Professional Skills: Workplace Culture

Build stronger relationships, boost resilience, and improve communication through the power of empathy — starting with yourself. Empathy is more than a personal skill — it’s a vital tool for understanding yourself and others in today’s fast-paced world. Applied Empathy, taught by Dr. Shari Collins of the ASU School of Humanities, explores how empathy fuels emotional intelligence, strengthens leadership, and improves personal and professional interactions. This self-paced course offers actionable strategies, mindfulness practices, and reflective exercises that help you better connect with other people and with your own needs.

Recognize, reduce, and respond to bias in group decision-making. This self-paced course equips professionals with strategies to foster accountability and encourage productive disagreement in any setting. Bias often goes unnoticed but has profound effects on collaboration and decision-making. In Avoiding Bias, led by Dr. Elissa Adame of ASU’s Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, you’ll gain practical tools to identify and reduce cognitive biases, particularly in group settings. The course emphasizes real-world application through interactive content, infographics, and reflection activities. You’ll leave with a deeper understanding of how to foster inclusive discussions, promote diverse perspectives, and strengthen group outcomes through structured accountability and intentional disagreement.

Learn how to navigate emotional expression in digital spaces with confidence. This course equips professionals with actionable strategies to reduce miscommunication and strengthen digital connections. From texts and emails to video conferences and chat platforms, digital communication is part of daily professional life. Yet conveying and interpreting emotion in these spaces can be challenging. This self-paced course, led by Dr. Nicholas Proferes of ASU's School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, explores how to express, decode and manage emotion effectively in digital settings. Learners will explore the foundations of the communication process, examine the unique barriers and biases present in online platforms, and develop skills to overcome miscommunication with empathy and clarity.