This program provides managers and supervisors with tools and techniques to increase their effectiveness in leading and managing others. Learning is delivered in interactive workshops with an emphasis on application to the workplace. Participants are encouraged to create and implement personal actions plans in each topic area. Progress on actions are reviewed at the beginning of each session to provide continuity in the material, and to ensure application.
The most common approach is a series of half-day sessions scheduled on some regular basis -- semimonthly, monthly, etc. This format allows people to absorb and use the material. It also takes people away from their work for just half a day at a time, allowing them to focus on the learning during that half day.
Specific modules are always recommended and others are optional and selected based on the needs of the organization and participants. Additional topics can be included as well. I can be developed them or find an appropriate resource to deliver them.
This session is the kickoff session for the series. A model for leadership is introduced to help participants see that leadership takes three forms -- self leadership, leadership of individuals, and team leadership. The curriculum moves them through learning at each of those three levels. In this session, participants will begin to look at their own perspective and skills in the area of self leadership.
Objectives:
Miscommunication is often causes conflict or errors in the workplace. One of the primary reasons miscommunication occurs is that we don't all use the same style to communicate. In this session, we will explore different styles of communication and learn how to apply what we learn about others.
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Employees working together inevitably run into conflict situations. The conflict can be about the work (e.g.. my approach versus yours, schedules, priorities) or about the relationships (e.g.. I don't trust you, your style is different than mine). Conflict can be a source of creative solutions, but only if people understand both the value of conflict and how to resolve it. Supervisors and managers are in the best position to help their people with resolution.
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Supervisors and managers are required to provide direction and feedback to the people they lead. Being clear on what you expect is sometimes a challenge. This session will help participants establish and clarify their expectations. Once expectations are set, people need feedback on how they are doing. Sometimes it is difficult to provide feedback in a useful way. And, many of us struggle to accept feedback without getting defensive. This session provides specific techniques to be more effective at both giving and receiving feedback.
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We each have a unique personality. The mixing of personalities in the workplace can be cause for great creativity or for great frustration. Part of our personality is how we think, how we gather information and how we make decisions. Understanding the different approaches to these vital functions can allow us to take advantage of the differences rather than let the differences slow us down.
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An important lesson for leaders is that work gets accomplished through others. Getting that work accomplished requires effective delegation. Most managers agree that delegating work to others is important and of value both to themselves and to the employee. Yet, many admit that they don't delegate as much as they can and should. This session is designed to deal with these concerns and to provide a positive model for successful delegating. Participants will learn techniques for clarifying assignments and overseeing the work without being perceived as "checking up.
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Leading teams is a critical and important challenge today. It can be fun and productive or it can be frustrating and nonproductive. Which it is depends on team members' understanding of what it takes to make a team work well together toward success and the leader's ability to help the team work together. This session focuses on the basics of leading a team and provides the opportunity for participants to determine where they need to focus to increase the effectiveness of their team.
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A key role for managers and supervisors is coaching the people they lead to enhance their contribution to the team and the organization. Understanding the values that drive teamwork behavior and using effective strategies to lead individuals to work with others are critical skills for leaders today. Experiential activities, journaling, sharing of data, and coaching by the facilitator all contribute to an overall growth experience which leads to effective action planning.
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Pre-work: Participants will assess themselves and their direct reports prior to the session.
Good communication is key to success in the workplace and good communication starts with listening skills. This session includes an activity to help participants recognize the difficulties and frustrations of communication. Small groups will discuss and share behaviors associates with good and poor listening. An assessment for listening effectiveness will lead to learning specific techniques to be more effective.
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Where does the time go? It seems there are never enough hours in the day. We all have the same 24 hours each day, yet some people seem to use that time better than others. This session is designed to help you look at your use of time and to provide tips on how you can use your time more effectively and reduce your stress.
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Trust between a leader and his/her employees is critical to creating a productive and satisfying work environment. Breaking trust is easy; building it can be much more difficult. This session will focus on what trust is and how to build it with employees. Participants will assess the level of trust that currently exists with employees and determine actions to improve that trust where needed.
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Being decisive is an important competency for leaders. This one-day workshop provides an overall look at the decision making process. Participants will learn to identify the appropriate approach to take for making a decision. The impact Groupthink can have on decision making is explored. Techniques for reaching consensus will be practiced. Participants will create a plan for becoming more decisive.
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Employees today are working in a variety of locations, and it's often not the same location as you. They work at home, at the client's office, in another city or even in another country. With your people working remotely from you, your job as a manager can be more difficult. How do you assign work? How do you know how they are performing? Can you trust that they are doing the right thing? And, how do you even get to know them well enough to do these things effectively? This workshop is designed to help managers learn techniques to be more effective managing from a distance.
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Many of us find ourselves in situations where we need to have a difficult conversation with someone, and rather than have the conversation, we avoid it. Somehow, avoiding the conversation seems to be better than what we imagine it will be like to have the conversation. This designed to help participants understand why they avoid difficult conversations and then to learn strategies to hold a productive conversation to gain a desired outcome. Participants will leave with an action plan to use specific tools and techniques to handle difficult conversations successfully.
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Leading an effective meeting is more than an art...it takes skill. This session equips participants with tools, techniques, skills and knowledge to effectively facilitate meetings or group work sessions. Participants will learn a variety of ways to help groups gather data, sort data and prioritize data. An emphasis is placed on dealing with difficult behaviors.
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Problems, large and small, come up every day in the workplace. It's easy to approach problems in the same way each time. In today's competitive world, new solutions are needed. In this session, participants will learn techniques for using creativity to come up with better solutions.
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Change affects people both personally and professionally. Change will continue to be a part of our lives, so managing it is something individuals and organizations need to be able to do quickly and effectively. In this workshop, participants will experience change and learn key strategies for managing themselves, their employees and their organizations successfully through change.
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As a follow up to the Coaching Excellence session, this session lets participants examine their leadership and teamwork effectiveness based on input from the people they lead.
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Prerequisite: Coaching Excellence
Pre-work: Participants will be assessed by the people they lead.
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