Program Description:
This is a new, 3-day opportunity for WashU staff to connect with each other over a common leadership topic. Participants will be sent pre-work 3-4 weeks in advance and meet for 2 hours weekly for 3 weeks. The specific focus is to provide an opportunity for managers to build relationships with each other, exchange ideas, and discuss complex leadership topics that are directly related to their work at WashU.

Leadership Circles will be offered in November, with the potential for a second iteration in the spring of 2027. The first iteration will be in-person at Delmar DivINe.

Course Description:
Trust is one of the most important leadership skills and the foundation of strong relationships, effective collaboration, and high-performing teams. In this interactive Leadership Circle, participants will explore how trust is built, maintained, and strengthened through everyday leadership behaviors and conversations. Using Stephen M. R. Covey’s The Speed of Trust framework and research on psychological safety, leaders will learn practical strategies to foster trust, encourage open communication, and create environments where people feel safe to contribute, collaborate, and innovate. Participants will leave with actionable practices they can apply immediately to strengthen trust, one interaction and one conversation at a time.

Course Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Know

• Explain why trust is an essential leadership skill and a key driver of team and organizational success.
• Identify key principles, behaviors, and best practices from The Speed of Trust framework

Do

• Apply practical strategies to intentionally build, maintain, and strengthen trust through daily leadership behaviors, interactions, and conversations.
• Demonstrate leadership practices that foster psychological safety
• Discuss how to encourage open communication, collaboration, and accountability within their role at WashU.
• Analyze real world scenarios of teams lacking trust to determine leadership gaps and opportunities.
• Develop a personal action plan to strengthen trust with their teams through consistent, intentional behaviors.

Feel

• Increase their awareness of how their leadership behaviors influence trust.
• Feel more confident and equipped to build and sustain trust in their daily interactions.
• Feel inspired and committed to making trust a deliberate leadership practice that strengthens relationships and team performance.

Participants Will Leave With

• A practical framework for understanding and building trust.
• Strategies to build, maintain, and restore trust over time.
• Techniques for fostering psychological safety and encouraging meaningful collaboration.
• A personal commitment to strengthen trust through everyday leadership behaviors interactions, and conversations.

Central Theme: Trust is not built through one major event. It is built one conversation, one interaction, and one consistent behavior at a time.

Target Audience: This workshop is for all Washington University in St. Louis staff who serve as people managers and supervisors.

Facilitator: Juman Al Bukhari, EdD, PhD, Senior Consultant, Learning and Development

With dual doctorates in Linguistics and Higher Education Leadership and Practice, Dr. Juman Al Bukhari brings academic depth and a passion for communication, leadership development, and organizational growth. As a Senior Consultant in Learning and Development at Washington University in St. Louis, she specializes in leadership training, effective communication, and team effectiveness. Certified in Crucial Conversations® and The Five Behaviors®, she leverages evidence-based practices to help individuals and teams grow. A former tenured professor, Dr. Al Bukhari champions inclusive, people-centered leadership and is dedicated to empowering staff, fostering collaboration, and advancing organizational goals in support of WashU’s mission and vision.

An important note: This session is being held in person at Delmar DivINe.

For questions about this session, please contact LeadershipDevelop@wustl.edu.