Start Strong: Join the 2026 Career Development Challenge

January is the month when we imagine a future version of ourselves who is more confident, more skilled, and probably spends less time on their phone. We resolve to be better, and yet those resolutions tend to fade quickly. The problem is usually not motivation. More often, our goals are too general. It’s easy to say you want to grow as a leader, but it’s much harder to turn that idea into steps you can fit into your already busy life.

Small, actionable commitments work much better. Instead of saying you want to be a better communicator in the workplace, you can sign up for a class, put it on your calendar, and give yourself a built-in checkpoint for growth. Rather than hoping you will develop new management skills, choose one concrete opportunity to practice them. Give your dreams deadlines and turn them into real goals.

The 2026 Career Development Challenge embraces this idea. It’s a fun and flexible way to add a little accountability to the things you want to accomplish in the new year. With a wide range of short courses offered through The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Professional Education, along with programs from partners across the Forty Acres, you can take the first meaningful step toward the career you want, one achievable action at a time.

What is the 2026 Career Development Challenge?

The idea is simple. Choose one area of your professional life you want to improve this year, select a short course that supports that goal, and add it to your spring calendar. That’s the entire challenge. There’s no need for complicated surveys or a Myers-Briggs test. Just one clear, intentional step toward becoming the professional you want to be.

To make the process easier, we’re highlighting three areas of study that appear over and over on resumes:

Management - Guide teams, projects and processes with intentionality.
Leadership - Strengthen decision-making, influence and confidence.
Communication - Present ideas clearly, collaborate effectively and build trust.

If your schedule is already packed, self-paced short courses make it easy to build new skills quickly. These smaller commitments let you focus on exactly what you need and fit learning into even the busiest routines.

To further help you along, many courses offered through UT's Center for Professional Education include a New Year’s Discount until January 30. Lower prices mean anyone who begins the challenge now gets an early advantage in taking that first step.

Each area offers a different way to build momentum. Start with whichever aligns with your goals.

Management

If you want to guide teams or projects with more structure and confidence, Management is the best place to begin. The courses below help you build practical skills quickly so you can apply what you learn right away. They will strengthen your planning skills while also teaching you to delegate, problem-solve and support your team more effectively.

Short course options include:

Principles of Project Management - Learn the essentials of planning and leading projects so you can guide work with more structure and confidence. (Starts 1/27/2026)
Overcoming 5 Dysfunctions of a Team - Build stronger, more collaborative teams by addressing common obstacles like trust, communication and accountability. (Starts 1/28/26)
SHRM Essentials of Human Resource Management - Get a practical introduction to core HR topics, from hiring and onboarding to training and performance management. (Starts 2/2/26)
Conflict Management - Practice techniques for navigating tough conversations and creating healthier, more productive workplace relationships. (Starts 2/10/26)

To round out your learning, consider options from the Human Dimensions of Organizations department in UT’s College of Liberal Arts:

Leadership

If you want to develop the kind of presence that shapes teams and moves organizations forward, the Leadership area of study is a strong place to begin. These courses make it easy to build leadership skills in small, manageable steps you can apply immediately.

Options include:

Unlocking Your Leadership Through the Power of Emotional Intelligence - Learn how emotional intelligence shapes effective leadership and practice skills that help you connect, motivate and communicate with greater clarity. (Starts 1/26/26 - classes filling up fast!)
Workplace Resilience: Building Confidence and Mental Strength - Learn practical techniques to manage setbacks, quiet your inner critic and move toward your goals with greater resilience. (Starts 2/3/26)
Delegation and Accountability - Practice the essentials of delegating work, setting clear expectations, and holding yourself and others accountable in a supportive, productive way. (Starts 2/17/26)
Making the Transition from Employee to Manager - Build the foundational skills new managers need, from organizing work to guiding people, so you can step into leadership with confidence. (Starts 2/24/26)

These shorter options give you a sense of leadership in action and help you identify the areas where you may want to grow next.

If you’re interested in additional perspectives on leadership, consider these courses from the McCombs School of Business:

Communication

Clear, confident communication is one of the most valuable skills in any career. If your 2026 goals include presenting ideas more effectively, collaborating with colleagues or building stronger relationships at work, communication-focused courses should definitely be on your list.

Choose from:

Technical Writing - Learn to organize complex information, tailor content for different audiences and produce clear, effective documents that support understanding. (Starts 1/29/26)
Document and Information Design - Strengthen your ability to create visually clear, credible documents by applying fundamental design principles that improve readability and comprehension. (Starts 2/19/26)
Know Your Audience: Navigating Workplace Communication - Practice strategies for gathering input, addressing disagreement and communicating decisions with both internal and external audiences. (Starts 2/24/26)
Speak Up: Making a Clear and Confident Impression - Build vocal confidence by learning techniques for projection, clarity and presence in professional settings. (Starts 3/10/26)

Even a single class can help you feel more prepared for meetings, presentations or technical documentation work. If you want to explore communication from additional angles, other UT partners across campus also offer workshops that complement these short courses:

Join the Challenge

Once you have chosen the courses that fit your goals, you’re ready to begin the 2026 Career Development Challenge. Getting started is as simple as registering for a class. Even just putting something on your calendar gives you an early win as you head into spring.

Explore the Center for Professional Education’s full course catalog at professionaled.utexas.edu/s/catalog, and be sure to register by January 30, 2026, to take advantage of the New Year’s Sale.

As you move through your selected courses, consider checking in on your progress before summer. A brief reflection can help you decide where to go next, and many learners find that one completed class naturally inspires another. Building a habit of professional growth is a year-long process, and this challenge is designed to help you take the first step.

Once you’re on your way, don’t forget to share your experience with others. Tag a LinkedIn post with #UT2026CDChallenge. We may feature selected updates on our channels to celebrate the many ways professionals across Texas are investing in themselves this year.

We hope you will join us in making 2026 a year of growth and learning. Everything you need to begin is already available, so take that first step today.