Laboratory operations

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 explores key leadership principles based on the concept of "getting the right people on the bus" and ensuring they are in the right seats. Strategies for identifying talent, aligning team strengths with organizational goals, and creating an environment where individuals feel empowered to contribute their best are discussed.

This webinar addresses a common cross-cultural issue experienced every day in the crime laboratory and within the greater criminal justice community, the generation gap. Simply defined as the different outlooks or opinions between individuals of different generations, this complex topic can create division within a workforce or, if understood, can elevate personnel to achieve organizational goals.

The use of risk management has been historically absent from the management of forensic science laboratories. While ISO 31000 (Risk Management Principles and Guidelines) and ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) emphasized risk management, it was not until ISO/IEC 17025: 2017 highlighted its importance that forensic science managers began to take note. Even since its inclusion in ISO/IEC 17025, there remains a misunderstanding on what risk management is and how it can be used to improve laboratory operations.

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.

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.