FAQs

The program will be assigned on a quarterly basis to employees who meet ALL the following criteria:

• Have one or more full-time staff as direct reports.
• These direct report(s) are individual contributors, not supervisors of supervisors.
• This role shifts you from an individual contributor to a leader of people OR they are new to Boston University at this level.
• This promotion or new hire occurred after September 1, 2022.

For more information, please visit the ATLAS assignment informational sheet.

This course is not based on nominations. No action is needed from the supervisor of the participant at this time. For more information, please visit the ATLAS assignment informational sheet.

We are thrilled to support your continued professional development. Some resources worth exploring include the following: 

• Essentials for PROGRAM Managers – Leading yourself, building influence, mindsets in project management, and strategies for decision-making. Gain the foundational leadership skills in this course.  
• Curated library of self-paced courses – Check out these promoted learnings in Terrier eDevelopment. We encourage you to leverage these bit-sized, just-in-time learning to help reach your professional development goals

If you fit the eligibility criteria of ATLAS but completed Choose to Manage or MAP, the choice to complete ATLAS is up to you. The ATLAS curriculum is very different from the processor programs and may be highly beneficial for you in your new role. However, we do not have an issue waiving completion of ATLAS given your past participation.

Participants and participants’ managers will be informed of their eligibility on a rolling basis, based on the action start date in SAP in accordance to the following annual schedule:

We encourage that new people leaders work with their supervisor to use this timeline and plan accordingly. If the optimal cohort is different than listed, please email odl@bu.edu.

For more information, please visit the ATLAS assignment informational sheet.

Participants can miss one module and still be eligible for successful completion of the program with the same cohort. The cohort schedule is set well in advance. To the extent possible, plan to be present for all modules. We want to be flexible to you and we ask that you use it sparingly.

The intention behind OD&L’s attendance policy is to uphold a standard for quality learning behind course completion. Absence in a module means that you will miss out on the insights, curiosities, and experiences that happens when learning in a cohort model. In addition, your absence means that your cohort members lose out on the value add you bring to the learning space.

Should a situation occur in which you need to miss more than one module, please inform the ATLAS Program Lead immediately. We will work with you to successfully complete the program across two cohorts. You will not have to re-do modules that you have already completed.

Research shows that when managers put off training for three months, they lose $2,138 in improved performance. When leadership training is delayed for six months or a year, they would lose $4,276 and $8,552 respectively.¹ What new leaders learn in the session focuses on practical application so that they realize greater intentionality and therefore effectiveness.

To that end, we also encourage participants and their supervisors to plan ahead. Consider the cadence of your workload and plan accordingly. During the program, we encourage leaders to co-create a coverage plan and communicate it out accordingly.

If you have additional questions or concerns, please email the ATLAS Program Lead. We are committed to working with each participant so that they complete the orientation in a timely and meaningful way.

¹ Training Industry (2019). Was It Worth It? Measuring the Impact and ROI of Leadership Training. https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190708/index.php#/p/32

Leadership development trainings have a real impact on employee retention, driving strategy execution, increasing success when navigating change. As their manager/supervisor, you play a vital role in supporting their learning and behavior change. Manager support is known to bridge the gap between learning and action by 60%! Check out Increasing Your Learning ROI.

Here are three specific ways that managers can support ATLAS participants:

Collaboratively set a goal. Collaboratively setting a goal can help boost motivation, improve focus, provide a metric to measure progress against, and apply learnings to their role. Ask yourselves:

• What specifically are we looking to achieve from this training? In what ways is this relevant to the work of our unit and/or their new role?
• Does this goal stretch the participant’s abilities and is attainable?
• How will we evaluate and measure progress? What does accountability look like?
• What timeline do we expect to achieve this goal by?

Co-create a coverage plan. Partner with your direct report to outline your day-to-day responsibilities. Prioritize the employees current and upcoming tasks and projects. Consider opportunities to delegate tasks as developmental opportunities. Communicate the plan with the team, setting expectations, as well as a plan for their out-of-office. During in-session hours, help maintain oversight during the employee’s absence as appropriate.

Be a partner and mentor in their learning. Incorporating active reflection and application opportunities into your regular 1:1 check-in is a great place to start. Here are some questions we recommend asking to guide and support their learning:

• What new insights have you gained? What are your discoveries?
• How might your learning connect to your work and the work of our department?
• How can I support your mini experiments as you apply your learning?

The OD&L team developing following a comprehensive listening tour and collaboration with key partners across campus. This program includes relevant competencies and skills that meet the current and unique opportunities in leadership time. This program incorporates key elements of the Choose to Manage program, including the cohort model style of learning. The content, delivery, and experience were piloted in fall of 2022. The experiences, insights, and feedback from participants, their managers, and key stakeholders directly influenced key considerations of this launched course. If you have any questions regarding this program, please reach out to the ATLAS Program Lead.

We formally and informally cover a range of topics that are vital to leadership mindsets, competencies, and skills. Check out the list of topics under Program Content on the ATLAS webpage.