Content level: intermediate

In higher education, it’s easy to become focused on the immediate needs of your role, team, or unit. This session explores how leaders can navigate complexity in higher education by understanding how team-level challenges connect to broader organizational goals, priorities, and systems. In a context shaped by crisis, conflict, change, evolving workforce and student needs, public accountability, and resource pressures, participants will examine how to move beyond immediate issues toward more strategic sensemaking. The session offers practical ways to understand complex situations, recognize system-level connections, and consider people-centered impact. You will leave with guiding questions and strategies to support clearer judgment, stronger alignment, and more effective leadership.

Content level: introductory 

Given all the changes at UW-Madison, many of us are being asked to rethink how we do our work and improve our processes.

This interactive session will walk you through some of the key components of continuous improvement and process mapping. You’ll learn the fundamentals of various process mapping techniques and then be introduced to some advanced practices for visualizing and analyzing processes. You’ll hear real-world examples demonstrating the practical application of a variety of tips and tricks. By the end of the session, you’ll know how to understand current processes and identify opportunities for improvement in your work.

This day-long session requires a $150 registration fee. Meals will be provided and breaks will be offered throughout the day. Registration is limited to 40 participants.

Content level: introductory to intermediate

This session will explore how you can keep work moving when faced with uncertainty, ambiguity, and shifting circumstances. It will address why navigating unclear conditions is an essential skill in today’s complex university environment and outline practical ways to think about ambiguity, make decisions with limited information, and reduce anxiety during uncertainty. You will leave with simple frameworks and strategies that help them understand the nature of complexity, stay focused on what they can influence, and maintain steady progress even when the path ahead is not fully defined.

Content level: introductory

Leaders are often faced with more requests, opportunities, and challenges than can possibly be addressed in a day. This interactive session will introduce you to practical tools you can use to help leaders distinguish between urgent and important work, evaluate priorities, make intentional tradeoffs, and focus on work that creates the greatest value. You will learn to apply the Eisenhower Priority Matrix and other simple frameworks to help leaders make more confident, strategic decisions about their time and attention. You’ll leave with strategies for managing workloads and a personal action plan to prioritize more intentionally.

Content level: introductory 

UW–Madison’s decentralized environment creates tremendous opportunities for innovation, but it also requires intentional collaboration across schools, colleges, and administrative units. This session explores how to build better partnerships, align stakeholders, and make progress across organizational boundaries—even when you don’t have formal authority. Learn practical strategies for reducing duplication, leveraging shared expertise, building trust, and creating alignment around common goals. You’ll leave with tools and approaches to strengthen relationships, navigate competing priorities, and achieve better outcomes.