Overview
This engaging webinar series is designed for leaders navigating organizational change, such as technology transitions, within their crime labs. These brief 30-minute webinars - crafted for the busy crime laboratory leader - feature real-world examples from forensic science laboratories and beyond, delivering actionable insights to equip attendees with tools for leading through complexity.
Effective change requires skillful leadership to ensure smooth adaptation while maintaining trust, morale, and productivity. Participants will explore key aspects of change leadership, including communication strategies that foster transparency and trust. Sessions will address the importance of emotional intelligence in understanding and managing team dynamics during a transition. Leaders will also learn how to build the right team by identifying and leveraging individual strengths to ensure alignment with the goals of the organization.
This series highlights methods to sustain morale, even in the face of uncertainty, while adopting principles of transformational leadership to guide the organization toward a shared vision. Join in to sharpen your leadership skills and drive impactful change in your laboratory.
Webinars
Behind the Evidence: Supporting Mental Health and Morale
This webinar occurred on January 9, 2025
Presenter: Cheryl Carreiro
This webinar covers ideas and strategies to enhance morale among staff in forensic laboratory units. Positive mental health among team members not only fosters a supportive and productive work environment but also increases the overall quality and efficiency of operations. Participants learn practical approaches to address common workplace stressors, improve communication, and promote resilience within their teams. By prioritizing mental health, laboratories can achieve better outcomes while ensuring the well-being of their dedicated professionals.
Effective Leadership Communication: Why it Makes or Breaks Leading Change
This webinar occurred on January 16, 2025
Presenter: Dr. Timothy Scanlan
Effective leadership communication plays a vital role in promoting meaningful change within an organization. This presentation explores key principles such as “modeling the way”, “inspiring a shared vision”, and “start with why”. Vision-driven communication requires crime laboratory supervisors to utilize various communication tools while they act as a driving force within the organization, leading their teams to success. The goal of this presentation is to expose attendees to proven concepts that will promote employee satisfaction, motivation, and engagement, as the crime laboratory implements positive organizational change.
Improving Teamwork, Communication, and Productivity in the Workplace
This webinar occurred on February 4, 2025
Presenter: Jeremy Triplett
This webinar provides a high-level overview of the Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness (DiSC) Personality Assessment tool and its application in workplace settings. Attendees learn how DiSC helps identify individual behavioral styles—Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness—and fosters better communication, teamwork, and productivity. The presentation explores practical insights into understanding colleagues' unique preferences and adapting your communication strategies for a more effective workplace. Ideal for managers and team leaders, this session offers actionable strategies to build stronger, more cohesive teams using the proven principles of the DiSC framework.
We’re Ready for a Change: Preparing for New Technology
This webinar occurred on February 13, 2025
Presenter: Ryan Larrison
Adopting new technology, particularly new software, can often present unforeseen challenges to business owners who have limited experience with this process. In a laboratory setting, leaders not only need to prepare staff for change, but they need to strategically plan for product implementation up to two years before release. This session will help laboratory leaders understand the importance of the following steps necessary for successful technology adoption: defining their business requirements for the software/hardware both thoroughly and early; assigning a competent leader to the product development team representing the laboratory; and sufficiently testing the product to ensure it meets all requirements prior to release.
Driving Success: Leadership Principles for Building the Right Team
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Presenter: Jen Naugle
Successful leadership is more than just managing people—it’s about assembling the right team, placing individuals in roles where they thrive, and fostering a culture of accountability and collaboration. This session will explore key leadership principles based on the concept of "getting the right people on the bus" and ensuring they are in the right seats. We’ll discuss strategies for identifying talent, aligning team strengths with organizational goals, and creating an environment where individuals feel empowered to contribute their best. Whether you’re building a new team or refining an existing one, these insights will provide practical takeaways for cultivating high-performing teams that drive success.
Funding for this Forensic Technology Center of Excellence webinar series has been provided by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
All Forensic Technology Center of Excellence live webinars are hosted using Zoom Webinar. Live webinars are archived and posted on our website within two weeks of their airing. Archived webinars do not require access to the Zoom platform.
The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this webinar series are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Contact us at ForensicCOE@rti.org with any questions and subscribe to our newsletter for notifications.
