Leadership and Character Certificate Program Workshops

Understanding the Foundations of Character Development

Facilitator: Dr. Michael Lamb, Executive Director, Program for Leadership and Character

Friday, September 11th, 12 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
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Workshop Description:
What is character, and how can we cultivate it in meaningful and measurable ways in our work? In this interactive session, Dr. Michael Lamb introduces the foundational research and frameworks that inform character development, drawing from his work on the seven strategies of character education. Participants will explore how virtues such as honesty, courage, and compassion are cultivated through practices such as habituation, reflection, and friendships of support and accountability Using workplace scenarios and small-group discussions, attendees will reflect on their own values and identify practical strategies to support character development in their professional contexts. The session will also highlight how these strategies support Wake Forest’s mission of developing leaders of character across all areas of university life.

Learning Outcomes Addressed:

• Understand the Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Character Development
• Integrate Character into Professional Practice
• Cultivate Reflective Practice

Seeing Through Differences: The Power of Reflection in Relationships

Facilitator: Cristy Guleserian, Executive Director of Leadership and Character in the College

Friday, October 23rd 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
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Workshop Description:
In previous sessions, we were introduced to reflection as one of the Seven Strategies for Character Development. But what does reflection truly mean, and why is it essential? How does it help us navigate differences and deepen our understanding of ourselves and others? In this immersive workshop, we’ll explore these questions through storytelling, research, and practical examples. You will learn how to practice reflection in a way that promotes personal, relational, and organizational growth. We will also introduce tools, resources, and strategies to help you and your team integrate reflective practices into your daily routines and work systems, leading to more effective communication, collaboration, and relational development.

Learning Outcomes Addressed: 

• Understand the Foundations of Character Development
• Integrate Character into Professional Practice
• Promote Dialogue across differences
• Cultivate Reflective Practice

Balancing Advocacy and Inquiry for Deep Understanding of the Other

Facilitator: Dr. Fatima Hamdulay, Assistant Teaching Professor of Leadership and Character in Entrepreneurship

Friday, November 13th, 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
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Workshop Description:
In moments of disagreement, our instinct is often to defend, withdraw, or smooth things over. Yet unspoken differences do not vanish – they quietly shape our actions and relationships in unseen ways. How, then, can we build communities of character that view difference not as a barrier to be avoided, but as an opportunity for deep understanding through skilful dialogue? This interactive workshop invites you to reimagine your work communities as learning organizations – spaces where team members grow in mutual understanding and shared purpose. You will explore the concept of balancing advocacy and inquiry as a practical tool for navigating difference, engaging in dialogue, and fostering character-centered collaboration. Blending the courage to express your own perspectives with the humility to truly listen, you will practice how to uncover the roots of disagreement, sit courageously with difference, and work towards greater mutual understanding. Ultimately, you will leave with a conversational skill set to navigate difference with openness, respect, and a broadened perspective, setting you up to lead with character, across difference.

Learning Outcomes Addressed:

• Promote Dialogue Across Differences
• Cultivate Reflective Practice
• Integrate Character into Professional Practice
• Understand and Apply the Concept of Learning Organization

Character Strengths in Action: Applying the VIA Framework to Professional Growth

Facilitator: Dr. Becky Park, Senior Research Scholar

Friday, December 11th, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
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Workshop Description:
What are your greatest character strengths and how are you using them at work? In this interactive session, Becky Park introduces the VIA Character Strengths framework, a research-based tool that helps individuals identify, understand, and apply their core virtues in everyday life. Participants will explore their own signature strengths, examine how these strengths show up (or get underused or overused) in their work, and learn how to align their strengths with recurring job tasks and leadership challenges. Through reflective exercises, small-group discussions, and practical applications, attendees will gain deeper self-awareness and learn strategies to cultivate greater effectiveness, resilience, and authenticity in their professional roles.

