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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Leadership Skills

Leadership development is a process that begins with reflection and self-awareness.  It's about accountability and responsibility and continuous learning.  Continuous learning is critical to the success of the organization and the growth of our employees as professionals as they move from rookies to seasoned professional individual contributors or maybe into management and/or leadership roles.
For those who aspire to develop leadership skills we present the following leadership opportunities:

February 2023

  • Engagement: Fact, Fiction, Application

    Date: Tuesday, February 21, 2023
    Time: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
    Location: In person, SHA018
    Target Audience: All faculty and staff
    Company: Silver Consulting
    Facilitator: Seth Silver

    This informative three hour session begins with participants reflecting on when they “felt very engaged” and when they “felt highly disengaged”, noting the key differences and coming to a basic understanding of employee engagement as a state of mind in the workplace. The session then provides an important summary of the origin of the concept (antecedent ideas over the past 50 years); the most accepted definitions at this time (e.g. “a state of vigor, absorption and dedication”); and key research findings from the past 15 years on engagement levels globally, the impacts of engagement on individuals and organizations, and the most accepted measures.  The session then presents a ‘Top 10 List’ of practical ideas, many supported by research, to foster employee engagement. As always in these programs, there are partner exercises, relevant YouTube clips, and numerous opportunities for reflection, best practice sharing and action planning.  If your organization is thinking about an engagement strategy, or is already measuring engagement, this program will be revealing and helpful.

    Learning Outcomes:
    Participants in this three-hour workshop will:

    1. Reflect on their own experience being engaged, or not, at work
    2. Learn in some depth about the concept of employee engagement, its origins, limitations, measures and effects
    3. Learn ten practical ways to help any organization improve employee engagement, with positive results both to individuals and to the organization’s bottom line

    REGISTER

March 2023

  • Challenging Conversations for Front Line Employees

    Date: Tuesday, March 21
    Time: 9 a.m. to noon
    Location: Virtual Synchronous, Zoom
    Target Audience: All faculty and staff
    Facilitator: Gary Slye

     

    This session is designed to make front line employees more confident when faced with a challenging conversation with students, parents or other employees. This session looks at creating the right mindset for a successful conversation to take place, how to avoid trigger points that may lead to increased frustration, and how to engage in a conversation using a simple model as a guide that leads to a resolution.

     Learning objectives:

    • Understand how unspoken rules can impact the nature of the conversation.
    • Learn the seven common factors that lead to dissatisfaction.
    • Explore verbal and non-verbal communications that can help facilitate a conversation.
    • Examine how the current environment may be contributing to challenging conversations and how to mitigate.
    • Utilize a framework for engaging in a challenging conversation for on-off issues (CATER) and for deeper, recurring issues (Coaching).

    REGISTER

  • StrengthFinder

    Date: Friday, March 24
    Time: 9 a.m. to noon
    Location: Virtual Synchronous, Zoom
    Target Audience: All faculty and staff
    Company: Gary Slye
    Facilitator: Gary Slye

    Live up to your full potential. Discover your unique strengths profile and maximize your potential by doing more of what you love. Studies show that focusing on using one's strengths has a significant positive effect on physical, mental, and social well-being. In other words, strengths help you live longer, feel happier, and build better relationships. Wouldn't that be great to wake up every morning to do what you feel excited to do in the surroundings of people that get it? All it takes is your willingness to discover and apply your strengths on a regular basis.

    Take a step toward understanding how your strengths guide your actions, decisions, and thoughts.

    This is an online program to introduce new managers and leaders to a strengths-based approach using StrengthFinders. Participants will learn:

    • To understand their talents and how to develop them into strengths.
    • How strengths affect the way we perceive others, and how others perceive you.
    • How to apply a strength-based approach to leading a team.

    REGISTER