Get hardy in 2021 and grow

Change Hardiness
Gardeners often use the word “hardiness” to describe plants—hardy plants can survive adverse growing conditions. It is not a leap to see ourselves in this metaphor when seemingly overnight, we have experienced great change to the ways that we work, learn, and socialize. We have changed how we interact with colleagues, family and friends, and with our community. As you begin 2021 and look forward to a post-COVID-19 world, Yale offers many online resources and benefits to strengthen your “change hardiness” and embrace new ways to Learn and Grow.  

Learn New Skills
According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report for 2020, top skills needed in the workplace for the next five years will include critical thinking. People who can think critically are natural problem solvers. They can think on their feet, taking in the available facts objectively, and reach a sensible conclusion. They reject biases and self-interest.

Here is a sampling of online courses to strengthen your critical thinking and problem-solving skills:

• “Using Questions to Foster Critical Thinking and Curiosity” is a short (31 minutes) LinkedIn Learning video on how to leverage the power of questions to move your team, leadership, and career to the next level.
• “Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills” is another LinkedIn Learning offering with six mini-courses (three hours 48 minutes total) that cover critical thinking, strategic thinking, problem solving, and decision making.
• “Data Informed Decision Making” is a Yale Learning Center course that is delivered in two 120-minute live online sessions. Using an interactive learning approach, the course builds insights and motivation to make data analysis a key part of your decisions.

The Future of Jobs Report also highlights the need for skills in self-management. Amid so much uncertainty and disruption, we need to meet the pressures of ever-changing demands and stressful situations with a level head. The following offerings approach self-management from a scientific and a common-sense point of view.

• “The Science of Well-Being” – Yale offers this popular course free through Coursera. In two hours a week for four weeks, Professor Laurie Santos will engage you in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life.
• “Building Resilience” – In this 34-minute LinkedIn Learning video, the professor from Kelley School of Business explains how to bounce back from difficult situations. She outlines five ways to prepare for difficult situations, and five strategies for reflecting on them afterward.
• “Health Behavior Change: From Evidence to Action” - This course, also available from Coursera, seeks to heighten your understanding of the social and behavioral factors that contribute to health decisions and behaviors. Through experiential learning exercises over four weeks, you will learn to apply the science of health-behavior change in your own life.

Grow Your Career
In addition to LinkedIn Learning and Coursera, there are tailored online learning programs to support your development as a manager or independent contributor. To help you navigate the many resources available to grow your career at Yale, the links below bring you to the current Learn & Grow calendar by course category.

• Managing at Yale
• Professional Development
• Career Development

Be Intentional
To be intentional about your future, pick one skill or habit you want to build and go for it, now.
“The future depends on what you do today.” — Mahatma Gandhi