Impact on the Organization

Are your managers as effective as they could be?  Are they motivating their direct reports to perform at high levels, while  maintaining morale? Do they communicate effectively with all employees? Do they function well as a  team, and work together to solve company problems? This program gives them  the skills they need to do all that, and more. It will develop a wide spectrum of  critical skills in leadership, and in managing people, performance and change. These  are the skills your managers need to perform at their best – and to help your organization  meet the unprecedented challenges it will face in the coming months and years.

Topics Covered

  • Leadership
  • Developing Relationships
  • Effective Communication
  • Performance Management
  • Coaching and Feedback
  • Managing Conflict
  • Managing Change
  • Building Successful Teams

Program Description

This program is designed both for new  managers and experienced managers who need to sharpen their skills. It brings  together timely and critical topics, advanced assessment tools, and a building  block approach that makes it easier for working managers to gain mastery of new  skills and techniques.

Participants will discover valuable new  approaches to employee involvement, learn how communication styles affect  productivity, and discover proven ways to deal with conflict. In addition, they  will master state-of-the-art performance management tools and coaching  techniques, learn better ways to manage change, and become more effective  team-builders.

Who Should Take This Course?

Essentials  for Management is designed to meet the needs of any management-level employee. The  ideal candidate is any manager with at least one direct report.

Time Investment

Four and a half days.

Topic summaries

Leadership

Participants will  gain a better understanding of the skills required to be an effective leader. They  will begin by assessing their specific strengths, and identifying opportunities  for improvement. Once they know their strengths and weaknesses, they will  review several key task- and people-related competencies. They will practice specific  skills that will help them become more successful leaders, master techniques  for improving on weak areas, and create a development plan to help them make  the specific changes that will most improve their effectiveness.

Developing Relationships

This  highly interactive module will help participants understand the importance of  personal communication styles — and their direct connection to productivity.  Participants will learn how to  use the DiSC typology of behavior styles to build commitment and strong working  relationships. They will also master proven techniques for becoming more  effective at demonstrating respect, actively listening, and soliciting feedback.

Effective Communication

This  topic helps managers understand why effective  communication is so important – and then helps them develop far more powerful  communication skills. It covers the communication process, communication  barriers, and how communication affects business. Participants will practice  constructing clear, concise messages, listening actively, and overcoming  barriers to communication.

Performance Management

This interactive  topic introduces the manager’s role in guiding employee performance, in the  context of the company’s own processes and goals. Participants will review the  performance management process, tools, and documentation requirements, and  discuss how to get maximum benefit from their performance review systems. Along  the way, participants will learn better ways to set clear expectations, build  employee commitment to specific improvements, and make those improvements  actually happen.

Coaching  and Feedback

This topic – closely linked  to the performance management process – identifies the components of effective  coaching and feedback, and shows how to become more effective at both tasks. Participants  will prepare and practice two different coaching and feedback sessions: one  where job performance is below standards, and one where job performance is meeting  or exceeding standards. The Action Planner tool is introduced – a tool that  links to the tasks and topics covered in this program’s Developing  Relationships module.

Managing Conflict

This session helps participants learn the  sources of conflict, and uses the Managing Differences Inventory to identify and  manage nine different styles of handling conflict. Participants identify their  own natural style, practice each of the nine styles, and learn how to choose  the right style for each situation. The focus is on  using realistic examples, exercises, and simulations to practice new conflict-resolution  skills that can immediately be applied in the workplace.

Managing Change

Participants will compare several  change management strategies, and learn how to choose the right strategy for  each challenge. Each core element of Change Management will be presented and  explained, including: motivation for change, identifying dysfunctional system  elements, and the process of planned change. Participants will learn how to  overcome resistance and plan for upcoming change. They will then apply what they’ve learned to an actual change situation at work,  and build a practical Action Plan for Change.

Building Successful Teams

One  step at a time, participants identify the characteristics of high-performing  teams, the key stages of team growth, and specific methods for improving team  performance. They study the elements of team process in detail, and use  simulations to experience these team processes. Extensive emphasis is placed on  roles and responsibilities, setting and communicating priorities and changes, managing  conflict, and building teams both within participants’ organizations and across functional boundaries. Specific  emphasis is also placed on capturing the individual and collective talents of  participants’ staff, in order to empower teams to the appropriate level for any  task. Then, participants are given an opportunity to analyze their own teams –  and make plans to develop those teams.

Other  topics can be added to the Core Program. Please consult the Management Syllabus  for descriptions.

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