College staff and faculty who supervise or manage professional staff are invited to participate in a new specialized enrichment experience to enhance leadership and management skills.
The year-long PROPEL program is designed around three pillars: Professional Readiness, Organizational Performance, and Effective Leadership. And its goal is not only to enhance the skills and knowledge of College of Engineering people leaders but also to have a positive impact on team morale and productivity.
Participants will gain skills that are directly applicable to the specific challenges of people leadership roles within the College of Engineering and, at the same time, grounded in Georgia Tech’s values and leader competencies.
Program Overview
The PROPEL program is a year-long enrichment initiative for, Georgia Tech College of Engineering people leaders, centered on three foundational pillars: Professional Readiness, Organizational Performance, and Effective Leadership. It is structured around a sequence of 2-hour lunch sessions featuring a topic introduction, group discussion, and a book-club conversation led by one of the participants. Its design is rooted in the values and leadership competencies of Georgia Tech, and the content addresses the specific complexities of leading professional staff in an engineering academic environment.
The program is intended for staff and non-tenure-track faculty within the College of Engineering who currently supervise or manage staff team members. Participants apply to participate in the program, with the aim of five to seven leaders being selected from each unit. This ensures that the program targets individuals who are actively in people-leadership roles and are positioned to benefit from and apply enhanced leadership skills within their units.
Participants in PROPEL gain the opportunity to sharpen their leadership and management capabilities in several key ways. They will develop adaptive leadership skills, strategic thinking, effective communication, and techniques for navigating conflict—all under the Professional Readiness pillar. Under Organizational Performance, the focus includes performance management, feedback, staff development, and partnering with HR to support team effectiveness. With Effective Leadership, the emphasis turns to building productive relationships, emotional intelligence, and sustaining trust within teams. As a result, participants are better equipped to enhance team morale, improve productivity, and align their leadership practice with the College’s strategic objectives.
Please submit your application by Friday, December 12, 2025. Participants will be notified of acceptance by Friday, January 9. The first PROPEL session is Monday, February 9, 2026.
Timeline
- November 17 – distribute announcement
- December 12 – application deadline
- By January 2 – supervisor approval
- By January 9 – notify participants
- February 9 – first session
Learning Sessions
Professional Readiness
Fierce Conversations
Leading in an ever-changing, complex environment
- Understanding Complexity & Change
- Adaptive Leadership
- Strategic Thinking & Decision-Making
- Fostering Innovation & Resilience
- Effective Communication & Collaboration
Navigating Conflict
- Understanding Conflict
- Conflict Resolution Styles
- Effective Communication Techniques
- Strategies for Conflict Resolution
- Building a Collaborative Environment
Organizational Performance
Performance Management and Staff Development
- Setting Expectations
- Giving & Receiving Feedback
- Creating Development Plans
- Evaluating and Rewarding Performance
Understanding and Partnering with Unit, College and Institute Human Resources
- Roles & Responsibilities
- Strategic Partnership
- Policies & Compliance
- Supporting Employee Development
- Enhancing Employee Engagement
What is my role/my team’s role in ensuring the college’s success?
Effective Leadership
Leadership and Communication Styles (DiSC)
Building Productive Working Relationships
- Understanding the Importance of Relationships
- Effective Communication
- Building Trust & Respect
- Collaboration & Teamwork
- Sustaining Positive Relationships
Emotional Intelligence
- Definition & Five Pillars of EI
- Developing Self-Awareness
- Managing Emotions
- Empathy & Social Skills
- Applying Emotional Intelligence
Book Club
Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in Complexity
by Jennifer Garvey Berger
Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps identifies five pernicious quirks of human behavior that often misguide our decision-making. In today’s fast-paced business world, those quirks can quickly become traps that steer us in the wrong direction if we don’t learn how to break the pattern.
Using her background in adult development, complexity theories, and leadership consultancy, Garvey Berger discerns five pernicious and pervasive “mind traps” to frame the book. These are: the desire for simple stories, our sense that we are right, our desire to get along with others in our group, our fixation with control, and our constant quest to protect and defend our egos. In addition to understanding why these natural impulses steer us wrong in a fast-moving world, leaders will get powerful questions and approaches that help them escape these patterns.
Program Objectives and Outcomes:
Program Objectives
- Enhance Leadership and Management Skills: Develop the leadership and management capabilities of faculty and staff to bridge the gap between technical expertise and effective people management.
- Utilize Comprehensive Resources: Leverage available campus resources, internal college expertise, and supplement with external resources as needed to provide a well-rounded learning experience.
- Support Organizational Goals: Align learning experiences with the College of Engineering’s goals and Georgia Tech’s values and leadership competencies, ensuring relevance and applicability.
Program Outcomes
- Professional Readiness: Equip participants with the necessary leadership and management skills to handle the complexities of supervising staff, ensuring they are prepared for current and future challenges.
- Organizational Performance: Improve team morale and productivity by enhancing the effectiveness of our management and supervisory staff, leading to overall organizational success.
- Effective Leadership: Foster a culture of continuous improvement and development by investing in the professional growth of our people leaders, contributing to the long-term success of the College of Engineering.