Shaping Your Professional Brand
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About this course: You've thought about who you are and how you want your career to be. You have some soft skills to deal with situations that could cause problems. What about the team around you? How do you build functional and constructive professional relationships? How can you add value? What do employers look for when they are promoting? Skill-building in this course will include asking questions, listening, developing likeability (you’d better be stellar if you’re difficult), identifying cognitive bias, apologizing, receiving apologies, and the basics of whistleblowing. After this course, you will be able to: - assess your own listening and reactions and retune them in advance or …

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When you enroll for courses through Coursera you get to choose for a paid plan or for a free plan .
- Free plan: No certicification and/or audit only. You will have access to all course materials except graded items.
- Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.
About this course: You've thought about who you are and how you want your career to be. You have some soft skills to deal with situations that could cause problems. What about the team around you? How do you build functional and constructive professional relationships? How can you add value? What do employers look for when they are promoting? Skill-building in this course will include asking questions, listening, developing likeability (you’d better be stellar if you’re difficult), identifying cognitive bias, apologizing, receiving apologies, and the basics of whistleblowing. After this course, you will be able to: - assess your own listening and reactions and retune them in advance or on the spot for a more constructive outcome - add value at work by keeping situations easy instead of difficult - manage your own approach - be prepared when things go wrong The prerequisite for this course is Course One of the Specialization "Professional IQ: Preventing and Solving Problems at Work".
Created by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign-
Taught by: C. K. Gunsalus, Director of the National Center for Professional and Research Ethics (NCPRE), Professor Emerita of Business, and Research Professor at the Coordinated Science Laboratory
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a world leader in research, teaching and public engagement, distinguished by the breadth of its programs, broad academic excellence, and internationally renowned faculty and alumni. Illinois serves the world by creating knowledge, preparing students for lives of impact, and finding solutions to critical societal needs.Syllabus
WEEK 1
Course Orientation
Find out what Shaping Your Professional Brand can offer you.
1 video, 5 readings, 1 practice quiz expand
- Video: Welcome to Shaping Your Professional Brand!
- Reading: Syllabus
- Reading: About the Discussion Forums
- Reading: Glossary
- Practice Quiz: Orientation Quiz
- Reading: Updating Your Profile
- Discussion Prompt: Getting to Know Your Classmates
- Reading: Social Media
Week 1: Being Valued at Work
You will work on building your professional brand by learning the importance of listening and crafting effective questions.
19 videos, 2 readings, 4 practice quizzes expand
- Reading: Week 1 Overview
- Reading: Week 1 Readings and References
- Video: 1.0.1: 2MC: Brand Manager
- Video: 1.1.1 Being Valued at Work
- Video: 1.2.1: 2MC: Kidney Donation
- Video: 1.3.1 First: Listen
- Video: 1.3.2 2MC: Meredith's Mother-in-Law
- Video: 1.3.3 How Are You Listening?
- Video: 1.3.4 Listen to Learn
- Video: 1.3.5 What Happened Next? Meredith’s Mother-in-Law
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 1-3 Practice Quiz
- Video: 1.4.1 Second: Ask Questions
- Video: 1.4.2 2MC: Signing Strangers' Names is the Process
- Video: 1.4.3 Formulating Questions
- Video: 1.4.4 Reciprocity: Questions Shape Answers
- Video: 1.4.5 How and What You Ask Affects the Outcome
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 1-4 Practice Quiz
- Video: 1.5.1: Achieving and Sustaining Rapport
- Video: 1.5.2: 2MC: Personal Services
- Video: 1.5.3: Establishing Rapport
- Video: 1.5.4: Paraphrasing
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 1-5 Practice Quiz
- Video: 1.5.5: What Happened Next? Personal Services
- Video: 1.6.1: What Happened Next? Kidney Donation
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 1-6 Practice Quiz
- Discussion Prompt: Week 1 Discussion
Graded: Week 1 Quiz
Graded: Week 1 – Listening and Asking Questions
WEEK 2
Week 2: Likability Matters
This week you will learn to be a more effective influencer at work through the tools we discuss.
18 videos, 4 readings, 4 practice quizzes expand
- Reading: Week 2 Overview
- Reading: Week 2 Resources and References
- Reading: Summary of What Creates Energy in Organizations?
- Reading: Summary of Rudeness in the workplace isn't just unpleasant: It's also contagious
- Video: 2.1.1 Overview: Likeability Matters
- Video: 2.2.1: 2MC: Whose Money Is It?
