Instructor Spotlight: Carolyn Waterfall on Leading Change Management

Having been with Portland Community College since 1999, Carolyn Waterfall has taught a wide variety of highly experiential and fun courses designed to enhance leadership, management and communication skills.

What led you to teaching courses with PCC's Professional Development and Training (PDT) program?

I became a contract instructor while I was a branch manager for a large state agency. I enjoyed teaching so much that I created my own training, coaching and consulting business.

I love humans and I am passionate about helping them reach their goals and become more effective in their work and personal lives. I have master’s degrees in organization development and counseling. In addition, I have many years of experience leading and supervising staff in a variety of public and private organizations.

Which PDT programs are you working within the upcoming term?

I teach a wide variety of highly experiential and fun courses designed to enhance leadership, management and communication skills.

What types of students/clients are best served by this program and how will they be impacted?

My courses support everyone from those with little experience as leaders to those with many years of executive-level experience. My students consistently comment on the immediate applicability of the information, skills, and tools they learn. They find the content useful and the delivery fun and easy to understand. A common challenge my students face is their discomfort with conflict. Conflict is inevitable, so personal stress management skills are critical. One way to overcome the fear of conflict is to take this program on effective communication and conflict management.

What is it about the subject that compels you to remain interested?

No two people or situations are exactly the same. I am perpetually curious and love the variety of challenges life presents. My students have conquered a fear of public speaking, learned to set realistic goals and achieved them, increased their self-confidence and much more. They accomplished these things with individual support and focused practice.

Are there any current trends related to the subject matter that you find interesting?

I’m particularly interested in helping people to become transformational leaders. That is leaders who can inspire positive changes in their teams. Not only are these leaders concerned and involved in the process; they are also focused on helping every member of the group succeed as well. This model of leadership is consistently shown to enhance organizational success.

PCC's Professional Development and Training courses offer valuable training on a wide variety of important topics relevant to your business, organization or personal development. Carolyn's course on Leading Change Management will begin in the Winter 2020 term and meet on Thursday mornings.