Marshall Center Works with OPM to Provide Holistic Training for Workforce
By Christine June
George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (May 16, 2018) – The Marshall Center’s Human Resources worked with the Office of Personnel Management to host three trainings for its staff and faculty in 2017 and 2018.
More training for Marshall Center staff will be held for staff and faculty in 2019, said John Heath, chief of Human Resources, Directorate of Business Operations, who worked with OPM to have these trainings at the Marshall Center.
The OPM is an independent agency of the United States federal government that manages the government's civilian workforce. The agency provides federal human resources policy, oversight and support, and tends to healthcare, insurance and retirement benefits and services for federal government employees.
“We are actively seeking future training events as they focus on the personal and professional development of the workforce,” he said. “We will continue to work with OPM for future leadership and team building events next year at the center.”
Two of the 2018 trainings were held last week, May 7 to 11, for 18 Marshall Center employees. “Coaching and Mentoring” was the first course and lasted three days, and “Resiliency” training rounded up the week. The “Team Building” course was held in December.
“I think we will bring all three courses back here next year as well as other courses that build on team building, coaching and mentoring, and resiliency,” Heath said.
The examples of other courses that Heath cited were emotional intelligence and leadership training for executives.
“Last week’s training classes were designed to sharpen the interpersonal and engagement skills, which are two extremely critical skillsets for any leader,” Heath said. “What these courses focused on was the holistic development of an individual so they are able to tackle obstacles at home, as well as at work.”
The “Coaching and Mentoring” course examined coaching and mentoring as the core tools to help others develop leadership competencies. Our Colleagues learned the key coaching and mentoring strategies to help them reach the next level of performance and to make productive choices concerning the direction of their careers. They also learned how to build a plan for continuing their development as a coach or mentor.
In the “Resiliency” course, students learned how to be flexible and professionally adapt to stressful situations and to increase awareness of their team’s resiliency. They also create an action plan to increase personal and team resiliency.
“After taking these courses, I can definitely see how these skills can help me professionally and personally,” said Janice Willis, Marshall Center’s budget analyst, who is currently in a temporary supervisory position in DBO’s Resource Management.
Willis leads a team of resource and travel specialists who support the Marshall Center’s mission by providing lodging, travel, resources and reimbursements to a constant flow of participants from around the globe. While she was attending the training, her team was supporting 55 participants from 19 nations who are attending the European Security Seminar-East, which started May 14 at the Marshall Center.
“To me, it was a challenge to be here for training, but what I learned here I can use immediately at work,” she said.