- Video: 2.3.1: Approach Matters
- Video: 2.3.2: 2MC: That Parking Space
- Video: 2.3.3: Creating Energy
- Video: 2.3.4: De-energizers: The Costs
- Video: 2.3.5: Your Energy and Approach
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 2-3 Practice Quiz
- Video: 2.4.1: Aligning with Others
- Video: 2.4.2: 2MC: Recommend a Friend
- Video: 2.4.3: The And Stance: How and Why
- Video: 2.4.4: But … Objections to The And Stance
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 2-4 Practice Quiz
- Video: 2.4.5: Experts on The And Stance
- Video: 2.5.1: High-Road Go-To Solutions
- Video: 2.5.2: 2MC: Charging for Work Before Authorization
- Video: 2.5.3: Find Common Ground
- Video: 2.5.4: Get It In Writing
- Video: 2.5.5: What Happened Next? Charging for Work Before Authorization
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 2-5 Practice Quiz
- Video: 2.6.1: What Happened Next? Whose Money Is It?
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 2-6 Practice Quiz
- Discussion Prompt: Week 2 Discussion
Graded: Week 2 Quiz
Graded: Week 2 - Approach Matters
WEEK 3
Week 3: Cognitive Biases and Errors at Work
Find out about cognitive bias, and how to identify different types, and how to stop them from derailing you.
19 videos, 3 readings, 4 practice quizzes expand
- Reading: Week 3 Overview
- Reading: Week 3 Resources and References
- Reading: Summary of Measurement of Social-Evaluative Anxiety
- Video: 3.1.1: We're Not as Rational as We Think We Are
- Video: 3.2.1: 2MC: Commission Sales
- Video: 3.3.1: It's Not All About You
- Video: 3.3.2: 2MC: Face Embarrassment
- Video: 3.3.3: Overconfidence and Egocentrism
- Video: 3.3.4: Confirmation Bias and Motivated Blindness
- Video: 3.3.5 What Happened Next? Face Embarrassment
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 3-3 Practice Quiz
- Video: 3.4.1: There are Cognitive Biases?
- Video: 3.4.2: 2MC: Chen Becomes Uncomfortable at Work
- Video: 3.4.3: Stop Digging: Pursuit of Sunk Costs
- Video: 3.4.4: Sinister Attribution Bias
- Video: 3.4.5: Chen's Situation, First Pass
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 3-4 Practice Quiz
- Video: 3.5.1: Prevention and Recovery: Framing and Reframing
- Video: 3.5.2: 2MC: Chen Uncomfortable at Work, Continued
- Video: 3.5.3: Framing
- Video: 3.5.4: Framing in Chen’s Situation
- Video: 3.5.5: Using Reframing as a Tool for Chen
- Video: 3.5.6: What Happened Next? Chen Uncomfortable at Work
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 3-5 Practice Quiz
- Video: 3.6.1: What Happened Next? Commission Sales
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 3-6 Practice Quiz
- Discussion Prompt: Week 3 Discussion
Graded: Week 3 Quiz
Graded: Week 3 - Cognitive Biases
WEEK 4
Week 4: When Things Go Wrong
Despite your best efforts, sometimes problems can’t be avoided. Learn an effective strategy for apologizing, and how to engage in disputes professionally.
19 videos, 2 readings, 3 practice quizzes expand
- Reading: Week 4 Overview
- Reading: Week 4 Resources and References
- Video: 4.1.1: When Things Go Wrong
- Video: 4.2.1: 2MC: Speak Up or Keep Quiet
- Video: 4.3.1: Identifying Problems
- Video: 4.3.2: 2MC: Leaving Off a Data Point
- Video: 4.3.3: Mindset
- Video: 4.3.4: Are You Sure You Have a Problem?
- Video: 4.3.5: What Happened Next? Leaving Off a Data Point
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 4-3 Practice Quiz
- Video: 4.4.1: When You Are in the Wrong: Professional Apologies
- Video: 4.4.2: 2MC: You Messed Up
- Video: 4.4.3: The Four Rs of Apologizing: Remorse and Responsibility
- Video: 4.4.4: The Four Rs of Apologizing: Rehabilitation and Recompense
- Video: 4.4.5: What Happened Next? You Messed Up
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 4-4 Practice Quiz
- Video: 4.5.1: Having Disputes Professionally
- Video: 4.5.2: 2MC: Just Don't Hire Anyone Over 40...
- Video: 4.5.3: Having Disputes Professionally: Rules One and Two
- Video: 4.5.4: Having Disputes Professionally: Rules Three, Four, and Five
- Video: 4.5.5: Review - and What Happened Next? Hire No One Over 40
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 4-5 Practice Quiz
- Video: 4.6.1: What Happened Next? Speak Up or Keep Quiet
- Video: 4.7.1: Bringing it All Together
- Discussion Prompt: Week 4 Discussion
Graded: Week 4 Quiz
Graded: Week 4 - Things Go Wrong, Handling Conflict in the Workplace
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