The goal of the workshop on Leveraging Strengths for Effective Communication and Collaboration is to provide a professional development experience and opportunity for community and networking within the Design Engineering Division (DED) of ASME that supports and mentors members of underrepresented groups. The workshop is designed to provide graduate students and faculty members from underrepresented groups with professional development activities and to give them the opportunity to make connections with an international network of supportive researchers in their field. In addition to skill development, this workshop will support the development of a network of people within the community from underrepresented groups. This workshop will be the tenth annual workshop event of the Broadening Participation Committee of the ASME DED.

The focus of this workshop is to help attendees leverage their own knowledge, skills, strengths, and diversity to become a more effective collaborator and communicator. Attendees will learn skills to manage team dynamics, organize teams using a leadership model appropriate to the team composition and goals, and deploy effective communication strategies to manage collaboration and conflict within teams. Attendees will receive a free code to complete the Gallup Strengths Finder assessment before the workshop, and, during the workshop, will reflect on their individual strengths in the context of professional collaboration and communication.