Learning Outcomes Addressed:

• Cultivate Reflective Practice
• Understand the VIA Character Strengths Framework
• Integrate Signature Strengths into Professional Practice
• Recognize Overuse and Underuse of Character Strengths
• Align Strengths with Leadership and Workplace Challenges

Teamwork and Trust: Building Character through Collaboration

Facilitator: Dr. Ben Rigney, JD, Associate Director of Leadership and Character in the Law School

Friday, January 15th, 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
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Workshop Description:
What makes a team not only effective, but also a place where character flourishes? In this interactive workshop, Dr. Ben Rigney explores the essential role of trust in high-performing teams. Trust is built when colleagues experience authenticity, sound judgment, and genuine care, and it enables collaboration, resilience, and creativity across professional settings. Participants will examine research on how trust develops in teams and the practices that strengthen or erode it. Through experiential learning activities, including a hands-on “Team Tower Building” challenge, attendees will reflect on lessons of planning, communication, diversity, and shared purpose. By connecting these insights to their own professional contexts, participants will discover how intentional teamwork and trust foster both excellence and flourishing in the workplace.

Learning Outcomes Addressed:

• Understand the elements of trust (authenticity, logic, empathy) and their role in effective collaboration
• Recognize practices that enable high-performing, trust-based teams
• Reflect on the connection between teamwork, trust, and character development
• Apply strategies for building trust and collaboration in their own professional contexts

Making Good Calls When It’s Complicated: A Practical Roadmap for Workplace Dilemmas

Facilitators: Kathleen Stimely, Senior Director of Program Administration and Ali Donovan, Director of Development

Friday, February 12th, 12pm – 1:30pm
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Workshop Description: 

Every one of us faces moments at work where there’s no obviously right answer.. competing loyalties, unclear expectations, or situations where doing the right thing takes a little courage. In this interactive session, participants will explore a structured roadmap for navigating these moments with clarity and confidence. Working in pairs with a real situation they bring themselves, attendees will move through each step of the Character-Based Decision Making Roadmap — identifying what’s actually at stake, whose perspectives matter, what values are in tension, and how to move forward with integrity. Through guided pair work, group discussion, and reflection, participants will leave with practical tools for approaching complex situations and a concrete next step for a challenge they’re currently navigating.

Learning Outcomes Addressed:

• Recognize the kinds of workplace situations that call for careful, values-based thinking
• Use a structured framework to identify what’s at stake, who’s affected, and what values are in tension
• Practice working through a real situation with a thinking partner
• Reflect on personal and professional experiences of sound (and unsound) decision-making

Leadership and Character Under Pressure

Facilitator: Kenneth Townsend, JD, Executive Director of Leadership and Character in the Professional Schools

Friday, March 5th, 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
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Workshop Description:
What does it mean to lead with integrity and purpose when the pressure is on? In this interactive workshop, Kenneth Townsend will explore how professional challenges—from tight deadlines and competing priorities to ethical dilemmas and institutional pressures—can erode or strengthen our character. Drawing on research about professional identity formation and the cultivation of virtues, participants will reflect on the “occupational hazards” of modern work and identify the dispositions that sustain resilience, integrity, and courage. Through case studies, discussion, and guided exercises, attendees will consider how to align values with action, resist unhealthy pressures, and practice leadership that serves both their immediate teams and the broader mission of the university. Participants will leave with practical tools for cultivating character and leadership that can withstand stress and complexity in any role.

Learning Outcomes Addressed:

• Recognize common pressures that test character and leadership in professional life
• Identify virtues (e.g., resilience, integrity, humility, courage) that enable wise action under stress
• Explore strategies for aligning purpose and values with daily decisions
• Apply practical frameworks for sustaining leadership and character in challenging contexts

Lego Exploration with Virtue: What Virtue Did You Lean Into Most This Year?

Facilitator: Jasmine Logan, Assistant Director of Programming

Friday, April 16th, 12pm – 1:30pm
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Workshop Description:
What if you could reflect on your year—not just through words, but through play? In this hands-on, reflective workshop, Jasmine Logan uses Lego® Serious Play®, a facilitation methodology designed to deepen thinking and dialogue, to help participants explore the virtues they embodied—and those they underutilized—in the past year. Through guided building exercises and reflective prompts, attendees will identify key moments in their professional or personal lives where virtues such as resilience, patience, courage, or humility shaped their responses. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how these virtues show up in their work and how they might intentionally cultivate them going forward. No prior Lego experience needed—just a willingness to build, reflect, and share.

Learning Outcomes Addressed:

• Cultivate Reflective Practice
  Integrate Character into Professional Practice
• Identify Virtues Relevant to Professional Growth