The inevitable has become virtual reality faster than almost anyone could have imagined.

That pretty much sums up what many of us — perhaps most of us on the job at home — have experienced in the past many months, since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.

The in-person office meeting is gone, at least not for now, necessitating the development of new skills for the new work environment.

Enter Digital You® Guide to Leading Virtual Teams – An Interactive Workshop for Leaders. It’s the newest program from Professional and Corporate Education (PaCE) at Stetson, as the university continues to broaden the learning opportunities for learners who are post-baccalaureate and into their careers.

The Digital You® Guide to Leading Virtual Teams is a weeklong virtual workshop, with registration limited to the first 30 people, scheduled for Oct. 26-30. The workshop consists of three approximately 2.5-hour live virtual learning sessions and two self-learning days, with a total time commitment of 10 to 12 hours. (The program cost is $599. A trial discount is being offered to Stetson alumni, with use of the code STET99.) Register here.

During the course, among other lessons, registrants will be taught best practices for working remotely, insights on adapting and responding to the challenges of hosting a virtual meeting, and, most importantly, how to leverage social intelligence to lead in virtual settings.

“At its simplest core, this course is about effectively leading remote teams,” said Bud Hanson, executive director of PaCE. “This is less about the technology behind ‘virtual,’ such as making sure the camera and background are set, and more about ‘bringing out the best digital you.’ This puts the focus on all the aspects you typically lose when not having a face-to-face meeting.” 

That’s only one example of programing at PaCE.

In all, PaCE encompasses business fundamentals for individuals, executive and leadership workshops, plus customized curricula for companies and organizations.

Under business fundamentals, the goals are closing skills gaps, increasing professional worth and, ultimately, career advancement. Courses range from broad business acumen to targeted hard skills and strategic soft disciplines, which are delivered through a combination of talented Stetson faculty, adjunct professors, subject matter experts and online partners.

For example, the two instructors for the Digital You® Guide to Leading Virtual course both are leaders in their respective fields.

Yamila Harris has spent much of her nearly 30-year career successfully leading diverse, globally dispersed teams, and driving innovation at both startup and Fortune 100 companies. These days, she is vice president of Service Delivery at Atos, a globally recognized leader in IT services and digital transformation. Harris also is co-chair of HITEC (Hispanic IT Executive Council) corporate advisory board, a global nonprofit organization. 

The other instructor, Salina Rivera, is an advisor, speaker and trainer. Rivera is CEO of MIYAN, a full-service digital marketing agency established 12 years ago in Michigan, and founder of the Digital You®, a consulting service for building online personal and corporate brands. As such, businesses and executives worldwide rely on her to design credible, authentic and memorable brands online.

“I’d like for companies to view Stetson Professional and corporate Education as a valued training resource — local and on-call. … There is something for almost every person regardless of where they are in their career or what their skill gaps are.” 

Bud Hanson, Executive Director, PaCE

Aside from the Digital You® course, PaCE currently is offering a Certificate in Digital Marketing — 30 hours of self-paced online learning that covers strategic issues, marketing methods and tactics, industry terminology, and best practices. 

Over the next few months, PaCE will be developing executive and leadership workshops, which will include topics such as corporate culture, brand leadership, corporate sustainability and sales training. More strategic in nature, those courses are designed to attract a wide audience, take a deeper dive into the subject matter and be more interactive for the cohort than the self-paced online curriculum. 

Meanwhile, the customized workshops for companies and organizations address the specific challenges companies face and will be delivered at the client’s location. 

“I’d like for companies to view Stetson Professional and Corporate Education as a valued training resource — local and on-call.” Hanson asserted. “… There is something for almost every person regardless of where they are in their career or what their skill gaps are.” 

After several years of adjunct teaching, Hanson joined Stetson full time in 2019, following nearly 30 years in the private business sector working in branded marketing at such places as Nestle Purina and Costa Sunglasses. 

As PaCE’s executive director, Hanson initially took several months to “listen and learn and talk to people at other institutions who were managing strong professional education programs.” He then refocused PaCE. 

Now, Hanson believes the timing is especially ideal for PaCE, with many workers nationwide being forced to augment their skills or change directions in the wake of pandemic-related furloughs and job loss.

“Professional education has never been more relevant and in demand by today’s workforce,” he concluded.