
Those who deliver critical services, or
Those who manage people, projects, or programs
6 Hours CPM Elective Credit

Knowing how to work with others is a vital component of efficiency. By understanding how to effectively
build teams, employees can make teamwork productive. Participants will discover their roles in teams while
examining how personality types interact in team settings.
Objectives:
•   Examine the role that each individual plays in teamwork.
•   Identify who should lead and who should follow.
•   Assess the learning styles that can make or break a team.
•   Determine how proper motive alignment can make teamwork productive.
•   Create a road map for effective team building.
Target Audience: All Staff
Credit: 6 Hours CPM Elective Credit

Several recent studies have cited conflict between different generations as a main contributor to relationships being negatively impacted in the workplace.  Learning to respect generations and the diversity each brings to the workplace improves productivity, communication, and customer service.
Objectives:
•    Recognize and identify the strengths each generation brings to the workplace
•    Commit to seeing generational respect as a diversity issue, rather than an age issue
•    Develop skills to open dialogue between generations
TARGET AUDIENCE: Individuals who interact with the public,
Those who are on a management track,
Those who deliver critical services, or
Those who manage people, projects, or programs
3 Hours CPM Elective Credit

This hands-on course teaches Mississippi state managers to safely use AI to simplify daily workflows. You will learn to draft, summarize, and rewrite complex agency documents using a four-rule safety framework. Grounded in Executive Order 1584, this introductory training requires no technical or coding background.

•  AI Tool Setup & Connectivity: Walks participants through selecting the right AI platform.
• Hands-On Exercises: Focus on immediate, practical application, with managers using their own unclassified agency documents to practice drafting, summarizing, and simplifying text.
• Core Safety Guardrails: Establish a strict four-rule safety framework covering a hard ban on Personally Identifiable Information (PII), detection of AI hallucinations, maintenance of human accountability, and use of public data only.
• Compliance & Policy: Grounded in Mississippi Executive Order 1584 to ensure state managers understand how to use AI tools ethically and legally.

Target Audience: All employees

3 Hours CPM Elective Credit

This course teaches Mississippi state managers to use AI as a strategic partner. You will learn to stress-test agency plans, audit policies for rural bias, and analyze vendor contracts. The class also covers data classification and drafting an official AI charter to ensure team compliance with Executive Order 1584.

•  Strategic Thinking Prompts: Teaches managers to use AI as a critical reviewer to challenge assumptions and stress-test initiatives before presenting them to stakeholders.
• Bias & Blind-Spot Auditing: Offers specific prompts, such as the Rural Bias Test, to review public policies and identify potential service or digital access gaps for rural Mississippi residents.
•  Vendor & Contract Analysis: Provides a structured prompting framework to evaluate vendor proposals, compare competing tools, and flag high-risk contract clauses.
• Data Classification Tiers: Outlines a clear three-tier system (Public, Restricted, and Confidential) to help managers safely categorize and handle agency data.
• Agency AI Charter: Guides managers in drafting a one-page governance baseline that defines approved, prohibited, and supervisor-dependent AI tasks for their teams.

Target Audience: All employees

3 hours CPM Elective Credit